A World Of Water

The year is 7020. All ice on earth has melted. The planet is officially ice free. The air became toxic, polluted with all sorts of chemicals. Over time our human lungs could no longer take in oxygen. With all the continents deep under water our bodies eventually mutated to support life below the sea that was now our world. Most of us lived in caves. The water was no longer cold in any part of the world. The government had fallen and the people were self-governing for a time. However, over time it re-established itself and things were much worse than they were before. The plentiful amount of fish that acted as our main source of food was now completely and utterly regulated by the government. The government appointed a taskforce to capture, kill, and ration fish, which were cooked over underwater volcanoes. Civilians that were caught providing themselves with food were put to death.There was no longer a currency system, instead the government offered jobs to citizens and so long as they worked, the citizens were fed. Those who did not work received no food and inevitably died. There were outsiders however, tribes that lived independently in remote locations. And of course there are the ever elusive rebels. I live with my mother, Rose, and brother, Dillon in a low class community near what used to be Iowa. Life is not great but we get by. Thankfully those under the age of 17 do not have to work for food rations. My friend Sylvia and I often travel far away from the community into open waters to catch fish Illegally so that our families truly have enough to survive comfortably. Out in the silence of the open waters we often speak dreamily of revolution and liberation from the harsh government that evolved with its people into aquatic beings. Perhaps one day that revolution will come. Upon returning home from the open waters I saw that my mother was out in her coral garden. Sylvia and I waved as we passed her on our way into the  house. We rested for a while before Sylvia had to return home to help her older brother, Adam, care for her father. Shortly after Sylvia left my mother came in and went to the kitchen to begin plating our rations. We ate silently, tomorrow was the start of yet another work week for my mother who rationed food at the large government-owned and operated fish facility. Sylivia and I met at a local park the next day, only this time her older brother was with her. We all chatted for a while before heading out to the open waters. Sylvia and I lead, swimming several paces ahead of Adam. “Are you sure we can trust him?” I asked Sylvia in a hushed tone. “Of course we can, he's my brother,” she replied rather sharply. She trusted him, and I trusted her, for the moment. Sylvia and I caught fish while Adam watched silently from a large rock on the edge of a trench. Once we each had a large bag of fish on our backs we joined Adam on the rock and chatted about how wonderful it would be to overthrow this harsh government that had come to control our lives. Adam at the time seemed disinterested in our conversation. We thought nothing of it and all returned home for the day. The week ended quickly as we had fallen into a rhythm, the days began to feel repetitive. Neither me nor Sylvia expected what was to come. We were making our way into the community trade center in the high class end of the colony when we saw Sylvia's brother Adam talking to the minister. We knew then that he had heard far too much for us to be safe. It was his life or ours and so the next day we invited him into the open waters with us. We told Adam that today we would be going near the surface for a different species of fish. The three of us swam upwards from the rock by the trench where we normally sat after catching fish. When we got near the surface Sylvia grabbed one of Adams arms and I grabbed the other and together we heaved him out of the water. As we did so air rushed into his gills and he began thrashing violently. After several minutes he passed out. We held him up for a while longer to ensure he was truly dead before lowering him back into the water and dropping his limp body into the trench far below us. Days passed and searches were held. Adams' body was never found. One day while talking, as we did every day after filling our bags with fish, Sylvia suggested we go looking for the rebels. “I want to make a real difference. I wanna be part of the revolution. I want you to be there too,” she said with finality. “I’m with you one hundred percent Sylvia, we should begin our journey tomorrow.” I replied. The next day we met in the open waters, not to catch fish this time, but to travel far outside the community to the nearest rebel camp. We traveled for about a day and a half, stopping briefly for food and sleep. We arrived at the rebel camp and were promptly met with spears before explaining ourselves and why we were here. We later joined the rebels and overtime the tribes began to merge until we were finally large enough. We launched our attack at nightfall, cloaked by the darkness. We went forth in the night and destroyed every government building one by one. After the revolution the people were finally able to live in peace without fear of starvation. Everyone caught their own fish, and those who could not were provided for by volunteers. As for the government officials, those who survived the attack were imprisoned for life for acts of unjust control over the people of the colony.