My race. For the first time I saw written records of my race.
Immediately I started reading the words that would, hopefully, offer some answers.
Aquantiens are a race whose existence remained unknown for centuries.
The reason for that lies in the fact that they reside in the unapproachable areas of the sea, and the majority of their activities takes place at sunset or at dawn. They can be found in the shallower waters, out in the open sea, where coral reefs attract many different species of sea animals. Due to the strong currents and razor-sharp rocks protruding the surface, those areas present danger to the human vessels and for that reason humans are avoiding those particular areas.
It is not known whether there is any interaction between the Aquantiens and other aquatic races.
Unlike sirens, Aquantiens have a skeleton that resembles that of the humans.
First attempts at surgical alterations took place approximately half a century ago. Not all of them were successful. The most challenging part of the process proved to be respiratory system replacement. There were multiple attempts of transplanting human lungs. However, Aquantien bodies rejected those organs every time.
It wasn't until the technology made it possible to grow organs in a laboratory that the procedure was on the way to success. Growing organs using stem cells of the patient prevented organ rejection, significantly increasing the rate of survival.
The first successfully altered Aquantien was subject marked as Aq53.
After almost two decades of intensive research, subject Aq53 was the first one surgically modified to live on land. In addition to respiratory system replacement, minor alterations needed to be done in order to make subject Aq53 humanlike. The webbing between the fingers and toes, frills on the outer side of the shins and the translucid third eyelid needed to be removed. Teeth needed to be recontoured and hair needed to be colored.
In spite the fact that it is proven that the body of an Aquantien could be modified, only six Aquantiens so far chose to be subdued to the process of transition to land.
I turned to the first page to look at the year the book was published. Fifteen years ago. I wasn't one of those six Aquantiens. I returned to the chapter I had been reading.
There were also pictures. Most of them were mere drawings, but several of them were photographs. Some of them were the 'before' and 'after' pictures of hands and feet, while others were graphic displays of lung transplantation surgery. All the pictures were in black and white, and for that I was grateful.
From the last photo, a young dark-haired girl with big eyes and thin lips stared at me. Her face shown no emotions. The caption under the picture named her as Subject Aq53.
Subject Aq53, forever captured in time on that black and white photo.
What made her choose that path, I wondered? Was she the forgotten one, like me? Did anybody notice she was gone? Did anybody notice I was gone? There was no way of knowing.
As I was staring into her eyes, Opal and Ardea came into the room. Ardea was dusting off the sleeve of her jacket, while Opal was reaching in her pocket, taking out two pebbles.
''Look!" She stretched her arm towards me. "Aren't they lovely?"
I looked at the pebbles in her hand. They were smooth, their dark pink surface streaked with white veins. Although I never developed the same affection for stones as Opal, I had to admit that these were very nice pieces indeed.
"Did you find the answers you were looking for?" Ardea asked, changing the subject.
"I found some information," I answered. "I wouldn't say I found the answers because I didn't know which questions to ask. Not really."
"But you did find your race?" Opal asked further.
"I found my race," I replied with a smile.
"Really?" She placed the pebbles on the lowest shelf on the wall above her bed.
"Yes," I confirmed. "Aquantiens are in this book."
"Let me see!" She was by my side in no time, pulled the book that was in front of me, sat on my bed and placed it on her lap. She glanced at the text and I could see her eyes stopping at the pictures.
"Ew! That's gross!" she said looking at the pictures of the surgeries. "Are those real organs in the surgeon's hands? Disgusting!" She looked up to gaze at me. Her nose was wrinkled. "Did they do all this to you too?"
"Well, yes," I said with a nod. "I mean, the procedure changed over the years, but that is still the only way for an Aquantien to become a land dweller."
"And you let them do all this to you?!" she asked waving her hand over the pictures. "You are insane!"
"Why are you so surprised?" Ardea said, attracting Opal's attention. "You knew where she came from. You knew that a lot needed to be changed in order to get her to where she is now."
"Yes, but I haven't really thought about what it all meant. They literally hacked her up!" Opal was blunt as usual.
"It wasn't like that." I tried to put her at ease.
She still held the book on her lap, looking at the pictures with repulsion. It was so strange to see a person who would have no problem going into an unexplored cave, facing heaven knows what, so disgusted by the images of surgeons in action.
"Look at this one!" she exclaimed pointing at the picture of an Aquantien whose chest was open and his ribcage exposed. "They gut him like a fish!"
"Opal, language!" Ardea said, imitating her mother.
"What? We're all thinking it. Even Azora!"
"It wasn't quite like that," I said once more.
"And what was it like?" she asked me. "You never exactly explained it to us. This one knows," she pointed at Ardea with her thumb, "but that's no surprise. Her father hacks people for living."
"Opal!" This time I warned her. "Language!"
"Yeah, yeah, all right. He's a surgeon, not a hacker."
Ardea and I exchanged amused smiles which somehow escaped Opal's attention. She was still looking at the pictures. "I would like to know more about all of this, though," she said with her fingers stroking the pages.
I took a moment to think about it. After all, she was one of my best friends. Since the very beginning of my adventure called schooling, she was by my side. In addition, she enjoyed sharing her thoughts with me, whether I wanted it or not. So, how was I supposed to deny her the details of the transformation that enabled me to meet that quirky dwarf?
I looked at her warmly, and with a smile on my lips I said, "All right. I'll tell you."
If you're reading these words, that means that you have read another chapter of my story. Thank you for that.
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