by Andrew Gates
Suddenly the light grew brighter. It was closer. She knew it. She could feel the light touching her. She began to kick harder and faster, anything to get to the top.
And then, suddenly, everything stopped. She could go up no higher. Her head broke the water and appeared to be stuck against some sort of invisible force pulling her down. The sea above her was brighter and clearer than anything she had ever seen in her life. Puffs of white smoke dotted the ocean’s roof. A hole of bright light shone through the center of the colorless vastness. To her surprise, her eyes no longer stung from the salt. It felt as if she was back in a pressurized hull with air. But unfortunately, she could not hold her breath any longer. Her arms and legs flailed about. She tried to climb, tried to go higher, but she could not. This was it. This was as high as she could go.
So close, she thought. If only this barrier had not been in the way, whatever it is. If only she could keep climbing up.
She knew now that she could not go any further. This was it. She had gone as high as she could. Sara closed her eyes, looked up and opened her mouth, ready to take in the salty water. But nothing came. No water, no salt, nothing. Breathable air filled her starved lungs.
Suddenly she realized that this was no water. This was the surface. She had made it.
That’s when the forgotten word came back to her.
“Sky,” she said aloud. She stared up at the sea above the water. “This is the sky.”
For years darkness was all she ever knew. But now she saw only light.
IRIS STARED AT THE FACE in the mirror. It was as thin, scrawny and as pale as anyone else’s down here in the station. She pressed her fingers against her cheek and watched as it made a small pink mark. Dragging her fingers down, the pink faded into her skin only a moment later.
Why should I dress myself up? She looked into the cool eyes reflecting back at her. Iris was never fond of makeup, nor dressing up at all for that matter. It wasn’t because she didn’t care about her image. Otherwise she never would have spent the money to dye her light hair black. No, Iris was never fond of makeup simply because she never saw the need for it. Makeup and pretty clothes were just too much effort. If it were up to her, she would spend her entire life in sweatpants.
She sighed and closed her eyes as she pulled her white t-shirt up above her head. She could smell the strong scent of her armpits. Iris did not normally use deodorant, but today she decided it was best to put some on. She bent down to the cabinet beneath her sink and pulled out a tube she had probably not touched for a month.
Today was the big day. All her years of studying had finally paid off. It was convenient that the teacher before her retired when he did since it meant the job opened up right when she needed it. Good luck so far, she thought. Straight out of school and a job was already waiting for her.
She put the deodorant tube away after sliding it up and down under her arms for a good five seconds and walked back into her bedroom. She pulled a light green blouse out of her closet and stared at it for a while. Does green make a good first impression? This was not her strong suit, but her instincts said no. Iris decided against it and reached for a red blouse instead. Red was safe in her mind. No color was bolder.
This was not the first day of school for the students, merely the orientation for teachers. School would not begin for another week but the teachers were expected to be ready by that time and well acquainted with one another. She had already met the principle during her initial interview and had been in contact with him a few times since. She also knew the head of the history department, also from the interview. But apart from those two and a few administrators she doubted she would see much of again, she knew no one. Preparing for the first day of school as a teacher was surprisingly similar to what she remembered as a student. Although she knew she would make friends eventually, she obsessed over making the right first impression.
As she reached the last button of her blouse, she searched around the room to see what else she could add to her outfit. It was then that it occurred to her she was still in her sweatpants. She laughed to herself, finding her own obliviousness comical. She looked around again, this time thinking of something to wear on her bottom half. Iris was not partial to wearing skirts, or anything particularly feminine for that matter. But this was the first day of school. If there were ever a time to wear it, it was now.
“I suppose I should look like a lady,” she said to herself aloud.
She moved to her closet again and removed a thin black skirt that came down below her knees. She unzipped the back, pulled it up and zipped it up again. It fit tightly around her waist and hugged her stomach.
Iris walked barefoot over to the bathroom once more. She felt uncomfortable by the restricted range of leg motion. She tried to put it out of her mind, hoping that if she ignored the oddness, it would become normal.
Next came putting on makeup. This was Iris’s least favorite part.
She hoped she would not have to do this every day from now on. Just for the first few weeks, she thought. Then she could go back to waking up an hour later. By then she would have made her first impression with both the teachers and the students.
When Iris finally emerged from the bathroom, her face was coated in just enough makeup to make a good impression and no more. In her opinion, a little was preferable to a lot. She hoped her new colleagues would share that opinion.
As she walked through her cramped room, she stopped to check the Meganet on her personal pod. She waved her hand in front of the small rectangular screen to wake it up. Lights came on and shone into her eyes. Images filled the screen. The first thing she noticed was a new message. Iris tapped the message icon with her finger. It was from her mother.
“Play message,” she said aloud, opting to use the voice feature from here on out.
The message began to play.
“Hey Iris, it’s your mother. I know you’ll be getting up early tomorrow so you’re probably already in bed by the time I send this. I know you might not care to hear this, but I just want to wish you luck at your new job. I think this is really a great opportunity for you. So that’s all. I just wanted to call to wish you good luck. Maybe you’ll find a cute blond man working there. Who knows? Keep your eyes out,” said the voice in the message.
Iris rolled her eyes. Her mother didn’t mean these words. This was a formality, nothing more. She was not an intellectual like her daughter. She stayed at home, doing nothing with her time. Her life was not worthy of Iris’s aspirations. She wants me to be like her, Iris thought. She wants me to settle down and find a man. Honestly she was just surprised that her mother had not called asking for a favor. That was the normal routine.
“Oh and one more thing,” the message continued.
Of course there’s more. Iris was just about to close the message. This is it, she thought. This is where she asks for my help.
“I’m not going to ask for money, don’t worry. I’m not going to ask for help either. I just want you to stop by. I want to see you. Your father wants to see you. We both want to talk to you, nothing more. I don’t even know your address. You barely ever respond to your pod. Just stop by sometime. If not for me, do it for your father. Anyway, that is all.”
The tone of voice was different this time. It was more somber than before.
She wants me to think something serious has happened, Iris thought. The budding teacher did not want to get roped in, not this time. Whenever Iris managed to pull herself out of their clutches, her parents always managed to pull her back in. This time she would stay strong.
Often Iris would think back to her youth and remember what her life could have been if her parents had not pulled her back. She imagined a life of adventure and excitement instead of a life of books and loneliness.
The first time Iris had ever skimmed the pages of a digitized book was when she visited her aunt’s residence as a seven-year-old. She remembered sneaking off from her parents and picking up the pod lying on the table by the door
as the adults sat in the next room. To this day Iris could even remember the title of the book, The History of Ancient Cultures: Volume 1 by someone named Navarro and Underman. It was an old book, published back from the days before the Descent, back when the word ‘publish’ actually meant something other than ‘upload’. Reading the glowing words of that history book was one of the most exciting nights of her life. She was worried at first when her parents finally caught her with the pod but she smiled later when they did not even get mad. They just let her keep on reading, and Iris did not want to stop. Each page was more exhilarating than the last. She had no idea at the time that this one moment would shape her childhood.
When she was eight, Iris won her own personal pod in a trivia contest held by her elementary school. The young girl studied ahead of time, taking pods from her parents when they were busy and reading what she could on the Meganet. Her studying paid off in the end. Iris was the only student who consistently knew all the answers to each question. When the last student answered her question wrong, Iris laughed in joy while everyone else sat silently around her, wondering what was so funny. The moderators looked up the other student’s answer and, sure enough, it was wrong just as Iris knew all along. As she stood up, ready to accept her prize, the young girl knew exactly which book she wanted to download first.
The History of Ancient Cultures: Volume 1.
Iris spent most of her time reading after that day. Even after completing the book numerous times, she would always go back to the beginning and start again. Three months later, the next volume had finally been converted to digital format and Iris could not have been more excited. She saved her money for the next volume weeks before it was released and waited for it to show up on the Meganet. When it finally came, the new book met all of her highest expectations.
She enjoyed all types of books, but in her mind The History of Ancient Cultures was the best. Iris would come home from school and go right to the pod and read until dinnertime. She did everything as fast as she could, from chores to homework, just to spend more time reading. As far as she was concerned, the more time she spent reading The History of Ancient Cultures, or another text, the better the day.
She also enjoyed spending time with her friends, but they were not as fond of reading as she was. At first she preferred books to the company of others but as she got to know others her age, she slowly began to prefer them instead. Often she and her friend Trace from down the hallway would play games in the transition zones, like wall tag or light chasers. He was a year older than her, a big kid, but very nice. He would sometimes get other kids involved in games too. Somehow he was always good at rallying others to play with them. She never had this skill and at the time never realized why he was so good at it. Slowly throughout the later years of her elementary school, she grew to like him and preferred spending time with him to anything else. But once middle school came around, Iris saw less and less of Trace as her parents wanted her to stay closer to home.
“You’ll hurt yourself playing with that boy,” Iris remembered her mother say. “Stay with us, stay inside.”
Her parents grew more and more concerned each day as she started to return with bruised legs, reddened elbows and scabs on her knees. When they could take it no longer, Iris’s mother made the final decision. The family moved away to another district on Level 5, leaving Iris with nothing but her books to keep her company.
At first this was fine. Iris enjoyed her books after all, but over time she realized that Trace brought out her ambitious side, a side of her that books never could. When she played with him, she felt like she was an adventurer out in the halls, like the legendary Sergeant McMulltin or the great Alpheus, Explorer of the Depths. With books she could only read about adventures, not live them.
It was only when Iris reached her third year in high school that she started to feel ambitious again. As the time came to choose classes for her third year, she made the decision to sign up for the history club. For once she was around people who had something in common. They were all there for the same purpose, to learn and have fun. Young Iris realized that she enjoyed being part of a group and slowly regained her lost confidence. By her 18th birthday, the teen was not only a major part of the history club, but also the founder of the school’s new chess team and a friend of many of the teachers.
It was as if she were the ruler of her own kingdom. But throughout history, all dynasties would eventually end, and sure enough Iris’s came toppling down. Though she did not know it at the time, as she took the high school diploma from the principle’s hand, she was exiting the world where she felt confident in herself and taking a step into somewhere she did not understand.
Despite wanting to continue a life of adventure, Iris did not go back to school after that, at least not right away. Her parents pressured her otherwise.
“Stay home,” she remembered her mother saying. “We’re your parents. You belong with us.”
While most of her friends went off to college, Iris returned home without a group to make her feel welcomed. At first she tried to relive the past with other activities like Meganet forums and gaming. But these were just substitutes that could not fill the gaps she felt in her life. Without Trace and the acceptance she felt from others, she slowly transformed back into the quiet, shy girl she used to be. As time went on, her ambitions faded away and she returned to her books. Staying at home was like a sickness and the longer Iris stayed the worse her illness grew.
So no mom, I won’t return your call, the teacher thought, frustrated by her memories.
For now she decided to put these old thoughts aside. It was time to focus on the present. Iris powered off her personal pod and stuffed it into her purse. She popped on some grey heels and grabbed a black blazer from the back of her desk chair that she had set out the night before. She folded it over her arm. For a few seconds she just stood still, but then she turned her body again and looked through the bathroom door to the mirror, checking to see how she looked.
I look like a lady alright, she thought. Her government-black hair came down to her shoulders, combed back nicely behind her head. The thin black skirt hugged her waistline, making the teacher appear thinner, but professional. Her fiery red blouse certainly stood out, contrasting the pale white walls of her stuffy apartment, not to mention the pale whiteness of her own complexion. It was easy to see the white of her skin even with the makeup, which added considerable color to her face. Everyone was pale in the station, especially those with European ancestry. But no one was paler than those of Nordic background, like Iris.
Her family name was Vitneskja, a title of Icelandic origin. Of those who believed in the truth of the world, few knew of Iceland, an island in the ocean inhabited by simple people. They may have been simple, Iris knew, but they were smart and educated.
She had studied the history of the island for quite some time, eager to know more about her roots. The Icelanders were always underestimated time and time again. Iris liked that. She hoped to live up to that tradition.
“Alright,” she said as she stared into the mirror, “time to go.”
With those words she turned, shut off the light and exited into the hallway. But she barely took two steps before someone interrupted her focus.
“What’s this?” said a voice to her right.
Iris turned down the hall to see her neighbor, Desmond. For the life of her, she could not remember his last name, but she knew it was something Korean. A rare ancestry in the Atlantic, she thought. It must make it hard for him to find a wife.
She quickly glanced down at his hand and was surprised to find a golden wedding ring wrapped around his finger. I guess there’s someone for everybody after all.
“Hey Desmond, just off to work,” she replied, caught a bit off guard. She turned back to her door, pulled it shut and locked it.
Desmond took a few steps towards her.
“Look at you all dressed up!” he said.
Iris felt herself blush, not out of f
lattery but rather embarrassment.
“I didn’t mean to be rude,” Desmond added. “I mean, it’s just good to see you all put together. I’m glad you’re getting out of your apartment. It’s good to see you out.”
“Thanks but it’s not really my style, you know?” Iris responded.
Desmond smiled and closed his own door. She did not know him very well, but as far as she knew, he seemed like a nice and honest man; although this opinion was based purely on brief casual encounters in the hallways.
“I know. I wasn’t trying to make fun. You look good. You don’t think so?”
Iris looked down at her clothes. She was not quite sure how to respond. What did she really think? The outfit was annoying to put on, of course, but Iris honestly didn’t hate the look. In fact as she thought about it, she realized there was a certain element of fun in being ladylike for a change. The idea made her smile. Perhaps she was genuinely warming up to it after all.
“I suppose,” was all she said back.
Desmond chuckled.
“Well I won’t bother you. Good luck at your job. I hear you’re working at a school now, right?”
Iris nodded. Word traveled fast in the station. She felt awkward knowing little to nothing about a man who apparently knew a lot about her.
“That’s right. I’m going to be a teacher,” she answered.
He slowly bobbed his head and lifted his hand, waving to her.
“That’s great! Have a good day,” he said as he turned around and walked the opposite direction down the hall.
Iris smiled. For some reason, talking to him just now made her feel good. She did not know why, but right now the why was not so important. Keep up the positive energy, she told herself. Make it a good day.
That morning, things were looking a little more colorful for the lady in red.
