There appears to be no soul behind
the empty gaze of a fish, for its eyes do not question, they do not fear, they
simply do their job. They see what no one sees. They see the havoc we create.
There’s a soul in every creature, I suppose.
Much like atoms, we can not see them, but they are there. They encircle matter
as smoke does, rising into the heavens when their earthly bodies become merely
embers and pass away. At least, that’s what Grandfather had taught me. His
ideas contradicted those of everyone else within the dome; he always told me
“Gail, they are ignorant people. They don’t believe in life.”
My
thoughts seemed to fade into a blur as I traced the imperfections that streaked
the desk in front of me. Or rather, they weren’t imperfections, really. Merely
they are patterns that can be studied on the surface of cut wood. Swirls and
currents of richer browns enveloping the beige shade of “oak”. It was something
that never failed to grab my attention.
The dancing
shadows and lights created by the water on the other side of the glass wall
seemed to embrace my arm; a sleeve of invisible life, absorbing its power from
an indirect source. Looking up at the ceiling, I took a moment to admire this
space I resided in. The ceiling was a smooth, high-tech concrete which helped
to maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the room. The wall beside me
was glass, seven inches thick, but specially made to withstand the pressure at
those depths with ease. On the other side of the wall, seen clearly through its
transparency, were the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
An aquarium was at the center of the room, a cylinder that extended from the
ceiling to the floor. It was the rooms only light source. In it was one animal:
a nautilus.
Grandfather and I
deeply valued that small, intelligent cephalopod. Long before I was born, he
discovered where nautili laid their eggs on an expedition to the reefs of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It was a mystery before then, and
it’s a mystery to many still. In his personal effort to protect the nautili,
coveted by many for their precious shells, he kept the coordinates disclosed
within the TERC. This way, no one could disturb their breeding. Many have
searched, and still no one has rediscovered it. Grandfather never even told me
the coordinates, although he trusts me with his life. His response was
peculiar. “The time is right when it’s in your hand.”
On the desk beside
me were fossils and specimens that pulsed and glowed. A small machine with an
even smaller current generator was switched on, the plankton within it glowing
as they collided with one another in the currents and whirls of the churning
water. I admired it, and often I watched the glowing creatures for long periods
of time. Grandfather’s office rarely bored me.
“Gail?”
The footsteps were all too familiar.
Swiveling
the seat around, I caught Grandfather’s gaze. His eyes were wrinkled, knowing,
and green. Green as if they had been grown in the soil and positioned into his
face. They had seen many years, and his arms were old but rather toned. His
hair not lost, fell as dry, brittle, gray strands on his shoulders.
Grandfather’s clothes were always charcoal or tan, with that same button-down
coat every day. Regardless of the temperature, that long coat was always on his
shoulders, completely buttoned, and secured tightly by the attached belt. To
take his coat was to risk your life; he protected it fiercely.
“Yes?”
He
pointed a wrinkly finger into my face as he pulled up a rolling chair. “I, for
one, have made a remarkable discovery.”
“Will it help us?”
“Certainly.
With what I have found, they must fund the expedition now.”
The
onshore expedition. He had been planning that adventure for nearly a decade. He
would pour over construction designs, notes, and yellowing documents into the
latest hours of the night, into the early hours of the morning, even into noon.
I would walk around the dome as he slept for many hours, his old soul catching
up on the precious rest that he had pushed aside.
“Did
you find a law; something that would force them to fund us?”
He
stared at me for a moment. “You have a genuine concern for this program, Gail,
and I have always deeply appreciated it. With that said, I would like you to
know that I have found a remarkable piece of evidence that suggests that these
council members have been breaking various codes for quite some time, now. I
think I can crush them under the authority of the High Court.”
“What
codes?”
“I
found out from one of their secretaries that they have been denying funds for
repairs from the dome maintenance team. That in itself is breaking a code.”
“We
have a chance.” I was beginning to get excited. “The High Court can fire them
now. But that doesn’t entirely fix our issue.”
“You’re
right, Gail, it doesn’t. And that is precisely why I set out to find something
else.”
“What?
What did you find?”
“I
found this.” He said. His hands reached far into his coat and retrieved a bulge
that slid toward his neck and up through his collar. It was an old book, small
and compact. He placed it on my lap. “Read the title.”
“Codes
and Honors: The Pacific Councils” It read. Twelve faded names listed below
the title; the original writers, perhaps.
I
began to fidget somewhat. “You stole this, didn’t you?”
“Heavens,
no. Thievery is certainly not in my vocabulary.”
“You
just spoke the word.”
He
stared me down, amused. “How could you doubt the morals of an old man? I have received
it from the secretary, she of which who had also revealed the information I
have previously explained to you. She, for one, is on our side.”
“That’s
good, I suppose.” I wasn’t sure what to do with the book.
“Look
at article U618.” As if reading my mind. He opened the front page for me. “It presents
the code that we’re interested in.”
I
searched through the book, small, but thick it was. It was divided by chapters,
one per letter. Each chapter comprised of several hundred codes, pages
determined by the first code on each page. Each letter was assigned to
different types of court cases, broken further into hundreds of tiny numbers
for specific situations pertaining to each case. I was hopelessly confused at
first. Of course, the council was not required to memorize this book, only to
use it as reference. The first few pages explained some basic rules for the
council to follow, followed by the contents and then the endless sea of letters
to be scoured through. U618 was one of many pages dedicated to research
funding.
“I
found it.”
“618?
U?”
“I
think so.” The lettering was extremely small. “Yes, I have.”
“Read
it aloud.” His voice had an authoritative demeanor to it.
“Code 657 of page U618: All funding requested
for research purposes, provided with substantial evidence by a professor and
doctorate degreed official of the T.E.R.C (Terrestrial Expedition and Research
Campaign) must be funded immediately for the sake of the original purposes for
establishing research in P1, P2, P3, respectively continued through P11 within
six-month time span. Code violations call for immediate consequence, hence
council officials present during hearing will be prosecuted accordingly under
the authority of the High Court (Federal Pacific Law).”
“Continue.
There’s more.” Grandfather urged me.
“Consequences
for violations of code U657 of page (encoded) U618 will result in all of the
following. Highest position in council will be removed from seat, payment for
research team will double in amount upon request, and all council members
present during hearing will be punished according to case involvement under
judgments of the high court.”
“Splendid,
isn’t it?” Grandfather gestured toward the book. “Not only will we receive our
coveted money, but our payment will double in amount.”
“How
on earth did you find this?” The book was long and complex, he couldn’t have
possibly scrolled through it all.
“The
secretary was present in the office when the council returned from our hearing.
They referred to the book, cursing and swearing over it, and openly stating in
her presence how they did not want any of our hands on it.” He leaned back in
the chair, no longer tense. “It was foolish of them considering how they
treated the lady. And after they left the room, she made a phone call to my
office, as she explained, and I did not pick up. I hadn’t returned to the
office yet.” He coughed. It took him a couple of moments to regain his
composure. He pulled himself upright and continued. “Next morning, she arrived
at my door with the book. She apologized for not providing me with the computer
access, for she was restricted for that under law, but she was allowed to
reveal the book to me. She told me which page to refer to and if I needed any
guidance to contact her promptly.”
I
was dumbfounded. “But why would their trusted secretary just place the book on
your doorstep? That’s ridiculous.”
“She
explained her reasons to me after I welcomed her into our office for some
coffee. I wanted to retrieve a little more information, for obvious purposes.”
He looked out into the glass walls of our office, as if absorbing the memory
from the passing fish. “She told me that
she hadn’t received her pay-check from those scoundrels for a period of time,
and the council would not give her any reasons to justify it. When she finally
did receive pay, it wasn’t the pay she was expecting. It was lower. As any functioning
human would be, she was angry.” He paused, I suppose, for emphasis. “Only hours
after her pathetic payment had arrived, she explained that the council members
walked in from our hearing at the wooden room. With their apparent panic upon
referencing to the codes, she came up with the idea to involve us in forming a
case against them. Imagine the charges their numerous violations would bring!”
He sipped from what was perhaps his eighth coffee that day. “Of course, she
couldn’t represent her position in court alone, so she presented the evidence
to me straight on my doorstep. She needed us to help her. Because of this, as
you know, we have a truly good chance at getting our payment once and for all.”
“When
will the trial be held?” I had no remorse in asking so many questions,
Grandfather always encouraged it.
“It
could be months, it could be days. We first need to organize all of the
evidence, gather information, and schedule the trial.” A shadow covered the
room. It was a large ray swimming on the other side of the wall, his gill slits
and odd mouth pressed against the glass. Grandfather resumed speaking. “If the
court is booked, it might be awhile.”
“I
can’t believe we didn’t know about these codes before. I thought the council
funded out of mere judgment, but mandatory funding? That’s splendid!”
“It
is. My fathers before me only dreamed of heading onshore, now it is a reality.”
“Why
don’t you think they want to fund the actual expedition, though?” I asked.
“They funded the research, why don’t they fund the expedition?”
Grandfather
looked at the nautilus, happily feeding on the suspended crab meat in the cage.
“Power, Gail. It’s power.”
“They’re
afraid that once we head onshore, there will be no purpose for their power any
longer?”
“They’re
afraid because they know it. It is written that once we return to land, the old
system of government will return.”
“That’s
why they’ve been putting up such a fight.”
“A
decade, Gail. Ten years of stress and frustration because of their lust for
power.” His eyes cast down. “And a battle still looms ahead.”
“We
need to call Adam. He’ll be able to help us out.” Adam was another student of
Grandfather’s. He’d been with the TERC as long as I have, and I considered him
my closest companion since early childhood. “I failed to tell you he has a new
specimen from P4 you might wish to see.”
“Does
he? Well I suppose we should ring up the young man.”
Grandfather
stood up from the chair. As I imitated, I could feel the blood rush from my
head. We must have been sitting for quite awhile. He glanced at the clock on
the desk and sighed.
“Contact
Adam for me, will you? I need to head back to the dark room. Greg’s got a new
set of photographs I promised I’d look over. Probably another set of sponges.”
His eyes cast to the floor. “Greg adores sponges.”
Greg
was just another member of P2’s TERC. He was nearly Grandfather’s age and had
an obsession with things that couldn’t move; hence why he loved sponges.
“I’ll
call Adam.” I said. “He should be at the crop house around this time.”
“Very
well. Call me when you’re finished.” He slid the book back into his coat. “I’m dreadfully
curious, now. The boy never fails to find something interesting for me.”
“That’s
because there’s always something interesting to be found.” I said. “And Adam
knows that.”
Chapter 2:
It
took me a good half hour to reach the outside of the office building: My
tribute of sorts to the dome’s monstrous scale. I pushed through the screen
doors and inhaled the smell of moist vegetation. It was always a welcoming
scent after spending a week in the office building. And since the semester was
over, and it was break, I spent most of my time in that building with
Grandfather. I didn’t mind, because marine sciences excited me, and anything
was better than school.
I
pulled out my tablet and requested a transport vehicle to be ready for me by
the market, located a mile from where I was standing. It was the only pick-up
point I ever used, because it was the only point that provided any convenience
for me at all. Grandfather told me that a long time back, when the domes were
being created, that the pick-up points were spaced very far apart to help cure
a disease called obesity. He told me that the more people moved the more it was
cured. I never learned about it in school, because it was not a contagious
disease and no one had it at the time.
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