To All the Lost Ones

.Birthright.

 Cora's breaths echoed overly loud through her breathing mask as she stared quietly down at the deceptively peaceful city for what would be one of the last times, long blue gray hair swaying in the current. This was it. This was the day she had long dreaded. In the back of her mind, she was well aware of the necessity of the move, but this didn't stop her from hating it with every inch of her being.

Her gaze drifted to the towering spires of the council building, which threatened to touch the incandescent ceiling above, the shield that had kept their kind safe and untouchable by humans above for centuries, the Barrier acted as a membrane, keeping humans out and allowing animal life through unharmed. Nothing got through that they didn't allow. Until now, that was.

It had been discovered by their scientists almost twenty years ago, back when Cora was almost twelve, the chemical that was the reason for all their problems. Called Benzoaclimine, it contained what would later be discovered as carcinogenic elements and also caused severe neurological damages to those that were exposed for a long enough period of time. 

The immediate symptoms of exposure were coughing and respiratory problems. In the affected, cancerous developments and neurological effects appeared after at least a week of exposure.

After Benzoaclimine's initial development in the surface world, it was considered revolutionary for the processing of plastics and metals and sold widely across the globe. Soon, it was also discovered to have corrosive properties that, after long enough, dissolved the containers that held it. The result of this was numerous chemical leaks in the world's oceans that spread quickly and were almost impossible to clean.

Naturally, the effects of this were catastrophic, the economy collapsed, prices sailed, and uncontaminated seafood was almost impossible to find. As the stocks in the human world plummeted, the medical centers in Celerant began to fill with individuals complaining of coughs and trouble breathing.

Cora groaned, stifling a yawn as she powered up the jet propulsion device on her back, transporting herself in a cloud of bubbles across the quiet city. She began the journey back to her family's Pod, weaving around the buildings that had been her entire life up until now. The decision to leave had been made by the council that governed Celerant almost five years ago. Five years of preparation, research, and learning how they were going to become part of the society that had ruined them. 

There were, of course, those who opposed this, who claimed that the respiratory devices, that the full-body suits that had been invented shortly after Benzoaclimine's discovery were enough to protect them. The continual cases of exposure said otherwise. 

Those who opposed the move were not being forced to leave. They were going to stay and planned to continue the fight to survive under the water, to uphold the Barrier and keep their society's history alive while trying to develop the technology that could either completely shield them from the chemical, or cleanse the water inside the Barrier of it.

There were also the more radical members of society who were angry. Who said that the humans did not deserve the planet they had been given, who said that they were an infestation in need of eradication. Secretly, Cora agreed. It was their fault. Their selfishness and stupidity had lead to the extinction of so many species, she had stopped counting. And now they were going to become part of the same society that had almost pushed the Seirênes, her kind, to the same fate so many other species had faced. 

But she also acknowledged the need for the move. If it wasn't of the utmost necessity, the idea wouldn't have even been considered by the council. 

As she approached her Pod, she powered down the machine on her back in a flurry of bubbles, and allowed herself to float towards the water lock. She pressed the code into the door, something her dad had drilled into her to memorize since her childhood. She still remembered his rhyme for it.