This ocean has been forgotten for
1,000 years. We tried to cross it by sailboat. They tried to cross it
by submarine. We saw nothing on our voyage, but they were missing so
long we had to assume our friends weren't coming back.
When our community stumbled upon the ocean we knew we had to answer the call to dare out onto its ancient waters. We were part of the crew that skimmed the surface that cloudy morning to see what we could see and possibly unlock clues to our existence. We went out and came back without seeing much more than heavy moss and water lilies. We were forced to turn back when the water we sailed on started to turn to ice and it became too dangerous to venture onward.
So, we were the first crew, but as we said there would be a second that would try to skim the ocean's slimy floor in hopes of seeing something that would have been missed from u'top the waves. Their goal was to cross the ocean by submarine. We wished them good success as they touched off into the deep, but we didn't know they would be gone such a time.
So, I'm sure you are wondering who we are. Our community is called Evergreen. We have lived here on this planet forever not one of us perishing. We have lived for over 1,000 years now trying to find out who we are and how we got here. We think the ocean we have discovered might offer some huge clues. A long time back we must have known about it for we exploded the planet more then. However, since then we had put it out of our minds. The ocean must have not been content with our disregarding it because it came knocking on our door. Like a loyal friend, it had somehow picked itself up and found us for it was not were we had left it. We realized this when we found some old maps buried in our town hall attic that showed the ocean being much farther away. Yet, it had to be the same body of water.
Also we noticed something very strange about the maps and other old documents we found in the attic. They had certain symbols and terms that made it seem as though someone had written them today. The documents were relevant today, yet how could this be since these papers had been dusty for ages. There was a even a document that hinted at the very voyages we were now caught up in. We could not have understood this when we had written the papers long ago. The writers of those ancient papers are still among us today. They must have been under the influence of a power supernatural to us.
All this we discovered after our friends in the submarine had already been missing several weeks. However, on one of the ancient papers was something that gave us reassurance, for in short it was a promise of their return so we waited with baited breath. We always had someone at the bank of the ocean to watch for their return. We had to wait three months longer, but finally in the middle of the night the watchman made announcement of their appearance. The submarine crew staggered off board. When they struggled in the entire city had been aroused to greet them. We were desperate for news of their journey, yet they were too weak to share, collapsing red eyed and weary from whatever they had experienced.
They slept long and hard and for the whole next day and the next one as well as our city anxiously awaited their awakening. Finally one by one they ended their slumber, and we refreshed them with a much needed hot meal.
Then they shared, and we could not have been more stunned at their finding. Underneath the waves of the ancient ocean they had discovered a city. They saw its lights from afar and wondered if they were dreaming, but as they began to move inside it they entered into a world of vibrant technology and bright lights. They were greeted by sea creatures as though they had been expected. These sea creatures were much like us except they had fins and gills. The sea creatures gave our submarine crew breathing masks and guided them through the underwater wonder of a city. The crew started realizing that city seemed strangely familiar to them. It was as if they were dreaming of a very familiar land. Even the sea creatures themselves caused some spark of recognition in their minds although they were not at this time able to connect it to anything relevant.
They were treated very well by the sea creatures who hosted for them a great meal of foods our friends had not been exposed to.
Then suddenly the fog lifted from the crew's eyes. They understood the great mystery, and it shocked them beyond their wildest belief. They realized where they were and who these sea creatures were. This underwater city was the city of Evergreen our very home, and these people were the same people of Evergreen. The crew each slowly began to recognize dwellers of the underwater city. One might be a brother or a co-laborer, or a close friend. It was as if the city submerged here in the forgotten ocean was an exact replica of the one above on dry land.
The hosts smiled. Then they told us the truth. The submarine had traveled to the future. That's why the technology was stunning and the people were wiser. They told us a great storm had come and buried the city in water. They told us it had been the most difficult time in their existence yet. Also since we are the past and they are the future this would mean that very storm would soon come to us, but if we persevered and stuck together we would come out as new beings. With these words they sent the crew on their way saying that it was no use trying to find the underwater city again. The only way to see all this wonder again was to press on through the storm that was soon to come. Amazed, the submarine crew headed back, and entered in the present once again. However, although they aimed their vessel in the opposite direction from which they had traveled previously they did not find the shore where it should have been expected. We don't understand how they were able to travel such a great distance so quickly the first time for on the return trip they cruised for 3 months before finally managing to find the shore from which they had left. Yet, they are home now and have returned with this great news.
So, that is how it is. Our city has begun to make preparations for the storm although we know little what we prepare for. We believe in the promise that if we persevere and stick together we will come out as new beings although we are all more than a little frightened about what is to come. We soon realized that we had already been seeing just the beginnings of the storm for we had been receiving an unexpected amount of rain. This is why the ocean had traveled to us. The water level had risen and therefore it was able to travel over a great distance of previously dry land. The planet is already being submerged, but we know most of it is still to come.
The Evergreen of the future told us one more important detail not mentioned above. It is the most important detail of all for it is a clue into our existence, which has been the single most subject we have strived to understand through the last millennium. The city of the future told us there is an overseer of our community. His name is Decan. He has watched us closely since our birth to see what we would do with ourselves and whether it would be approvable or not.
Our love for each other and our desire to seek out right must have joyed our overseer's heart, or is it just that he was able to look beyond our failings to spare us when the storm came. For they told us that when the rain began to flood the city of Evergreen, they cried out for a help and the overseer gave them gills to breathe and fins to swim.
It has now dawned on us that our overseer is among us today as one of our citizens in the city. He has always been here living with us since the genesis. We do not know which one he is, but a very many of us surely are laying eyes on him everyday unknowing. His real name is Decan, but here he has taken a different name. Perhaps one day we will know who he is.
By careful inspection of the documents in the attic we have realized that Decan has given us another promise. A promise that in due time if we are patient to wait for it he will present us with the gateway into other worlds. For our city and our planet are not alone in the galaxy. We now look up into the stars realizing they are full of planets and peoples that have their own stories like ours. Some have already been taken by their overseers into other lands. Some may have even visited our very home. We wonder if Decan is overseer to more lands than our own which would effectively give us a brother. Possibly Decan has an overseer over him too. You can imagine this has created much excited hypothesizing.
We were rejoicing over all this discovery, but something happened to remind us how small we still are and how far we still have to go. It has been six months time since our adventure in the ocean. Now our darkest test of strength and character is just about to come. For dark dreary storm clouds have gathered above our city and it has begun to rain.
When our community stumbled upon the ocean we knew we had to answer the call to dare out onto its ancient waters. We were part of the crew that skimmed the surface that cloudy morning to see what we could see and possibly unlock clues to our existence. We went out and came back without seeing much more than heavy moss and water lilies. We were forced to turn back when the water we sailed on started to turn to ice and it became too dangerous to venture onward.
So, we were the first crew, but as we said there would be a second that would try to skim the ocean's slimy floor in hopes of seeing something that would have been missed from u'top the waves. Their goal was to cross the ocean by submarine. We wished them good success as they touched off into the deep, but we didn't know they would be gone such a time.
So, I'm sure you are wondering who we are. Our community is called Evergreen. We have lived here on this planet forever not one of us perishing. We have lived for over 1,000 years now trying to find out who we are and how we got here. We think the ocean we have discovered might offer some huge clues. A long time back we must have known about it for we exploded the planet more then. However, since then we had put it out of our minds. The ocean must have not been content with our disregarding it because it came knocking on our door. Like a loyal friend, it had somehow picked itself up and found us for it was not were we had left it. We realized this when we found some old maps buried in our town hall attic that showed the ocean being much farther away. Yet, it had to be the same body of water.
Also we noticed something very strange about the maps and other old documents we found in the attic. They had certain symbols and terms that made it seem as though someone had written them today. The documents were relevant today, yet how could this be since these papers had been dusty for ages. There was a even a document that hinted at the very voyages we were now caught up in. We could not have understood this when we had written the papers long ago. The writers of those ancient papers are still among us today. They must have been under the influence of a power supernatural to us.
All this we discovered after our friends in the submarine had already been missing several weeks. However, on one of the ancient papers was something that gave us reassurance, for in short it was a promise of their return so we waited with baited breath. We always had someone at the bank of the ocean to watch for their return. We had to wait three months longer, but finally in the middle of the night the watchman made announcement of their appearance. The submarine crew staggered off board. When they struggled in the entire city had been aroused to greet them. We were desperate for news of their journey, yet they were too weak to share, collapsing red eyed and weary from whatever they had experienced.
They slept long and hard and for the whole next day and the next one as well as our city anxiously awaited their awakening. Finally one by one they ended their slumber, and we refreshed them with a much needed hot meal.
Then they shared, and we could not have been more stunned at their finding. Underneath the waves of the ancient ocean they had discovered a city. They saw its lights from afar and wondered if they were dreaming, but as they began to move inside it they entered into a world of vibrant technology and bright lights. They were greeted by sea creatures as though they had been expected. These sea creatures were much like us except they had fins and gills. The sea creatures gave our submarine crew breathing masks and guided them through the underwater wonder of a city. The crew started realizing that city seemed strangely familiar to them. It was as if they were dreaming of a very familiar land. Even the sea creatures themselves caused some spark of recognition in their minds although they were not at this time able to connect it to anything relevant.
They were treated very well by the sea creatures who hosted for them a great meal of foods our friends had not been exposed to.
Then suddenly the fog lifted from the crew's eyes. They understood the great mystery, and it shocked them beyond their wildest belief. They realized where they were and who these sea creatures were. This underwater city was the city of Evergreen our very home, and these people were the same people of Evergreen. The crew each slowly began to recognize dwellers of the underwater city. One might be a brother or a co-laborer, or a close friend. It was as if the city submerged here in the forgotten ocean was an exact replica of the one above on dry land.
The hosts smiled. Then they told us the truth. The submarine had traveled to the future. That's why the technology was stunning and the people were wiser. They told us a great storm had come and buried the city in water. They told us it had been the most difficult time in their existence yet. Also since we are the past and they are the future this would mean that very storm would soon come to us, but if we persevered and stuck together we would come out as new beings. With these words they sent the crew on their way saying that it was no use trying to find the underwater city again. The only way to see all this wonder again was to press on through the storm that was soon to come. Amazed, the submarine crew headed back, and entered in the present once again. However, although they aimed their vessel in the opposite direction from which they had traveled previously they did not find the shore where it should have been expected. We don't understand how they were able to travel such a great distance so quickly the first time for on the return trip they cruised for 3 months before finally managing to find the shore from which they had left. Yet, they are home now and have returned with this great news.
So, that is how it is. Our city has begun to make preparations for the storm although we know little what we prepare for. We believe in the promise that if we persevere and stick together we will come out as new beings although we are all more than a little frightened about what is to come. We soon realized that we had already been seeing just the beginnings of the storm for we had been receiving an unexpected amount of rain. This is why the ocean had traveled to us. The water level had risen and therefore it was able to travel over a great distance of previously dry land. The planet is already being submerged, but we know most of it is still to come.
The Evergreen of the future told us one more important detail not mentioned above. It is the most important detail of all for it is a clue into our existence, which has been the single most subject we have strived to understand through the last millennium. The city of the future told us there is an overseer of our community. His name is Decan. He has watched us closely since our birth to see what we would do with ourselves and whether it would be approvable or not.
Our love for each other and our desire to seek out right must have joyed our overseer's heart, or is it just that he was able to look beyond our failings to spare us when the storm came. For they told us that when the rain began to flood the city of Evergreen, they cried out for a help and the overseer gave them gills to breathe and fins to swim.
It has now dawned on us that our overseer is among us today as one of our citizens in the city. He has always been here living with us since the genesis. We do not know which one he is, but a very many of us surely are laying eyes on him everyday unknowing. His real name is Decan, but here he has taken a different name. Perhaps one day we will know who he is.
By careful inspection of the documents in the attic we have realized that Decan has given us another promise. A promise that in due time if we are patient to wait for it he will present us with the gateway into other worlds. For our city and our planet are not alone in the galaxy. We now look up into the stars realizing they are full of planets and peoples that have their own stories like ours. Some have already been taken by their overseers into other lands. Some may have even visited our very home. We wonder if Decan is overseer to more lands than our own which would effectively give us a brother. Possibly Decan has an overseer over him too. You can imagine this has created much excited hypothesizing.
We were rejoicing over all this discovery, but something happened to remind us how small we still are and how far we still have to go. It has been six months time since our adventure in the ocean. Now our darkest test of strength and character is just about to come. For dark dreary storm clouds have gathered above our city and it has begun to rain.
