The boat safely beached, the three crew members slowly walked towards the bubble. It sat there, motionless, unchanging, with no observable effects on the beach. Anthony frowned. It was too big to be ball lightning, and too stationary. Even swampgas—an extremely unlikely phenomenon on a beach—would have flickered as it burned but this did nothing. It was like someone had taken a giant magenta punch-bowl and placed it upside-down on the sand. 