Undersea

Chapter 13: Sub City

"You must continue your work with the professor," said Beamer to Sarah as she and Zenith sat with him on the couch in the house they lived. "You don't have a responsibility to sit here. I will be paralyzed the rest of my life."

The way Beamer spoke, in such a forward tone, brought tears to Sarah's eyes. Zenith's too. They did not want to give up hope Beamer would walk again; it had only been a few days since the incident. Neither wanted to surrender to the idea that a once energetic Beamer would never stroll with them through Fish Town or anywhere else again.

"I'll be alright here," Beamer was saying, "I will not let you girls put your lives on hold for me. We have to move foward, even though circumstances have changed things. If I choose to be bitter about what happened, I might miss out on an opportunity!"

"But Beamer," said Zenith, "we're the only family you have now, let us take care of you! Besides, what can you do? You can't work."

"I didn't say abandon me," said Beamer with a smile, "but I can still contribute and I am learning how to get around by myself. The little board with wheels Shafer made for me helps, though I might make some tweaks to it. I'll be scootin' around all over the place in no time!"

"You won't be get bored or lonely being by yourself all day?" asked Sarah.

"I'll be okay; I won't get in to much mischief!" said Beamer with a laugh, "besides, I got "board" right here!" Beamer pointed to the wheeled board by his feet Shafer had made him. There where heavy eye rolls from the girls. "I just get the sense," said Beamer seriously, "that it's so important to keep doing what we're doing in the places that we are. Besides, I have a few ideas of what I want to do with the time."

For the next several weeks Beamer was absorbed with the printing press he had made months prior. Vi and Zenith continued to work at the fish factory and Sarah went with them half the days, but the rest of the time she was back in the pools and pens of Undersea with Safer and his crew gathering samples. She did not let herself focus on the events of Beamer's incident, and she was more determined then ever to continue the work despite any danger there might be in the pens. It had been a sort of chance incident as it were-what had happened to Beamer, and now all the mesh walls of the pens were inspected regularly to prevent sixgills from getting in again. Still, working at depth had it's dangers, and Sarah checked her gauges often when she was down collecting samples.

She would not leave her task, for she felt it important, and whenever the professor stopped by he thanked Sarah profusely for the work she put in. He would always make it a point to talk to Beamer as well to see how he was doing. The professor continually came away impressed at Beamer's ingenuity and attitude. "Where do you get such an encouraging outlook on life?" the professor had asked him one day. Beamer just smiled and handed him a printed copy of grandma's old book. "Hot off the press!" said Beamer.

- - -

Sarah now worked closer with the professor since they had plenty of samples from the farmed fish stock of Undersea. Those samples had never stayed in Sarah's possession long, and at the end of each collection day they were whisked off to the lab for analysis.

"Much of the fish we eat comes from the farmed stock," the professor said one day, "but we still get large amounts from the open ocean and it is there we must now go. Come, I think it is time I show you the field lab and the preparations I've made for further research into this matter. Meet me bright and early tomorrow in the Old City near the gates of the city, the ones in the outer wall."

"Those old gates," said Sarah, "why there? They do not open anymore and if they did the ocean would flood in and swallow Undersea! Those gates ceased to operate after the water lock system was dismantled, after the founders moved into the Old City from the subs. How are we going to collect samples from there?"