Accidental Genesis |
![]() |
||
Copyright VidarGander |
![]() ![]() |
||
150, TechnologyAquarius managed to breathe normally at land. A little dizzy, he managed to rise and walk on the heavy ground. He could see animals that had adapted to the land environment. He had even heard of animals that could swim in the air, but never believed it until that day. Not only could they swim, but the speed and the maneuvering was far more advanced than any water swimming being. It made him wonder. Could land life possibly provide advantages in comparison to the sea life? That was an alien idea for an aquarian. One night there was a rainstorm. Aquarius did not care for any shelter because the rain was very welcome to him. He enjoyed himself much and thought his exile might not be that alien after all. That was until the first lightning stroke. Aquarius was shocked. He ran to a cave he had discovered earlier. For hours he was hiding in the inner areas of the cave. Feeling quite safe, he got used to the lightning and thunder outside. His curiosity made him go towards the opening of the cave and watch the phenomena. Every lightning and every thunder shock him every time. But the thrilling sensation made him stay quite comfortable. He remembered tales of events like this. But it was not taken much seriously. It was one of these alien surface events that they did not talk much about. Aquarius started to wonder what it really could be. The lightning was nothing like anything under the sea. Its forces seemed way superior to anything he had ever witnessed or heard of. He though he must have seen it all when the lightning stroke a tree nearby. The tree broke in two and caught fire. The rain did not put out the fire. The unpredictable lightning was a phenomenon out of reach. But this fire seemed controllable. He dare to go near and feel the heat and watch the flames. Finally he dared to put a stick into the flames to see what happened. He was thrilled when the stick caught fire and he got a flaming torch in his hand. He walked away and set fire to a bush. Ecstatic he danced to several bushes and set fire to them. Soon the fire spread and Aquarius realized he had no longer control of it. Getting frightened, then panic, he ran back to the cave again. From here he could watch another phenomenon that day, the wild flames that burned the island to the ground. The next day, he walked out of the cave to investigate the remaining of the night’s event. Death, wasteland and smelly smoke were horrifying to an aquarian. The fire did not spread to the entire island though. He soon found his way to more fruitful areas of the island. However, on his way out of the wasteland he realized he was hungry. The smell of smoke was not entirely discussing to him. In fact there were rather strong and delicate smells of burned berries and vegetables too. Curiously, he tasted several kinds of the burned food. The sensation was extraordinary. Used to only raw fish, seaweed and roots, this cooked food was quiet tasty. Later on, just for curiosity, he caught a fish and fried it to taste the difference. To his surprise, he found the fried fish tastier than the raw one. He also noticed that the burned tip of a stick could be used for drawing. After some testing he figured that dots and lines were all he really could draw. However, that was what he ever needed. He figured that he could make dots and lines like the luminous signaling, - which simply meant binary writing. Once he started, he could not finish until he had written all his events and thoughts on the cave wall. Finally Aquarius decided. He had become ready to face the public to state regret for his act. The potential of his new discoveries made the idea of redirecting sea streams minor. Aquarius went down to the seashore, picked up his communicator and started signaling. He had to wait a long time for the answer. The guards did probably not wish to see him again for a while. However, after two days, he received an answer that allowed him to return to the custody area. The stay in custody was not pleasant. The guards ignored him, the cell had no windows and he was bored. Even a visit from the safety committee was welcomed. Aquarius expected a clerk, but he received a much higher ranking officer. Even though the officer was dressed as a civilian, Aquarius could easily see through that. He had spent time with both kinds and knew several differences in their behavior. I am here to ensure your meeting with the committee, the officer signaled while giving Aquarius a communicator. First of all, I need to be certain, are you fully prepared to admit and regret to the committee. Yes, Aquarius replied clear. The officer was pleased. You are required to tell your side of the story to the committee. Just to be sure, can you please tell me your side of the story first? Aquarius was unprepared and felt uncomfortable about this. He knew he had no time limit though. So telling his whole story seemed to be best. Fortunately for himself, he had become very experienced with the communicator, due to his childhood fascination of technological tools. In fact he was one of the few that could make four signals simultaneously in parallel, which formed a whole symbol. Aquarius signaled; I got the idea after a whaling journey with my father. We took the ordinary long distant sightseeing tour. We visited the volcanoes and the icebergs. The guides were excellent. They told rather complicated things in a clever way, so even I, as a child, could understand the nature of sea streams. I thought about this every day since. Seeing the advantages in traveling, work, cleaning and so on, I became certain that there was room for improvements. A very useful one would be to direct minor streams to where they were needed most. For example, providing fresh water in polluted town, cleaning up the environment, get the stream to the sea mills; make routs to where we rather wanted to go, and so on. I swear, my intentions were good and I meant no harm. Unfortunately, it did not work, the officer signaled. Aquarius mood fell and he became sad. We could not control it as we thought we could, Aquarius continued. Getting the development committee to agree to the experiment was the hard part. However, when we got the clearance, people were very eager to help. So bringing a minor ice-berg to the town was not that hard. All it took was some whales with ropes attached between them and the ice berg. There were of cause some minor difficulties. I do not try to hide that. But everyone was excited when we managed to bring an iceberg near town. We let it stay at the side of the volcano, away from town. Then we simply waited for the effects to occur. And the effect certainly did, the officer added. Yes, Aquarius replied regretfully, but not until an officer commanded to move the iceberg. They were impatient and wanted results for the efforts that were made. So they decided to move the iceberg over the volcano and to the opposite side of the town. Once the iceberg passed over the volcano the hot stream was directed towards it and it started to melt. When the iceberg passed over the town the hot stream followed. Even when the iceberg was far away on the opposite side of the town, the stream was dragged towards it. Then the stream started to circle. The stream went up from the volcano, over the town and to the iceberg. Then it was cooled off and dropped to the bottom. From there it was dragged towards the volcano again. In this way there was a cold stream through the town. The officer interrupted. Consequently aquarians were freezing and had to move and the stream dragged things into the volcano. Even the mayor’s statue was melted to horrible shapes. Your story is far better than the reputations, though, the officer signaled. Actually, the reputations are bad. Maybe the exile was best for you, because the mob was uncontrollable for days. However, I think it is possible to get the committee to accept your regret and apology. You should stick to your story with one exception. Do not mention who ordered the removal of the iceberg. If you do this, I am pretty sure that it will work out just fine. There is a hidden side of the matter, though, that the public will not be informed about it. Aquarius was curious. The officer smiled and signaled; you were right. Aquarius waited. The officer continued, we have been experimenting in safe places. With some better planning, based on the knowledge, we can indeed direct sea streams for overall benefit. The committee accepted the regret and apology. Aquarius even added some extra regretfully phrases to be convincing. After the meeting the officer came to Aquarius. Aquarius was very excited. The officer asked, what made you change your mind so fast? We did not expect you to reconsider for a very long time. Previously, Aquarius had decided to keep his experiences from the surface to himself, but now that it all had such a lucky turn, he decided to tell. At the surface I experienced lightning and fire. The officer got serious. This I have heard of, but it is considered tales of Aquarians turned mad after spending too much time at the surface. It is true, Aquarius ensured. Well at least if you strip of all the sensational myths of the stories. The officer investigated Aquarius closely and said, not all Aquarians agree with me in letting you have another chance, you know. There is a relation, Aquarius added and caught the officer’s interest. The lightning makes fire and the fire can be controlled. This is a power with far greater possibilities than any power we know. We should investigate it further, - carefully, he added. Several days later, the officer came to see Aquarius again. He was cheerful, but somehow serious. The committee has considered your proposal and wants to know more about how you think it could be done. Aquarius was surprised. The way from exile to honor seems very easy. If we could build a tree at the island and put its root to a same place in the sea, I am certain that the lightning will follow that path to your site. If some wood is placed in an airy container, it might ignite like the tree at land, and burn. The officer thought about it. It did not sound that crazy after all. But I am not sure that the lightning will travel that far through the woody path, and I do not know what makes the lightning travel easiest, Aquarius added. The officer thought about it for a long while before he signaled, we know. With a mix of regret and excitement, Aquarius was sent to the surface of the island once again. He had to go through the painful adaptation to the airy environment. However, it was easier the second time. He was very surprised when he got to know that the ministry had started large scale metal production long ago. There were large deposits of iron core and melting it by the volcano was simple. A long cable was a simple product to produce. Soon the tree like ting of metal rose from the sea and became visible to the surface. A rope lay down across the island. He hooked one end of it and pulled the tree up to the island. Actually it looks like a dead pine tree. But who cared? The lightning certainly would not. Then he pulled the rope to the shore again and hooked it to the cable. When it reached the tree, Aquarius fastened the two pieces together. Meanwhile he knew that the officer’s staff had prepared the container by blowing air into it. There was large pile of wood had dried off for days. The other end of the cable was stuck long into the pile of woods. Everything seemed to be prepared exactly as planned. All they could do was to wait for lightning to strike. They had to wait for a long while, though. Meanwhile, Aquarius was allowed to dive down to the site and meet with the personnel. He felt quite happy with the new situation. Then one day when he traveled from the site to the shore he noticed something more beautiful than anything. It was a crystal that shone like a diamond in the striking light. He picked it up easily and brought it to his cave. He alternately played with it and wrote down the experiences of the day. One day, the clouds in the sky gathered. Aquarius knew a storm was coming and alarmed the officer. Aquarius was going to see to the situation at land while the officer had charge at the underwater facilities. There were periodic signaling between the two concerning status and progress. There was really nothing to report until Aquarius saw a lightning far away. They were both very exited, but a little disappointed every time it did not hit the tree. Then without any forewarning, lightning stroke the tree. Aquarius was shocked. The tree and the cable lit up for a second and the thunder came simultaneously. He was paralyzed. Instantly, the lighting hit the airy chamber under sea. The chamber exploded and pieces of wood flew all over. The cable detached and broke free. The officer signaled furiously, detach the cable. But Aquarius was at the shore and could not see the message. However, soon he went to the shore to ask the office for status. Then lightning stroke again. The cable swung like a whip in the sea, while lightning found its way out from the cable and to the iron ore. It exploded and rock flew away. Luckily, the water slowed the rocks and reduced the damages. Are you getting any action down there? Aquarius asked. Get it detached at once, was the reply. First Aquarius wanted to question the decision, but figured it might be unwise. He was disappointed and went slowly over to the cable to detach it. Then lightning stroke again. This time the cable swung so a building was between it and the ore. The lightning shot a hole in the building before it hit the ore forcefully. The officer swam up to the shore, but he could not dehydrate. He pointed the communicator directly at Aquarius and signaled furiously; get the cable detached at once. Aquarius saw his fury and ran to the cable. Knowing he was at risk, he did not dare to hesitate. Soon as the cable was detached, lightning stroke the metal tree again. However, this time it did not go underwater, but found its way to the ground. They knew it was safe for now. Aquarius asked, what happened? The officer replied; this is a mad power that never should have been taken to sea. You stay there, he added. Aquarius never saw the officer again. He did not enter the sea either. The guards made it perfectly clear that if he ever tried to enter the sea, it would be the last thing he ever did. Finally the aquarians will be safe, a guard added. |
|||