Imagine standing on the seafloor over 13 million years ago, far offshore beneath a calm, subtropical sea. Light from above filters down in soft blue-grey tones, just enough to faintly illuminate the pale, fine-grained seabed beneath your feet. The ground is smooth and powdery, made of soft chalky mud slowly settling from the clear water above. There are no corals, no plants, and no bustling marine life here; just the quiet drift of tiny plankton shells from far above, sinking gently and undisturbed. It’s a still, peaceful world; dim, silent, and seemingly endless in all directions.