The sound of straining metal surrounds us. Many of the windows are quickly covered darkening the interior. The ship shudders and moves unsteadily. The sounds continue, looking around everyone is a bit frightening and holding onto the walls for support. The lights flicker and dim as the ship shudders again.
Just as the sound of straining metal fades I feel that we are moving downward. The sub is diving. Hopefully we can escape the notice of the helicopter. I have to find out what is going on. Heading to the helm Sandra follows me. We wind through the corridors and through doorways. We find the captain absorbed into his monitors. We watch him for a time and gaze over his shoulder to see what he is looking at. One is a clear image of the helicopter approaching where I assume our ship once was. It is all black with no markings and hovers over where we were. Why are they here? What do they want from us? Are they going to attack us?
The captain turns and sees us “The helicopter is hovering where we last were. I left some micro cameras floating on the surface so we can try to figure out what they want.”
“But who are they?”
“I don’t know but our policy is to hide from any and all threats which present themselves. We can stay underwater like this for over a week so you have nothing to worry about. We can surface almost anywhere from where we dove down so no one can follow us. I will keep you updated as I learn anything but we will make the remainder of the trip submerged. You have nothing to worry about. I will contact the council and they will decide what we will do. Now if you will excuse me I have a ship to pilot. I believe you can go watch a movie in the lounge.”
I had no idea that we had the technology available to make a ship convert into a submarine but I guess that does add a whole new level of stealth options. This would also make the ship really hard to sink. No wonder our group is always so secretive. We have so much to hide. Any country would love to have what we have. No wonder people are after us. No wonder we have to spend so much time below the surface. This is how sunlight and the open sky became luxuries. It is sad when something so freely available is turned into such a rarity.
We watch a movie but I am too concerned with the events of the day to pay much attention. Drinks are brought but I don’t much care for them. Something is coming to a head and I need to figure out what. This feels all kind of wrong and I don’t know what to do about it. I need to know who killed Asa. Most importantly I need to figure out which side I am on and if I can even trust those people. But why attack the boat? Do they want the boat or something on it? Or do they want someone?
There are still a small number of port hole style windows which you can’t see anything out of. Nothing is as light hearted as before. As though the sight of the helicopter ruined our trip purely by existing. The novelty of this trip has worn off and I would kind of like to go home. No one is happy or laughing as though we are all held captive on a trip we no longer want to be on. The air is tense. The threat of danger is strong and everyone is nervous.
Dinner is served in the formal dining room in an effort to bring back normality and forget about the threat. We are served sweet, intense, and slightly charred grilled lobster tails in an herbed garlic butter sauce. They are a bit smoky but oh so savory. They practically melt in your mouth and leave you wanting more. Boiling the lobster removes flavor while grilling adds it. The smokiness of the fire balances the richness of the meat while simultaneously intensifying its flavor. The smokiness of the fire helps to balance the richness of the meat while intensifying the flavor. The vegetables are steamed but not cooked to death and served in a rosemary and garlic butter sauce. They are fork tender but still have all their flavor and a good firm texture. To top it all off sangria is served. A dry mossy red wine with a hint of bourbon a blend of fresh fruit with slices of star fruit floating on top. Desert is a tasty caramelized shrimp kabob.
No starches are served as all colonists are on a lower carb diet than the rest of society. We only really eat carbs once a day. This is to help us all maintain a healthy weight. The more traditional american diet calls for eight to eleven servings of carbs each day, but no one can burn off that many carbs. So we all eat a lot less of the carbs. None of us are on those strange no carb diets because carbohydrates are the preferred fuel source for your brain. Since we are a collective of free thinkers we all need to not be held captive carb cravings and foggy minds. After all what good are a bunch of scientists and philosophers who can’t think straight? That same group is also much more easily convinced of a dietary change than to start exercising on a regular basis.
Not being able to shake the tension I decide to retire early. I need to do some writing to try and make sense of this all. I always write when I am upset about something. The simple act of writing gives me a chance to put words or even names to what is bothering me. This makes all problems much more manageable. But where to start? The marvelous ship whose real abilities were hidden from us? That the black unmarked helicopter that came out of nowhere. How the captain knew about it before we could even identify it? So many questions.
I’m swimming. The water is cool but not cold. I can see shapes in the distance but I can’t quite make them out. They are like ghostly shadows but they hold still. Like they are waiting for something. Whale song surrounds me. The sad calling one after the other. They sing and it breaks my heart. One of them was lost from the herd and the rest are calling out desperate to find who is lost. The desperation and sadness consumes me. I can think of nothing else but the sadness and the shapes. The whales are so far away I can’t even see them but still I clearly hear their calling. I try to move toward the shapes but never get any closer. They never become any clearer.
I don’t seem to have any problem breathing under water as though I am one with the water and the water is my home. I pass statues that fell into the water long ago. They were once great carvings of gods but time has not been kind to them. Fish and coral have made them home. So long ago yet I remember the faces clearly. I could even put names to them but that would be too sad for words. There are buildings too but they are not home to the fish but to others like me who live in this land that was once above water. Once we lived in the sunlight. We relished the light and loved it dearly. For it was our most prized possession. But we were too bold. We took too much of what the gods offered. We were greedy and wanted it all. We didn’t want to share with anyone we wanted to be the greatest and so we were. Still we demanded more. We took and took till we thought we were one with the gods. This made them very angry. Then we laughed at their anger and they took their revenge. They sunk us from our place of glory to the depths of the ocean and forcing us to live to eternity in darkness. We are forever out of the light and warmth of the sun. Forever under the water. Forever alone undying and unable to move on. The gods will force us to be here till time itself runs out.
I wake up crying. I had that awful dream again about that city under the water.
No comments:
Post a Comment