After The Flood

“As fall came to the ‘midwest’ that year, a region in the middle of what was once known as the United States on the ‘continent’ of North America, so had rain and lots of it. This was not entirely uncommon, as weather patterns shifted in cycles that the landfarers called seasons”. Ms. Price paused, pointing to somewhere in the middle of the oddly shaped land mass on the left side of the paper map.

“Who can remind me what a continent was….anyone?” A tall boy with dark skin, and contrasting blond hair and freckles recited the answer they had been taught many grades before to the delight of their new, overly enthusiastic teacher. The students' pencils moved taking down all the information before the upcoming test.

“Now, as far as we know today, the flooding began in the late 2080’s following some experimental projects in terraforming the very dry areas of land called deserts. Deserts were areas where very few plants and animals could survive because of the hot weather and lack of water.Very few people were able to live there, she quickly added checking her notes.

“If you look at this photograph that we are lucky enough to have on our very own Barge City #33, you can see the vast hills of sand in this desert. She looked excited and proud as she handed it to Dia to pass around. The students knew to be careful when passing around a relic this old, even if it was under 2 inches of plastique to protect it.

The photo showed a panoramic view of golden yellow hills of sand reaching as far as the lens could capture. In the front of the photo was a man in many layers of colorful clothing holding onto the leash of a pet, an animal that reminded her of a horse but had a different shaped head and a humped back where a woman sat grinning in a wide brimmed hat. She thought it was called a camel but wasn’t sure and didn’t want to ask. Ms. Price would probably rummage around in her back cabinets until she found old photos in the pamphlets sent to them of the exotic creatures that lived on Barge City #117, #185 and #240 . Camels lived on one of them with so many other animals it was like the zoos she had read about in history. Her favorite animals to read about were the horses and dogs that lived there, the regular inhabitants took care of them and sent out updates to the rest of the Barge Cities on what was happening with their special project, the animals. They had even heard the announcement many years ago that cows were now being raised there, and if you paid extra you could try real milk and everything. She didn’t believe it though. It sounded like Barge hype to her. Turning over the heavy rectangle she could see “Sahara desert, 2032 Robert and Tamra” written neatly on the back and she wondered who these people had been and what had happened to them.

“The records at the time indicate that the plan was to enable the ever growing population to move into these dry areas of land once they became inhabitable and crops were able to grow. As we know now, something must have gone horribly wrong and the terraforming experiments failed leading to the non stop torrential downpours and mass, irreversible flooding as the last bit of glacial ice melted. However, the arrogance of the past has led to the better life we know aboard the floating Barge Cities”

Dia’s attention drifted away from Ms. Price and out towards the big window. From the third story she could see the buildings below shift and undulate as the never ending Ocean moved under them. Barge City was truly a work of engineering genius that had been developed out of necessity to save humanity. With only ten years to develop and create all the Barges that would become the only safe places on Earth, scientists had succeeded in creating an Eden on all of the Barges. Or so they had been told since they were small. To Dia, it was just home. It’s interwoven honeycomb base specially designed to move with the waves creating less stress on the structure and allowing for easy expansion as the population grew had been a breakthrough. Now it was rusting in spots and under constant repair. The clean clear glass the barges had started with had been replaced years ago with the smokey glass windows that shaded the sun better on open water. Looking out on the whole of the city, the foggy windows made the buildings look like a mass of sightless eyes with cataracts sending a shiver down Dia’s spine and begging her to ask the question.

She raised her hand preparing to push the limits "Ms.Price, if the Barges were like lifeboats, then how many Barge Cities were created to save everyone on the planet and did everyone make it on board the Barges”? Dia knew she was pushing it as talk from “the time of transition” was usually not acknowledged but she had her own reasons for wanting to know.

Ms. Price seemed to ponder this question before answering it “Well, from my own studies, I have come to the conclusion that the number of Barge Cities was determined by the scientist in each country. Since none of the countries were sharing any information besides the blueprints for the Barges at this time there’s very little we seem to know about that particular part of our global history.”

“Thankfully some of the Barge Cities from different countries began communicating in the decades following the Flood and that is why we have the world wide peace and prosperity we know today.” She added without seeming to think about that

“Right, umm, follow up question, why is there no one on our Barge that remembers the time before The Flood? I have no one to ask about the time before” Dia couldn’t help but asking, knowing she would not get a satisfactory answer.

“Well Miss Penn, I would imagine you are old enough to know that our elderly community members are sent to the Retirement Barge #47 and they live out their days in--”

“Peace and prosperity” Dia cut in knowing the script well.

While Ms. Price spouted off more of the expected Barge Propaganda, not answering her questions at all, Dia thought of a place to start and an idea of who might know more about the past and Retirement Barge #47.

It seemed like every year in October The Flood was all everyone could talk about when celebrating the first Sail of the Barges. Her sophomore class was doing a research project “Life Before the Flood: a Comparison”. Not even her parents had been alive to see life before The Flood and her grandparents along with everyone else's were no longer around.

According to records, her grandmother and grandfather had died shortly after coming aboard the Barge with no other information given. Her mother, only a few days old, was left in the care of neighbors since no other family had been found. Tucked into the baby's basket with her blanket was a heart shaped locket that wouldn’t even open. A note instructing whomever was in the care of the infant, stated the locket was to be given to her on her 15th birthday. The neighbors, having no biological children of their own, cared for Trina like doting parents. They gave her the locket on her 15th birthday as instructed. This broken locket was then given to Dia on her 15th birthday as was supposedly tradition in her family. She now wore it every day as a tribute to her mother and grandmother who she had never met and that no records could explain what had happened to her.

Dia and her mother liked to make conspiracy theories late at night when all the lights were out and only a few candles glowed in the smokey windows of their too close neighbors. Recently they had landed on the idea that maybe her parents had never really been aboard the Barge in the first place or had been sent to Retirement Barge #47 prematurely for reasons they couldn’t imagine. Dia wanted to find out what was really going on in Barge City #33 and to the truth behind the facade.

It was hard to imagine a dark underbelly in Barge #33 with its immense floating gardens that surrounded it. A large section of the city was filled with grass and fruit trees of all varieties. Benches were scattered around to allow you to sit and enjoy the beautiful gardens under the smoky glass ceiling that could retract and allow air flow on nice days or close to protect the life growing within. Rows and rows of vegetables growing from seeds carefully collected by her ancestors and grown in special hydroponic tanks were the life source and special project of Barge #33.

She ran down the stairs and out the three story building as the bell rang and set off across town to City Hall. Grabbing her usual, green tea with fresh mint leaves and two ice cubes (they were an extravagant use of the precious drinking water and therefore pricey), she hustled toward city hall to see if she could get a last minute appointment with the Captain.

As Dia approached the offices in the back, the halls were buzzing with people rushing here and there. She realized that today was indeed a very special day. Another Barge City was currently docking with #33, this was always cause for celebration and chaos .

She realized her chances of speaking with The Captain were slim but she pushed on and got to the front desk in time to see a different woman in a Captain's uniform heading to the back office. Dia took the chance to slip in behind the woman's entourage and follow them down the hall.

“Captain Thompson, it is so wonderful to see you after all these years, you look well.” The new woman said, offering her hand.

“You as well Jean, I apologize for skipping the pleasantries on this visit but I have some pressing matters on my mind” Captain Thompson responded, leading her into the office and closing the door on everyone else.

...Climbing through the vent was hard work but Dia was determined to see what was going on. Coming upon the vent in the corner of the Captains office she could see the two Captains leaning over the desk. Captain Thompson reached into her uniform and pulled a gold necklace from around her neck.

The other woman pulled an identical necklace out of her uniform top and around her neck, setting it on the table. As Captain Thompson did the same the gold pieces began to vibrate and glow as they drew closer like magnets. With a sharp snap the two pieces came together and after a blinding flash Dia could see the two women cautiously approach what was now on the desk. It was a gold heart shaped locket, as Dia realized that, the locket around her own neck began to vibrate against her chest, she placed a hand over it.

“It’s time to find the others” Captain Thompson said “I’m so sorry about this Jean, I hope you can forgive me”

Suddenly two men in black security uniforms came in and put a black sack over Captain Willow's head, clamping a hand over her mouth and injecting something into her arm, her body going limp.

“What now Captain?” the guys in black asked Thompson

“We put her on the boat to Retirement Barge #47 and never speak of this again, is that understood?” she stared hard at them

“Understood” they both echoed as they dragged the limp body of Captain Willow out a door that had just been a bookcase moments ago...