Before I could read what the crates said, I was once again roughly dragged from the lift and over to a single door on the left side of the room. The mayor took the lead and by using her code was able to open the door, stepping aside to allow the guards to drag us inside.
The room was nothing but a miniature copy of the warehouse outside it. A solitary light fixture hanging from the ceiling dimly lighted gray concrete walls. To the far left directly from the door was a desk with a small lamp, but beyond that, there was nothing but empty space leading towards the shadows on the opposite side of the room.
The mayor gracefully sauntered over to the desk lamp and switched it on. “Welcome, Dylan and Allie, to the interrogation room.”
I glanced over at Dylan, surprise erupting on his face. “What are you talking about, Mayor Aldridge?”
Mayor Aldridge leaned against her desk and folded her arms, never lifting her gaze from us. With a slight puff of laughter, she responded, “Do you think this has never happened before? That a Land Dweller discovered and found their way into Oceania?”
Dylan’s face became puzzled, and I’m sure it mirrored my own.
“Over one hundred years ago, Oceania was common knowledge to the Land Dwelling World. Communication between the above world and us was a commonplace everyday thing. But on our city’s one-hundredth birthday, the current mayor decided that Oceania was too advanced, too pure to allow Land Dweller society to taint it. Or for the Land Dwellers to create any more societies like ours.” Mayor Aldridge unfolded her arms and leaned off her desk. “They found it too risky.”
“Too risky for what?”
“For the Land Dwellers to know about us. The mayor cut off contact with the above world. You see, they were about to announce that Oceania was a success. Governments around the world were making plans to create their own versions of Oceania across the globe. But there was more. They wanted our technology. They wanted to make sure that the brilliant minds they sent down here still made contributions to the above ground world. How was that right? We knew how the brightest scientists were treated. We came up with the ideas to make the world an easier place to live in, but what did we get for it? Did we become rich? No. Did we always get due credit? No. Our mayor wanted to save the citizens of Oceania from that.”
Mayor Aldridge paused and strode closer to Dylan and me. I did my best to stare her down, still clutched by a guard who partially held me up, but also kept me from attempting to rush the mayor.
“Don’t you see, Dylan? Our people are better treated cut off from the rest of the world. We have a utopia here. Our crime rate is nothing like that of the Land Dwellers’ cities. We have the smartest people here—everyone is highly educated. The economic balance is just. People receive good money for what they do. We do not have racism or terrorism—things you only know about from the history books—but they are still alive in the above world. Our ancestors, our grandparents, were chosen from the brightest minds in the world at the time. We are all descendants of very brilliant and exceptional people. Why would you want to ruin that?”
“And how am I ruining that?”
Mayor Aldridge let out a breath and gestured over to me with a manicured finger. “Why, by bringing her here of course. What happens when she goes back and tells everyone about Oceania?”
“She won’t.”
“Oh, but she will. I am sure of it. In due time, she will tell people about this place, whether by unintentional means or through an accidental outburst in a conversation. Or if not by that, perhaps she will be followed here one day.” Mayor Aldridge reached out her ruby-painted fingernail and tapped Dylan’s chin. “You are an Oceanian. You must understand how important it is to keep this place safe.”
Dylan jerked his head away.
“Just think about it. The whole reason for Oceania’s construction was because of the increasing difficulty of life on land. In the threatened and endangered environment crops couldn’t grow, people were without water, and things were only going from bad to worse. Then there was The Great Plague—the final straw authorizing this place to be built. It was then clear to the governments of the world that drastic changes needed to be made. If we allow Allie to leave here alive, all of that will be threatened. Why, we’re lucky if she hasn’t already brought a deadly disease down here that we are not immune to!”
I glared at her. I wasn’t disease-ridden.
“You cannot know the gravity of the consequences of your actions, Dylan Baker.” Mayor Aldridge leaned away from him, taking several steps backward. In a commanding tone, she uttered, “You both will stay here to think about your actions. When I have deemed that you have contemplated enough, then I will release you, Dylan.”
Dylan threw his head in my direction. “What of Allie?”
“Allie is not allowed to leave here alive. Whether or not I will allow her to live here among us or eliminate her is up to me.”
The guards dragged us over to hanging tethers hidden within the shadows. Both our hands and feet were clasped together in handcuffs at the end of the tethers, making it necessary for us to stand in our bound state. Fury boiling inside of me, I shouted out, “They will come looking for me! They won’t stop. If you don’t allow me to leave, they’ll search for me, and then they will find Oceania for sure.”
Mayor Aldridge spun around on her heels, a smile still on her face.
