Jonathan Aldenberg: Chants of Energy (novel)

‘Chants of Energy’ is the first novella by Jonathan Aldenberg. It tells the story of F, who suffers from tinnitus.

One day, while cleaning his room, F finds an old role-playing game about an aquatic species living in a world where private military companies are scouring the ocean for “mana” – a previously worthless material that has become increasingly valuable since it was discovered to be a source of energy. These mercenary forces use airguns to conduct seismic surveys of the ocean floor, hoping to identify possible mana mining sites via echolocation. The sound from their airguns travels far and wide underwater, causing hearing damage to everything in the area.