by M. D. Cooper
The creature was approaching them fast, its body moving from side to side due to the powerful thrashing of its tail. Then it opened its mouth. This was no whale shark. Two rows of massive white teeth gleamed it its mouth, catching the light from the upper waters. The Torpedo would fit easily within its jaws, which seemed to occupy most of the creature’s head.
Martin knew exactly what the animal was. His grip on his armrest tightened as Lindsey didn’t changed course, headed straight for it. Martin could see right down the creature’s throat.
At the last second, it turned its nose upward, and the underside of its head skimmed the roof of the submersible. The gigantic fish passed over them.
Craning his neck, Martin saw it continue its drive to the water surface, breach, and splash down again. Then with a flick of its tail it quickly sped from view, returning to its dark realm below.
Martin was stunned. He turned toward Lindsey and lifted a hand. She slapped it in a high-five.
“Megalodon,” he said in awe. “Awesome, Linds. Just awesome.”
* * * * *
As the pair journeyed back toward Ithaca, they visited the deep-sea dome, the whirlpool, the marine mammals district, the diatom domicile, and other areas in the rest of the park that were approaching readiness for the opening. Each visit was quick, yet it was well past lunchtime before they decided to return to the labs.
Eamon said.
Martin had actually forgotten the reason for the trip. Seeing the octopus garden, the megalodon, and the other sights and activity areas, had heightened his enthusiasm for the place. He could see Lindsey’s point of view more than ever.
Yet Eamon was right. The team couldn’t continue at its current breakneck speed. One way or another, there had to be a change of plan.
“Do you want to take a quick peek at the sinkhole before we go back inside?” asked Lindsey. “It’s on our route.”
“Sure,” he said.
Another stop along the way would give him more time to think.
In a few minutes, the submersible was at the edge of the sinkhole. Lindsey angled the craft downward, and they slipped into the darkness.
The geological layers in the wall were distinct as the pair dropped downward. A layer of sand, then another of firmer, chalky sand, and then finally, hard rock. The submersible’s lights cut through the murky water, and gazing into the darkness, Martin thought he saw a deeper black in the wall of the hole.
“Can you see that?”
“I can now that you’ve pointed it out,” said Lindsey. “The Torpedo’s scanner is picking up a hollow area too.”
They were near the base of the hole, where a giant crack had opened. Tony had placed structures in the base, presumably to prevent it from opening wider, but Martin was more interested in the enigmatic gap higher up. He peered ahead as Lindsey piloted the submersible closer to the space. The vehicle’s lights revealed a wide expanse inside.
“Cool,” Martin said. “Looks like we have another feature to add to the park.”
“Yes! A cave system is exactly what this park is missing.” Lindsey was grinning with excitement. “I couldn’t have wished for a better disaster to happen. What a blessing in disguise this turned out to be, right?”
“Well,” said Martin, rapidly backpedalling in his mind, “what I was thinking was, this might be an idea for the second stage of the park. You know, later on. When we have more time.”
Lindsey’s expression fell. “But it would be amazing. Just imagine all the awesome cave-dwelling species we could seed in there.”
Martin was finding them very easy to imagine.
“Yeah, but….” He was at war with himself. “It can wait, right? An underwater cave isn’t even in the plans. And, frankly, even with all four of us working all night and day from now until opening, the park isn’t going to be ready in time.”
“You don’t think so?” asked Lindsey in a small voice.
“I know so. Come on, Linds. So do you. This isn’t like seeding an ocean on a new planet, where we can take as long as we want to get it right.”
She sagged in her seat like a jellyfish out of water. “I guess you’re right. I thought with you onboard too, we would be able to get everything done.”
“It was a great ambition, and we will get everything done eventually. And some parts are nearly ready; why not open only those, or have a smaller opening rather than the grand one you had planned? Invite some of the prominent people in town, politicians, business owners and so on. That’ll keep them happy and give the media something to talk about.”
“Hmm, that’s quite a good idea,” said Lindsey. “We could have a ‘soft opening,’ where visitors can see the progress we’ve made so far and get a glimpse of what’s to come. That would be a great opportunity to iron out any glitches and figure out what rules we’ll need to implement, like the access to the monsters of the deep we were talking about earlier.”
Lindsey steered the Torpedo away from the cave entrance and upward out of the sinkhole, her brow creased in thought.
Eamon said.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
STELLAR DATE: 04.26.8941 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Isa’s Gallery, Heliopolis, Ithaca
REGION: Troy, New Canaan System
Isa stood on the upper mezzanine, surveying the results of her weeks of work at the gallery. The difference in appearance compared to how the old spice warehouse had looked when she first saw the place was remarkable. She was satisfied with the progress she’d made, and warm excitement rose in her belly at the thought of opening the business.
Singh had arranged to have the elevator serviced, and a company that specialized in custom systems had put in all the electronics required for her products to function. Isa had also created art works that served as introductions to the deeper experiences that visitors would participate in.
But there was one corner that remained empty. Though she possessed plenty of recordings she could use to create another installation to fill the space, Isa had in mind a special Trojan landscape area she hadn’t yet visited. She only had to finish up at the gallery before collecting Jude from daycare and taking him on another ‘venture’, as he called their jaunts around Troy.
The door chime sounded. Isa was puzzled as to who could have arrived. She wasn’t expecting Singh, and he would have contacted her over the Link anyway. No service workers were due.
She stepped into the elevator and rode it down to the first floor. Wondering if word had gotten out about the gallery and a client had turned up too early, she walked to the door and opened it.
A tall, thin woman stood on the stoop. Her clothing was so remarkable, Isa couldn’t stop herself from staring. A small, cylindrical scarlet hat perched on the visitor’s head, and a peacock blue feather sprouted from it, arching backward over her head and reaching as far as her hips. The woman wore a tight skirt suit the same color as the hat, with gold buttons. The suit’s sleeves stopped at her elbows, and the skirt ended a centimeter below her buttocks. Her long legs were tattooed in abstract patterns all the way down to her feet, which barely balanced her in impossibly high heels.
“Ms Chen. Delighted to make your acquaintance.” The woman’s smile was so wide, her head threatened to split in two.
Finally, the penny dropped.
Singh had tol
d Isa in passing that he would introduce her to some of his friends in the upper echelons of the Trojan art world. She guessed this had to be one of them.
“You’re, er….”
“That’s right! Elora Pennypuddy.” She held out her hand, long-fingered and bony. “Jahil told me all about your little endeavor.”
When Isa shook the woman’s hand, she felt like she was being held in an ore manipulator.
Pennypuddy released Isa from her grip and folded her arms while looking at her expectantly.
“Would you like to, er, come in?” Isa asked, pointlessly hoping her visitor would say no. She didn’t like the look of the woman and, more importantly, she had plans in mind for her and Jude.
“I would love to,” Pennypuddy replied. “I’m dying to see what you’re doing.”
Isa hesitated. She didn’t want to offend the woman, who was probably influential in the nascent art scene on Troy. On the other hand, she had just turned up out of the blue and expected to be let in, which was rude. She was already peering nosily over Isa’s head at the gallery beyond, her eyes hard and critical.
Isa was beginning to feel as though Pennypuddy was less a kindred spirit, and more a scout, sent by the gaggle of other self-important people in Troy’s art circles to snoop on what she was doing and report back. Clearly, whatever Singh had told them had excited their curiosity but hadn’t been sufficient to satisfy it.
“I’m sorry,” Isa said, “on second thought, it’s really inconvenient for me to see anyone right now. I was on my way out.”
Pennypuddy started with shock. “You’re going out? But I traveled a long way to get here. Are you sure you can’t spare even a few minutes? Do you know who I am?” The last sentence was delivered with mounting outrage.
“I’m new to Troy, I’ve no idea who you are.” And I care even less, Isa added mentally. “I only want to run an art business here, so if you wouldn’t mind….” She began to close the door.
The corner of Pennypuddy’s lip lifted. “I guess I can forgive your ignorance, but this isn’t how things run here.”
“Like I said, I have to go.”
Her unwelcome visitor was glaring at her. Could the woman hurt her business if she was offended? Isa had a lot riding on her venture’s success: invested credits and time, and her own sense of achievement. She relented a little.
“Would you like to attend the opening event?” she offered.
Pennypuddy looked a tad mollified. “I may be able to, if I’m free. I’ll have to check.”
“Great. I’ll send you an invite.”
Isa closed the door.
* * * * *
That afternoon, Isa was happy to dismiss Elora Pennypuddy from her mind as she flew her aircar through a pass in a mountain range, angling the vessel to sweep smoothly down to her destination: a wide grassland that bordered the Black Sea. The area was entirely deserted, which suited her just fine. She would be free to record all she wanted without fear of disturbing anyone or being disturbed herself.
The aircar was on long-term lease, and although Isa felt a little guilty at the extravagance, she couldn’t deny that it made touring Troy so much easier. To reach her current location without flying in, she would have had to take the newly built maglev across the Sea of Marmara, change at the stop on the Syracuse coast, take another maglev to the end of the line, and then hail an autocab, by which time, Jude would already be tired and hungry.
As it was, the little boy was playing contentedly with the shells Martin had brought home for him the previous night. Isa set down the aircar on an upward slope within walking distance of the water. She wanted to record an approach to the sea as well as the sea itself and the surrounding mountains.
“Here we are,” she said. “Ready for another adventure?”
“Yes! ’Nother ’venture.”
Jude fiddled with the lock to his safety straps, trying to open it himself. Isa undid the device and opened the door of the pinnace. Instantly, a sun-warmed, rich scent filled the vehicle. Not far away, meadow birds were singing.
Isa grabbed her bag of equipment, climbed out, and walked around the other side of the aircar to lift Jude down before he grew too impatient and decided to take a flying leap to freedom.
“Wheeeeeeeee,” the little boy exclaimed.
As soon as his feet hit the ground, he started off, running through the long grass.
Isa had discovered during her son’s short life that he had an unerring instinct for heading toward the most dangerous part of the landscape. The shore of the Black Sea lay a couple of hundred meters distant, and Jude was pelting full speed in its direction as fast as his little legs could go.
Fortunately, Isa thought, that isn’t very fast. “Jude,” she called, “wait for Mommy Isa.”
Her words didn’t slow the boy down one bit. Isa closed up the pinnace and set off after him, carrying her equipment and pointlessly calling his name. When she caught up to him after a few minutes, she gently told him off and made him hold her hand.
“But look,” Jude protested, pointing ahead.
His advice was unneeded. Despite the antics of her small companion, Isa had barely taken her eyes off the view that spread out in front of them. The scene was exactly as it had appeared on the holo she’d seen earlier: white-peaked mountains reflected in the still, dark waters of the inland sea. Yet being there, feeling the breeze wafting up toward the icy slopes and smelling the scent of wildflowers it carried, made everything so much better. The scene wasn’t a sight, it was an experience, exactly the kind of thing she wanted to capture.
But Isa guessed that Jude wasn’t pointing at the view. The minute he’d left the aircar he’d spotted the expanse of water.
In many ways, he truly was his father’s child.
He was tugging on her hand, dragging her toward the shoreline. Isa felt he deserved some exercise after being cooped up in the aircar for quite a while.
“Should we run?” she asked him.
“Yes,” Jude yelled.
Laughing, Isa ran with him the last fifty meters or so to the margin of the Black Sea. After crossing the tall, rough grass that bordered the beach, she flopped onto the sand. Jude had other ideas.
He pulled off his shoes and socks and flung them down. Then he took off his pants and tossed them aside; lastly, he attacked the buttons of his shirt. His features began to twist in frustration as he hurried to free himself of his final item of clothing.
“Come over here,” Isa said. “I’ll help you.”
Jude did as she asked, but waited impatiently, his feet shuffling and his gaze fixed on the water that lapped the beach. Isa undid his shirt and pulled one of his arms out of the sleeve, and Jude immediately set off for the water, tugging his other arm out of the shirt while Isa held onto it.
The little naked boy flew across the sand and ran straight into the sea, his cry of ‘Wheeeee!’ cut off by his sudden submersion.
Yes, Jude was his father’s son. Isa had often wondered if Martin had deliberately added some kind of crazy-about-swimming gene when he’d created Jude. Erin had certainly teased him enough about the possibility he had snuck in something from a marine organism. But perhaps Jude’s love of open water was only due to Martin taking the little boy with him into the Med so often.
Jude resurfaced and began happily swimming in circles a little way beyond the shore.
“Don’t go any deeper,” Isa warned.
He always obeyed the strict rule regarding his range when he was alone in the water, but Isa always reminded him just in case.
While her son worked off the energy he’d built up during their flight, Isa began to record the stunning surroundings. She sent out drones to skim at their top speed just above the water, racing toward the distant mountains. Others were already flying upward to capture aerial views.
Isa’s old boss at Placement Services had given her permission to use all the raw material she’d gathered on Tyre for the infomentary she’d made, and while she’d been living on
Carthage, she’d recorded similar material. That only left Athens to add to her collection.
Athens. Isa sighed.
She’d been so disappointed she hadn’t been able to return there with Erin and Martin. Though the other three planets were each lovely in their own way, there was something special about the fourth world of New Canaan. The fact that it hadn’t yet quite settled down geologically gave it an edge, a sense of danger that thrilled the spirit. It was no wonder that most visitors went a little crazy there—the way they might behave if they only had a short time to live.
After the day’s work, she could create the final installation, and her gallery would soon be completed. In two weeks, she would hold the grand opening event. If her business began to operate smoothly, she might be able to take some time off for a hard-earned rest, though she would have to persuade Martin and Erin to also take a break.
“Jude,” she called, “time to eat.”
The little boy broke off from completing yet another circle and headed toward the shore.
Singh’s mental voice broke through her musings.
She wondered if he was going to admonish her about not being nice to his friend.
Instantly worrying, Isa said,
Singh replied,
