Chapter One — Going Down
The large lift whirred into action the moment he pressed the button. It began to sink and there was a gurgling as water began to rise on the outside of the glass windows. The water swiftly completely covered the lift and the only thing that could still be seen from the surface was the sun sparkling through the water.
A crisp automated voice said, “Thank you for visiting the Poseidon Resort. To help protect the sea life this lift is moving at limited speed. You will arrive at the resort in one hour.”
The lone passenger on the lift look up at the speaker for a moment before returning to looking out of the giant glass windows that made up the majority of the lift.
Occasionally small fish swim past the window but those were gone almost as soon as they appeared as the lift continued to sink into the deep ocean. The twinkling light from the sun began to fade slowly as it went deeper and deeper until eventually it was completely gone.
After that the outside of the lift was pure black with the only light coming from the ceiling of the lift. The man was sitting on one of the benches in the lift still staring out into the dark abyss of water. He was young looking but still definitely an adult. He had black hair which went down almost to his shoulders and was messy like dealing with his hair was too much of a pain so he just left it.
Some might call him good looking but note that his noes was probably a bit small looking and that he would probably look better if he was smiling. Instead he was just staring out into the darkness with a blank look on his face.
Beside his was a small piece of luggage. Barely big enough to hold more than a couple changes of clothing. It looked more like something you would bring on a daytrip or maybe a small weekend getaway however inside was all of the man’s worldly possessions.
On his wrist was an old fashioned mechanical watch, a novelty of ages gone by. The only sound in the lift was the almost imperceptible ticking of the watch.
The seconds turned into minutes as the lift continued deeper and deeper into the water.
Finally something other than darkness began to show. A large structure. A pillar of stone and metal covered with glowing panels. Like an obelisk the top had just appeared and it continued to stretch off deeper and deeper into the water.
The pillar was covered various different kinds of underwater flora which clung to the uneven shape. The juts of the pillar seemed designed to intentionally provide that kind of purchase of the different plants. Small Fish could be seen swimming about them.
Beyond in the water could be seen another spot of light, another one of the pillar.
The voice spoke once again over the intercom. “The giant pillars were constructed at Poseidon Resort several centuries ago when the resort was constructed. They provide a light anti-gravity field over the resort lowering the pressure of the water and allowing an abundance of plant and animal life to flourish. Because of the natural pressure barrier created by this field the ecosystem here is isolated and completely unique. Please enjoy your time here at the Poseidon Resort.”
The man had stood up and took several step forward bringing him to the edge of the glass.
The floor of the ocean has finally began become visible. Cliffs and crevices covered in plant life. Vibrantly colored coral and many strange and unusual fish. Several more of the giant pillars could be seen, spread across the deep ocean providing illumination to everything.
Even in the murky water a person could see quite far into the water.
The man looked down and could see the shape of the Poseidon Resort belong him. The structure was made out of the same stone and metal construction as the pillars except windows could be seen dotted here and there on the structure.
Given the size of the structure there could easily be a few hundred rooms, even assuming you left plenty of room for resort amenities.
As the lift began to make its final decent into the resort. An fish easily larger than the man swam up to the glass. It snapped up one of the smaller fish which was passing in front of the window. The larger fish had opened its mouth up into four separate parts each with a set of sharp teeth.
The man took several steps backward however he was safely protected within the lift. The larger fish, content with its meal, turned and swam away from the glass leaving the man to himself.
He stood there with a look of awe before the top of the resort opened up and the lift slide down into a hole that had opened up for it. A few moments later the lift jostled a bit and then settled. The door opened up and the voice came again from the speaker.
“Welcome to the Poseidon Resort. Please enjoy our amenities however you wish. There is one other guest. Please remember to treat other guests kindly. Your room number is suite 35. If you have any other questions direct them to customer support. Thank you for visiting us.” Then the automated voice went silent.
The man picked up his small piece of luggage and left the lift, stepping out into the large entrance room of Poseidon Resort. This room had one large wall with a glass window out into the ocean. In the certain was many tables of various sizes surrounded with comfrey chairs. Several beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceiling basking the entire room with bright light.
On one side of the room was a bar filling with many different looking bottles. It was open so that any guest could step in and get whatever they desired. Poseidon Resort was completely automated so there was no person behind the bar.
However the man didn’t seem to be interested in any of that. He turned and passed the second lift and began walking toward one of the exits of the entrance hall. There was a sign against one of the walls that said “Rooms” and pointed in the direction that he was walking.
It didn’t take him long to find the interior lift which he was able to take up the the third floor. There only looked to be six rooms on each floor so it was a simple matter to find the one that belonged to him. The room automatically unlocked when he turned the handle and stepped inside.
He was greeted by a spacious four room suite. A living large living room, a separate bed room, a bathroom and a small walk in closet. Certainly more room than he needed with his single small luggage.
The man didn’t even bother using the closet and just set his luggage next to the bed. With that out of the way he walked over to the small pamphlet stand on the table in the living room. He flipped through it reading a few different pages about that different amenities that the resort had before setting the pamphlet back on the stand and leaving his room.
He wound he way through the halls of the resort until he finally to the restaurant. “Diver’s Delight” was what is said on the outside. Inside there was a bunch of tables of various sizes each of with separated from the others by junglish undergrowth.
Each table was almost completely isolated from the others and above everything was a giant glass ceiling whether the open ocean was visible. The entire place was impeccably designed.
The man took a seat at one of the smaller tables and picked up the menu which was tucked away on one side. Most of the items were various fish dishes with a label that said “locally source” and “unique to Poseidon Resort”.
He took several minutes trying to make a decisions before finally deciding. He pressed down on one of the items on the menu. A light lit up next to the item. Once that had happened he folded the menu back up again and set it back where he had found it.
The man stared up at the ceiling watching the fish swim around. On the other side of the glass it was a giant hole in the rock with the restaurant on the bottom. On all the sides leading up were little indents in the rocks where the fish could live.
Around ten minutes after he had made the order there was a whirring sound and a wood carved back rolled across the floor toward his table. On the top was a grilled fish with a side of several different vegetables and some kind of sparkling drink.
The machine carrying the meal rolled up next to the table. Then the top raised up a little and the meal was slide onto the table next to the man. With that done the robot drove off back to the kitchen. The man slide the plate a little bit closer to himself before reaching out for a fork.
After his first bite his face, so long left in the dull emotionless form, lit up with the first actual smile he had made since entering the resort. While it quickly disappeared the man began to slightly hum to himself while he continued with his meal.
He was a quick easter making short work of everything that was on the plate. Just as he was about completely done the robot came rolling back with a small bowl with some sherbet and a couple of pieces of fruit on it. The robot once again raised the tray and slide the bowl onto the table before rolling off again.
The man watched the robot roll away before finishing the fish meal. He pushed the plate away before moving to enjoy the sherbet. It was a small portion but just enjoy to savor and enjoy. After finishing it he looked at the desert menu again for a few moments before putting it away and standing up.
He left the restaurant and began walking through the resort section of the building. There was a large swimming section with glass walls separating the pools from the open ocean. However beyond that was a sign pointing toward “Deep Sea Diving”. He continuing walking and the hallway turned around a corner before leading into a large room. On the far center side was a large portal which read “Deep Sea Diving” and around it was setup a bunch of diving equipment of various shapes and sizes.
There were also a bunch of changing rooms each with their own locker for storing what you wouldn’t be able to take with you out into the open see.
The man had moved over to a small stand near the diving suit. It held even more pamphlets. He has pick up one listing safety instructions. One of the sections mentioned that the diving suits were fitted with sonic emitters which would ward off any large predators which would approach you and that for the animal’s safety you could avoid getting to close to them.
He was just setting the pamphlet back on the stand when the large portal in the center of the room began to open up. It was an air-locker which separated the resort from the open ocean. While reading the pamphlet he hadn’t noticed that the air-locked had begun to drain.
As the portal opened a woman stepped out of it. Not just any woman, this one was covered from head to toe to light silver scales. She wasn’t wearing a full diving suit, more a swimming suit than anything else. She was wringing out her perfectly emerald green hair with her one free hand. Her other hand held a closed basket of some kind.
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