Rally Interpretation - 3. Nepidon

You are at the Mistery Town Aquarium Center. You did not have to pay an entry fee today, for you have a season pass, just as you've always had for the past five years. Even before that, you've always gone to the aquarium as often as you can, as long as your parents could pay for tickets. After awhile, they saw reason and purchased a season pass for you. Then there were the nights where you would sneak out of the house and sneak into the aquarium to see how the inhabitants there lived during the nighttime. The sights you saw were beautiful beyond words. You belonged there. You knew the residents more so than their caretakers. You knew when one was sick, when one was pregnant, when one was a newcomer, even though everyone always tells you "They all look the same." But they're not! Each one of them is special and unique in their own way, just as people are. Or, so you once thought. Lately, you're starting to think things...

The aquarium is empty today, and not because you snuck in during closing hours either. No, it's broad daylight and the place is still empty. Empty, save for you and several other people. There were ads in all the local papers and strewn all over the town, talking about a special meeting for people who love the ocean as much as you do. It was to take place today at the aquarium. The people behind this meeting must have a lot of money to buy off the aquarium for the day to ensure privacy.

As you look at the other people around you, you notice that they are all in shape and quite tanned. Some are still in wetsuits. You suppose that they are all heavily involved with the ocean and sea, in a hands-on way. You don't recognize any of them as anyone who works here at the aquarium. You continue to walk to the center exhibit, where the fliers said the meeting would take place. A Southern blue-ringed octopus places an arm on the window pane belonging to one of the exhibits next to you. You know this gal, and as a way of saying hello back to her, you place a hand on the opposite side of the window, directly opposite of where her tentacle is currently placed. Your meet and greet is short, however, as you don't want to be late for the meeting, so you take your hand away and continue walking to the center room.

As you near the room, you hear voices coming from the distance. You hear boisterous laughter. As you enter the center exhibit room, you are first drawn to the several dozen common goldfish, koi, betta, remora, carp, pufferfish, and bass, all swimming in organized schools in the central tube. Glass windows showing other fish (ones that can't be put in the same environment as the freshwater fish species) surround the circular room. The voices come from the people standing besides the central tube.

Amongst the group are people dressed in blue- and white-striped shirts, blue jeans with stylized circles embroidered onto the sides, black gloves, and a blue bandana with a stylized 'N' on it. People who aren't dressed like that you guess are people like you, invited here by the group organizing this. The people in similar clothing you guess are part of said organization.

"HA HA HA HA!" you hear.

You notice the laughter coming from one of the people in the group. He is dressed in black pants and a black dress shirt with a rather revealing v-neck, showing off his pectorals and the fact that he shaves his chest. He is also wearing a bandana. Just the way he composes himself, you can tell that he is full of life (and perhaps himself) and is very approachable. He is speaking to someone as if they were an old friend and you find yourself inexplicably jealous of the stranger. It makes no sense but, how cool would it be to have someone as lively as this man as a close friend? You decide that this man possesses the ability to woo both man and woman alike, no matter the preference.

The man notices the new people entering the room and grins.

"Ahoy there, mateys! Come on in! Don't be shy! We're all friends here!" he shouts, waving you all in.

You wonder if he has an indoor voice. You walk closer to the group, along with several other outsiders.

"I think we should get started. It's been lovely talking to you, Shelly. Hopefully we can do it again, real soon."

You wonder what she said to get his attention so completely.

"Haha, welcome everybody! I see only the most attractive squirts decided to show up today!"

You decide to take that as a personal compliment.

"In case you've been on land too long, allow me the pleasure of introducing you...to myself! Ahaha! The name's Admiral Agelus, but ya'll can call me Archer. No need for titles with us. Everyone's part of the crew in Nepidon!"

He suddenly stretches his arms out and twirls around in place like a little kid.

"Looook at all this beauty! Life-sustaining water as far as you can see! It's exactly like it was millions of years ago! Can you feel the serenity? The peaceful cohabitation of all the sea life behind me, doing what man cannot do after all these years he's spent being the dominant species on land? Reminds me of why I left the land to begin with."

You think about your last romp in the ocean. You had gotten into a fight with a friend and just wanted to get away from it all, so you took your surfboard and wetsuit and headed out to the beach. You swam out past where you were allowed to surf and just laid there, lazily coasting on the waters. You had both hands submerged in the water. You remember something brushing your hand as it swam past. You didn't know what it was, but making contact with the creatures that live in the ocean was nothing unusual to you. You just felt happy that the ocean life trusted you enough to get close to you. The feeling of peace you felt in the ocean was something you could never replicate in your bedroom or with others. You've often pondered about living life on a boat (or a yacht).

"Archie, you're daydreaming again," said one of the uniformed men.

You snap back to attention and notice that Archer had fallen into a similar trance.

"What? Oh, right. Sorry, mateys. It was a wonderful experience, my first time on the high seas by myself, you can be assured."

He has a smile on his face as he recalls his distant memory. But then he shakes his head slightly and the smile is washed off.

"But that's not why I called you all here, is it? No, what I want is to get you all in on a wonderful opportunity. Here's something a professor told me long ago: all life originated from the ocean. Without all this water around us, none of us would be here today. Not us humans; not the creatures we see before us. We owe everything to the ocean. And what do we do instead? We kill it by causing global warming, making the oceans and seas recede onto themselves, pushing them further and further back for land, land that means nothing to us if we don't live long enough to use it.

"So we've got to fight back! And how do we do that? We increase the spans of the seas! We make the ocean come back and reclaim the beaches! We do away with pesky islands the size of a dining room table! We return this planet to the glorious state it was once in!

"I ask that you once again look at all the varieties of life that swim around us at this very moment. As I've said before, all life springs from water. Increasing the water mass will introduce new species of sea life we've never could have imagined! Just think: if we swallow Taal in water, we could eventually see native hydrothermal vent gastropods safely without deep sea gear for the very first time! And it will be OUR doing!"

"But how would we increase the water mass?" you blurt out, suddenly afraid that it was a stupid question and that Archer will hate you forever for asking such a thing.

He looks at you, perhaps surprised that someone broke free of his charisma for even a moment. Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid! His full attention is now on you and you have failed him! You wish you could just crawl into a bottomless crevice on the seafloor and die.

"Ahaha! I'm glad you asked, my fine matey! I may not look like it, but I'm quite the resourceful captain. I have the tools and designs necessary to carry out our task. Why, there's even a legend..."

"Archer, these aren't ours just yet," pipes up one of the uniformed men.

"Aw, lay off won't ya? Everyone here is part of the crew in spirit, officially documented or otherwise," Archer replies.

Somebody in the crowd speaks up, asking about the potential problems with flooding the world with water and reducing the landmass, which is where people live. Perhaps it was you again.

"A great question to be sure!" he replies. "And to that, I say look at Coastalreef Town. A whole town floating on top of the seas! Everything there is connected to one another and the town itself isn't simply drifting afloat in the sea like a piece of driftwood. No, it allows people to live on the waters without having to invest in a boat! It is locked into land so a strong breeze can't send it to a new zipcode. It is proof that humans CAN live on the waters as if they were living on land! The town does not impede the flow of the sea and all the life in it. Just think of a whole city designed just like it! If the whole world were like this, think of the possibilities! It would be impossible to poison the oceans with oil because of sheer volume! New life would spring up constantly! The poor landlubbers that had the unfortunate mistake of being born in a landlocked town would know the joys that we all know intimately."

You again remember your lazy surfing adventure. You would want everyone to know what that's like. And what of the children Archer just mentioned? The ones who can't make it to the waters, but so desperately want to be a part of it? You want to help them realize their dreams.

"The land's not going anywhere. It's merely being pushed down. And we can build on top of the waters and we can, we MUST, accommodate to the waters, not the other way around. So, what do you say, me hearties?! Are ya part of the crew?! Are you ready to do some good to this world?!"

"YEAH!!!" everyone shouts.

"GO, NEPIDON!" shouts the woman from earlier.

Not to be outshone, everyone else repeats.

"GO, NEPIDON!"