Akropolis

by H C Edwards

  “The world is much smaller, my friend. We have lost contact with all sanctuaries save three. We can assume the worst for the rest. For all we know Akropolis is the last bastion of mankind, the only hope left for our race. If we fall, then it will be as if we never existed. You have no idea the choices put before us, the sacrifices we’ve had to make…all for a chance of survival, for a continuation of our sentience.”

  “Sir?”

  “The council has been in deliberation all night. The chances of finding any breathing humans that could be recovered are very slim now.”

  Trey didn’t understand at first. While there might not be any humans left or ones that could survive the exposure long enough to make it back to their facilities, there was still a great number of synthetics that would have survived.

  While the QUBITS were made to resemble as closely as possible their human counterparts in all ways physiologically, they were made of much sterner stuff than the flesh and bone bodies they had previously occupied in life. They subsisted on protein supplements that resembled a type of gruel to assist the functioning of their biomechanical parts; however, they could go months without them before suffering major internal damage. But it was the radiation that would eventually get to them. There could be thousands of them that survived the tsunami but if they were exposed they wouldn’t last longer than a week.

  So why…

  And then Trey understood. The transports were built to withstand a lot of radiation but the length of time it would take to fly to New Charlottesville and back meant that the safety of those transports could not be guaranteed. There was the all too real possibility of malfunction before they made it back…and the truth was that the council was not willing to risk the transports for only synthetics.

  “But…” Trey groped for the words. “Those are people there…families.”

  “I know,” Councilman Talbot said softly.

  “We need to do something,” Trey said desperately. “Their quantum processor is in the vault. The backup power won’t last long. All those Cloud profiles will be lost if we don’t act soon.”

  “A matter of days, by our calculations.”

  “Then what the hell are we waiting for?”

  Trey couldn’t help the anger that leaked through his usually stoic demeanor. He was thinking of Manhattan, of Shai and Hannah and what could have been had there been less bureaucracy and more action.

  “The council has decided, Major, despite my most vehement protests.”

  Trey looked to Talbot with judgment.

  “So then what are we going to do…Sir?”

  The Successor

  Each time she laid eyes on the growing fields above the aquifer she felt a sense of wonder and joy. The view, nearly a thousand feet up, was most likely the reason for this. There wasn’t a sight like this that existed in the known world, not anymore.

  Once the translift left the lower levels of The Pantheon it opened up to the actual heart of the city, the massive underground ecosystem that was made possible because of the giant aquifer that had been discovered generations ago.

  Misao squinted at the flare of light that nearly blinded her. The ceiling of the underground ecosystem was composed of UV emitting panels, with every third panel projecting a mixture of yellow and white light to simulate what the workers would see in Akropolis at ground level.

  Moisture collected this high near the ceiling and formed a fogbank in areas that simulated cloud cover. The temperature sat at an even 77 degrees Fahrenheit with the humidity at 60 percent. Ideal for the soy beans and algae that was the basis for their food synthesizers.

  Once past the layer of fogbank the view really opened up. She could make out the rolling fields of soybeans and the patches of grass and flowers situated in between. Rock outcroppings bordered the small river that flowed in a continuous cycle from the upper lake that came up from the confined aquifer and down into the lower lake at the bottom slope of the ecosystem. This was known to them as Lake Algae, as nearly the whole of it was covered with the organisms.

  Up here it was easy to believe in a better world, a future that could one day resemble the earth of old. All they had to do was wait out the radiation, weather the storms. A few thousand years was nothing if they could stabilize the human population. For that they first needed food and water.

  When the lift approached the ground it slowed drastically until it rested gently on the rock pad, the glass doors opening. Misao stepped out and onto the softened earth.

  Paths weaved in between the fields at intervals so that the workers could cultivate and pick the beans. They wore full beekeeping suits and moved about with a speed that was almost lethargic. This was to prevent them from accidentally stepping on the insects that were the final piece of the food chain in Akropolis.

  Misao chose the main path that led to the lower lake and began the slow trek. She had to watch her feet as well. One insect might not have seemed so important in the days of old but every single one of them was precious in Akropolis.

  After a few dozen yards she started to feel perspiration break out all over her body. She paused for a few moments to put up her jet black hair, wipe the sweat from her brow, and continue on.

  Though she normally felt inclined to enjoy herself on this hike she was preoccupied with the impending meeting. While her plate was full of responsibilities, this was the one that had always made her feel content and more than hopeful. Now, she felt anxious.

  Though the translift she chose was the one closest to the lower lake, it still took her over an hour to reach the rocky banks where the dive shop was.

  It sat at the end of a short pier, a squat steel building about ten feet high with no windows and only a single red door. She could see a steel tube that protruded from beneath the pier and went straight down into the water. This was the dive tunnel that was pressurized to send a diver down below the hard clay barrier and to the confined aquifer, the lowest point the water reached.

  Stepping up to the door, Misao knocked sharply. It opened almost immediately and beyond it was the annoyed face of Wu Lin.

  "You're late," she said, already in a sour mood.

  This was normal for Wu Lin, whose patience was predicated upon everyone else's lack of punctuality.

  "Sorry," Misao replied, using a more magnanimous tone than she felt. "Something came up."

  She hated to use such a blasé response but it was one that never required further explanation. Council business was, after all, usually on a need to know basis and if she didn't elaborate then it wasn't anyone's business.

  And yet, Wu Lin stood there holding the door open with her body blocking the entrance, as if she was silently demanding more before access to the shed was granted.

  Misao had encountered this type of stubbornness more times than she could count. She wasn't technically a part of the council as of yet, but the fact that she had already been voted in as replacement for Councilman Talbot meant that she was afforded all the respect and accord of a sitting council member. Still, there were those, especially senior scientists and technicians whose research and projects had been active for decades longer than Misao had been alive, who were prone to treat her as an assistant rather than their superior.

  But Misao had been groomed well from Councilman Talbot, and she knew how to project strength and demand acquiescence at the same time.

  "I have much to do today, Ms. Lin," she said, her voice respectful but with a warning lurking within. "Let's get to it so I don't have to explain to the council why I am late with my report."

  That seemed to do it.

  Wu Lin stepped aside quickly.

  "I apologize," she said with a slight nod of her head. "It has been a stressful morning."

  When Misao passed the older woman she saw that two dive suits had been prepped and propped against the wall near the dive tank. She heard the door close behind her and immediately following, Wu Lin came around and began to peel off her clothes.

  "What..." Misao said, the anxiet
y she had experienced on the lift starting to rise. "What are you doing?"

  Wu Lin, a very short, older Asian woman with cheekbones so high they gave her a permanent squint paused in the act of squeezing her leg into the tight fitting dive suit and looked up with slight annoyance.

  "I explained in my message," she replied, as if that actually explained everything.

  As far as Misao recalled, the woman had simply stated that the aquifer had seen a drop of 2.1 centimeters since the previous morning's measurement, which meant there was a leak somewhere in the impermeable bedrock below the confined aquifer.

  Such a drastic drop was worrisome but more so when she realized that the second dive suit was obviously meant for her.

  "I...I didn't realize," she started to say.

  "I used the scanning equipment to pinpoint the leak," Wu Lin accounted, returning to the process of struggling into her dive suit. "I checked it out this morning. A localized tremor split the bedrock. It'll take both of us starting at each end to patch up the fissure with resin. Shouldn't be longer than half an hour tops."

  "I-I," Misao stuttered, realizing that she was starting to panic and it showed. "I've never dived before. I don't even know how to. And I don't know what you mean by patch it up. I'm here to assess the damage and...and..."

  "Report it back?" Wu Lin asked sardonically.

  She had her dive suit around her shoulders by now and was buckling her weight belts on while stuffing her feet into the dive fins.

  Misao lifted her chin, did her best to squash the rising panic, and mentally refused to budge in this respect.

  "Yes," she responded. "That is correct. If you have an assessment of the damage I can be on my way."

  Wu Lin paused and sighed deeply.

  "Look," she said, and this time Misao could see the lines of worry stretched across her face. "My assessment is that every minute we waste we are losing more water. I send you back with your report and tomorrow at some point some divers will show up and by then we will have lost another few centimeters or worse. This is a two person job, and unfortunately my assistant was requisitioned the other day to attend to artificial choral on the reservoirs up top, which means you are all I have right now."

  "But I've never dived," Misao repeated almost pathetically.

  She hated the whiny sound of her voice but couldn't help it.

  Wu Lin stopped her preparation and stepped over to stand in front of Misao. It would have been almost comical with the large flippers attached to her feet, but Misao was more concerned with other things at the moment, like being shot down the dive tube at thirty kilometers per hour to a depth of five hundred meters below the surface of the lake.

  "Look, it's not that bad," Wu Lin said cajolingly. "Have you ever been snorkeling?"

  Misao swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. She recalled a day at the beach with friends and swimming around the artificial choral of the reservoirs. It had been a relaxing day full of beach games and laughter and the occasional ten minute venture out into the lagoon to spy the different types of fish chasing each other around below the surface of the water.

  "Ok," Wu Lin continued. "It's like that. You just have to paddle your feet and point your head where you want to go. It's that simple."

  "But you said something about repairing the fissure with resin? I don’t know what that means or how to do that.”

  Wu Lin flapped over to another wall where a workbench sat. She snagged a pad propped on a stand and brought it over. She tapped the screen and a light green hologram projected from the center pad, showing a rectangular trunk with two hoses protruding from it, curled up in piles with nozzles that looked like small giraffe heads.

  “This is the resin dispenser. It’s already at the fissure. I brought it down on the cart about an hour ago. You just take the end, put it right in the fissure, and squeeze the handle. You’ll feel and see it filling up enough to know when to move it on.”

  “Why didn’t you just repair it when you were down there?”

  This time Wu Lin actually chuckled.

  “The pressure down there tends to build up in the fissure and starts popping out the resin about halfway through. If you start on the opposite end we should be able to finish before that happens.”

  “Ok, that’s a really good answer,” Misao said nervously.

  “It was a good question,” Wu Lin replied. “Now let’s get you ready.”

  Misao nodded and allowed the other woman to lead her by the arm. Once next to her suit, she started to strip off her clothes. With Wu Lin’s help she wiggled herself into the suit. It felt tighter than she expected, as if it were built for a smaller person.

  When she had the weight belts attached and the flippers on her feet, Wu Lin finally handed her the full facial helmet. A silicone neck piece molded to the dive suit to seal it and the mouthpiece converted water into oxygen, with a full glass face that had a 360 degree view. A strong luxim plasma light was attached to the top of the mask.

  Wu Lin helped strap the helmet on Misao. When the neck piece touched the top of the suit it automatically sealed. Misao heard a slight hissing sound and tasted metallic air as the suit inflated slightly as it pressurized, pulling away from her skin and making her feel like she was floating inside of her own suit.

  “We have comms in the helmets,” Wu Lin said. “I can hear anything you say and vice versa.”

  She helped Misao to the edge of the dive tank.

  “You’re going in the tank first.”

  Misao backed up and started to argue but Wu Lin’s steady hand kept her from going far.

  “I don’t trust you to go after me. You jump in first, keep your arms crossed over your chest, ankles together. I’ll follow after.”

  Wu Lin bent over and opened the circular seal to the dive tank. The tunnel was as wide as three people and descended almost straight down into darkness.

  Misao realized she was breathing so hard that her mask was starting to fog up. She closed her eyes for a moment and focused on her respiration.

  Deep breath in, slow exhalation.

  She did this a few times as she watched Wu Lin flip open a panel next to the dive tunnel. There was a number pad where the older woman entered a six-digit code that started a generator somewhere that made water explode form the vents at the top of the tunnel. Within a few seconds it looked like a giant toilet swirling away into the abyss.

  Wu Lin stood and gripped Misao by the shoulders.

  “Remember,” she nearly shouted over the cacophony of water. “Body straight, arms crossed over your chest, feet together!”

  “Ok!” Misao shouted. “I just really wish we’d talked about this a bit more!”

  Wu Lin smiled at her.

  “On three, you jump in feet first!”

  The older woman held up one finger, then two, then three, and then applied an abrupt push that forced Misao to follow through on her own with both feet.

  She did as she was told, hands across her chest, feet pressed together, straight as an arrow. The rushing waters enveloped her body and forced her down at such a speed that she could feel her stomach tickling her throat.

  Her eyes were closed for the first few seconds, teeth grit so tightly she could feel them grinding against each other, but her innate curiosity wouldn’t allow her this fearful response for long.

  After being buffeted around the tunnel for a bit she had to open her eyes lest her nausea cause her to throw up in her mask. She wasn’t even sure if there was anything she could do in that instance, but the fear of drowning in her own vomit made her choke down the bile that threatened to rise.

  Even with her eyes open and the headlamp on she could barely make out anything besides the rushing water flowing all around.

  Masao had a moment where she wondered how long the trip could possibly last, when without any warning her body was ejected from the end of the tunnel and into the bottom of the lake, turning head over heels as her arms waved about frantically for any kind of purchase.


  She felt as if she were in a freefall through space. Her mouth opened to shout her distress, but was abruptly cut short when she slammed her back into the bedrock, knocking the wind out of her, causing stars to twinkle in her vision.

  When the air finally rushed back into her lungs and chased away the grey fringes encroaching upon her vision, it was all she could do to keep from hyperventilating. She instinctively started to claw at her mask, desperate to free herself of the confining apparatus.

  "Stop that!" Wu Lin's angry voice shouted in her helmet.

  Misao immedately ceased her struggling as if on cue.

  "Turn your head to the left and look at me," the older woman said again, no longer angry but commanding.

  Misao did as instructed and saw Wu Lin bathed in the light of her headlamp, floating above the bedrock.

  "Put your feet under you and paddle to me. I need to check your suit. My readings say you have a leak."

  "A leak?" Misao panicked.

  "You're fine, just get over here."

  Misao put her feet down on the bedrock below her and pushed off. She then paddled lightly over to the older woman.

  The glow of their lamps cut through the jet blackness, but beyond ten yards it was as if a veil had been dropped.

  "Spin around in a circle slowly," Wu Lin said, nodding her head up and down so that she could use her headlamp to inspect Misao's suit.

  "Ok, stop. Lift up your right arm and place it on your head."

  Misao did as she was told, struggling to keep her breathing normal, feeling as if there wasn't enough oxygen. She watched as the older woman unzipped a bag clipped around her forearm right above the curved screen that served as scanner and GPS, and withdrew a small roll of what looked like tape.

  Wu Lin peeled a four inch strip and tore it off, then applied it to Misao's side, holding it there for a couple of seconds. Misao heard a slight hissing sound that was gone as soon as it started. The fog that had built up around the edges of her mask disappeared and she realized with vast relief that she was able to breathe normally again.