What Lies Below: An Exhausted Developer's Haunted Shanty (Vol. 2)

Something is running below the deck. Nobody remembers who built it. Everything on the ship depends on it. Vol. 2 of An Exhausted Developer’s Sea Shanty, for anyone who has ever inherited a system nobody fully understands. Vol. 1 was about patching the same damn hole forever. This time, the old machinery is still running, the people who understood it are long gone, and somebody has to go below. ▶ Vol. 1: The Same Damn Hole    • The Same Damn Hole: An Exhausted Developer...   Content warning: a few sailor-grade swears. Also, the fishing boat is back. It has opinions. Hope you enjoy this song. There’ll be more in this series, so stick around the Sparrow’s song nest if you like. I can’t promise rum, but I can promise more music. Daisy Sparrow ⚓🎶 Lyrics: The moon hung thin, the wind lay low, Three knocks came up from down below. The timbers shook, the lantern swayed, Though not a hand aboard had strayed. At half past three the engine stirred, Though no command had yet been heard. The compass spun and faced the stern, The warning bell began to turn. The galley pipes began to groan, The iron rang, the timbers moaned. Then all at once the noise was gone, As though it knew we listened on. Something runs below the deck, Old as rust and black as wreck. Logs grow thin and names move on, Still the deeper works run on. Let it hum and let it breathe, There are older things beneath. We hauled the ship logs from the chest, Found half were gone and half a mess. The ink had run, the pages tore, The hands that wrote them sailed no more. The oldest mate recalled the way, Or scraps he'd kept from yesterday. The names came back, the reasons blurred. He knew just enough to make it worse. Then came the knock from down below. And none of us were keen to go. We drew the straws beneath the light, Each man prayed his length was right. I pulled mine slow and held it high, Then looked around to judge by eye. Mine barely cleared the others there. The whole damn crew just stopped and stared. Then one by one they dropped their eyes. Well, shit. I took the lamp and checked the chain, Then checked the hatch, then checked again. One hand on rail, one breath held tight, I climbed below and left the light. Past pipes no sailor understands, Past rusted wheels and iron bands, Past gears that moved though none stood near, Past little sounds I chose not to hear. Something runs below the deck, Old as rust and black as wreck. Logs grow thin and names move on, Still the deeper works run on. Let it hum and let it breathe, There are older things beneath. The walls were carved with notes in rows, From hands that only heaven knows. Keep this line. Do not remove. Still keeps her steady when she moves. Bypass here. Repair in June. Parts are coming. Fix this soon. One old name remained below. Tom left twelve long years ago. New copper stitched to older brass, Fresh iron bolted over cracks. No single hand had built the whole, Just parts on parts below the hull. A monster of Frankenstein, Patched by every age and line. Dead parts borrowed, new parts sewn, None aboard could call it known. I traced the copper through the grime, And felt a pulse beneath the line. A low hum rose behind the wall, One note at first, then filled the hall. It held one tone, then shifted slow, Till breath and humming matched below. The sound drew close beneath my skin. Oh, hell no. I followed lines through dust and rust, Through newer gears we claimed to trust. The pumps, the wheel, the warning bell, All drew their breath from one dark well. The newest works, from stem to stern, Still lived because the old ones turned. Fresh iron fed from buried veins, Old blood still driving newer chains. Behind the final rusted door, Black iron boxes lined the floor. One tarnished plate beneath the grime Still bore a name from older time.... Oracle. I raised one hand toward the frame. Don't touch. My blood went cold. My hand came back. The humming rolled across the black. I snatched the lamp and took the stair, Two rungs at once to reach the air. Behind me came that humming tone, Too close to breath to be my own. I reached the wall beside the climb, And carved a warning into time. Still in use. Do not remove. The humming rose beneath my shoes. My hand shook hard. I carved once more: ... It knows. Then dropped the chisel to the floor. I took the stairs and did not slow. I never once looked back below. I barred the hatch before first light. No man aboard asked what I'd sight. The engine purred, the lamps burned bright, We sailed in silence through the night. The sea went still, the moon sank low, No soul aboard looked down below. Off starboard through the silver haze, A fishing lamp still held its place. The old boat captain watched our wake, Then turned his wheel toward safer waves. That's a nope. #DeveloperHumor #SeaShanty #SoftwareEngineering #DarkComedy #techhumor #HalloweenMusic