An Oceanless Atlantis
Topic Number 4
Title: An Oceanless Atlantis
“Atlantis is not a place to be honoured or emulated at all. Atlantis is not the perfect society. Quite the contrary, Atlantis is the perfect embodiment of a materially wealthy, technologically advanced and militarily powerful nation that has become corrupted by its wealth, sophistication and might.” – Plato
In the Point of View of Dimitria & King Atlas
Dappled light shone through the mosaic window. The image of Poseidon- my symbol of strength illuminated by the turquoise, the magenta, the ruby and the crystals that adorned his image. Seeing his form gave me the pride to wake up everyday as ruler of Atlantis. To dominate and oversee such a special corner of the world. For a minute everything went silent as I began to think. Atlantis would finally be All-Mighty. I would be invincible. Unstoppable. The King of the land. The ruler of the skies. The Monarch of the seas.
“Sir, How would you like your morning tea?”
“I have more important things to tend to, cancel breakfast entirely.”
I woke up to the sound of utter and absolute chaos- as I do everyday. By now, my mother's shrill yell to get ready for our day ahead, my father's hurried scramble as he looked for his fishing net and my brothers yelling over absolutely nothing- comforted me. It reminded me that I was safe in my little corner of the world. Nothing ever changed, which was a good thing since the sun always shone in Atlantis; what more could a person want.
I sat at the table, when papa looked up at me.
“Dimitria, excited for today?”
I nodded. Of course i was excited- it wasn't everyday that you got to meet King Atlas
As I got ready, I looked out of the window, to see a land filled with happiness. Outside the window, the children danced on their way to school, the women laughed as they shopped and men grunted as they sipped their morning coffee. Here everyone was always joyful. Happy. Here, in Atlantis- trouble wasn't a word anyone knew of. It gave me such pleasure to see that I was the reason. The provider of all joy here in our little corner was me- the people's beloved King.
The past few days Papa had been raving about some new plan that The King would be telling us about today. As he spoke about The King, the corner of his eye glimmered and shone, brighter than the North Star. Papa loved Atlantis. He worshipped the ground King Atlas walked on. As a fisherman, Papa didn't make much- we made ends meet.
“All our troubles will vanish today. The King has great things in store for us all.” Papa yelled out gleefully, “Dimitria, remember those pretty pearls you asked for? Well, we can go by the jewellers today and get them for you!”
“How is the island coming along?” I asked. A peculiar little man, looked up and replied.
“Quite a lot of progress, King Atlas. The island is in its second phase. It will be ready soon.”
“ Very well. Now I will finally be ruler of land and seas.” I said. “ Get everything ready for my big speech today. Make sure everything is perfect- today, today will go down in history.”
The air around me buzzed. It filled itself to the brim with excitement and opportunities. Every corner I turned, every person I saw- held with themselves a new opportunity for me. As I held Papa's hand and walked down the street, the trees danced, yearning to learn of the picture of this new world King Atlas had embedded into our heads. Maybe I would be able to buy the beautiful coral necklaces the Queens and Princesses adorned so graciously. Maybe I would be invited to Gala dinners with the elite of Atlantis. Or maybe, I wouldn't have to become a fisherman like papa. I can do anything I want to when King Atlas delivers on his promises of our new future.
”Papa, can I take part in the theatre?” I yelled, in a desperate attempt to reach out to my new future.
“Hush, King Atlas is about to speak.”
“Beautiful People of Atlantis!” I bellowed. “From today, the world is ours! From today I promise you hope for a reinvented Atlantis! An Atlantis no one would dream of harming, A never seen before Atlantis.” I tensed up. Even after decades of speeches, every new one was nerve racking- but once we implement our new ideal, no more. My eminence would no longer be doubted.
“Atlantis will be new and improved. We intend to create ten new islands in the span of this year. Our architects have come up with state of the art technology so we can expand and be larger than ever seen before. We will have efficient systems all machine controlled.” The crowd stood in perfect silence. Almost like they had synchronized it.
“People of Atlantis. Scream and yell in joy. For today, We are new, We are reinvented, We are all powerful, We are great, We are Atl-”
“But sir, what about the ocean?” A timid voice yelled from the crowd. Who was she?
As the gathering parted, I saw a child. Perhaps 12? A child simply draped in white, with Poseidon's tridents embedded onto her brooch.
“Well, what about the ocean child?”
“We rely so heavily on the corals for our exports, we rely on the coast for entertainment and hundreds of citizens depend on their fisheries near the ocean. What happens when it gets destroyed? My papa's only income comes from coral hunting and fishing, what will happen when all of it gets destroyed?”
“Child, I am the King of Atlantis. I am quite literally the ruler of the skies, seas and land. The only person I report to is Poseidon himself! Your futile problems don't faze me. Your papa can figure it out.” I yelled back.
I was destroyed, Numb from what I had just heard. Not only were my dreams for myself shattered, but my dreams for Atlantis were whisked away in the empty words The King had just delivered. Papa was out of a job. I would never be able to get a job. Destined to live in mediocrity. What would we do? Where would the money come from? Who do we turn to, when the one person we had trusted with more than life itself shattered everything? The King didn't make plans for a better Atlantis, he doomed it. Soon the seas would be tired of being used, the fish tired of seeing their kind murdered and the corals tired of seeing their little ones being plucked from the bud. Soon they would all come together and revolt. To join hands in their quest to defeat a tyrant. To end a murderer that walked so freely amongst them.
And she was right. Dimitria was right. Mother Earth revolted. Eventually an earthquake led Atlantis to drown. But not only did it affect Dimitria and her family, it affected King Atlas too. But King Atlas wasn't as much of a tyrant as we are. Oil Spills, Coral Bleaching, Water Pollution- The list goes on. Tuvalu, an island in Polynesia is sinking as we speak. The UN estimated that around 31% of fish stocks are overfished or are at capacity. In 2019, 1000 tonnes of oil was wasted in oil spills. (Source:ITPOF) These statistics are horrifying. The state that we have left our oceans to is horrifying. While we have been warped in our rat race to dominate and live luxuriously, the backbone of our entire life has been degrading. Slowly, day by day. As ‘the most intelligent species’ of our kind, we severely underestimate the force of nature. We have been warned time and again. The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, The 2011 Tsunamis in Japan, Climate Change. They have all been our warnings. But we refuse to listen. The oceans aren't going to wait for us any longer. We either reinvent our systems or we get out of the system completely. The longer we wait, the lesser the choice will be ours. And this isn't going to be selective. Everyone, even the modern day Atlas will be in trouble.
History repeats itself. To be on the wrong side of it or the right side of it, the choice is ours.
Word Count: 1390