Grandma had been gone many years but still Sarah remembered the day of the inquiry and she thought about it now. She was standing with father along the Grand Fare: the main boulevard that passed through Undersea. Today it was Founder's Day, the most important holiday in Undersea; a celebration of that day when the great elders of the First Migration stepped from their subs for the last time and moved into the Old City. The new part of Undersea, where they now stood, was at least five times bigger then those cramped confines in the Old City. Sarah thought back to when she first stepped from a sub into this city.
The crowds pressed close to the barriers, necks craning to get a glimpse of the parade that marched by in celebration of this historic day. Green, blue, and white streamers hung from lampposts and the flag of Undersea, a white starfish on a blue field, was everywhere. A marching band playing sea pipes and blasting on conch shells went by and as they played that old familiar hymn the crowd sang:
"Beneath the swollen tide,
Away from human strife,
A new city of life,
Upon which all hope rides;
Undersea! Undersea!
Gladly now we greet thee!
Undersea! Undersea!
Protectorate of all!
Courage and inovation,
Shall guide us now along,
We know the past was wrong,
The cause of all tension;
Undersea! Undersea!
Gladly now we greet thee!
Undersea! Undersea!
Humanity's new light!
Soldiers of the future,
Come take that which is yours,
Our strength of mind endures,
And shapes our high culture!
Undersea! Undersea!
Gladly now we great thee!
Undersea! Undersea!
Let science be our guide!"
Father stared at the ground while everyone sang. When it was done moved his lips to speak to Sarah but was drowned out in a crescendo of voices, instruments, and marching boots.
"Well there he is," shouted Sarah into father's ear, nodding to the street.
The people roared louder as Sir LaRosa came into view, riding in an open topped vehicle with his wife and son, saluting the crowd as he swept down the Grand Fare.
"For the good of the city! For the good of the city!" chanted the crowd. Vehicles followed carrying prominent scientists and politicians, all dressed in their Undersea finest, some waving the starfish flag, some saluting. Many Sarah had seen before; some had given speeches at her school. All were devoted to Sir LaRosa's vision for Undersea.
The crowd began to move towards the steps of the Lab where a large platform was set up for the speeches about to be given. They waved flags and sang, glowing in the civic pride of the moment. A great city had been birthed from the rock, and though few were alive to remember those tentative first days, all reveled in the marvelous achievements told to them by those who knew. And more was happening each day: the scientific breakthroughs, the expansion of territory, the continual carving of Undersea from the living rock!
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Undersea
Teen FictionThis is a story about an under water city called Undersea. It is not a particularly magical place this city, in the way we might expect an under water city to be (with mermaids, talking fish, and so forth) but is instead an everyday sort of place th...
