Undersea

Chapter 8: The Shape of Things

Sarah's dreams came and went as she dwelt in Sir LaRosa's house amongst the beautiful looking things he had crafted high up on the furthest wall of Undersea. "Paradise" was the official name for the little district Sir LaRosa had carved out for himself into the rock and it included all ground from the roundabout lamp to the big house on the wall. His domain was Undersea and in that domain was his paradise: trees, deer, birds, streams, light; along with some things that made Sarah uncomfortable to think about.

Mother thought Sir LaRosa was a genius and worshiped her husband in all that he said and did. When Sir LaRosa came home from the Lab in a stewing wrath over one thing or another mother would assuage his hurt pride or his anger with honeyed words. She would tell Sir LaRosa that there was no one like him, that he held the power, and then tie in a suggestion on how to be rid of the problem. The big house on the wall had quite the reputation with the elite of Undersea and it did not relinquish the power it held but instead gathered more to it.

With that power came precaution; few were permitted into the LaRosa residence without mother's consent. Even Sarah's friends Zenith and Beamer were not allowed to come up, Sarah would always have to go down, taken in a vehicle to the outskirts of Sir LaRosa's estate; near the large lamp in the roundabout and the boulevard with trees. There the three of them would meet when they could and walk amongst the tall trunks: though even this activity was a conscession, for few indeed were allowed that far.

"What's it like in the big house?" Beamer would ask eagerly, looking across the meadows up at the mansion high on the wall where Sarah lived. And Sarah would talk about the pretty things in the house and the servants that were trained not to look at you and the rage of Sir LaRosa. She spoke how she missed father and grandma and how Jack was being groomed to grow up like Sir LaRosa.

"But I don't think Jack has it in him to be like that," said Sarah, "he isn't Sir LaRosa at all. And he comes over to my room at night and I read to him from grandma's book and I tell him stories about father and the above world and stories about where he comes from."

"You are doing what you can," said Zenith squeezing her hand, "one Sir LaRosa is quite enough for Undersea."

Beamer was particularly excited when Sarah told them mother's promise about attending the same school with her for the children of the elites, but it did not happened. Mother never seemed to remember making that promise and Sarah wondered if she would have said just about anything to get Sarah to the big house. Mother had seemed desperate in that moment, saying anything that might stick. Sarah wondered why.

At school everyone walked on egg shells around her and it felt to Sarah like school was no better then trying to talk with the servants at home. Students, teachers, administrators, and staff all knew where Sarah came from and it was like they had been given strict instructions regarding her. "But I'm just me! You all don't have to do this!" Sarah wanted to shout when she was at school, but it did no good no matter who she tried to talk to about it. She was up against something quite beyond her, but Sarah worked hard at her studies all the same for bitterness was a choice. She threw herself into her class work for what else could she do? Semester by semester she became more proficient in what she learned. Biology was her favorite subject; in particular marine biology, and in this she excelled. Word of her academic accomplishments even reached the ears of certain family members living in the house high on the wall.

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Sarah's stepfather Sir LaRosa, whom she called "Sir" whenever they spoke, was a busy man in his dealings with Undersea, it's bureaocracy, and the goings on of the Lab. He was often in the heart of the city at his Lab office planning, plotting, and expanding the underwater city of Undersea. There were many things to consider and account for: food, living space, oxygen supply and generation, energy output, as well as keeping his grip on power and governance. Sir LaRosa was a big believer in himself and his ideas (thanks in part to mother) and if his designs did not work then the flaw was in those doing the execution and someone would get sacked. He also used the Mariner Patrol with great effect; arresting, punishing, and disposing any dissidents. People quickly learned it was easier to live and let be in Undersea. Thus any conversations between Sarah and Sir LaRosa always seemed to end in tension, as if the two of them were not on the same page, and so they seldom spoke after the first few months and mother seemed to try and keep it that way.