Seeing the unseen: problematic narratives and the microbial worlds of the deep-sea

Microbes emerge as the protagonists of new scientific narratives of the deep-sea, functioning as life-givers in biological communities or central actors in geochemical cycles essential to the functioning of the Earth system. This paper aims to address the significant discrepancy between present-day scientific knowledge and popular narratives of the deep, with a particular focus on the narrative representation of deep-sea microbes. In the face of looming deep-sea ecocide, it is crucial to incorporate knowledge of the microbial ‘unseen majority’ into our ecological imagination and challenge the ‘size bias’ towards larger organisms. However, problematic narratives—such as portraying the deep-sea as a barren place, as a place full of alien life, or as the last frontier on earth—persist in the cultural imagination and deflect profound engagement with deep-sea microbial worlds. I discuss Frank Schätzing’s novel Der Schwarm (2004) as a hopeful exception, proving that a profound engagement with deep-sea worlds does not defy the dynamics of popular fiction. Instead of recycling old storylines, the novel articulates the relevance of deep-sea ecosystems to the Earth system and positions the deep-sea microbe as an important actor in human lifeworlds instead of letting it reside at the fringes of the cultural imagination.