Under/Under

Chapter 2

"I personally don't care for history, or what happened in the past. The people who say the past is doomed to repeat itself are absolute hypocrites, for they were the ones who submerged us in the first place! I fear that I will do the same if I dwell in the past, so I look and envision the better future for all of us, both the Praecipuans and the Indigrins. A future where there is only one united flag under the name of Praecipua. The utopia of thought, language, economy, and government needs to be shared with everyone! This is why I propose we spread the culture, ideas, and technology over to Indigri, so that our goodwill radiates and we can finally unite as one, as one human race!"

"And how would you enact this, um, this act of goodwill Mr. Aragos?"

"I was afraid you wouldn't ask Councilman Drefall. During the time of our great grandfathers, that is doom-day, they came in machines called U-Boats. These boats can freely move in the water, submerged, without any amount of harm to come to any human." There was a murmur amongst the council 10. Whispers of, "they told us never to use them unless terraforming could be performed." And, "That technology is too old, and nobody knows how to use it." Thankfully I had anticipated this.

"Now gentlemen and Councilwoman Yanner, I know that neither I nor anyone knows how to navigate these beasts." I paused so that the chatter could die down. "That is until I met Mr. Ore. Mr. Ore if you will come here." My friend Justin Ore walked over in a pristine suit, white with black pants and a red carnation on his left pocket. His glasses made him look all the more professional.

"Mr. Ore if you will explain the U-Boat to the council if you so will."

"My pleasure Mr. Argos. Now the U-Boat is a bit old, but it will be able to carry a crew of 12 over to the entrance of Indigri. I looked at the controls and I know that I could steer it in the right direction just in case the autopilot is turned off. It seems the original humans planed for us to interact with each other, but we somehow never made contact since there was no communication between the two cities."

"How do you know this Mr. Ore?"

"Well, the auto pilot on the U-Boat has two options, surface and Indigri. I'm sure that the surface isn't somewhere we should go-"

"Wait a second." Councilman Xulta blurted out. "How do you know that? Did you go on the U-Boat yourself?" I started to sweat.

"Well, uh, yes I did." As the words left Justin, peace left the council as an uproar began.

"You did so without the permission of the council!"

"Do you understand how much of a risk you put us in?"

"I should have you put in the thought-box for this!"

"Now wait just a minute council! Peace please! Order!" I shouted and the council stopped, probably because they realized what they looked like in that moment. "Listen, he did so under my permission because I was thinking about the Indigrins. What if they are starving from over population as we once did? Out of that struggle we created Drive-26, the serum that made our crops grow 10 times faster. What if they need that now. What of the children need that now?" I paused for dramatic effect. "I ask you council, will you really let people die because of your decision to not take action because it goes against code? Unorthodox decisions must be made in order to change for the good of others, this is the moral pyramid which we were taught in school. Will you reach the top, or stay in the doldrums at the bottom?"

The council went silent, then Councilman Drefall spoke, "You have two cycles to assemble a crew to travel to the city of Indigri. If they are completely fine I want you to come back to Praecipua immediately. Understand?" My spirits lifted.

"Fully and completely Councilman Drefall."

"Alright this meeting is adjourned."

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