The Deep

Humanity's last hope for paradise lies submerged beneath the Atlantic Ocean: Nereilora, also known as The Deep. Advertised as a land of endless opportunity where you can be anything you desire, the government paints a perfect picture for a vision so grand you'd never want to leave. But that's precisely what they want you to think.

Frederick arrived in The Deep seeking his dream: to be a celebrated pianist. What he found instead was a suffocating reality. He plays for pennies in a rundown bar, his days a monotonous cycle of poverty and despair, barely enough to survive, let alone afford a laser gun to end it all. The TV ads back on land never show the rampant poverty, the lawlessness, or the crushing darkness that truly defines life in Nereilora. And they certainly don't mention the most critical rule: once you're in The Deep, you can't leave. For Frederick, this isn't paradise; it's his personal hell, and he can't fathom why his friend thinks a pen pal program with someone from the surface could possibly make it tolerable.

Meanwhile, on land, Henrietta navigates the grimy streets of New New York. Her life is a constant hum of angry customers in the diner, the frequent shouts of rioters demanding change. She tells herself it's "simple but pretty good," even as she buys canned air for her apartment and her boyfriend, who calls her "Hen" for "squawking," becomes increasingly volatile. He's sweet only when he wants to be, his drunken "rough lovemaking" and attempts to "hit some sense into her" dismissed with a self-assured thought that she can always lock the door. To Henrietta, escape is a foreign concept; her life is just fine. So why did her well-meaning friend sign her up for The Deep's mysterious pen pal program, as if she needed a way out?

Two different worlds, two lives teetering on the edge. What secrets will surface when their realities collide, and can a connection across the depths offer a lifeline... or only pull them further into The Deep?