The Gold Shell

The afterdeck of a recovery ship on the Pacific north of Hawaii under a glaring midday sun, on a wet canvas mat a small open hemispherical capsule shell seventy-four centimetres across, its outside shining brass-gold plating with faint streaks and tarnish, its inside bare silver, a flanged rim with rivet holes and small tabs, inside an olive-green instrument frame with plain boxes and cable bundles in white tape, water droplets on the gold, beside it a dripping grey and orange parachute in heavy folds, two hands in tan canvas gloves holding the shell at the flange, a grey steel railing and deep blue sea behind, every surface plain and unmarked.