The Old One is a Mythos-set short story by prolific British author John Glasby.
Synopsis
An associate professor of archaeology named Sheldon, who has an interest in the unconventional theory that intelligent races inhabited the earth long before the coming of man, researches this topic in his spare time. Coming across an old volume in an antique book shop which alludes to his interest, he uncovers references to an ancient city named Yuth which may be located somewhere near the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas but, knowing that his peers will make a mockery of him should he share this information, decides to keep it to himself.
Later, Sheldon's university decides to mount an expedition to the Bimini Islands to study the work already taking place there. They equip two boats - one carrying a bathysphere and several sets of diving gear - with Sheldon, his superior Professor Dorman and two others named Conlon and Brown comprising the research team.
Upon arrival at North Bimini, the group decide that as there is already considerable work being done by other researchers, they will look outside of their immediate area. Travelling thirty miles north, they deploy the bathysphere, discovering a vast ruined city off the edge of the shelf, later confirmed by Sheldon to be Yuth. Observing a strange red glow in the far reaches of the city, they decide that the easiest way to investigate this would be by diving suit.
Sheldon, Dorman and Brown descend to the city, and as Dorman enters the building which is emitting the glow the city begins to tremble. Dorman is grasped by a long tentacle attached to a “lumbering, amorphous bulk” and dragged down into the depths, while the other two flee to the surface, Brown's mind completely shattered by the sight.
Characters
- Professor Sheldon, an associate professor of archaeology at a small unnamed university who has an interest in the theory of intelligent life on Earth before the evolution of mankind.
- Professor Dormer, Sheldon's superior. He was dragged off by a submarine monstrosity, likely Tsathoggua.
- Simon Haworth, a wealthy heir in possession of letters to his grandfather concerning the existence of a city named Yuth.
- Jethro Haworth, a man with an interest in the city of Yuth. He is only present in the story through references and the letters read by Sheldon.
- Conlon, a senior university professor of archaeology.
- Brown, a senior university professor of archaeology. His mind snapped when he viewed the entity in Yuth.
Behind the Mythos
The Old One was first published as part of Chaosium's The Tsathoggua Cycle in 2002, and was later included in the Wildside Press eBook anthology The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack in 2012.
Mythos References
- The lost continent of Atlantis is mentioned several times.
- The Great Old One Tsathoggua is spoken of, and is all but outright stated to be the entity encountered during the expedition's final dive.
- The Bimini Islands are the base from which the group launch their expedition, specifically North Bimini.
- The grimoire known as the Book of K'yog is referred to, and copied text from this volume is the starting point of Sheldon's interest in the Bimini Islands.
- The ruined undersea metropolis of Yuth is the setting for the second half of the story.