Humans 2.0

I woke up in a cold, steel ‘coffin’. I later found out this was not unusual, but at the time, there was nothing more frightening than waking up in a sealed container with no chance of escape, just waiting and hoping that someone will take you out of it.

Fortunately, someone did, and I found myself in the presence of the great Dr. Izimov. I knew about him from before I went into the ‘coffin’, but never thought I would be lucky enough to be one of the few who get to meet him.

He looked normal enough, nothing like one would imagine the savior of humankind would look like.

The man was examining me with great intensity, lifting my arms and legs one after the other.

“She seems in good health. Take her to the ‘WET room’,” the man spoke to an assistant that looked like a younger version of the doctor standing before me. He could well have been his clone. I had heard geniuses sometimes did that.

The assistant stood behind my bed, pressed some buttons and we were on the move. We passed corridor after corridor, lab after lab until we reached the final destination.

The assistant pressed some more buttons on the keypad located on the wall, scanned his face and retinas. A green light went off and then the doors swung open.

The ‘WET room’ was as one might expect quite literally wet and damp. The air was almost suffocatingly moist. But the true reason why it was called ‘wet’ was because of the huge aquariums covering each wall of this vast space.

“What are you bringing there, lad,” another man in a white coat appeared out of the blue.

“A new resident.”

“Ah, fantastic! Young this one. I thought we were only doing elderly for now.”

“She is a volunteer, besides, we had to branch out sooner rather than later. People her age are more adaptable, too.”

“True enough. Let’s see how well she takes to her new home then, shall we?”

The man started to lift me up and the assistant joined in. I had heard the first time after they release you into ‘The Deep’ was frightening, so they always helped you adjust beforehand in the aquariums.

We were standing right in front of the shoot, and I could see others like me, already more adjusted and used to their new bodies swim around and gathering to greet me at the entry of the initiation aquarium.

They are all quite elderly as I already knew. Not many young people would willingly give up their land lives just yet.

People are often skeptical of new things and this proposal that the great doctor made for utilizing the oceans was by far the most extreme suggestion for population control anyone had ever suggested.

What was even madder was that governments across the world really went for it and fully embraced the idea despite the majority’s protests.

Famine is a real threat and has been looming over all our heads for a few generations now. Temperatures are soaring, oceans are expanding, and more land is being claimed by water each year.

Naturally, the oceans were the next choice for humanity to make.

I was only seven when they first started building the underwater cities. My family was so dirt poor that with the money the government offered to each volunteer who wishes to populate these cities, they could live like royalty. It was another natural choice to make.

My whole family has already transitioned and now I was finally old enough to join them. Soon we will all explore the oceans together. We were even told that in the next fifty years, most of humanity will live under water, letting the surface and nature recover enough, so we can return in the future. What a time to be alive!

As the two men loaded me up inside the shoot the assistant pulled down a lever and a rush of water shot me out into the aquarium.

It was so disorienting at first. Everything looked the same, wherever I turned it was all blue. Up was down and down was up. When I finally got my bearings a kind, wrinkled face appeared in front of me smiling widely.

“Hi there, dear! Welcome! My! You are a young one,” the lady exclaimed and offered her webbed hand to me. She had pearl-like scales all over the outer part of her body too. It was beautiful to look at. She sparkled as the sunlight from outside hit different parts of her body. I was not sure I could move or talk just yet but tried anyway.

“Hello … It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nyx,” it seems as though I had regained some control after all.

“Nyx? How lovely! We did not expect they would send a young one so soon. There must be more and more volunteers these days. We expect old coots like us, you see. It is a bit sad to see young people in trials like these. What made you choose this life, Nyx?”

“You see … My family already went into ‘The Deep’ years ago. My mother was the last to go just three months ago and now I am old enough to join them. I have nothing left on land, so it was an easier decision to make than for most young people.”

“I see, yes, I suppose it would be. Excuse my bluntness in asking, but you must not have been too well off financially I imagine?”

“No … We were not…”

“I thought so … Hardly anyone is these days quite frankly. The land is on a definite decline, but after some of the population goes under water, I imagine things will change there too. You know who will always remain on land though right? The rich and famous … They always slip through the cracks, don’t they?”

The lady was not actually asking me, but I nodded anyway. She was right. We were an eye-sore and waste of precious resources up there and now that we were gone, their quality of life will start to improve again. No matter, I was never too attached to the land. I could not afford to be. I knew since the age of seven that I would be living the rest of my days in a new body and in a new world.

“What about you? Mrs …?”

“That’s right, I am married. This old fool there playing with a school of clownfish is my husband. My name is Dolores Chatsworth, and this is Frank,” the woman pointed to a grinning elderly man, who was indeed chasing some fish around the aquarium, and continued “It was an easy decision for us really. We are better off than most financially, but our old, achy bones were no good on land. Look at us now, we move like young, spry things again. What is not to like? But most of all we felt like we could do some good here in the twilight of our lives. Here we get to build a new civilization and help humanity 2.0 develop. We could even make history books. Wouldn’t that be something?”

The woman practically beamed with enthusiasm, and it seemed contagious. She was right, there was so much more energy coursing through my body in this new form, so much potential to grow and develop.

Apparently, we did not need air anymore, but could still exist on land if we chose to. We can see perfectly underwater and even in the dark now. We could survive on seaweed and fish and other sea creatures.

The sky-blue scales I had all over my body were helping me keep warm in the cold waters and protected me from attacks from sea predators. They were much thicker than the usual scales found on fish in nature.

Our webbing helped us move faster underwater, but also our stamina and strength were doubled from when we were normal humans.

Mrs. Chatsworth even told me of the city we were going to live in. It was one of the first built and where my family is meant to have gone to. It will serve as the capital of the new underworld and is called Poseidon’s Keep.

We would all be given mansions, filled with furniture and technology that copied the ones on land, only made suitable for underwater use. The city itself was under a dome, so no sharks or orcas can dip in and out grabbing newly arrived citizens.

We would also be given jobs in research and exploration. For that purpose, they do intense survival training in the ‘WET room’. I will learn to use my body properly and how to fight or run away from predators threatening my life.

On land, WE are the scary apex predators, but down here we are still quite low in the food chain, especially with our current numbers.

Dr. Izimov is the one who held the theory classes and the way he spoke about us, made me feel as though he deemed our next step in human evolution and the natural way to be.

He even implied that he would be joining our society soon enough, as soon as he has properly trained his younger self. I was right. The assistant was in fact his clone, to whom he planned on relinquishing his company and leaving him to run matters on land.

As everyone in the class stepped out of the study aquarium and moved to the relaxation one, I heard the two men talking.

“So, have you spoken to the analytics team? When are we reaching optimum population levels,” original Dr. Izimov asked his younger self.

“I did, they said we should keep recruiting for the next ten years and they want us to focus on getting younger ones in from now on.”

“I know we should, but they are still hesitant despite all promises of wealth and a better life.”

“We should consider something more radical to boost the population.”

“The population needs no boosting! It’s why we are doing this in the first place. I already scrapped this proposal, do not mention it again,” the older man all but shouted at his younger self.

“Exactly! There are far too many people out there, governments don’t even properly record the poor street urchins anymore. We can gather some from there.”

“Preposterous! I am in charge of this company, and I say what goes. Do not suggest this lunacy again you hear me, boy?”

“…Yessir…,” young Izimov gritted his teeth as he replied.

Whatever that conversation was about, young Izimov looked ready to snap the older one’s head off its shoulders.

Over the next few weeks, most of the residents in the aquarium had moved to Poseidon’s Keep and it was just me and the recently added volunteers. All from poor backgrounds, all elderly with one exception. One boy that looked no older than sixteen, just like me.

He took to the water like a fish. Barely any physical training needed. I had never seen anything like it.

He was exceptional in any other training too. I was jealous quite frankly. He only joined two weeks ago and already matched me in speed and agility. His name was Arturo. I tried talking to him when he first arrived, but he seemed content to be the silent, solitary type.

I did find out from others that the only reason he had joined is because he had had a devastating car crash accident months ago that left him with a broken body.

It was either he joined the new underwater civilization we are trying to build, or his consciousness gets uploaded onto a server and he lives a life online like most criminals and others who have had similar devastating incidents that cost them their bodies.

For a while, I pitied him, until I found out something else about the boy.

Arturo comes from a rich family on the surface, which would explain why he is so grumpy and antisocial here. He clearly looked down on us and that just will not do. We are all equals here.

“Hey, Your Majesty, feeling up for a race?”

Arturo turned around to glare at me after finishing a lap around the coral field.

“Do not call me that and no, I am not interested.”

“Hmmm, I thought you might be ignoring us since we are not addressing you by your proper title.”

“I am ignoring you because I doubt I have any interests in common with any of you.”

“And how would you know that? Have you spoken to anybody here,” he seemed to consider my words and then grew evidently angrier, but I kept pressing “Whatever, let’s just race. From here to the study aquarium.”

“And why would I just go along with what you say? What’s in it for me?”

“You get to rub it in my face if you beat me?”

“Juvenile things like that might be satisfying to you, but I need more of a reason.”

“Fine. What do you want then?”

“Hmm … How about the loser gets to be the winner’s gofer for a month when we arrive in Poseidon’s Keep? I hear servants are not provided. All my life I have had servants, you see, being ‘royal’ and all that. I could use help, especially when gutting fish.”

I am going to enjoy beating his ass so much. I will make him do the most derogatory things imaginable as my servant. Gutting fish will be the least of his problems.

“Fine. You are on.”

We began swimming as though being chased by killer whales.

My new muscles had never been tested like this before. Corals and little fish looked like colorful blurs in my periphery.

The rest of the blue world fell away as I focused entirely on the boy swimming next to me and how hard he was trying too. A small smile actually tugged at his corners. He was enjoying this as much as I was. I could not help but smile too.

I can imagine having a body that obeys you again must be an unimaginable relief, not to mention one that is an improvement over the previous in any physical aspect imaginable – speed, strength, flexibility, stamina, and even appearance.

By all standards, sea world dwellers were beautiful. I believe Dr. Izimov was not only an unparalleled genius scientist but a true artist as well.

He got handed a brush and a blank canvas and allowed to create his perfect society and was remarkably good at doing just that.

I could not wait to see the cities he had conjured into being. He even made female and male bodies equally strong and capable, forever eliminating inequality in his new world. What a visionary this man was!

As we swam past aquarium after aquarium, out of the corner of my eye I could see Arturo had somehow pulled a little bit ahead.

Impossible!

We were perfectly matched in strength and stamina, and I had so much more experience and training than him. This should have been in the bag. His smile was now a smirk as he looked back at me for the briefest moment before speeding even further ahead.

I had to get my head in the game. There is no way I am gutting fish and cooking for this little shit!

I had to cheat there was no way around it. Not my proudest moment, but it had to be done for the good of our new world.

I saw a connecting pipe that was usually used to pull fresh water from the outside into the aquariums, but that only happens twice a day and it was nowhere near the time for the second water change, so it would be empty. All pipes were connected, which meant this could be a direct shortcut to the study aquarium.

At first, it was a bit disorienting. The pipes looked like a steel maze, but in the end, I found my way and was quite confident I had arrived at the study aquarium when I saw a familiar figure.

Young Dr. Izimov was talking to a man clad all in black. I had a feeling this could be something, so I stayed hidden inside the pipe as a strained my ears to listen.

“Are you sure you have everything under control? None of this can ever get out.”

“Absolutely, sir. Targets have been marked. Ready to strike at your order.”

“Good. I only need the old man to leave for Japan tomorrow. Once he is out of the way, we will proceed.”

“Can I ask why you are in such a hurry, sir?”

“It’s none of your business really, but I am feeling generous. We need to get our numbers to grow as fast as possible. The sooner we can create an independent and strong society, the faster we can do away with the land-dwellers. This planet needs a break from humans, and we plan on providing it with just that, lieutenant.”

“You mean you will get rid of them all? As in genocide?”

“No, no. Nothing quite as dramatic. But when we become the majority, we can overthrow the people on land and make them join us whether they want to or not. We are clearly the superior species now, and they will come to see it eventually, but as it stands today, there is far too much opposition. The planet cannot take it at the pace we are moving forward with the transition. Things need to be sped up a little.”

“But, sir, what happens when Dr. Izimov finds out?”

“Look, the old man is fully committed to the plan. He just dislikes the methods. He thinks it’s ‘unethical’ to take children from their mothers, but I believe it necessary. We cannot build a stronger society with only these pensioners we have been getting. If we are to thrive, we need young blood. Like that Nyx girl and Arturo. Now, these are fine specimens. Have you seen how they swim? Their prowess and power? This is undeniably the future of mankind; don’t you think so lieutenant?”

“You are correct, sir. I am in full support.”

“Go on then, enough chit-chat.”

The two men parted ways and strode away in different directions. I just stood frozen there in complete disbelief as to what I had just heard.

They plan on stealing babies and children from poor mothers? Not only that but turning them into humans 2.0, without even their consent? This was beyond unethical. It was criminal. I had to tell someone.

“Cheater! I wondered where you had disappeared to. You couldn’t beat me fair and square, so you had to do sketchy shit, huh?”

Arturo appeared out of nowhere shouting at me, nearly scaring me out of my scales.

“Shut up, moron! They will hear us!”

“Who are they? Have you been eavesdropping on people?”

“Yes, I have, and what I learned needs to reach Dr. Izimov at once!”

“Whatever, I win by default. I will make sure to find you a nice French maid outfit as we get to Poseidon’s Keep.”

Just as I was about to slam his stupid face in the side of the pipe for making such a ruckus, Izimov Jr., came back running inside the lab and looked up straight at us.

“Arturo, quickly, swim away as fast as you can!”

I did not look back to check if he had followed me. I started swimming as fast as I could as young Izimov pressed a hand over his right ear and began issuing orders to his men.

All pipe entries began to seal off as Izimov pressed some buttons on the control panel, but I managed to squeeze past just as one slammed shut behind my retreating feet.

I swam like my life depended on it because it did. There was nowhere to hide. It was Izimov’s world. If he wanted me silenced, I would be. The only way I could survive this was to leave the aquarium and take my chances with ‘The Deep’ and all its inhabitants.

I swam to the Gate. It was sealed off when no new residents were being transported to Poseidon’s Keep, but I knew it could be opened from the inside if one tried hard enough.

It was a heavy gilded door, but with my current strength, I could manage to at least pry it open before Izimov can drop the steel shutters over it.

I could see it now, glinting in the distance.

I rolled my sleeves up as I neared it and swam straight for the huge lever on the right side of the Gate. Why was such a highly technologically advanced facility using pulley systems was beyond me.

Try as I might, the lever was not budging, not even an inch.

All of a sudden, I could feel an extra weight pushing down on the lever - Arturo’s. He had a crazed look about him and his clothes had laser singes on them. His right arm had been grazed and was bleeding.

“Stop gawking at me and push down on this bloody thing, will you,” he yelled, and I sprang back into action.

We both pushed and pulled, even jumped on the lever, but we had no momentum in the water.

“Hey, I have an idea. You go on top of the lever and push down. I will go under it and pull,” I suggested.

“Sure, might as well,” he said as tiredness pulled on his limbs. I took off my top and wrapped it around the lever for extra security and ease for pulling.

Through gritted teeth and strained muscles, it looked like my plan was working as the Gate started to creek and our efforts finally got rewarded as it was pried open ever so slightly, but just enough for our lean bodies to squeeze through.

And of course, as though on cue, Izimov’s goons arrived in their scuba gear. Laser guns started blasting all around us, missing my left leg by only an inch.

Arturo and I let go of the lever and headed straight for the Gate. Arturo got suck and I had to once more push.

He popped right out after my third kick to his side. Then it was my turn. Another laser shot missed my ear by a hair. Who was teaching these men to shoot? The Empire? I was glad for it though. Had they been any better, Arturo and I would long have been dead in the water with our bellies up.

As I squeezed in between the Gate and the frame, naturally, I got stuck too. It was Arturo’s turn to pull now. The boy pulled as though inside my body was his family’s inheritance.

We finally made it out and were now staring at the unknown ‘Deep’.

We were two teenagers, one wounded and beaten, both scared out of our minds and exhausted to near loss of consciousness. We were being persecuted, had no supplies, and had not completed our training.

To top it off, we now faced a new world where no help from anyone could be expected, surrounded by predators twice or thrice our strength and speed.

All we had is each other, and we hated one another.

What could possibly go wrong?