Sliding Into Antar
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141 Leagues Under
The Golden Sea
Chapter 36
XXXVI
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Michael took the New Granolith down at a 45 degree angle, and Max and the others braced instinctively, though unnecessarily, as the New Granolith impacted the surface and slipped effortlessly and quietly beneath the waves. Inside the ship, no one felt so much as a shudder, but the view through the bridge window changed dramatically… this was definitely not the view that they had grown accustomed to in space… the stars had been replaced by fish that now darted this way and that, dodging the huge ship.
"New Granolith," the voice came again over the communication device…
Varec picked up the transmission module and spoke into it… "This is the New Granolith."
"New Granolith, maintain a depth of 200 rys and bearing of 36 degrees north until further notice. It is imperative that you not deviate from this course or depth until advised to. This will keep your ship and our cities safe.
"Cities?" Maria asked, her eyes opening wide, "Did he just say 'cities?'"
Max replied with a nod.
Maria searched the waters below the ship through the bridge window but saw only fish… and more water… "Maybe they're like Atlanteans or something… you know… maybe they've turned into fish people… or mermaids and mermen! That would be so cool!"
"Or maybe they just built their cities beneath the sea because there's no land above sea level, and they pump air into the cities from above," Max suggested logically. "It's more likely than mermen."
Maria wrinkled her nose. "Well, I hope they're mermen. I want to see what Michael looks like with a fish tail."
Tess and Liz both giggled. "It might frustrate you, Maria," Tess said with a wink, "Mermen are all fish below the waist."
"I didn't say I wanted my Michael to be a merman or to have a fish tail… I just want to see what he would look like with one. Then I could have a Merman Michael, a King Michael, a mountain man Michael, and all the other Michaels we've seen, plus my Michael."
Tess and Liz giggled again, and this time Isabel laughed, too… "You're starting a collection of Michaels? Does Michael know about this?"
Maria just smiled. "Hey, you collect romance novels, and Liz collects… her diaries. I can have my fantasies if I want them."
Isabel shrugged then grinned playfully, as a thought came into her mind. "Maybe when we get back to our Antar, you can have the royal artisans make you some little figurines of a Merman Michael, a King Michael, a Mountain Man Michael, and all the others. Then you can put them all on a shelf and look at them whenever you want."
"Omigod! That's a great idea! Thanks, Iz!" Maria exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with joy at the thought.
Isabel looked at Liz, and both of them giggled. "I was being sarcastic," Isabel said with a shrug.
At that moment, a voice came over the communication device again… "New Granolith, please descend to 500 rys and assume a bearing of 49 degrees north by northeast. You will see the port in approximately two clicks. When the port becomes visible, you will see signals that will guide you the rest of the way."
"Understood," Varec said into the module in his hand.
"That's less than two minutes," Michael said, straining to see into the distance. He didn't have to wait long. First, everyone saw reflections of lights sparkling through the moving waters ahead, then immense domes appeared off in the distance. As these domes became clear, the crew and guests saw that some of them reached hundreds of feet upward toward the surface. In front of the New Granolith, at a depth of 543 rys… roughly 850 feet… sat a city of impressive proportions, with probably hundreds of thousands, and possibly even millions, of residents.
As the man on the communication device had promised, they also saw a series of signals that appeared to be guiding them onto some type of approach line. Michael brought the ship down until it was in line with the level indicated by the signals and slowed the ship to a crawl. The signs indicated that the ship should descend lower still, and Michael complied, then he saw it… In front of them, beneath a mammoth dome, was an opening large enough for the New Granolith to pass through. Michael looked at Max, and Max nodded; then together, they guided the ship under the opening. Once inside, the signals flashed "UP," and Michael took the ship back up again slowly, rising from the water into an air filled area easily three times the size of the New Granolith, which was no small ship.
As soon as the ship was above the surface, the controls were taken over automatically by a remote parking system that turned and oriented the ship and placed it neatly into a berth.
"It looks like we've arrived," Michael said. Max nodded, just as the voice came back over the communication module…
"New Granolith… you may disembark by any of your usual methods. Welcome to Antar!"
"Thank you," Max replied, then he turned to Michael and the others… "Michael, Jim, Alex, Liz, Maria, and Tess come with me. The rest of you wait until I call for you. I'm pretty sure the air and environment are safe for us… and that the people are friendly, but it's wiser to be safe than to be sorry."
The others nodded. The truth is, Max was almost 100 certain that it was safe, or he would not have taken more than one other person with him… and it would almost certainly not have been Michael. Max preferred not to risk both of their lives when it was unnecessary. Michael, too, obviously felt that it was safe. Had he not, he would have been objecting loudly to Max's going out first and would have insisted that he and Jim or he and Kyle go first instead.
The members of the first group transported down and found themselves standing on solid ground and breathing fresh air. They also saw that their host planet's representatives were already there waiting for them. Maria looked at the three men and two women in front of her. She didn't recognize any of them, but she did notice one thing right away… they did NOT have fish tails. In fact, they looked exactly like every other Antarian she had ever met… and exactly, well, normal. Maria sighed and smiled at her hosts.
"Welcome to Port Orlyn and the City of Coruz'Antar," one of the two women said, smiling. "We've been asked to take you to the palace. Is this all of you?"
"Well, actually," Max said, "There is another group waiting to transport down. We couldn't all transport at once." Max signaled the others, and within moments, Kyle, Varec, Isabel, Rayylar, Quinn, Maggie, Wade, Remmy, and Professor Arturo stood beside them.
"Now we're all here," Max said… "Except Jung-Jo."
"Oh, is he in charge of the ship," the young woman asked.
Max looked at Michael and smiled.
"He kind of is," Michael said, grinning, "He thinks so anyway. Jung-Jo is a pawgor."
"What's a pawgor," one of the two men asked.
Michael appeared stunned by the question. "You don't know what…" he started to ask, but then he realized that these people would not have pawgors… or a Nan-Torel forest. Theirs was a water world.
"It… takes a little explaining," Max said, "We'll introduce you to him later if you'd like."
The five members of the welcoming committee smiled and nodded.
"If you will all come with us," the first young woman said, "We will show you to our slider. It will take us to the palace."
"You slide?" Professor Arturo asked.
"Of course," the young woman replied, leading them to a somewhat strange-looking vehicle that vaguely resembled a very long and rather sleek-shaped limo with no wheels. The young woman opened the door, and Liz and Max got in, followed by Michael and Maria then all the others. Once they were all in, one of the young women got into the driver's seat and the other got in beside her. The three men got into a different vehicle and went off in a different direction. Then the young woman who was "driving" pressed a switch, and the vehicle rose from the ground.
"It's a hover craft," Liz said.
The driver turned the vehicle and guided it into a large clear tube that seemed like a perfect fit for it. A moment later, she pushed a switch, and something propelled them forward at an amazing speed.
"0 to 150 in two seconds! I like it!" Michael said, "I need to get one of these!"
"It's a slider," the young woman sitting beside the driver said, "It slides through the tubes propelled by jets of air inside the tubes. The air is brought down from the surface by powerful compressors. The same air that propels the sliders is then vented into the city to supply air to the inhabitants."
"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" Professor Arturo said, watching intently as they jetted along through the transparent tube beneath the sea.
It took only about a minute and a half to get to the palace. As they approached, the driver pulled back on a yoke that resembled an airliner's yoke. Apparently, this remotely released air on the other end of the tube, or somewhere along the route, causing the vehicle to slow. Once it had slowed sufficiently, it coasted quietly and softly into the palace, which, like everything else here, was a dome… a very magnificent dome, though, both inside and out.
The slider coasted softly to a stop, and the young woman beside the driver jumped out and opened the door for the guests. One by one, they each got out and looked around.
"How do you like it?" a familiar-sounding voice asked… "Does it compare well with the others you've seen?"
Max and Liz turned around at the same time to face the previously unseen person, but both of them already knew who it was.
"It's… beautiful!" Liz from the New Granolith said to her double. "It's incredible!"
"Have you seen many other Antars during your travels in other dimensions," the hostess Liz asked.
"Too many," Liz said. Max nodded.
"I would love to hear about your travels. Max and Michael are out right now. They should be back soon, though. This will be a big surprise for them… a pleasant one."
"Are they tending to affairs of state?" Maria asked.
"Usually that's where they would be, but I convinced them to go fishing… to relax."
"Fishing? Under the sea?" Maria asked… "With a fishing pole?"
"Where else would you fish," the hostess Liz asked. "And no… they don't use poles, they use a net. One holds each end of the net, and they swim it around the fish and trap them in it… underwater."
"Oh, they're SCUBA diving then," Maria said.
Liz shook her head.
"No SCUBA?"
Liz shook her head again.
"How long can they stay out there?"
Liz shrugged. "Three… maybe four hours. Longer if they have to."
"Without air?"
"Well, without coming in to breathe… just with the oxygen they get from the water."
Maria turned and smiled at Isabel. "He's got a tail! He's a merman! I know it!"
Isabel rolled her eyes and smiled back. "Why don't the rest of them have tails then? Why would Michael and Max be the only ones who are different?"
Maria thought about it for a moment, then she turned to their hostess… "Can you stay under water that long, too?"
Liz laughed and shook her head. "I'm not Antarian. I might last two minutes… or three, gasping for air. Antarians can stay under water for hours."
At that moment, Max and Michael both walked into the room, dressed rather unroyally in swim trunks and nothing else, though Maria and Liz saw no reason to complain. Both Max and Michael did a double take when they saw the visitors, and they quickly ducked back out of the room, reappearing after hastily donning a shirt and pants.
"I didn't know we had guests," Max said, looking the guests over and noticing that some of them looked very familiar.
"No tail," Maria shrugged… "Darn!"
"Wait'll I tell her about Santa Claus and the Easter bunny," Isabel whispered to Liz, standing beside her. Liz smiled and shook here head. "You're mean, Iz!"
Isabel grinned.
"While you guys were out fishing, Dear," the hostess Liz said, "I got a call from Space Port Orlyn that we had guests coming, and I asked to have them sent over when they arrived. They're from a different dimension, and I think you may notice some resemblances."
"Another dimension? Another Antar?" Max asked, looking over the doubles from the New Granolith.
"We've seen quite a few other Antars," Max from the New Granolith said, "But it wasn't our intention. We seem to be having a little difficulty finding our own Antar again. We keep finding Antars that aren't ours."
The host Max nodded thoughtfully… "Interesting! Well, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe there's something we can do to help… or something Varec can do. Our Varec is the smartest person I know." Suddenly realizing that Varec's double from the New Granolith was standing right in front of him, Max hurried to clarify himself…
"But two Varecs should be even better than one, right?"
Liz patted Varec on the back, "Varec has been our lifeline more times than I can count."
The host Max smiled and nodded… "Ours, too."
At that moment, Maria let out a small gasp, and everyone turned and looked at her. The host Michael was holding her hand.
"Maria!" Isabel exclaimed.
"No! No! It's not what you think, Isabel! I swear it!"
"I don't have to think. I'm seeing it," Isabel said, turning to Michael from the New Granolith, who was standing with his mouth open.
"I was just seeing if he had gills," Maria said, "I thought I could do it without him noticing."
"She touched my collar… It tickled," Michael said, still holding her hand down.
"Maria," Liz said, trying to talk and laugh at the same time, "Have you ever known Michael not to notice it if someone touched him!"
"I just thought…" Maria stammered, turning crimson red and reclaiming her hand brusquely.
"For the record…" Michael said, rolling down his collar… "No gills. See? I'm not a fish. We can breathe underwater… but not as efficiently as fish, just enough to stay under for several hours."
"How…? if you don't have gills?" Isabel asked.
"Every pore on our bodies has adapted to obtain oxygen from the water when our lungs can't obtain enough," Max said, "Our pores don't look any different than yours, on the outside, but they're becoming increasingly specialized internally. As a people, we have been slowly gravitating toward a total underwater existence… since all the land masses sank beneath the sea some 100,000 years ago."
"Incredible!" Professor Arturo exclaimed excitedly, "Evolution in progress!"
"You mean they're going to turn into dolphins," Maria asked.
"No," Max said firmly, "We aren't changing into anything, we're just adapting to an environment that is, geologically speaking, still fairly new to us. We're still Antarians and always will be. Everything adapts to changing environment over enough time. If you spend a lot of time out in the sun, you tan, making it less likely that you'll burn. That's adapting. This is no different; it just takes longer. Changes that happen over many thousands of years can seem radical, but we aren't ever going to turn into dolphins… or fish. In another 100,000 years, we may be able to remain under water without having to return to breathe air in the cities every few hours, but we'll still be Antarians… and we'll need some place to sleep and eat and live, so we'll still return to our cities. Who knows, maybe we won't need to pump air into the cities anymore, but we'll always be Antarians, just as we are now. We just have specialized pores that breathe underwater… and a little webbing from the knuckles to the base of our fingers." Max spread his fingers so they could see. No one had noticed it until now. Even Maria, when Michael had grabbed her hand as she touched his collar, had not noticed.
"Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess grew up on earth," the hostess Liz said, "They were two years old when they came out of their pods and were found, and child welfare thought they had a congenital defect, because they had webbing at the base of their fingers, so the agency had the webbing surgically removed, and they grew up with no one else ever knowing. It was actually a good thing it was removed, because it made them look totally human. Later, when they returned to Antar, the Antarian doctors restored their webbing to the way it was supposed to be… on Antarians."
"As much as I'm enjoying this," the host Max said, "I would enjoy much more hearing about you instead of about me. But I insist it be over dinner and not while standing here in the welcoming parlor. You will stay for dinner won't you?"
Everyone looked at each other and then at Max again… then each of them smiled from ear to ear.
"I'll take that as a yes," Max said, smiling back. "Kyle will show you to separate rooms where you can relax and get ready for dinner. Dinner will be served in three hours."
"Kyle is here, too?" Liz from the New Granolith asked. Her hostess double nodded. "Kyle was the only one who came to Antar with Max and Michael the first time they came. They had to come back for us later. It's a long story."
"That's just like us!" Maria exclaimed… "Exactly!"
The host Max turned to his wife, Liz, with a questioning look…
"He's coming," Liz said, "He was in his room… polishing Buddha's tummy. They told him."
"EXACTLY like us!" both Liz and Maria said, looking at each other and giggling then looking at their own Kyle, who smiled a bit and shrugged.
"Except for all the water and stuff, of course," Maria amended.
As they spoke, the other Kyle appeared and smiled at the guests. "Are you ready?"
The group followed him into a corridor that led through the center of the palace. It was ornate and beautiful, and it reminded them quite a bit of the grand hallway in their own palace back on their own Antar. A lot here, they were discovering, was like their own Antar.
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Two hours later, shortly before they would be heading to the royal dining hall to eat, Alex passed Maria in the hall outside their rooms. He smiled but didn't say anything as they passed each other. A moment later, Maria called to him… "Alex!"
Alex turned around. "Yeah?"
"I know what you're thinking!"
Alex smiled. "That's a pretty good trick, Maria, 'cause even I don't usually know that."
"Don't make fun of me, Alex. I didn't do anything wrong, you know."
"I know. I didn't think you did. A little… unusual, maybe… but not wrong… in a wrong sort of way."
"Exactly. You understand, don't you, Alex?"
"That you wanted to know if Michael had gills? Sure, I understand."
"No, not that. Well… that, too… but I meant about me saying I liked all these different Michaels and would like to have little figurines of them all."
Alex smiled. "I guess if I had a whole bunch of Isabels, I wouldn't be complaining… although I'm not sure I could handle it."
Maria smiled. "I love Michael. Michael is everything to me. I just can't get enough of him. I want him every way I see him. He's my Michael no matter where he is or what he looks like. I don't mean that I want to jump into another Michael's arms, just that each one makes me think of my Michael and how he would look if he looked like that… It's like dressing up a doll in different clothes… It's… exciting… especially if there's a way you can have them all. Can you understand?"
"I never dressed up a doll."
Maria sighed. "Noooo… about… you know… how I feel…"
Alex nodded and smiled. "Yeah… I understand, Maria. I really do."
Maria threw her arms around Alex and hugged him. "Thanks."
"No problem. I'm here for you, Maria… anytime, you know."
"I know. Thanks for that, too."
Alex smiled and walked back into his room, and Maria went back to hers and Michael's.
"Was that Maria you were talking to, Alex?" Isabel asked.
"Yeah."
"She was trying to convince you that nothing was going on between her and Michael's double, wasn't she?"
"Nothing was."
"I know."
"Isabel… when you see all these other Alex's… my doubles… do you ever wish you could have them all?"
"Why?"
"Well… I don't know. It's just something Maria said… about not being able to get enough of Michael because she loves him so much."
Isabel looked at Alex and smiled. "Alex, one of you is man enough for me. What would I ever do with more than one of you? You're perfect just like you are. I only need one of you."
Alex smiled and enclosed Isabel in his arms. "I guess so, but after talking to Maria… well, I kind of understand, too… I mean, from a Maria point of view, you know? It is kind of cute… her wanting all these different Michaels on her shelf so she can admire them all… because in a way, they're all Michael, and Michael is hers."
Isabel smiled. "Yeah, it is pretty adorable… like you say, in a Maria kind of way."
"So you think so, too?"
Isabel nodded. "But if you ever tell her I said so, I'll deny it!"
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Wade Welles left her room and walked down the long palace hallway, stopping occasionally to take in the amazing view through one of the many palace windows to the sea. But she did not stay long in one place. Deep inside, secretly, she hoped that she might run into Quinn and he would ask her… well, she dared not think about it, but she hoped. It did bring a smile to her face, though. Maybe Alex was right. Maybe Quinn did feel something special for her, too… like she felt for him… like she had ever since they were young.
In another part of the huge palace, Quinn Mallory had also gone out for a before-dinner walk. He found Maggie Beckett gazing out at the sea through one of the palace windows, and he walked up quietly behind her…
"Hi."
Maggie turned around and smiled. "Hi. I was just watching the fish… and thinking."
"What about?"
"My world. If only it could have just sunk slowly into the sea over time like this one did… instead of being wiped out by a super nova. There's nothing to go back to when a super nova…"
Quinn winced. This was not making what he had to say any easier…
"I'm so sorry, Maggie. But you guys did get a lot of people off of the planet before it was destroyed."
Maggie nodded. "Yeah! We did!" Then she sighed and looked into Quinn's eyes sadly… "And I don't know where any of them are now…"
Instinctively, Quinn reached out to Maggie and enclosed her in his arms; and she put her hand behind his head and kissed him… passionately. It might have appeared to be a happy scene… even as short as it was… two young lovers kissing… idyllic setting. But at the end of the hall, unseen by Quinn or Maggie, Wade wiped a tear from her eyes and turned and walked back the way she had come… quietly and without anyone knowing she had been there or that she had seen anything.
"Maggie," Quinn said, gently but firmly separating her from him… "What would you do if there was no 'us…' if we didn't have each other? Would you be…"
Maggie smiled. "Are you feeling insecure, Quinn? Don't be! I do love you… very much. You know I'm a strong person. I've always been a fighter… in more ways than one. But don't ever think I can't love you because of that."
"But what would you do if something happened to me, Maggie? Would you be able to pick up your life and move on?"
Maggie stared into Quinn's eyes, trying to discern the deeper meaning of what he was asking. "I love you, Quinn. If something happened to you, I guess… well, I KNOW… I'd be devastated. But we're fighters the two of us… I know you wouldn't want me to roll over and just die. You're strong, too."
"No… no, you're right. I wouldn't want you to give up or anything…"
"Are you having second thoughts, Quinn?"
"No! Well… yes… in a way…" Quinn took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment… "Maggie, I love you… I really do… and I always will…"
"But…? Quinn, when someone says it like that, there's always a 'but' attached."
"I think I may love someone else, too."
"May?"
"No, I… I do."
"Wade? Don't be so surprised, Quinn. I knew she was in love with you. I always wondered why you didn't do anything about it. I thought maybe you weren't interested in her."
"Was I the only one who didn't see it?" Quinn asked.
Maggie smiled. "The real question is how do YOU feel about HER? If you feel the same way, that's kind of going to be a problem… for us… you know?"
Quinn nodded. "I do. I do feel the same way about her. I just never thought about it. We were so close… I don't know, Maggie. I haven't said anything to Wade about this yet. We've always had this special… 'friendship' thing. If I say something to her now about… you know… getting married or being something more to each other… something different… she may run."
Maggie smiled. "I think she will! But not the way you think. I think she'll run TO you. Quinn… I'm not going to tell you that I'm thrilled about this, but you have to be sure of what you want. Go find Wade. I'm not going anywhere. If she dumps you, I'll let you live it down… some day."
Quinn smiled. "You're right. I have to tell her how I feel… whatever the consequences."
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A few minutes later, Quinn found Wade… alone, staring out a window into the sea…
"It's beautiful, isn't it!"
Wade smiled and nodded silently but did not turn around or let Quinn see her face. Instead, she continued to stare out at the sea. Quinn put one hand on Wade's shoulder and noticed that she flinched, but she did not remove his hand.
"There's something that I have to tell you, Wade, and I should have realized it a long time ago. I don't know why I never did. Sometimes other people see what we --you or I-- already know so deeply in our hearts that we… missed it altogether." Quinn took another deep breath. "I'm… I'm trying to say that I love you… and that I'd… like for us to be something more than just friends. I always knew it. It just took someone else to make me see it."
Wade smiled. "We are more than just friends, Quinn. We're special friends… bosom buddies. That will never change. But you belong with Maggie."
"Well, see, that's just it, Wade… I don't think I do. My real feelings are for you… they always were. I know that now."
Wade sighed and stared back out the window, trying to keep Quinn from seeing the tears that had begun to roll down her cheeks. The truth is, Wade wasn't angry with Quinn; she was trying to protect him… from what she was convinced now was a noble "delusion" that he loved her, but only that. Seeing him with Maggie convinced her that he and Maggie belonged together… that their true happiness was tied up in each other. It was a hard pill to swallow, especially when he was practically proposing to her now. Summoning all the courage she had in her, Wade turned and looked Quinn squarely in the eyes…
"But I don't… I don't… love YOU, Quinn… not that way."
Wade choked on the words as she said them, and they tasted bitter, but she had said them. In her heart, she knew that it was the right thing to do… for Quinn. As for herself, well, she would get over it… someday… maybe… in a million years.
End of Chapter 36
tbc…