The rain finally changed from a light sprinkle to a torrential downpour as the clouds covered the sky overhead. The wind made it worse, causing the cascade of droplets to be traveling sideways as it fell. The waves continued to rock the island up and down. Whatever fires were left were quickly extinguished by the downpour, as steam and smoke rose into the sky from all parts of the island. The stems began creaking and groaning as the hot metal cracked from the cool water striking its surface. Pods were falling from their housings into the water and onto parts of the island. Whatever the motive was for destroying the place, it was obvious the task had been. Nothing had been left untouched by the flames.
Nathan and Boiler in the midst of the debris, soaking wet, as if they were oblivious to their surroundings. Neither made any movement as they tried to understand the situation. Both were confused, and neither dared to make the next comment. Eventually, the tension became so overwhelming that Boiler finally broke the silence.
"So you really have no idea who I am? The name Boiler doesn't ring a bell? " Boiler just stood there, astonished that he wasn't even remembered by Nathan.
"I'm sorry, I haven't the slightest idea. Are you sure you have the right Nathan? I think I would remember a...well… someone of your stature." Nathan was not used to seeing a person made partly of metal, valves, wiring, and gears. From what he had heard, they were called humechs, which was short for human mechanicals.
"What do you remember?” questioned Boiler, “Honestly I'm at a loss for words. I thought that of all people, you would remember me, no matter how long it's been." Boiler was becoming disappointed by the confused look Nathan was giving him. Nathan was five years of age the first time Boiler had met him. He had shown him around the ships, teaching him all the mechanical devices and tools, and even watched after him when his dad had been busy working on his projects. And now, that kid had grown into a young man, with no knowledge of the past.
"I'm sorry...I really don't know who you are. I've been here for as long as I can remember. All I know is that my father was killed in a boiler explosion, and that that same explosion injured me severely, to the point that I can't even hardly remember him. My only memories are from living here, which has been nearly ten years now." Nathan just shrugged his shoulders, sorry to not be able to help the man standing in front of him. It was possible that this man was telling the truth, and that he just couldn't remember. Yet, for some unexplainable reason, Nathan felt the circumstances permitted him to give the man a chance. He had no home, no job, and now, he apparently had men trying to find him; dangerous men.
"Nathan...I know this may come as a shock, but I knew your father. We were good friends. As a result, I came to meet you. You were always fascinated with mechanics. They were just like puzzles to you...always asking 'Boiler what's this...how does it work...what's it do?' You always stayed with me whenever your father was busy. You loved being in the engine rooms. I'm just astounded that you don't remember them.
"I don’t recall any of that. I'm willing to believe you, but I can't say that I fully trust you...not just yet. Given what's just happened, anything's possible. Speaking of which, I think we should go down below, given the fact that this whole place is falling apart." Nathan turned to open the latch on the door behind him. It was hard to turn the slippery latch; he could barely grasp it.
"You make a good case...here, let me help you with that." Boiler grabbed the latch with his prosthetic hand and clamped down on it, nearly bending it. Nathan could tell that even he was struggling to open the door just by the look on his face. Eventually, the latch gave way and the door came swinging open as steam gushed toward them from within.
The two covered their faces with their arms and walked into the dark stairwell. They descended slowly, making sure there were no over-pressurized pipes about to burst or raging fires that hadn't been extinguished by the built-in sprinkler system. As they continued to walk downwards, the air became cooler, and the walls changed from cracked, steaming metal to a refined, sleek look. It was apparent that the damage was only on the surface. They were now safe in the subsurface corridors of the island.
"Well, ain't this a just dandy. Looks like they've fixed 'er up real nice since I was last down here. I don't remember any of this at all. " Boiler looked around, examining every small detail of the place. The stairs eventually opened into a large room, with windows all around and a large round door at the other end. A few fish quickly darted by, startle by the two’s appearance. Benches were placed every few feet in parallel lines, with check-in desks on the right side of the room. "So, they've redone the entrance and everything. Hmm...not too bad."
"Can't say that I would know.” Nathan responded, “Workers aren't allowed down here unless we're given specific orders...sort of ruins the atmosphere for the rich folk if they see 'grease covered heathens' like us down here." Nathan held his fingers as quotations to signify that they had this crammed in their heads constantly by the upper management. "We have to use the maintenance hallways and elevators to get around below the surface."
"Well, looks like we don't need to be staying around here anyways. What's say we take a trip to the lovely Oceanic City? You seem like you could use a change of scenery, as well as me." Boiler pointed to the large door at the end of the room. Nathan was excited, yet hesitant, to go, especially since it was a rare sight to see those in the lower classes of society visit such a prestigious place. They crossed the room to the door, where Nathan pulled a lever that was extending from the wall. A large groan came from the other side of the door, then a faint clicking sound that gradually grew louder. Nathan just looked at Boiler who stared straight ahead.
"I will warn ya' kid. These people are a little...well they’re a little weird. Guess ya' can't expect much when ya' put every rich snob in an enclosed area. Just stick next to me. I should be able to find us someone that can help." The clicking stopped after this last sentence, and the door slowly opened to reveal a bubble shaped enclosure.
Nathan waited for Boiler to walk in first, then slowly followed suit. Boiler pulled a lever on his side and the door slowly closed again. Nathan didn't know what to expect. There was a rounded window above their heads and another on the wall opposite the door, with yet another, slightly smaller window on the floor. All three of which only revealed the never ending blue waters of the ocean.
The elevator began to descend, slowly picking up speed as the water changed from a vibrant shade of indigo to a dark blue. Nathan's stomach lurched. He had never been down here before, and to him, they were descending into a bottomless abyss. As the situation became more and more unsettling for Nathan, Boiler seemed to remain calm. Suddenly, the elevator changed course. Instead of heading straight down, it was now descending at about a forty-five degree angle.
"There's the launcher.” Remarked Boiler, “Seems bigger than the last time I was here..." They both looked out the bottom window to see a metallic surface. Nathan made out an array of lights In the distance, which led straight down the path of this massive structure.
"So this is the launcher? I had no idea it was this massive!" It was obvious Nathan was astonished by this new site. He had always wanted to see what it looked like below the surface. The only thing he knew about it was what he could see from the surface, which was a periodic firing of metallic spheres into the sky.
"Well, what did you expect? You can't launch something miles into the air with a small cannon. Especially if you're wanting it to make its way over to Paradise City. That is nearly a hundred miles away. You have much to learn apparently..." Boiler just looked back to the window, watching as the lights grew brighter as they drew closer to their destination.
Nathan was able to make out another faint light in the distance. It was barely distinguishable from the dark ocean waters, but it became brighter as they continued to descend toward it. After a while, Nathan could make out not only one light, but a few, then more, and eventually hundreds. Before long, he noticed that these lights were aligned in patterns, which illuminated buildings and bill boards all across the ocean floor. It was a spectacular site, like a jewel hidden in a dark cavern. Blackness surrounded them on all sides, but the city grew larger and larger, quickly relieving Nathan of his worries.
"Welcome to Oceanic City kid...forty years in the making.” Boiler slapped in on the back, “It's basically sitting on top of a gold mine... or iron mine I should say. Fun fact, thirty percent of today's toughest metals are mined here. Never fails, the rich just get richer..." Boiler just shook his head with small smirk on his face. He had always resented the upper class for their ludicrous amount of riches. Nevertheless, he had to respect the man that founded this city. It was an engineering marvel.
As their elevator bubble drew nearer to the city, Nathan couldn't help but reflect on what Arnold had told him. His father was dead. He had been dead for nearly ten years now. What could these men need Nathan for that related to his father. It didn't make any sense. If his father was still alive, he would have surely found Nathan and removed him from such a horrible place.
"Boiler...remember how you told me that you knew my father and everything?" Nathan was somewhat timid in asking this question, still feeling uneasy about trusting a complete stranger.
"Yes...I knew your father very well. We worked together many times, with him being more of the brains and I, well, I just did what needed to be done." It was very noticeable that Boiler was proud to have been in the company of Dr. Axle and work alongside him.
"Well, I wanted to know...seeing as how I can't remember anything, what happened to my father? I only remember him vaguely. Everything is a blur to me." Nathan was somewhat saddened by telling Boiler this, but he needed to know the answer to his question. It was his only means of finding out the facts of what Arnold had told him earlier.
"Nathan..." Boiler paused, grief stricken by the question at hand. "I don't know how to tell you this, but you have gone through a great deal of terrible events prior to losing your memory. I can only sympathize with you and for the loss of your father. I hate to tell you this and I am terribly sorry. Your father was a great man, and an intelligent one at that." Boiler stood there in silence, waiting on Nathan to reply.
"Sadly I don’t recall any of it. By the way you talk, I fear I may not want to learn anymore of my past.” He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “Today...I had a man tell me something that I don't understand. He said the reason behind everything that happened on the surface was due to two men. He told me it was because of my father, and that these men were looking for me." Nathan told Boiler everything he could in hopes of solving this puzzle. If anyone knew about his father, apparently the man standing next to him did.
"I agree that doesn't make any sense.” Boiler replied, “I don't understand what anyone would want with you either. Your father's work has been dead for a decade. No one has come close to reproducing what he accomplished. His secrets died with him." Boiler was now extremely concerned. To learn that men were after Nathan didn't make any sense, unless they thought that Nathan could help them reproduce his work. This thought was quickly trashed as he realized it was complete nonsense. The kid was only ten years old at the time. On top of that, he had no memory as to what his father had accomplished, or how he had died.
"Boiler, I...I have to know..." Nathan stuttered, "is there a chance that my father is still alive? Any at all?" Boiler looked down, closing his eyes as if to think of what to say next. Nathan watched him, waiting for a reply.
Boiler drew a deep breath before speaking, "No... I'm sorry. As much as I want him to be, for me and you both, there is no way he could be alive. I can't explain the entire story right now. We don't have enough time. All I can tell you is that it is a miracle that you and I are alive. We were the last survivors on board the ship... even though for the longest time I thought that I was the only one who made it out alive. I don't know how you managed to live, but I can't express how glad I am that you did. Your father was a great man. He sacrificed himself to save you…to save all of us. I saw him watching us from the starboard windows as we made our escape. He knew as well as I did that he was not going to make it. I wish I could give you all the answers, but I can't right now..."
Nathan was even more puzzled. He had no idea what Boiler was talking about. With and event as dramatic what Boiler was speaking of, you would think that one could remember at least a small portion of the event, but Nathan was only drawing blanks. He could remember his dad faintly… working in his study….and then nothing.
"I'm sorry Boiler, but I just don't understand. So we were on ship... and we barely made it out alive. Why did my father have to stay behind? Couldn't we have just jumped overboard into the water? It doesn't seem like it would have been too difficult. What happened?" Boiler remained astonished at how little Nathan knew.
"Nathan, we weren't in the ocean. There was no way he could've escaped. We shouldn't have been able to either. The ship we were on was not meant for sailing at all. I'm afraid your memories are more distorted than I thought." Boiler remained motionless, frowning at Nathan, saddened by the fact that the lad had no memory of the first half of his life.
"What type of ship isn't meant for sailing? The only other ship I know of is an airship, but I think I would remember something like that. If what I've studied about airships is true, there have been only a handful crash, and even then, most passengers had been accounted for. Surely, that can't be it. If it wasn't for sailing, and wasn't meant for the air, what else could it have possibly been meant for?"
Boiler just looked Nathan in the eyes as the bubbles around the windows quit forming and they docked with the station. The city lights were now shining over their heads, with bill boards advertising the newest of devices and entertainment. The city seemed very lively. Any second now, the doors would open, allowing them to enter this busy metropolis.
"You were correct in your assumptions. The ship was not meant for the ocean, nor the air. The reason we could not jump overboard is the same reason we barely survived... the ship we were on was meant for space."
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