Erik picked it up, turning it over in his hands. The bone was old, yellowed with age, and ruined by the water. No ordinary drowning victim would end up this deep. This person died down here, far from shore.
Erik said to the clones.
The skull provided the first evidence that humans had indeed been there, deep under the Vermillion Lake. If people had gone this far down, there must have been a reason—like accessing an underwater facility or escaping from it. The lake was deep, and the lake bottom had the conformation to hide a facility.
Erik gave a better look at the skull. There were no obvious fractures or trauma, though one side was slightly discolored. He set it back down on the lakebed. It might provide clues later, but nothing he needed to figure out now.
