Chapter 24

Arcadia

Amelia offered a faint smile from her park bench, and closed her book as Sheridan approached across the grass. He was pleased to see her alone, as he had requested in his letter.

"Good afternoon son, you look very well." She moved up and offered him a seat beside her.

"Thank you. It is good to be on speaking terms again mother - its been very painful to know you are so close yet so far. I have no idea what been going on in your life, and I've missed sharing my own achievements with you." He was keen to get in as many pleasantries as possible before he had to break the news to her of his intention to decline Dr Lamb's request for funding.

"You chose a life, years ago apparently, that I could not offer my blessing to Sheridan. What did you really expect would happen down here in Rapture? Did you think just because it wasn't illegal to lay with another man here, that I would automatically change my own opinions?" She asked earnestly.

"I had hoped that once down here, and you had seen how much I cared for Edward, that you would re-evaluate those opinions, and that your feelings as my mother, no matter how much of a hard nut you might be, would triumph over everything else."

Amelia clasped her hands anxiously in her lap, and couldn't look him in the face directly. "Well they don't, and they won't I'm afraid. That boy is an unforgiveable sin, a servant boy that has come into wealth and un-deserved luxuries through a devilish act." She said definately.

"Oh mother, when men have built a city like Rapture at the bottom of the sea, and achieved other such accomplishments, can you not let God and Satan go? There is only us, nobody judging us, no God raining down punishment. Can you not just come home to us, have a family again?" Something he said touched a nerve, as she shuddered slightly. But nevertheless, she looked away, fluttering her eyelashes to hold back some tears, and keen to end the encounter, jumped straight to the point.

"So yes or no, will you at least redeem yourself slightly and help Sofia Lamb? Help me?" Her voice was slightly broken by the sobs that wanted to come out.

Sheridan sighed, "Mother... there is more to all of this than just saying yes or no to an investment, and I wish I could explain it all to you in a way you'd understand. But what I will say is that we don't like Dr Lamb, she is a troublemaker, and no good will come from her."

Amelia's wrinkled, aged lips began to tremble, and the first tear escaped and trickled down her cheek. "We... WE don't like Dr Lamb...?" She angrily snapped, "Don't bring that freaks opinions into ANY of this! I don't want to hear what he thinks!" She grew more aggitated and her voice broke into a squeal. "So you're not going to lend her the money? You're refusing to help us build Dionysus Park? Just SAY IT!" She screamed, her voice echoing throughout Arcadia and disturbing some others on a leisurely stroll.

"Then we'll just have to do what we can with my money..." Amelia raged as she rose from the bench and began to storm off. Sheridan leapt to his feet and began to chase after her, but the old woman turned briefly and held a hand up to him, "Never try to find me again. You are damned, and you are lost to me Sheridan! LOST!"

She vanished amongst the thick forest beyond.

Crying too, Sheridan wiped his face and sat back down onto the bench. He frantically tried to compose himself, should anyone see him alone, crying in Arcadia, it would do nothing for him as the newest member of the Rapture Council.

"Golly, quite the fracas there. The old girl has quite the hysterics..." The familiar, distinguishable voice of Dr Julie Langford emerged from behind a nearby tree. She was leant up against it with a cigarette in one hand. He glanced at her quickly, but was in no mood to construct a reply.

"She'll learn, one day. Might be too late - for her that is, but she'll learn." She took a puff of her cigarette and slowly released the smoke.

"The place in Rapture with the freshest air, feeding out oxygen supply, and you smoke in here?" He sarcastically asked, briefling looking up at her. She smiled, and waved the cigarette in front of her face. "Well played! But seems to me this city could use the nicotine - I only observe, I don't get involved with anything beyond my tree's, but seems to me things in Rapture are getting a little shaky already for a lot of people."

"Is that right..." He asked, not interested in the slightest.

"Yep, it is. As I told you when we first met, that first day in Rapture - it's been hard enough to adapt Tree's to living underwater in perpetual darkness and artificial light, but at least they can't scheme, plot... go insane. No tree's will just die quietly and peacefully. But trying to adapt tens of thousands of humans to a confined space underwater - sooner or later, there will be a bloodbath."