Authors: Fredric Shernoff
Would Tiberius appear at the town hall? Theo guessed he probably would. He wasn't sure Tiberius was scheduled to speak to the citizens as he had at the previous meeting. It wasn't like the man was a fan of giving reports to laypeople.
Theo noticed Ryan looked nervous again, though certainly not as nervous as he had been the night of the science presentation. Theo couldn't blame him. Weren't they all nervous? They had no idea what exactly Mayor Lucas was going to decide to tell the people and nobody could anticipate what the reaction would be.
Theo looked at Michelle, clinging quietly to Ryan as always. He wondered again how much Michelle had tried to impress her feelings on Ryan. She had been very adamant that the government shouldn't be sharing any of the science committee's findings. Theo disliked her attitude, especially when she so rarely had anything to say about anything else. Of course, this made him feel guilty. He didn't want to dislike anything about a girl who was both his friend's girlfriend and the friend of his girlfriend. Knowing that Bill shared some of his feelings didn't help all that much.
"Are you okay?" Kylee whispered.
"I guess...yeah. There's just something... a feeling I can't place."
"I think that's called a 'sense of foreboding,'" she said.
"Yeah, I've heard that before," said Theo, "I never really understood what that meant until now."
"Well... what do you think is going to happen?"
"I don't know. Maybe that's part of it. I think Mayor Lucas is going to tell people some of what Ryan's team discovered. It's such a tough call. I mean, on the one hand, it would seem like to tell them about Philadelphia would be the...I don't know... conservative move. Leave out the part about Nazis and universes and all that."
"What's wrong with that?" she asked.
"Well, that's kind of what I said at first. But some of the advisors made the point that without telling them that we might be on a different world, we're implying that all their loved ones are dead and drowned, when for all we know that might not be the case at all."
Kylee considered what he said. "Okay, but isn't it kind of true that all their loved ones are drowned? I mean, this universe's version of them anyway."
"Well that might be true for the older people. Remember, Dr. Johnson thinks the place drowned decades ago. My parents probably never met on this world. Yours either. Hell, they themselves might not have had a chance to be born. And that's not taking into account the Nazi factor. The timeline is so different. It's just so hard to know."
Kylee put her arm around Theo's waist. "Wow. When you put it like that I guess I understand why you're so on edge. This is way too much for you to deal with. For any of us to deal with. This whole thing is just insane."
"You're not kidding," said Theo. "I keep thinking that maybe I lost my mind at some point. That I'm at home in some mental institution somewhere ranting and raving about all this stuff."
She gave him her suspicious, eyebrow-raised look. "So you think that meeting me was part of a delusional break with reality."
Theo laughed. "Of course... nobody as great as you could exist in the real world."
"Nice save. Smooth." she said.
"Thanks. You've never thought that maybe all of this is just too crazy to be real?"
"I don't know," Kylee said, "I guess I entertained the thought that maybe you and I fell asleep on the beach that first night, before all the crazy. Maybe this is all a messed up nightmare."
"Some nightmare," Theo said. "Must have been something really wrong with that pizza."
"God, I could go for some pizza right about now."
"Just be happy for our crappy canned goods and fish. Once the crops get growing in the next few months, maybe there's a chance of pizza returning in the future."
She sighed dramatically. "A girl can dream."
By now Theo and Kylee had entered the arena and were following their friends down the stairs to an available row. Theo was going to leave them there and head down to the arena floor where he would sit up front with other members of the mayor's advisory committee.
Theo kissed Kylee and said goodbye to the other teens. "Remember," said Bill, "if things go really bad for the mayor, I'm going to pretend I don't know you. Nothing personal, of course."
Jamie gave him a look. "I kid, I kid," he said. "But seriously, man, if the going gets tough, get the hell out of there. We'll find you in the parking lot."
"I'm going to hope it doesn't come to any of that," said Theo, "but let's meet in the parking lot anyway."
Theo walked down the concrete steps. At the bottom of the section he checked in with a security guard who looked his name up on a sheet of paper. Finding Theo on the list, the guard stepped aside and motioned for Theo to pass to the next level down. The stage was set up as it had been the last time the mayor addressed the crowd, except the only flag in site was the Atlantic Island flag, of which there were many all around the arena.
Theo made eye contact with Officer Dougherty, who pointed to a vacant seat next to him. Theo carefully slid past the people in the front row until he stood next to Dougherty who stuck out his hand. "Good to see you Theo."
Theo shook the man's hand and smiled. "You too, sir." Though Theo had always considered himself polite and respectful around parents, teachers, police or anyone else in authority, he had never been one to say "sir" or "ma'am" or anything like that. It felt false to him, and he had never wanted to be a kiss-ass like some guys he knew. Somehow, here on the island he had found himself addressing people in a formal manner regularly, and as genuinely as possible. Theo realized that he was changing in many ways. He hoped this was a good development.
"Sir...can I ask you something?"
Dougherty seemed surprised but smiled. "Of course. Anybody who can defend his positions to Paul Tiberius deserves to be heard whenever he wishes. What's on your mind?"
"My friends are concerned about how people are going to react to whatever Mayor Lucas ends up saying. I've assured them we are all safe but is that true? Do you have precautions in place?"
Officer Dougherty leaned in close to Theo and spoke in almost a whisper. "Do you see that man up near that elderly couple? The one with the red ballcap?"
Theo scanned the distant crowd. Sure enough, there was a short, deeply tanned man with a red hat sitting calmly. "I see him."
"That's your buddy Menendez," said Officer Dougherty. "He's working undercover tonight. We've got a bunch of members of the Security Force around the arena. I won't point them all out, don't want to reveal all our secrets, but trust me, they are there. Up where you can't see in the catwalk around the perimeter we've got sharpshooters in position, and a few more on the roof looking out over the parking lot and boardwalk. We would be prepared for this big a gathering no matter what the mayor had to say, and we took extra precautions due to the...sensitive nature of what we know is happening. Don't worry. We're your tax dollars at work...or, well, you know." He laughed at his comment, just one of many phrases that no longer worked in this new world.
The lights dimmed and a voice boomed over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen of Atlantic Island, please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to the leaders of our land, Mayor Sam Lucas and Deputy Mayor Paul Tiberius!"
Well,
thought Theo,
that removes any question about Tiberius showing up.
The deputy mayor may have been in attendance but he did not look happy to be there. He remained in the shadows, a living ghost, as Mayor Lucas took to the podium and raised both hands to greet the applause.
"People of Atlantic Island," the mayor began, "as always it does my heart good to see your bright faces and to hear your cheers. We have come a long, long way these past few months. If you asked people before the Event if they thought humanity could triumph over such impossible odds, such unbearable adversity, I believe few would have thought it likely. And yet here we are. A new nation bound by a dedication to hard work, to education and to each other. That is the key to our survival thus far and it is the key to our continued prosperity and growth as we move into the future.
"When we met last, I told you about our population. Since that time, I'm afraid to say that many who survived the Event with very serious injuries have since succumbed to those same injuries. We had some sicknesses develop for a variety of reasons, all of which are now completely under control. Through these and other causes, I'm sorry to report that we lost approximately 500 men, women and children since I last spoke to you. Please bow your heads and take a moment of silence to acknowledge their passing."
The quiet was broken by sniffs and sobs around the arena. Theo, his head bowed low, thought of Mark. Mark had survived the Event only to die in the new world. Except really Mark had never made it past the Event. That shell of a person they had visited in the hospital was not his friend. Mark had died in the Event...maybe he had died the moment they got in the car to head to the shore. It had just taken his body a long time to figure it out. Theo wondered how many of them sitting here were similarly already dead.
The mayor scanned the room and smiled. "Now I have some exciting news to report, for things move in cycles. Where there was destruction, now there is reconstruction. Where there was death... I am thrilled to tell you that the first native citizen of Atlantic Island has been born. His parents, Thomas and Martha Melrose have named their beautiful son Adam, which I think is wonderfully appropriate. Let's give them a round of applause."
Smatterings of applause while the mayor spoke grew into deafening revelry. The mayor hadn't mentioned this big news at the advisory meeting. Theo assumed it was because Lucas didn't need any advice about it. The crowd roared in delight and celebration. Theo guessed most people had been like him- too caught up in surviving to worry or even think about whether the population could grow. This made him think about Kylee, and as he began to feel creeping panic he put those thoughts away.
Mayor Lucas allowed the crowd to celebrate for what seemed a long time. Theo knew this was a carefully constructed strategy to energize the audience with positivity. They would need it.
"I share your enthusiasm," said the mayor. "It is my greatest hope that young Adam's birth can symbolize a new beginning for all of us. Our nation has been full of beginnings as of late. Our school system is operational and we are making sure that the fundamentals of human knowledge are being transmitted to the next generation. The Margate fields are prepared and the first region has been planted. With this beautiful weather we've been having it is very likely we will see ample growth of our crops. Our construction crew has nearly completed repairs on the buildings damaged in the Event, in addition to clearing the debris of buildings that did not withstand the Event or the storms that followed.
"They also made some necessary modifications to the Caesars's Palace casino and resort which, I'm sure most of you know, has become the center of government operations and the site of the Atlantic Island Academy." Mayor Lucas gave a sheepish grin. "Though I'm admittedly a little embarrassed by this next part, there has been a significant amount of interest in maintaining the 'glory' of the building's previous identity." He chuckled. "I hereby announce that the casino shall henceforth be known as the Atlantic Island Capital Palace. The other casinos, which we have kept empty since the Event, will be converted to living spaces for elected officials and additional office space as needed. I can assure you that plans are in place for the restoration of a currency, but we have no interest right now in restoring gambling to our nation. Money, when it returns, will be earned through good old-fashioned hard work. The kind of work you have all shown each and every day as we have progressed together.
"Now…" Mayor Lucas drew in a deep breath and Theo felt his heart race. This was the moment. "I know that many of you in the audience tonight came for one reason. It wasn't to hear about crops or Palaces or to see my handsome face." This got some laughs from the crowd. "Many of you came here for answers to the questions that have faced all of us since the time of the Event. Certainly you want more answers than I was able to provide to you when last we met."
The room was utterly silent. Theo worked up the courage to look in Deputy Mayor Tiberius's direction. The man was expressionless. If he shared any of Theo's concerns about what Mayor Lucas had decided to share with the nation, he didn't show it at all.
Mayor Lucas continued, "It is my responsibility as leader of this land to make sure you are informed, but also to make certain that the information I share with you is correct and complete. I preface what I am about to tell you by saying that there is much more we are working on. Unfortunately all of that consists of far too many guesses and so much speculation that I simply cannot justify bringing it to your attention until we have more information. You deserve that much.
"When I last addressed you, I said that a helicopter mission had found no sign of land. Since that time there have been more missions both above and below the water. Our amazing science committee, the same brilliant men and women who turned the power back on and restored a communications system so that our government could get back to work, have committed tireless, endless hours to investigating our circumstances." The mayor paused, and then in a slow, careful voice got to the heart of the matter. "There is reason to believe that at least a significant portion of the northeastern United States is now underwater." He paused again, allowing for the gasps, groans and sobs from the audience.
Theo looked around nervously. To his astonishment, nobody had started a riot yet. It seemed everyone wanted to make sure the mayor told everything. Mayor Lucas seemed to notice the same thing as Theo. Theo saw the man's shoulders relax a little and he continued. "We have results from one expedition, and only one, which after a long trip over what should be New Jersey and seeing only water found evidence of the city of Philadelphia beneath the ocean." Again, the mayor paused.