“This is big. We need to move away from the repetitive crap we’ve been peddling in recent years.” Rick had been less than helpful and the main reason the show hadn’t evolved. The irony was probably not lost on them. Rick didn’t know much so they would still do their jobs as always. Now with more new and improved Rick. “I’m going to be a hands-on exec from now on. Let’s make this show great again!” Rick faced the producers. He wasn’t sure who did what so he addressed the lot. “I need a list of all the locations and people worth meeting from Luna to Eris. What else… Ah yes! We’ll need the travel times between all the locations. How many days, weeks, months or years is it going to take to see all Solus has to offer?” Rick stopped and thought for a second. “Money. This is going to cost money. Make sure we don’t run out.” The one on the left nodded. The money guy. Then Dick’s marketing stooge spoke.
“The show is also about showing how united we are and how the Council keeps us together. We want to show how well connected Terra, and the colonies are. The best way to do this is only using public transport. This will highlight the great infrastructure work of the Council and enable Rick to meet interesting people and keep costs down as a bonus.” Everyone thought that was a great idea. Rick knew the motivation behind it though. The Dick didn’t want Rick to have his own ship.
“This is genius, The Last Human travelling Solus on public transport! This practically sells itself! This is going to be huge! And the filming opportunities will be epic!” Gary was overjoyed. He was going on about equipment and guerrilla filming.
“OK guys. You have lots to talk about, plus you have this season finale to get done. I’ll leave you to it.” Barry gave them a wave and left. After a short while, everybody knew what they had to do, and the conversation shifted to the task at hand.
“We’re doing Atlantis! It was the first episode, and a lot has changed since. We thought it’d be a nice anniversary thing. But now it’s actually the last episode since we’re moving on to Solus Tour. First episode and last episode! This is perfect! It’s meant to be!” Gary was just having the best day. Twat. Rick didn’t even remember that he’d been to Atlantis. He was continuously plastered throughout his thirties but still thought he’d have remembered something like Atlantis. He’d been dreaming about going for the last few months. Maybe during some meeting, he’d heard the team planning the episode over the sounds of his snoring. Inception. Rick was going to Atlantis for the first time, again…
“We’ll take a look at how the city progressed over the years. The underwater expansion, the inclusion of dolphin citizens and all that Rick charm the fans love.” The producers continued talking, but Rick’s mind had stopped on the thing about dolphins. He’d read about the research when he was a kid, but now there was an actual city where people and dolphins cohabited. Who wouldn’t want to see that?
“It’s going to be great Rick! Not as great as Solus Tour, but an amazing way to end the show!” Gary had his hand up now. It would stay there until Rick did the deed. Rick high-fived Gary. “Awesome! Let’s get this show on the road. The crew is probably done prepping the gear, our ship awaits.” Rick smiled when he thought about his escape and how much it was going to bum Gary out.
◆◆◆
New Atlantis sat on the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores coast. It was nowhere near as big as the continent described by Plato, though like the continent of old, it too was sinking into the ocean. Except this time, it was voluntary.
The city had been expanding underwater to accommodate its new inhabitants. Gary was explaining this and more while he briefed Rick on the flight to Atlantis. Using solar, wind, tidal, and biomass, the artificial island-city fulfilled all its energy needs. Like Zero Cities, Atlantis was a self-sustaining ecological haven. The city was dominated by a great fin, a mile high and even deeper. The fin stabilised the artificial island against tsunamis and severe storms. It also served as an ocean cleanser. In combination with the outer barrier and security wall, it captured trash and funnelled it to the fin factory for recycling. Ocean waste was then re-purposed as building materials for maintaining the city and creating sustainable marine architecture and artificial reefs. Four Zero Cities surrounded the fin. Smaller domes and buildings dotted the island-city floor, winding roads lined with exotic trees connected everything. The architects had built artificial lagoons, hills and ridges to create a diverse landscape and environment for the Atlanteans.
Below the city floor, a mirror city existed in underwater spheres connected by a network of walkways and tunnels. Like an iceberg, there was more underneath than above. Rick saw some pictures of the upside-down city, it looked like the complex molecular structures that had baffled him since childhood. Each of these spherical modules was a self-contained, self-sustaining city. The submerged parts of the city were designed for use by dolphins and people. Dolphins used specially engineered hatches and moved from section to section via partly flooded tunnels. Rick was annoyed at being lectured by Gary during the whole flight but he was also excited.
The Last Human crew landed near the fin in front of what looked like an official building. They were greeted in fanfare by fans and some people probably in charge of something. The camera bots were rolling; they had been filming since they left the 363. Rick went to some fans and posed for pictures. He would play the part of good Rick, for now. Gary was talking to the Atlantean representatives and called Rick over. He finished up with his fans and gave them a catchphrase, they all laughed. They were still chanting when Rick reached Gary and the people in charge.
“Mr Archer it is a great honour to have you back in Atlantis. I am Siphon, one of the administrators here. We hope you enjoy your visit. And if there is anything we can do to help, please let us know.” Siphon was an aquacyborg like many Atlanteans. Their upgrades enabled them to spend extended times submerged and swim fast enough to follow dolphins. The Atlantean upgrade package included underwater breathing and communication with optional sonar and echolocation. As Rick inspected Siphon, he realised that the Atlantean upgrade package was this week’s episode’s product push. I want that. And everyone else would want it too.
“Hi Siphon, call me Rick. This is Amy, my AI companion. We’re excited to be here.” Rick was trying to sound professional. Which was a lot easier when sober. Siphon did some sort of polite bow-nod and invited Rick and crew to follow him.
Rick started following while Gary gave instructions to the camera bots. Siphon explained he’d be taking them on a walking tour of Atlantis. It was all impressive enough, but very similar to any old Zero City, and Rick just wasn’t that interested in the history and architectural wonders of Atlantis. He wanted to talk to some dolphins. Still, he listened and walked on and pretended to be interested. It took the better part of the morning to explore the city above ground. Rick felt his spirits lift when Siphon announced that they would be heading to the underwater portion. After lunch…
◆◆◆
The submerged city could be accessed from almost anywhere, but Rick was ill-equipped for most routes. Siphon led them to a dry hatch, and they descended through a glass tunnel into a semi-submerged walkway. Water filled about a third of the tube. They walked towards one of the main spheres. Through the glass, the mesmerising wonder of Atlantis captured Rick’s full attention. If Siphon was talking Rick wasn’t hearing it. Siphon was talking. He was explaining how all the city sections were connected.
Rick was finding it hard to move through the water and was beginning to fall behind. “Hey Siphon.” Rick caught up with great difficulty and tapped the Atlantean on the shoulder, “I can’t do this anymore. Walking through this water is hard.” Gary was connected to the camera bots via neural link, but he still felt the need to gesture at them to get out of each other’s shots. Rick scowled at Gary. That fuck always knew when he was about to go through something humiliating. Good TV was coming. “I don’t have robot legs like you lot.” Siphon had indeed forgotten all about Rick’s lack of modifications, everybody always did. But they were in the m
iddle of a submerged path so they’d have to continue anyway.
“Mr Archer, I’m so sorry. I should have considered your handicap earlier. We will use the dry paths as much as possible. May I suggest you swim in the meantime.” Handicap. Dick. Rick shot daggers at Gary who could barely contain his mirth. Siphon made his statement so seriously, fans were going to love it.
Rick lowered himself in the water and starting swimming. The group continued with Rick swimming beside Siphon, the camera bots captured everything. Gary’s chuckling probably included too. The tunnel ended in a pool at one of the sphere’s many entrances. Siphon showed Rick the way out of the pool and back onto dry ground. The underwater city was similar to the above ground version except some areas were flooded and semi-submerged walkways connected them to other underwater sections. What truly blew Rick’s mind were the floating blobs of water. The dolphins jumped to and from these blobs to access higher levels of the city. Each blob had a small spherical device in the centre, probably some sort of gravity device. He’d have to ask Amy later. These blobs enabled dolphins to navigate the city in ways suited to their physiology which was an absolute joy to behold. The acrobatic display mesmerised Rick.
Siphon was taking them to meet the dolphin administrator for Atlantis. From what Rick understood the dolphin administrator was the equivalent of Siphon, and he ran the city’s underwater expansion and integration with the environment. Doctor Bubbles or Bubbles was a cyber-enhanced dolphin. This was becoming common among Atlantean dolphins. Living with aquacyborgs in cities made the dolphins realise that although they were perfectly equipped for life in the ocean, they had not the appendages necessary to build and manipulate objects and machinery. Once dolphins had their brain cyber-enhanced and the neural plate installed, they could start adding away. The most common upgrade was the neck arms. Also very popular among cyborgs. One or more telescopic arms plugged into the neural plate. Very useful for manipulating objects in front of your face or anything if you’re a dolphin. Rick had always wanted those. Who wouldn’t want more arms? Dolphins tended to also get the language and voicebox upgrades to converse in human speech; mostly because when cyborgs attempted to speak in clicks and whistles, it made dolphins laugh uncontrollably. So much so that it systematically killed conversations.
Siphon was explaining that as research in communication evolved it had become clear that dolphins already understood humans, but the human brain wasn’t equipped to understand their speech. Creating trust had been the most significant barrier to two-way communication. Getting them to trust people and forgive them for their barbaric ways proved difficult. Eventually, dolphins had been convinced to communicate, though to this day whales had still not forgiven humans. Dolphins reach out to them every once in a while. Try to convince them that people on the surface have changed, that they’re not really humans anymore. Even though dolphins and aquacyborgs have been actively restoring the oceans of the world for years and people have mostly stopped hunting and eating animals; whales had yet to be convinced. The trauma was severe.
◆◆◆
Bubbles’ office was basically in a pool with holoscreens and projections on the walls above the water surface. He swam about and looked at stuff, did some things with his little arms and swam over to another screen before noticing the camera bot on the threshold. Gary had made everyone wait while he got some “raw Bubbles”. Siphon and Bubbles exchanged a few meaningful glances and the aquacyborg took his leave.
“Ah, The Last Human!” Bubbles’ voice was squeaky and robotic. Exactly the way Rick imagined a cyborg dolphin’s voice would sound. He let out a whistle and laughed. “That was my name in dolphin, but you can call me Bubbles.” And Bubbles laughed some more. Rick wanted to pet Bubbles and hug him, but he didn’t think that would go down too well.
Normally at this point, the host would offer a seat, but there was no furniture in sight. Rick assumed one just had to stand there in waist deep water. He was wrong. A compartment opened up in the ceiling and floaties fell into the pool. “Please get comfortable.” Rick grabbed an inflatable chair and tried to hoist himself up. He failed several times to get on. Each time captured on camera. Gary was pleased. Rick could tell from the incessant micro-celebrations. Once everyone had taken their seats and was gently bobbing on the water Bubbles started again. “I take it you enjoyed your tour of Atlantis so far.” Gary immediately started listing the things he’d loved most about the city. Rick said he was impressed but found their world inconvenient for a lowly human.
“I mean this city is a marvel to behold. Really. This is like the stuff I saw in comics when I was a kid. I love it. But it’s simply not for me. I can’t swim too well, and I can’t breathe underwater. So I can’t really make the most of your fine city.” Rick wished he had the Atlantean package and was sad that if he ever got it, he probably wouldn’t be coming back anyway.
“Well, I have good news then. In anticipation of your arrival, we prepared an armoured nanosuit that would help you navigate our city and oceans. It is unique and our gift to you.” Rick didn’t know what to say, so he said thank you, always a good place to start. Bubbles looked up at the ceiling, and another compartment opened. All expected Rick’s suit to fall out. Instead, a load of what seemed to be sex toys designed with dolphins in mind dropped down. “Don’t pay attention to any of that. Wrong compartment.” Bubbles laughed. Dolphins were well-known sexual deviants. Rick liked this Bubbles guy a lot. Another compartment opened and this time a suit fell out. It was bright yellow which made Gary laugh for some reason. “Mr Archer this suit was designed with you in mind. This power suit increases your strength and resistance. It will protect you against injury and temperature fluctuations. It is interwoven with a special nano-membrane that absorbs oxygen and enables you to breathe underwater without the need for cumbersome oxygen tanks. Among the other cool little gadgets, you'll find the nanosuit incorporates its own communications equipment, hydro-thrusters to help you swim faster and the visor has all the visual enhancements you could wish for. Best of all, you control it with brainwaves. Also, it’s yellow so we can spot you from afar!” Bubbles laughed and then took a more sombre tone. “Unfortunately the suit can’t make you understand or speak dolphin. Actually, I’m not sure that’s a problem.” Bubbles started laughing again. Everyone else joined in. Rick wasn’t sure he got it, but he laughed anyway. He put the suit on and immediately felt amazing. He could feel the suit drying his body. He imagined this is what it felt like to be a cyborg. Rick wanted to test the suit out. “Do you like it, Mr Archer?”
“I fucking love it! Holy Universoul ballsack this is awesome! Thank you! Thank you so much!” Rick was looking over the suit excitedly. “You my friend, are a legend!” Bubbles laughed.
“I’m glad you like it. It’s a gift.”
“Thank you, this means a lot.”
“Right! Now we can proceed with the tour. There is a fully submerged tunnel that starts at the bottom of the office. Follow me.” And with that bubbles dove into the depth of his office and led the group through the tunnel.
Cyborg dolphins can project thoughts into people’s minds, something to do with their brains. Cyborgs, however, require both parties to have the neural link upgrade to communicate via thought. This is not something dolphins advertised and they only used their ability when absolutely necessary. This was such a time. Rick was in the process of finding this out as Bubbles projected his thoughts into his mind. Without the suit, the signals would have been scrambled and just felt like a headache to Rick. But the suit enabled him to understand Bubbles as clearly as a conversation, clearer even.
“Rick this is Bubbles, I am speaking to you directly, in your mind. I just need you to listen, don’t say anything.” Bubbles waited an instant. Rick said nothing. “Thank you. Rick, we need your help.” The plot thickens. He wasn’t sure he could handle things getting more complicated. Bubbles explained there was a loose association between all the water cities of the world. Although aligned with the vision of Zero Citi
es and the Council, aquacyborgs and dolphins believed it was time for them the get representation on the Council. Bubbles wanted Rick to use his voice and the show to speed up the process. The Last Human Show coming to Atlantis was the long-awaited opportunity to get some recognition. “Will you help us? I know you can’t answer but if you just find a way to mention it today. That could be what it takes to elevate us and enshrine our rights.” All Rick could think about was he had no rights or representation, but he’d help anyway. Anything to mess with the Council and Agency.
The rest of the day was great. Rick swam, fast. Through tunnels and pools and the deep. He played with dolphins, and they showed him the kind of work they got up to. Which it turned out was anything people could do now that they could plug bionic arms in. The day wore on, and Bubbles had to get back to his duties. He dropped them off near a surface hatch. He and Rick shared a hug much to Rick’s delight. It had taken a hilarious minute or so for Rick to figure out how to remove his gloves, but it had been worth it. He’d always wanted to feel dolphin skin. So slick and soft. He wasn’t disappointed.
Siphon was waiting for them at the tunnel exit. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your time in Atlantis. It was an honour and pleasure to host you.” They had, and for once it was Rick saying so excitedly.
“Siphon your city, and its people are wonderful. Aquacyborgs and dolphins have built something truly unique that clearly sets them apart from other species. The way of life of aquacyborgs is so different to land cyborgs. They’re more different than robots and androids. And dolphins... Well dolphins, from what I can see, are people just like the rest of us. I’ve learnt so much today, thank you!” Siphon smiled and thanked Rick profusely. That would do. Rick had done his part.
Siphon led them back to their ship. Rick was following when his eyes stopped on the craziest vehicle he’d ever seen. A car-sized water tank with a dolphin inside using mechanical neck arms to steer. The car seemed powered by a watermill-looking engine. The dolphin’s tail movements supplied the propellant. Crazy dolphins. Rick watched the dolphin drive away with a smile on his face. They were back at the ship just as night was falling. The whole city lit up, and Rick thought good things about Atlantis. Gary was talking to Siphon. Probably about important things to do with the show. The camera bots were wandering around capturing some more cutaways. Brock approached Rick. He’d been there all day following at a distance, not saying a word. Does he know I’m pissed at his traitorous ass?
The Last Human Page 11
