Second of four chapters, Shelly makes some rather anachronistic music predictions. So here is my little question for you, what song about a transvestite launched a genre? Here is a hint it starts with an old fashion English given name.

Rapture when I first saw it was incredible, the size of it I was in total awe. His plan seemed ridicules yet brilliant. I thought I had been brought in to help identify edible plants or something, not terra-form the Ocean Floor. I was surprised myself by how helpful I was with that. They needed to identify a spot for the city, it had to be close to resources a not near any migrational patterns, last thing we needed were whales or something smashing up against us.

For that they turned to Dr. Maureen K. O'Donahue, one of Britain's leading Oceanographers. Post War exploring the Ocean had become a non-issue and no one was willing to devout money to it…I don't think she even intended to stay. However, our long nights we spent together, the team and us to try to make this hunk of slag habitable, took its tole. We were married later in the year. In January of 46, Rapture was finally beginning to look like a city, Ryan seemed determined to make it work, even brought in a Dr. Langford to grow trees…trees underwater imagine that. We were set up in Olympus Heights and I was placed on the council as the "Minister of Structural Integrity and Prosperity", which basically meant it was my job to keep the lights on.

The beginning of the end was March 14 1949, I know it's 1958 and the old girl is still standing but we need to be real about this. Up to that day the Rapture City Council was a separate entity from Ryan Industries, he wasn't even sitting on the council. He felt it was important for business to be independent of Government, "Lest the Parasites seize control." Sadly that was exactly what was happening, the major companies had begun to control the council via backroom deals.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council we have a problem that must be addressed."

Oh this is an often-forgot point, the Rapture council used to work on a bi-annual election process the seats being elected by the people and with a Prime Minister elected by the council. He (or she) would serve one term of half a year and them step down. As of September 14 1948, yours truly was the Rt. Hon Prime Minister of Rapture rather sad when you consider my current position. True be told it was a menial position, not nearly the prestigious job it is on the surface. My wife had taken my previous job.

"It the workers…"

"What about them?"

"The main purpose of Rapture was to allow for the free enterprise and flow of the Economy. However, this has become severely flawed. Some business have resorted to less than noble tactics to ensure their dominance in the fled, just yesterday Jim Macintyre the C.F.O of the Polar Express Ice Company was found dissected and frozen in an Ice Princess Storage unit."

"That has not been proven."

Gregory Anderson, Minister for Economics and C.E.O of Ice Princess storage facilities.

I continued

"Quite simply, if they upper echelon of business continues to oppress the working class and withhold any upward mobility were going to have a revolution on our hands."

Gregory retorted

"Oh the commie speaks, the whole idea of rapture is that anyone can excel they need only apply themselves. You can't seriously expect us to cut a percentage of the our profits to make room for inferior products."

I kept arguing but it fell on deaf ears, Anderson was a powerful man in his own right, turned Storage into Ice and then started selling Water…Jesus, Water about the only thing you couldn't buy in Rapture was human soul. Worse he was ideologically similar to Ryan, I saw similar because at that time he was willing to do anything to make money. Ryan wasn't the spoiled god who smote his enemies just yet. Needless to say I fell from grace, my resignation was asked for and received the next day. Hiram became Prime Minister and Ryan decided to take stock installing himself (not elected) as the new Minister of Economics. The council had become a subsidiary and I was unemployed and black listed. I had been brought in to help build rapture, I wasn't part of any company and so I quickly fell into ruin. I fell in with a man named Franklin Carter Fontaine or Frank. He understood the plight of the workingman and was charismatic enough to attract followers and feared enough to keep them quiet. I now realize he only wanted me so he could influence my wife via me. I got a menial smuggling job and he got an ex-officio seat on the council. I had fallen from Prime Minister to Smuggler not that it mattered, I was naïve the position was only meant to be a rubber stamp. No one even knew who I was, except Fontaine.

Here is where I take my direct fault in the failure of rapture. Back in '44 Tojo though it would be funny to break eight of my fingers and see how many times they could tape them back up. I lost mobility in three of them on my right and two on my left. I remember that day in 1953, very well.

"Oi! what's the hold up Shelly! We got to get outta here!"

Leslie J. Wilson Fontaine's man on the ground.

I was examining some of the contraband, honestly the coffee and candy I understood. It was the more erratic stuff like the bibles and on that day this weird record recorded by someone named "Alivs Pristley." The guys said he would revolutionize music, yea right he sounds worse that bible beating Hank Williams. Next thing you know they be writing songs about transvestites of something.

I sarcastically shouted back

"I don't know"

Pissed he jabbed

"Well…go check it out"

There was no point in arguing. Les always got his way, took a few minutes but I found him, he had deposited the "Candy" entirely up his nose. He was so strung out he might as well have been orbiting the planet.

"Shit"

I reached down to try and knock some sense into him when.

"GAHHHH"

I recoiled and grabbed my left hand

"FUCK"

My hand felt like it was on fire, some freaking slug had slithered out a bit me. I didn't realize at the time what was happening, I ripped it off me, threw it on the ground and stomped it into oblivion. Later I picked it up, it was oozing red; I figured maybe my wife could identify it. She disliked my activities but couldn't deny why I was doing them, plus the perks were nice, real coffee for instance. Hell I'm sure even Ryan was on the take. The next morning something amazing had happened; I could my fingers correctly for the first time in nine years. I never could have guessed such an insignificant action could have such an impact…maybe I shouldn't have sold that slug.