Science fiction:

The dirge of the dying year

by Sajitha Prematunge

When Alwin looked up he could see the super continent clearly. It was just as the German scientist Alfred Wegner theorized countless years ago.

One super continent comprising of two subcontinents - named after the ones in Wegners own diagram - Laurasia and Gondwanaland. It was at such times as this, when Alwin was looking up, it surprised him.

Ever since he was old enough for scientific reasoning, he wondered whether Wegners description was a past fact or a premonition of the future. A premonition was certainly a possibility - Time is a circle. And now it has come full circle. Countless million years from Wegner Alwin was standing on the moon staring up at the jigsaw puzzle supercontinent which had come together again on the face of the Earth.

This gigantic jigsaw has been piecing itself together again for billions of years. Since there were no separate continents now, the development of the human race knew no bounds.

Man had already populated the moon and several other planets of the solar system. But by Alwins time the sun was dying and all the planets of the solar system with it. Even the moons perpetual power source of H3 was no substitute for the energy of the sun. The search for a new habitat became more and more crucial. But the actual Armageddon was still way off; the Sun still had at least a few more centuries in it.

It was three years ago when Alwin left for the moon, with his family, at the age of twenty. Now Alwin wondered how much of it has changed since. Except for the ever dwindling sun, nothing seemed different at this distance.

But appearances are deceiving. Alwin was going back to earth now - he was a student of Human Geography quite out of place on the moon - to write a thesis on an under water settlement.

It was still a carefully guarded site to which limited outsiders were admitted. But according to Alwins sources the community was thriving. And did so by adapting to their harsh environment with the help of cutting edge technology. However they were dependant on the outside world for food and some supplies, consequently regular visits to the surface was a must.

Alwin was to meet one of these cargo submarines when he reached Earth. All the way to his flight back to earth, Alwin was hardly able to suppress his anticipation and suspense. The most illuminating was his journey in the sub but the most awe-inspiring came at the very end of the submarine journey.

The deep sea was almost pitch black, except for the dim lights of the sub - the Sun too weak in its decaying state to penetrate the deep waters. But suddenly as the sub reached the dark abyss of the ocean bed, it flooded with a blinding white light. It took Alwins eyes a few seconds to adjust to the unexpected conditions. Then his eyes set on the settlement.

There were three separate crystal spheres. Each thousands of feet across, studded with bright florescent lights, resembling three luminous-white lady birds. He could see buildings inside the spheres through their translucent walls, the likes of which Alwin had never seen before.

They were of a strange metal. How the sub came to be inside the sphere Alwin would never know. The sphere seemed to have no portals or hatches of any sort; it simply let the sub in and kept the water out.

Inside one of the featureless buildings Alwin met his guide - a local Senior Marine Biologist, a friend of Alwins father, Dr. Steven Saburo. Dr. Saburo greeted Alwin cordially, inquired after his father and escorted him down the snow-white corridor towards their laboratory. He opened the solid steel door that lead to the lab.

It was clear that it also operated as an observation chamber with a clear glass panel running the length of one of its walls. The ocean, illuminated by the lights of the settlement, lay right outside the panel. The rest of the room was crammed with research equipment.

This was where scientists conducted all their experiments. Alwin was scanning the sea through the glass panel, when a bizarre sound reverberated through the building. It sounded like a grief stricken bellow. It was loud enough but Alwin decided that it must be at least a mile away.

Alwin looked at Dr. Saburo questioningly, "Surely you haven't forgotten what a whale sounds like, it's called a 'whale song'. This particular one is a regular visitor to the settlement." Explained the scientist. "I've never heard anything like it."

They spent the rest of the day meeting the other inhabitants of the settlement, with Alwin taking down vigorous notes. Though the crystal spheres, featureless buildings, and the white lights gave the settlement an almost alien aura, Alwin realized that it wasn't much different from a settlement on the surface.

Humans easily adjusted to their new environment. Besides there were many things in the vicinity to keep them occupied. There was an artificial park, a cinema, a mall, a sports club, a gymnasium and even a sauna.

Eventually one would get used to the lack of sunlight, in fact the lack of sunlight wasn't the problem, but the relentless white lights of the settlement that compensated for the lack of sun. At the end of the day - which one could tell only by referring to the watch - Alwin and Dr. Saburo went back to the lab.

To be Continued next week...

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