“This is where most of our research happens,” said Julia. “We’re investigating everything from ocean acidity, salinity levels, to methods for extracting resources from the sea bed, and even ways to improve the sustainability of the entire operation.”
“Well I never doubted for a second that you were a hard worker,” said Leon.
“We’re actually short on manpower, always,” said Julia. “If you don’t mind, it would be nice to have some help with some of the more hands on, brute force tasks we have on our plate.”
“Of course,” he replied.
Julia led him back outside, and they headed over to a grouping of buildings on the far edge of the inside of the dome. There were two larger ones, and at least a couple dozen smaller domiciles in rows behind them.
“This is the main meeting hall and cafeteria,” said Julia, pointing. “And that’s our recreation and simulation center. It’s the only place in Project Cobalt that serves a non-scientific purpose.”
“Sounds like where I’ll be spending most of my time,” Leon joked.
Julia stepped up to the entrance of the meeting hall and pulled the door open. It was surprisingly spacious inside, with rows of cafeteria style tables and at least twenty or thirty residents eating dinner. She walked over to a kitchen counter with treys and some cafeteria workers behind it, and Leon followed her.
“Hey Jamie,” she said to a woman working in the kitchen. “Meet my son, Leon.”
“Oh wow, I didn’t realize he’d be arriving today,” said the woman. “Nice to meet you, Leon. I’m so sorry about your father. He was…a good man.”
“Thanks,” he said. “And it’s nice to meet you too.”
His mom encouraged him to load up a plate with food, and he did, feeling his hangover in remission and his hunger back in full force. The two of them headed over to a table and sat down. Leon noticed that he appeared to be the center of attention, and tried to ignore it as he began to dig into his dinner.
“Don’t take it the wrong way, sweetie,” said Julia. “Visitors down here are essentially non-existent. Give it a day or two and the novelty will wear off.”
“To be honest, I’m not complaining,” he replied.
A tall woman with piercing green eyes and short blond hair smiled at Julia and walked over to their table. She sat down in one of the nearby chairs with a confidence that told Leon what he needed to know before she had even said anything.
“You must be Leon, our new arrival,” said the woman. “My name is Elizabeth. I’m the Project Cobalt Operations Manager here inside the dome. I’ve gotten to know your mom, and your dad, rest his soul, quite well over the course of the last month.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” he replied. “I’m grateful to be allowed down here, this is a rough time for my family. I’ll help in any way I can with the project.”
“I appreciate that, Leon,” she said. “There’s more than enough work to go around. Come find me tomorrow morning and we’ll add you into the fold.”
He nodded, and the tall woman walked over to his mom. The two of them whispered to each other for a moment, and then she walked back towards the table she had been sitting at before.
“What was that?” asked Leon.
“Oh, nothing honey,” said Julia. “Come on, if you’re done with your food, we should head back to my domicile for the night.”
The two of them walked outside of the meeting hall and over towards the rows of small habitats that Leon had noticed before. Julia stopped in front of one near the back, close to the edge of the dome, and unlocked the door.
“Here we are. I shared this one with your father, but he was barely ever in it. Most of the time he would just sleep at his work desk in the science station.”
She stepped inside, and Leon followed behind her. He was surprised by the efficiency of the setup, which had a small kitchen, living room, a bed, and a bathroom, almost in the style of a one bedroom apartment, except much nicer.
“This place looks great, mom,” he said. “I can see how the Blue Vision Corporation managed to get so many people to sign on for this mission.”
“It’s a small perk, but a perk, nonetheless.” Julia yawned, and sat down on the bed. She patted the spot next to her. “Come over here, sweetie. We haven’t really had a chance to be alone yet today.”
Leon walked over and joined her. His mom was silent for a moment, and she looked at him with eyes that made Leon feel confused, and hot. Julia leaned in towards her son, letting her large breasts rub against the side of his body.
“We’ll have to share the bed, honey,” she said. “I hope you’re not too put off by the idea of climbing under the covers with your stuffy old mother.”
“Mom…” said Leon. “I should probably…just sleep on the couch.”
She set her hand down on his thigh, and Leon felt his cock begin to stiffen and ache for attention. Julia rubbed her hand back and forth, letting her fingers draw closer to his package, and Leon couldn’t help but let out a soft, guilty moan.
“Baby I just want to take care of you,” she whispered. “You came all the way down here for me, let mommy do something for you.”
Her palm came to a rest right on top of Leon’s hard rod, and he almost gasped with pleasure. Julia quickly began unzipping his pants, and reaching her fingers down into his boxers. Her touch was warm, and caused a shiver of pleasure to run up Leon’s spine.
“Mom, you can’t,” he whispered. “I mean…this, this isn’t right.”
Julia ignored his appeal to logic and reason, and started to work his cock out through the flap of his underwear. Leon wanted nothing more than to let him stroke him, and bring him right to the brink and past it, but he couldn’t. There was too much guilt and shame involved in the act, and no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t rationalize it away.
He stood up and fixed his pants, his face blushing hot red as he looked at his mom.
“I’m sorry, mom,” he said. “This…it’s not okay. What would...dad think?”
“Honey, you don’t understand,” said Julia. “It was never like that between your father and I.”
She stood up, and stepped close to him. Leon flinched back, thinking for a second that she was going to try to make another move on him, and not knowing whether or not he’d have the willpower to be able to stop him. Instead, she brought her face close to his ear and spoke quiet words into it.
“I didn’t want you down here to just help out with the project, Leon,” she whispered. “I need emotional support. I need you to help me get through this, to comfort me, and help keep me safe.”
“Mom, I-“
“It’s okay sweetie, you’re my son, and I’m your mom, no matter what.” Julia kissed him on the lips, and the action seemed to make the words she had just spoken seem dirty and illicit. Leon wanted her, as ashamed as he was to admit it, but his confusion was almost paralyzing in its power.
She didn’t say anything else, and climbed into her bed. Leon thought about joining her for a moment, but instead, he made his way over to the couch in the living area and collapsed down on top of it. Sleep did not come quickly, that night.
CHAPTER 4
Leon only managed to doze off for a few hours before his mind forced him back into a wakeful state. He could hear Julia’s gentle breathing coming from the bed. The room was dimly lit, with the shadows cast across the floor reminding Leon a little of his apartment back on the surface.
He quietly got out of bed and made his way outside. He was surprised to see that the upper ring of lights had been dimmed, making the dome close to as dark as it might be on a typical night back up top. Leon walked across the area that his mom had shown him before, all the way over to the far side of the dome.
Leon stood in front of the shell and ran his hand across the material. It felt almost like glass, but sturdier, and colder. He could see dark shapes moving in the water on the other side, some of them small, and some of them larger. There was an entire world out there, and he
could only see the vaguest hint of it.
“It’s made out of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic matrix.” Leon turned, and saw that there was a woman walking towards him from the recreation center.
As she got closer, Leon noticed her more. She was younger than most of the other scientists he had seen, about the same age as him. She was short, and had a modest figure, smallish breasts and toned hips.
“My name is Kimberly,” she said. “You can call me Kim.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Leon, I came down on the transport earlier today.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. We don’t get new faces around here very often.” She walked over to him and leaned against the dome next to him. The two of them were silent for a moment, and then he turned towards her.
“Can I ask you something, Kim?” He looked at her, and she smiled and nodded back at him. “This entire operation, it just seems so…grand, almost ludicrous in its scope. What’s the endgame here?”
“Wow, Leon, you jump straight to the point, don’t you?” Kim seemed interested in him in a curious sort of way. “A lot of the funding for Project Cobalt came from small island nations, places that consider themselves to be at high risk when it comes to the rising sea levels. If their land gets swallowed up by the ocean, there will be nowhere for them to move to, at least nowhere unclaimed by other countries.”
“So this is a sneak preview of the world of the future, then?” he asked her. “It kind of reminds me of a space station, a proof of concept along with lofty promises.”
“The difference here is that it’s actually happening. The Japanese government is building another dome a little bigger than this one a couple of kilometers away from here. Within traveling distance by submersible, or even on foot if you’re wearing a WAVE suit.”
“A WAVE suit?” Leon asked. Kim just looked at him and smiled, clearly amused by his ignorance.
“You’ll be introduced to one of those soon enough,” she said. “I think that will probably be part of the work you’ll be doing. I’m the station communicator for expeditions, so we’ll be working together if you do end up putting one on.”
A large, dark shape moved quickly in front of where they were looking outside of the dome, and Kim let out a frightened squeal. She jumped back a little, and it was Leon’s turn to be amused.
“Scared?” he asked. The scientist rolled her eyes and then shot him an exaggerated glare.
“It seems a little strange to me that they’d send somebody down here that was afraid of sea monsters…” he said. Kim blushed a little, and gave him a playful swat on the shoulder.
“You are a pain! Julia’s going to have her hands full.” The two of them shared a laugh, and then it was silent again. Kim looked over at him as though she had something that she wanted to say, and after meeting her gaze and nodding, she stepped closer to him and crossed her arms.
“Your dad…I just think you should know, he was an amazing guy. One of the few people I really liked, and could talk to down here in the dome.” she said. “He was really focused on his research. To tell you the truth, I think the stress is what took him out. I never saw that guy take a break, he focused on his research in a way that bordered on obsession.”
Leon nodded, and was surprised to find a strange surge of sadness and nostalgia flood over him. Her description of his father perfectly matched the one he had in his mind, and he remembered feeling the same way about him throughout his childhood.
“What was he researching, anyway?” asked Leon. “He never talked about it with me, not that we spoke all that often…”
“It was all very secretive,” said Kim. “He was one of the independent scientists here on the station. He mostly did his own thing, and seemed to have independent funding.”
Leon stepped away from the dome, and tried to shift his thoughts elsewhere. He had never really known his father, he realized, and apparently neither had anyone else.
“Anyway, I have to head back to my domicile,” said Kim. “It’s the one in the row closest to the meeting hub, all the way over on the side closest to the dome. You should drop by sometime, I like talking with you.”
Leon nodded, and the female scientist watched off, her hips swaying from side to side girlishly with every step that she took. He looked back out into the darkness outside the dome for a moment, marveling at what lay out beyond the composite shell. All he could see were vague, unidentifiable shapes, and it felt a little like trying to see the stars or moon on an overcast night.
He made his way back towards Julia’s house, thinking intently as he went. He was curious about what Kim had said about his father’s research, and wanted more than anything to know more, and to gain some insight into what had preoccupied him during his last days.
Leon stepped quietly into the domicile, and made his way over to a small desk in the corner of the living area. He moved slowly to avoid waking Julia, and began to open up the drawers of the workstation, looking for anything that would shine light onto the situation and satisfy his interest.
It was mostly full of books, and none of them seemed to be topical. There was a piece of paper, really just a small scrap, but it had a couple of words written on it that caught his eye.
“Ancient…civilization,” he muttered. Julia stirred in her sleep and let out a tired moan.
“Is everything okay, honey?” she said, half asleep.
“Yeah mom, I’ll turn in soon,” he said.
Leon found himself having trouble believing that those words could have anything to do with his father’s obsession. This was the same man that had always advocated looking at the facts and trusting in science over belief. He wondered if his dad had changed in the years he’d been away, and stumbled into ideas that had fueled his emotions into chasing after them.
He sat back down on the couch, and thought about it for a while. Then, without realizing it, he drifted off to sleep.
Depths of Desire by Anya Merchant
Lost Memories (Forbidden Romance) Page 15