Under Burrowing Seas

## Under Burrowing Seas #### //For chr// <img src="cover.jpg"> [[Begin]] //by shel raphen//

It was never the snow that desaturated winter but the salt spread by Man salt to melt the ice and snow and it worked. The ice and snow all melted and Man [[Man put the Sea in Seattle]]

The Dragon is no fan of water They try not to look down as they soar from one tower's side to the next It is not that the Dragon is small <img src="1.jpg"> Sun shines off scales off mirrored windows They scale and climb and go unnnoticed There is no more reason for humans here to go outside [[Most of them don't live up here anyway]]

These bolts were screwed by large machines This Dragon's claws search and needle in each little hole As though picking a lock they remove screw by screw plunging miles down into the waters below "Skyscraper" wasn't so literal when they coined that term, you know But when the oceans rise, the buildings get talller At a certain point Atmospherically It's just difficult for such tiny organic beings to live so high up They aren't built for flying over clouds They breathe oxygen, not fire It is not that the Dragon is small [[They remove a side panel and their stealth mission begins]]

You don't need humans if a robot can learn to do it the security droids inside are trained on a septillion billion photos of humanoids of every shape and size from every conceivable angle in every conceivable light. There is no escape from their algorithmic analysis of every frame of every camera a thousand times a nanosecond. the security droids are trained on zero photos of actual fucking dragons. [[The Dragon waltzes on past the upper floors without incident.]]

At lower altitudes live humans. The Dragon assumes human form to blend in to the bustling bazaar food stands and fountains and shimmering tables where the humans eat their hunt Large glowing squares advertise various objects The Dragon approaches an elevator at the far side of the bazaar, this is something they recognize. Though there are no buttons, levers, or panels for operating it. It remains shut. [[They will have to enlist a human's aid.]]

Sitting alone at a table hair slicked back Those round pieces of glass humans wear in front of their eyes sometimes (glasses?) Rapidly tapping a glowing, floating rectangle with the tips of their claws (fingers?) Eating Prey (err, not in that way) "Greetings," says the Dragon. The human flicks their eyes up "Oh, uhhh, hi" The glowing rectangle dissipates into the air and a shimmering chair materializes. "Oh, I appreciate your wizardry. It is an old art," says the Dragon. "Heh, wizardry? I wish. Just *Nanos* in the air." *...what?* The Dragon tilts their head. "Oh, you're not from here are you." "No. I am from the caves of the Cascadian mountains where all tremble before my... nevermind... That was a long time ago." [["I'll say, the Cascades are hardly a mountain range these days."]]

"I'm not from here either." "Where are you from?" "The Appalachian coast, the distant mennonite farms... fresh air..." the Human makes a gesture with their hand and images appear in the air of a village "You miss it?" "I suppose... but I don't get paid like I do here. Free housing, six figures... free paninis... also I guess I'm building the future or whatever." Humans have always seen the future as theirs to build, theirs to decide. The human chews and swallows. [["I guess there are benefits to living in an entirely enclosed controlled environment"]]

There are benefits to living in an entirely enclosed controlled environment //Bezoco™// was the pioneer behind //Conjuring™// technology. //Nanos™// fill the air through Smart HVAC systems. Invisible to the human eye, and even moreso to the dragon eye, normal drab air is replaced by //Smart Air™// allowing for //Centrally Controlled Corporreality.// Residents in scrapers filled with //Smart Air™// can use external or internal wearables to communcate with the //Nanos™// around them and conjure physical objects as needed. There is no more need for phones, computers, or any physical object really. With a flick of your fingers and the sound of your voice, a keyboard and screen appear before you, blue and hovering. Your friend's IMs hover mid-air. You conjure a chair, and a table, and the book you're reading. It's all stored in the //Cloud// which is a part of the //Atmosphere// in your //Scraper//. [[All Bezoco Nanos™ are equipped with technology that detects when it is inside your lungs and ensures it is exhaled safely.]]

Nanos are the ultimate security technology They know when they are in your lungs They know where you are If you are tagged and able to use them They know who you are They can move autonomously They can form any object The central servers organize it all A miracle of technology When you work for //Bezoco// you work for a company with central control over the air within your lungs. The right access to the server and you could tell the //Nanos// inside to clump together and.... [[Pretty cool, isn't it?]]

"Oh, uh, because they are metal?" "Because in here, we are like gods." "Ah. I see." Humans are so small. "It only works if you're completely enclosed though. Smart Air and Fresh Air don't mix." It's almost pathetic. "This whole building is cool, y'know. A good chunk of it is powered by geothermal energy from underground hot springs." [[The dragon heaves a heavy sigh.]]

Little clumps of metal clink the table shimmers The human seems very distressed "That... isn't right..." "That *really* shouldn't happen" The human covers their face. "Hey, whoever you are, could I take you down to troubleshooting? Uhhh *now*?" [[That was easier than expected]]

The human takes the Dragon's claw by the hand and rushes them to the elevator. The table and chairs dissipate in the air. The human makes a hand gesture and the doors open to a shimmering blue room. The human puts up some fingers and the room begins to move. Not long after, it stops. A gentle chime. An orange glow. Runes shimmer in the air. No, they jitter. Alert. Breach. A harsh hiss. A growl. [[The human turns to look at the Dragon]]

"Is this about you?" The Dragon says nothing. "Oh god, I brought you in here I-" The human begins to choke, falls to their knees. Too late for stealth. The Dragon kinda liked that human. They drop their facade. The dragon is not small. The dragon's claws are large and sharp their scales are bright and their horns are sharp and their ROAR THEIR ROAR IS FIERCE AND THEIR BREATH IS FLAMES THE DRAGON DIGS THEIR NAILS INTO THE FLOOR SHIMMER AND BLUE BUT SOFT GREY ALUMINUM NOW AS THEY TEAR A HOLE IN THE FLOOR [[AND THEY LEAP]]

Sirens blare and lights flash Humans haven't changed that much The dragon soars down and down Wings spread and body twisting Dodging shimmering strike and clump They struggle to see what's so old they sturggle to form and clump twixt dead air old air fresh air past heat and smoke and dragon's lungs Down and down past layer and layer [[each floor older than the last]]

A gate blocks the way down until the dragon melts it with flame down past the enclosed zone to the old floors where there used to be air and gears and cogs and dirt down past basements and generators down past seattle down past the rain forest down and down and down [[down to the beginning]]

A dripping, dry, humid cave. Steam and smoke and flame. Metal bits and churns and wheels. a tank a girder here a chain there <img src="2.jpg"> A dragon looms. Big and big. Our dragon the hero but the size of its nail. [[It is not that our dragon is small]]

"MY KIN! I HAVE COME FOR YOU!" a rumble a growl a groggy groan A rock opens and reveals an eye "oh... hello... young one..." "Elder! It is time for you to awaken and fly once more!" "Oh?" "These humans have built a city off your back" "Ah, yes... it seems they have" "Insolent little creatures! They harness you for energy!" "Ah, yes... it seems they do." [["Elder, are you not mad?"]]

"Eh, I enjoy sleeping." "It has been millenia" "I *really* enjoy sleeping" "Are... you sure?" "There are tens of thousands of humans on my back. They have lives. They are born. They grow up." "They flood their own cities, they kill their own kind, they die, they care not for their young or each other" "They are greedy... I understand the desire to horde..." "We horde shiny objects and trinkets. We don't fill skies with smog and salt the grounds of war." "Perhaps these humans are my horde..." "Your horde is ugly" "Judgey...." "Your humans turned my mountain home into islands. I *hate* water." "I don't mind..." "This is beneath you!" [["You mean I'm beneath the city! Hah!"]]

"A city built on death and exploitation! I see no point!" "Those are the few, not the many" "This city doesn't deserve to rest on your back!" "Would you rather a better one?" "Yes" Our dragon shoots flame Slashes Thrashes [[Flies away]]

Up passages, up shafts Up past the old limits of how tall you'd build something here The tower is in disarray Fresh air and smart air don't mix Half-formed shapes swirl in the air Tables twist and tumble Transluscent, breaking Chaotic and formless These rooms but pale metal grey This tower naught but vents and space. Shimmerless [[Unguarded]]

Someone has to make the food Someone has to clean the floors Maintain the droids Clean the vents Someone lives without light and luster Someone was born in the humid depths Mildew and funk Someone was biding their time Someone waited Someone had plans Be advised, keep your //Nanos// from water. Someone had knives they cleaned in the sink. Someone thought breathing security meant that [[Everything would always be under control]]

the bazaar is empty soaring above it a big grey box and people are shouting droids are repairing the breach humans with kitchen knives old fashioned mops face little opposition as they march you don't need humans if robots can do it [[they know where to march]]

Someone programs those droids with smart air in their stupid lungs Someone sits in an office with a view Someone's desk blew away in the wind Someone thought the Board room was safe. Their Smart Locks on Smart Doors made of Smart Air in their Smart Building [[It was all kind of stupid wasn't it]]

And outside the window Out in the view Our dragon leers Their giant eyes Their smoky breath They shout and shatter and the hoard with bosses in rope and noose [[hears a mighty roar]]

And then came a mighty flame melting and molten a good chunk of the tower drips into the sea the uninhabited bits, of course the corpse of the human with the slicked back hair at the feet of the mob. [[it's time to build a new home]]

By sea by shore and sunken coasts by mined out mountains and mennonite farms fresh air summer beeze massive mountain caves the humans sing songs til the soil plant their GMO crops grow their medicines their biohacking juice Some even look like little dragons. Though they don't seem to horde. The Dragon likes it that way. Hordes are for dragons. **Thanks for reading! Happy Sneepsnop!**

"LISTEN ALL YOU HUMANS OVERTHROW YOUR LORDS AND FIEFS BUT HEAR THIS YOU HAVE FLOODED YOUR LANDS HARNESSED LIFE FOR GAIN DESTROYED MY DEN YOU CARE NOT FOR OTHERS NOT EVEN OTHER HUMANS FUCK THAT SHIT SO BUILD YOUR NEW TOWER SETTLE YOUR NEW LAND BUT DO BETTER THIS TIME [[BE DESERVING OF THE DRAGON'S BACK ON WHICH YOU LIVE!!"]]