Cyberpunk Fantasy

Chapter 19 - Sirens Rapture

"I know you're there Chadash. No sense trying to scare me today." admonished her long time friend. "Ugh, I was so careful this time.... you should play in the games Sebastian."

"Not likely...." laughing, "Although there was that one time when we were kids & I bested you in that prank off."

"YUCK! That was so dreadful, Please don't remind me. My mother grounded me until the smell went away." she stopped speaking, & remembered her mother screaming at her. She shook it off.

"I can't believe that was only 10 years ago. So much has happened since we were that young," Sebastian added. He stopped what he was working on and looked up at her "it feels like another lifetime ago?"

"Yeah..." they could both see the people they used to be in each other's face.

His dolphin-like skin was smooth as she put a finned arm around him and leaned her head into his. He hugged her back with his flippered yet fingered hands. They were more like brother & sister, than lovers, not that many transhumanists were monogamous. Hell, even they weren't, but their bond was deep. Maybe it was because he knew who she used to be so well & simply had the frame of reference for almost anything she put out.

She finally broke their silence, "I'm going up for some sun with the pod today, feel like a float?"

"I feel like I could use a cigarette," he mused, "I almost want to go up just for that."

"Old habits die hard, huh? Let me guess, you have an air tight pack in that safe of yours?" she teased.

"Now you know all my secrets, don't you 'Dash?" he smiled at her.

"I'm serious, are you coming with me or not?" she asked, returning the smile.

"Tam & I really need to go over these samples, today. As a matter of fact he'll be here soon. Maybe tomorrow?" he asked.

"I can't wait that long, I'll be eating the sea-horses by nightfall." she giggles.

Chuckling with her, "Fair enough, how about meeting at Coral Castle when we're both done, say in about 5 hours?"

"Make it 6? I haven't had any sun in a few days & last night's games took a lot out of me." She gave him a long deep kiss & swam out of the lab. On her way out she almost bumps into Tam. "Hi Chad, where are you off too?" he asked.

"Going up with the pod for some sun." she replied.

The scent of the room flows into the hallway behind her. "Woah! Smells like pheromones. What did I miss?" Chadash fakes a blush, altering the colors of her cheeks, & winks. Her fins & flippers take her out of his sight far too quickly, he couldn't help but watch her go, dumbfounded at her. Tam turns into the lab & remarks about how lucky he thinks Sebastian is.

Meanwhile, Chadash is enjoying the speed of the AquaDuct Flow Tubes leading her to the outside of Atlantis. Blasting out of the tunnel into open water was always fun for her. She laughed & twirled. Then she saw the pod. It looked to her like everyone was just starting to move up & that she made it just in time to catch up with the school of Aquins. "Seems like everyone's hungry after the games again?" Shouts one of the other stragglers, to her. It was Donna, an old roommate of hers from the construction. "Yeah, long time, no see, what's it been about 8 months?" Donna's eyes widened, "Well, we got new residences about 4 months after it was first completed, so yeah, that's about right. Can't believe it's been a year since we made that!" They both kept floating upwards, but turned their vision towards the conch shaped & corralled mega city that seemed to swirl beneath them as they turned.

Then she looks upwards again, at the near 7 million gilled residents between her & the surface of the ocean. Lobster-people, Sharkins, Rays, Mollusk Folk, & more, all swirling together. Swimming slightly against the tide. Arriving at the top at dawn, the Aquins find themselves a few miles out from right above Atlantis. Over the next few hours they drift & float until they are nearly right above the sustainable City-State complex.