Atlantic Island (15 page)

"I loved the plays...loved all of it really. She sparked my enthusiasm for learning and my creativity. I wouldn't have made it half as far as I did without her...and my father as well. He worked himself to the bone to provide for his family, and it caught up to him. He died in 1968. Just keeled over one day in the store."

Lucas mulled this over for a minute. Theo waited patiently. "He did not live long," the mayor continued, "but he achieved what he needed to for his family. By the time he passed I was already in college. My sisters were married and had children of their own. My brother was in high school but was a brilliant mind, wise beyond his years.

"My family was so very important to me, Theo. Though my siblings disbursed around the country we remained close in each other's hearts. I kept my mother nearby so I could make sure she had the help she needed as she entered old age. When I became mayor of Atlantic City I rented an apartment for her in Mays Landing a few miles inland."

Mayor Lucas looked directly at Theo. "My mother was nineteen years old when my eldest sister was born. She did everything for us...was everything to us for all those years, and I don't even know if she's alive." He opened his arms wide. "All this, this so-called Palace, this island, all the power I've been given, and I can't help my own family. I miss them terribly, Theo."

Theo sat frozen for a few seconds as he debated a course of action. Slowly, deliberately, he stood up and put a hand on the mayor's shoulder. "I miss my family too, sir."

Theo shared bits and pieces of these meetings with his friends, usually as they sat down for dinner on weeknights. The teens alternated between each other's homes enjoying the rations they brought home at the end of the day. Ryan was excited to hear Theo's comments about the weather, which remained unchanged. As Mayor Lucas had said, the science committee was working on this and other information, but Ryan was sworn to secrecy about almost everything.
 

As the weeks passed, Ryan became more withdrawn and serious. Whatever it was he was working on was taking a toll on him. He spent his evenings after school at the science labs and would return home so mentally fatigued he would go right to bed. Theo and his friends tried to get Ryan to talk but he would not share anything. Kylee tried to pry some info from Michelle, but she swore that Ryan wasn't telling her any more than he told anybody else.
 

One weekend evening in mid-October, Theo and Bill were waiting for Ryan as he arrived home. "Hey guys," Ryan said, "I'm totally beat. Gonna get to bed."

"Ry, just chill with us for a minute," said Bill. "You need to take a second to stop stressing."

Ryan tried to protest but Theo and Bill talked and physically maneuvered him into sitting down next to them. "Listen man," said Theo, "we know you've got a ton of stuff on your mind and you aren't allowed to talk about most of it. But we've been wondering- what is it that's bothering you so much? Shouldn't progress be like, I don't know, a good thing?"

Ryan sighed. "Yeah... I mean, some of it is good, sure. But..." he stopped as he considered how to say something without revealing too much. "Part of why I signed up with the science committee was to get to do some cool stuff and to play with computers and all, but I also really wanted to solve the biggest problem facing all of us."

"You mean being stuck on an island and not knowing where the hell everybody else is?" asked Bill.

"Exactly. And I've been really lucky to get to work on some amazing projects. Projects that I really think are going to help everybody here and make life a whole lot better in the long run."

"So..." said Theo, "what's the problem?"

"The problem," said Ryan, "is that the progress we've made on the most important project is making it look less and less likely that we're ever gonna help anybody in the way that matters most. Everything I've seen, everything I can't talk about but you're gonna hear about pretty soon, I mean I'm not the smartest guy in the world but to me this is impossible." His eyes gleamed in the fading sunlight as they filled with tears. "We're stuck here. Mark's dead and we're stuck and I don't think we're ever gonna see anybody else ever again." With that, Ryan stood up and walked inside.

Finally, the week before Halloween, Mayor Lucas told Theo that the science committee would be presenting its findings that evening.
 

"Do you have any questions for me beforehand?" Lucas asked.

"Just two, I think," said Theo. "I'm getting the impression from Ryan that the news isn't very good. Is there anything you can tell me? Any kind of preview I can get so I know what I'm in for?"

"I don't know much more than you do," said Lucas. "They gave me a little bit of an overview but I'm truly going to be getting all the info at the same exact time as you at tonight's presentation."
 
He thought for a moment. "I suppose I can tell you that I also got the impression that the news isn't what we had hoped for, but I also am hearing whispers that there are elements of the findings that are downright fascinating. Small comfort, I'm sure, but there may be something positive hidden in there."

Theo didn't feel much better after hearing the mayor's thoughts. "I…appreciate that… I guess we'll hope for the best and plan for the worst."

Mayor Lucas smiled. "I had an aunt who used to say 'Set your expectations low and you'll never be disappointed.' Personally, I think that's a depressing way to live one's life. Let's agree to be cautiously optimistic and hope for something that can provide some context to this world we live in. What do you think?"

"I think that's a good idea, sir."

"Good, Theo. Now, what about your second question?"

"Well… I don't really have anything nice to wear."

Theo entered the small ballroom ten minutes prior to the 8 PM scheduled start time for the presentation. As he scanned the room, he saw the thirty or so other people dressed in what might be called "business casual." Theo felt a little overdressed in the crisp black suit Mayor Lucas had presented him from his personal collection and had tailored precisely to Theo's body.
 

Theo took an available seat in the second row next to a woman who stared directly at the podium at the front of the room. Her eyes never wandered and she didn't acknowledge Theo's arrival at all. The people in the room all appeared to be seasoned government employees. As very few government workers had left the island the weekend of the Event, nearly everybody who had previously worked for Atlantic City or Ventnor was around and available for the positions Atlantic Island needed filled.
 

Theo considered this, and thought about his position on the mayor's advisory committee. He still couldn't reconcile his view of himself that he had carried for as long as he could remember with Mayor Lucas's view of him. The mayor seemed to see him belonging among this group of people. No, more than that. Mayor Lucas thought Theo offered the government and the island something unique, an "x factor" that couldn't be found among the tried and true government employees.
 

Theo appreciated everything about Mayor Lucas, and everything that the man continued to do for him, but as he scanned the room he just couldn't see how he belonged with all these older, wiser, experienced people. He wished he could be sitting with his friends rather than next to this woman with her bat-like, nearly unblinking stare. But no, most of Theo's friends were home anxiously awaiting his return and Ryan, of course, was in the next room with the rest of the science team preparing to stand politely in the rear as the team's findings were presented.

The lights dimmed, signaling the start of the presentation and shaking Theo loose from his self-deprecation. Mayor Lucas approached the podium to polite applause. Theo was glad to see at least the mayor was dressed for a formal event.
 

"Good evening," said Mayor Lucas. He wore his same calm, friendly smile that Theo had come to know from their private meetings, but he spoke in a more official, stilted manner than he did with Theo or in his speeches to the populace of the island. Theo realized that the Mayor Lucas he saw before him tonight, the down-to-business serious Mayor Lucas, was the affected, artificial character. The charming, bright spirit Theo saw all other times was the true Sam Lucas, a reflection of who the mayor had been since childhood. Theo wondered how hard it was for the mayor to play this part, to be what people thought they needed him to be and not himself.

"We are here tonight, as you know, to hear from our esteemed science committee. Led by Dr. Johnson, this team includes the finest minds we have available to us, including one who is a student in our school."

Low rumbles of conversation greeted the statement. Theo wondered if the reaction to his being on the advisory committee would be as uncomfortable as the reaction to Ryan's being a part of the science team.

"Dr. Johnson and his team have been tasked with an enormous responsibility ranging from…" Mayor Lucas paused to look down at the podium. Theo realized the mayor was consulting his notes. There was something strangely empowering in seeing signs of the mayor's humanity.
 

The mayor continued, "Ranging from geological studies to tidal analysis to marine biology to meteorology, and that is just scratching the surface. We have charged them with an enormous responsibility, demanded of them a series of answers, and now we await their full report.
 

"Please understand the seriousness with which we ask you to keep this information in the strictest confidence. My committee and I will decide what is appropriate to disseminate to the citizens of Atlantic Island at the town meeting Halloween night. Until then, as difficult as it may be, please do not share these findings, and be very careful discussing anything with each other. I hope you all understand how catastrophic information can be in the wrong hands and without the proper explanation."

As the mayor spoke, Theo caught site of Deputy Mayor Tiberius sitting in the front row a few seats down. Tiberius looked as miserable as ever and his expression didn't change in the slightest as the mayor spoke. It occurred to Theo that Tiberius might well be a part of Mayor Lucas's committee. How could he hope to gain favor and acceptance among the committee members when one of them was so powerful and disliked Theo so intensely? How did Lucas even think it was possible?

The mayor was wrapping up his introduction. "It is with great appreciation that I turn things over to Dr. Johnson and his team. Please give them a warm welcome."

Dr. Johnson stepped out of a door at the side of the room. The rest of the science team followed him, including several men and women and Ryan, who looked incredibly uncomfortable. Theo wondered what his friend was thinking. Ryan had been dreading this presentation and now had to stand and watch the reactions around the room as the news was revealed.
 

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," said Dr. Johnson. Ryan often spoke reverently of Dr. Johnson. The science team called him the "mad scientist," but it was out of respect and a touch of awe rather than disrespect or mockery. Theo could see how the scientist's glasses and gray moustache made the nickname fit. Tonight though, Dr. Johnson didn't look mad. He looked nervous and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he spoke.
 

"When the Event struck, we pulled together every single scientific resource we had at our disposal to investigate the circumstances surrounding the atmospheric disruption, the seismic and tidal activity and, perhaps most important, the seeming disappearance of land beyond the narrow strip that comprises our island.

"Our most publicized effort was in coordination with other government agencies. We flew several helicopters a significant distance, only to discover nothing but ocean. This was only the beginning of our explorations."

He gestured to a woman seated in the front row on the side opposite Tiberius and Lucas. She raised a remote and clicked a button. The screen behind the podium, which had until now displayed the Atlantic Island insignia changed to show a map of the island. Dr. Johnson lifted a laser pointer and activated the red light, placing a dot in the middle of the map.
 

"As most of you know, the Event resulted in the land beyond roughly the first quarter of Margate heading south to disappear." He moved his hand and the red dot danced in a line along the southern border of the island. "Similarly, the land abruptly disappeared just before the north end of what was Atlantic City. Not far at all from where we sit right now, as a matter of fact." Another flick of his wrist and another illustrative laser line along the north shore.
 

"Once most of the commotion on the island had died down, we sent out a marine exploration vehicle. A drone device piloted remotely from land and constructed to withstand very deep water exploration. We conducted missions off all four coasts to collect samples from the ocean floor. On the south and north ends, the soil appears uniform for a great distance. On the west end and the east end, what we used to refer to as the bay side and the ocean side, we found something interesting.