Facing Extinction

[R.J.]

Facing Extinction

by R. J. Santos

"But, your majesty, sending people to the surface had already been done before, and all attempts had failed!" Lord Guvert of the Toser Valley was pleading.

"Our kind could hardly exist outside of the polar waters, my king. But the surface─it would be suicide!" piped in another lord, who sat down on his chair after his interjection almost as if he had lost all strength to stand. Immediately, worried chatter began to spread across the royal hall among the Council of Lords even in the presence of King Arcttus XVII.

He allowed it. After all, the worries they had right then were the same worries he had when he first thought of the plan, the only plan he could think of to prevent his species' extinction. It didn't matter if the Council would not agree. He was the king, and they knew it.

Silence reigned the moment he raised his right hand. He stood up from his throne, swallowed the lump in his throat, and began to address the Council.

"Lords of the South Pole, it has been decades since our brothers from the North Pole had started migrating to our waters, decades since the North Pole's ice began to melt and lessened the habitable waters for our brothers. Although it may take centuries before we realize the direness of this situation, we are now faced with the same threat.

"The surface of the Earth is uninhabitable to us, but there, we could find a solution. Humans have the technology to help us make habitable places, but asking help from them poses the problem of our discovery and the danger of possible exploitation of our people when that happens. Being able to go to the surface means nothing. We need to make contact, and we need to ask for help."

The hall broke out into loud objection which almost made Arcttus grin with amusement. Like what his father had said, the Council would be afraid of things they've never heard or thought of.

He raised his right hand again. "Of course, we won't go into anything without careful planning. We will spend a lot of time observing and studying who to approach. The humans have built bases up there, and many of us have observed them before. As far as paying for their technology, we all know we are richer than them. The only impediment before us is if they say no, and even then, we will only move on to the next person. Besides, the rumors that we have human contacts are indeed true, but only the king, the kings before him, and his successor know their identities. I can assure you that once we're able to send them a message, they will help us."

As if the Council wasn't stunned enough, Arcttus told them one more thing.

"Also, as a part of this plan, I hereby appoint myself the task of making contact with the humans. Council, I am sending myself."

Note: Some of you might have read this story before. :)

[Merkin]

You've set out a very interesting premise here, R J, but I'm left wondering who

these beings are and how they might relate to humans. An ending seems to be

missing.

James

[Gee Whillickers]

Very intriguing.

Just the kind of story I like. One foot set in the here and now, one foot in the unknown. Well done.

If you ever end up writing more of this, I'll be in line to read it.

[R.J.]

Thanks guys. I don't know if I'd ever write more on this - though I do want to - because it's scary! If I do though, might be a year or two from now, just because it's constantly inside my head. As for the ending, I don't know, James. It felt complete to me when I wrote it.