h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*The submarine stops next to a rock ledge in the tunnel. Iwan opens the hatch and the group climb out of the submarine. Volk stands in front of an iris scanner. A few seconds later a heavy steel door opens in the side of the passage. They all pass through into a brightly lit hallway and the door closes behind them. Volk leads the way to an elevator, which takes them upwards. They emerge into the centre of a room which is surrounded with windows. All around outside the room they can see a thriving city, with this room at the highest point in the centre. An elegantly clad gentleman bows to Volk as he exits the elevator and says:*

Welcome back, Sir. I was sorry to hear of your setbacks, but am glad you were able to return here.

*E looks around in amazement, then wonders if she will ever cease to be amazed...*

Wow...

*Volk smiles at Liebe and E, then turns to the elegantly clad gentleman.*

V: Well... What's the situation here? Any new developments?

ECG: Well, Sir, there is something new... Our.......

*They wander off, deep in conversation.*

*Liebe seems to have forgotten about E for the first time... He's looking about happily, with a very placid expression... Then, he remembers his duties as a host...*

L: Oh, I'm sorry, E... I got carried away... I have so many memories about this place... Would you like me to show you around?

*E comes to her senses...she was too amazed by this place...*

Please, do...this place is amazing...

*L's eyes take a dreamy expression...*

L: Oh, yes... It is... Please follow me...

*He walks ahead of her, nearly oblivious that she's following... He keeps looking around, mumbling something about how little the place had changed... E had never seen him so happy...*

*What impressed her most was the incredible technology that seemed to be all across the place... Doors slid open when L approached, but they seemed to be able to recognize the person, because they didn't open when she approached them... At times, you could think that you were in a space station, if it wasn't for the water that was flowing placidly outside... Fish kept looking in through the many windows... It was a fascinating sight...*

L: You must excuse me... I'm not being very talkative at the moment... You know, I know all these corridors and doors and shafts by heart... Even some of the fish seem familiar...

*L seems to be carried away by memories again...*

*E watches Liebe as they walk. Somehow she was happier, knowing that he was happy...*

*She let him be lost in his memories for a bit whilst she stared at the fish...*

How is all of this possible...?

*L returns to reality...*

L: Oh... This is... well... The very best of modern technology... Quite expensive... but Seriy wanted to take no risks...

It would take up days to explain it all... In short, this is a big submarine vessel... Although "vessel" doesn't seem to fit... Anyway... It's quite big, nearly as a little town, and there are quite a few people living here... You can regard this as a secret state or country of outcasts, with Seriy being the leader... Which reminds me that I should go and visit some old friends later on... What about you? Are you hungry? Do you want a drink? Is there anything I can get you? If not, we'll just continue our walk around... I could show you the engines...

*E was a little hungry, but she was also very interested in the place she'd been brought to... It was like...Atlantis...well...that was what E thought it was like...*

I'd like it if you could show me around... This place really is amazing...

...But I am a little hungry, I suppose...

*E thinks about the advantages of seeing the engines...then realises that this had nothing to do with Bond...but with spending more time with Liebe...*

...But I can wait...

*E smiles at Liebe...for some reason she was very happy...*

*Floats past outside, gasping for breath. Dies in a desperate attempt at a cameo*

*Liebe finds himself enchanted by E's smile and resolves to make it happen as much as possible. He had thought he couldn't feel much happier than he had been feeling a few minutes ago looking out over Atlantis, but he now realized he was wrong. He was feeling much happier now. He decided not to think too deeply about it at the moment. Just then some motion outside the window caught his eye, but was gone just as quickly.*

That looked like ,,,, Naw, couldn't be.

*Liebe turned back to E."

Well, the tour can wait until you've had something to eat. Come on, I know a terrific little Seafood Restaurant...

*Just then, those responsible for catching the fresh fish scooped in several passing tuna, and Afgncaap5. Somehow Affy's body passes through the dicer machines without a scratch. No one notices as he is carted off to the galley*

Seafood...?

I'm not exactly a seafood person...

...I'm a vegetarien, I'm afraid... But if they do anything else...

*Affy's body is almost put on the megabar before the caterers realize that the oven is still running*

Oh, certainly, E. There is a quaint vegetarian restaurant in the next block.

*Liebe leads the way past the Seafood restaurant. Glancing in, he notices something strangely familiar on the buffet table, but dismisses it as impossible. They reach a small restaurant and enter. The Maitre'd shows them to a quite table in a back corner and hands them menus. Reading by candlelight, they choose their dinners and order. While waiting, Liebe tells E a little about the city.*

The city is really the remains of Atlantis. Like all legends, the legend of Atlantis is based on a grain of truth. There really was a technologically advanced civilization and it really did sink beneath the waves; however, the civilization didn't perish - at least not all of it and not then. You see, Atlantis was founded on an island, but quickly outgrew it. With their advanced technology, they simply built a floating island and expanded it as needed. They traded with other civilizations, but were far advanced in intelligence. Eventually, they began to fear that the other civilizations were becoming far enough advanced to develop weapons that could cause serious damage to Atlantis, but not far enough advanced not to use them. The Atlantean parliament debated the issue and decided to dome over the island and sink it to the bottom of the ocean. This caused a major rift in Atlantean society. Most Atlanteans agreed with the plan, but a significant minority, including the Royal family, argued that it was their job as an advanced race to guide the other civilizations to a better understanding. In the end, the Royal family and a small group of others abandoned Atlantis and sailed off to the other civilizations. They are the original source of the legends.

You, yourself, E, are descended from the Atlantean royal family, through your father. I am descended from another Atlantean family. Most of the world's top scientists and thinkers are descended from Atlantean stock, although few can trace their roots that far. Your father knows of his roots from some written records passed down secretly from father to son from the original King. Your father decided to hunt for the original Atlantis and he found it. Unfortunately, it was empty and some records that he found showed that the civilization had flourished underwater for several generations before some unknown illness swept through and killed everyone. He completely restored the city and repopulated it with friends. The results you can see around you.

*Afgncaap5, the dead body that follows the story around through no fault of his own, is noticed on the megabar of the seafood restaurant, and thrown into the dumpster. The dumpster that is shared with the salad restaurant. Amazingly, he hasn't even started to decompose*

*E stares into the candles flame...unable to take all this in at once...*

*The dinners finally arrive... E starts eating, she was hungry after all... The quality of the food is rather good...*

*L doesn't touch his plate... He seems to be content to look out of the window at the busy crowd... Several times, he seems to have recognized a friend, because he waves happily... After a while, he remembers that he's in company, and looks back at E... He sits there watching her eat for a while... The peaceful scene suddenly reminds him of the recent events, and his face darkens...*

L: Can you explain why humans can never live in peace together? Every single invention, no matter how useful it might be, they turn into a weapon... The steam engine, used to fight back the Indians... nuclear power... That's why Atlantis had to hide, you know... I just can't see what Bond wants from Seriy... He's not like ordinary humans... He wants to establish peace and prosperity...

Look at this city... We have no criminals... No unemployment... No poverty... All thanks to Seriy...

And Bond is chasing him all over the world, trying to kill him... I don't even dare think what might happen if he finds this place... There are so many innocent people here... I couldn't stand Bond ruining this... It's...

*his expression gets very soft*

L: It's my home, after all... I don't know what I'd do...

*E stops eating... She suddenly feels incredibly guilty about the homing device in her shoe... After all... Bond would eventually follow the signal here...*

*E couldn't stand the thought that this place could be destroyed... She thought about telling Liebe...*

*E didn't know what to say...after all...if Bond found her, then Atlantis would most likely be destroyed... After all that had happened to her...she was starting to wish that Bond wouldn't find her... So that she could stay here...*

*E looked at Liebe... It hurt her to see him like that... Still, she didn't know how she could tell him... She could hardly's destroy her shoes in a restaurant...*

*L sees that E has finished her dinner, and waves to the maitre'd. He comes and takes the plates away, absolutely refusing to take any money for them...*

L: Well... If you're ready, we can go... There's a lot left to see... If you aren't tired, that is...

E: Oh, no, let's have a walk around...

*They exit the restaurant and stroll along the crowded streets... E is most impressed by the happy expressions of most people... Nobody seems to be worrying about anything... They walk past many restaurants, pubs, shops of all kinds and other buildings, the purpose of which is not entirely clear to E... It's just now that she begins to realis(!)e how big this place really is... There must be thousands of people, if the amount of shops is any indicator... And shops which have everything, which surprises E a little, after all, they're miles under the ocean...*

*Upon remembering that they were miles under the ocean, E considers looking up to see what was above... Then she thinks that perhaps she'd better not...the last thing she wanted was to feel as if she was trapped down here again... Just when she was starting to like it too...*

*E stopped thinking about it...*

*Instead she thought about how she was going to break the news to Liebe that she was going to be responsible for Bond finding her... She couldn't think of one single way that she could tell him without hurting him... But she had to...*

Liebe...? Erm...