States and the Soviet Union, with the potential for all-out war; the sinking of the Montana additionally fuels the aggression. There is more conflict between Bud and Lindsey in regard to their former relationship. The primary addition is the ending: when Bud is taken to the alien ship, they start by showing him images of war and aggression from news sources around the globe. The aliens then create massive megatsunamis that threaten the world's coasts, but stop them short before they hit. Bud asks why they spared the humans and they show Bud his message to Lindsey before bringing him, the alien ship, and Deep Core to the surface. Cast Ed Harris as Virgil "Bud" Brigman, Deep Core's foreman and Lindsey's estranged husband. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Dr. Lindsey Brigman, designer of the rig and Bud's estranged wife. Michael Biehn as US Navy SEAL Lieutenant Hiram Coffey, the commander of the Navy SEAL team. Leo Burmester as Catfish De Vries, a worker on the rig and a Vietnam veteran Marine who is skeptical of the SEALs. Todd Graff as Alan "Hippy" Carnes, a conspiracy theorist who believes that the NTIs have been covered up by the CIA. John Bedford Lloyd as Jammer Willis J.C. Quinn as Arliss "Sonny" Dawson Kimberly Scott as Lisa "One Night" Standing Captain "Kidd" Brewer Jr. as Lew Finler George Robert Klek as Wilhite, a US Navy SEAL Christopher Murphy as Schoenick, a US Navy SEAL Adam Nelson as Ensign Monk, a US Navy SEAL Chris Elliott as Bendix Richard Warlock as Dwight Perry Jimmie Ray Weeks as Leland McBride J. Kenneth Campbell as DeMarco William Wisher, Jr. as Bill Tyler, a reporter Ken Jenkins as Gerard Kirkhill Production H. G. Wells was the first to introduce the notion of a sea alien in his 1897 short story "In the Abyss". The idea for The Abyss came to James Cameron when, at age 17 and in high school, he attended a science lecture about deep sea diving by a man, Francis J. Falejczyk, who was the first human to breathe fluid through his lungs in experiments conducted by Johannes A. Kylstra at Duke University. He subsequently wrote a short story that focused on a group of scientists in a laboratory at the bottom of the ocean. The basic idea did not change, but many of the details were modified over the years. Once Cameron arrived in