Taiga Garten

 Taiga walked out of the port station side by side with an officer while Modu was rushed to the hospital.

“So he got hit with a ricochet when he tried to shoot the door open.” The police officer types in the air.

Taiga nods gravely. “And then, since he managed to loosen the lock I broke the door down and carried him to the pilot escape pod.”

The officer checks the screen projected from her ring, “Yep, logs do show it was the pilot side pod. Then you escaped to the surface, then thirty minutes later, the border patrol found you guys and stabilized your friend.”

”Y-Yes ma’am, that should be r-right.” Taiga’s voice shakes as he recalls the incident.

The officer rubs her head. “It’s pretty unfortunate that you got locked out of the pilots cabin and the back pod wasn’t working. But, glad you guys made it through relatively okay.” The officer nods then closes the incident report.

“We’ll contact you later if any further questions come up, again sorry this happened to you, and well… I’m not a legal advisor, but from my experience you guys can probably get a pretty big settlement off this if you decide to go that route.” The officer slyly winks and then leaves Taiga be.

Probably not, since I never took the submarine in for maintenance, so all the modifications I made wouldn’t be discovered…

”Hmmm…” Taiga looks upwards with his hands in his pockets. “Oh, before I forget.” Taiga taps his ring and begins typing. Hey, since you never woke up, I never get the chance to tell you this, but once the police begin questioning you, this is the story I want you to go with. If you don’t, I’ll happily release the submarine footage saved to my ringphone. Yes, this is blackmail. Cheers!

”And… Add attachment… Alright, let’s leave that for now.” Taiga closes his ring then looks around at the city around him.

Today is September 39th, year 2 of the new 546 day calendar. Or more accurately, two N.L., the second year of the New Lunar era.

And this is New Sumer, a series of interconnected underwater domes, identical to most societies around the world. Well… Newer cities could afford more creative architecture as pressure management technology got better, but the old style still reigned nostalgic.

Taiga yawns. Damn it, it’s already time to sleep, these sixteen hour days and nights are awful. From thirty-two hours to half that… Screw it. Imma skip the night and sleep off the day. Not like I can take any work until insurance covers my submarine. He quickly rubs his eyes then slaps his face together. “Time to talk to drunk people!” Taiga declares before looking around and running into the nearest bar.

The electronic doorbell sounds as he enters the Ditzy Night. One of the few stores open at night for people like him that had a hard time adjusting to the new day cycles.

“You sure you over the legal limit son?” A hand stops Taiga as soon as he waltzes over to the bar.

“Is that rhetorical or you really can’t tell?” Taiga looks over to see a large bouncer looming over him, his head was shaved and his eyes were hidden underneath sunglasses. He looked quite fat but if one were to inspect closer they would be able to see that a large majority of that “fat” was actually well disguised muscle.

“A bit of both, I’m almost 90% sure you’re trying to pull a fast one, but I’ve been surprised before.” The bouncer replies.

“Then here’s my abyss license. Thirty-two converted to New Lunar years.”

“Hmm?” The bouncer takes Taiga’s card and inspects it carefully. He looks up between the picture on the card and Taiga multiple times. “Damn, that’s pretty young to be an abyss navigator, don’t you ever get questioning looks when your crew sees you?” He hands the card back.

“All the time for sure, but looking as young as I do just means I’m going to age really well, so I think the tradeoff is acceptable.” Taiga stuffs the card back in his pocket.

“I like the self-confidence. Alright, took enough of your time, you can come in.” The bouncer gets out of his way.

“No, it’s my pleasure... Mmh, actually I want to ask a quick question before I do, probably a little out of nowhere.” Taiga answers. “Is your job fun? I want to try it some day.”

“Well, once you gain maybe a hundred pounds and maybe three inches of height then we can talk.” The bouncer chuckles. “But to answer your question, it’s alright, but just a side-hustle for me.”

“Why? What do you do primarily for a living?”

“I compete in strong-men tournaments.” The bouncer smiles then flexes an arm. “We lift really heavy things, and it’s broadcasted to people around the world. I'm sure it’s not as exciting as your job, but I love it.”

“That’s great to hear. I’ll be sure to catch you on TV some day.” Taiga smiles back and reaches out for a handshake. The bouncer clasps back.

Taiga feels a bit of pressure on his hand as the bouncer gives a playfully tight squeeze.

Taiga stares at his hand in contemplation afterwards however.

”Try me.” Taiga looks up.

”Whoa, I was just trying to have some fun there. I apologize if that was too much.” The bouncer backs off, but Taiga holds on with surprising strength.

“Nah, that’s not what I meant. I want you to squeeze until you think my hand is going to pop.” Taiga begins applying pressure.

“Huh? Trust me you probably don’t want me to do that.” The bouncer looks down in surprise.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll tell you to stop if I really feel that something might break.” As the bouncer looked into Taiga’s eyes he could immediately tell that his words were in earnest.

“But why? What’s the point of this?” The bouncer looks around in worry.

“Nothing much. I’m just a bit of a thrill seeker I guess.” Taiga's eyes widen, and he smiles maniacally.

”Yea! Fucking crush his hand!” A woman screeches, some of the drunken crowd begins to take notice and begin cheering on. “Show that little brat that 100 kilogram grip of yours Steve!” Another person shouts.

“Damn it kid. Alright, promise you’ll take responsibility if anything happens?” Steve sweats.

“Of course, not trying to run a scam here.” Taiga looks down and focuses.

”Right, then here I go.” Steve’s massive hand collapses on Taiga’s.

Someone comes through the door. “Hey, I’m trying to get in here, what are you two do—“ They complain before looking at the crowd forming and the people at the center of attention.

Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Yep, absolutely no way I was going to overpower him! Haha! Taiga’s arm begins to buckle, but his manic smile continues on. He could feel each individual bone in his hand crunching together as Steve continues to apply more and more pressure, his fingers feeling like they’re about to explode from the sheer amount of blood being compressed inwards.

“Nope, nope, nope, no more.” Taiga feels a sudden release of pressure as Steve lets go.

“Nah, that was plenty, feeling amazing right now.” Taiga tenderly bends his fingers, opening and closing his hand before looking at the person behind him.

“Oh hey, what’s up Amy.” Taiga says. She had a very balanced face with no standout features, except for glasses. Her hair was long, brown, and straight, and her height was a tiny bit above average for a woman.

…

Amy blinks a couple times before she opens her mouth. “Huh? Do I know you?”

Taiga gestures downwards.

Amy reflexively covers her name tag up before taking a quick peek down. She was still in her work uniform, so that’s why Taiga was able to tell.

“You're a doctor right?” Taiga continues with a disarming smile.

She squints at him suspiciously, closes her eyes, then shrugs. “Yea, wanna have some drinks over it?... Or were you asking me cause you think your hand is broken?”

“Nah, my hand’s fine.” Taiga flexes his fingers. “I just like talking to different people, so let’s go. I’ll pay if that don’t offend you too much.”

Amy raises a hand. “No need, I’m feeling–”

“Yo! Move already!” Someone from behind the entrance yells.

Shot glasses begin stacking up on both sides as Taiga and Amy sit next to each other. “That’s uh so cool, you’re so uh young and you abyss dive.” Amy slumps on the table. “I wanna try.. Some day…” She squints at Taiga. ”Heey why aren’t you drunk yet?” Her slurring was getting more intense as she downed more alcohol.

Taiga smiles with an identical amount of whiskey glasses stacked on his side. “I don’t know, I’ve never been able to get stupidly drunk before.” He stares under the bottom of a shot glass. “It’s good though, because I remember a lot more stuff than people remember telling me.”

“Hehe…” Amy tilts her head lethargically. “You sound like someone bad. Are you going to do somethin bad?” She cracks up for some reason after saying that.

Taiga shakes his head.

“Hmm… Ok! I trust ya.” She looks around drunkenly before leaning in and whispering. “Ya see, I got into Pedion cause of my work. I’m outta this city in a couple days, and I’m moving to land. Cool right?”

Taiga’s eyes light up. “That’s why you’ve been working so hard the past two years?”

“Yea! After I heard dat they were gonna make the first city on land in tousands of years. It’s alvays been me dream to live there. So I… boop boop boop!” She makes a stick figure with her hand, climbing upwards. “Then when I applied I got in!”

Taiga nods. The close proximity of the moon had made land construction impossible since forever due to the tides it created. Apparently the moon was far away enough at one point in history that tides weren’t a major concern, but that era was long gone. Now that the moon has been destroyed…

“Then? What’s your plan after moving to Pedion?”

“What’s my plan… What do ya mean? I’ve made it Pedion early. My life is complete.” Amy tilts her head confused.

“Come on…” Taiga frowns. “Wasn’t one of your dreams wanting to help people as a doctor?”

“Of course, but I already did that… And then I made it to Pedion… So my next dream is… Mmm…. I’ll figure it out later!” Amy twirls around on her spinny chair before falling on the table, completely out of it.

Taiga sighs then waives an employee down. “We’re done.” He tells the employee before standing up and grabbing their bags. “Thanks for putting so much blind faith in me. I guess…?” Taiga mumbles, looking down at Amy.

Taiga lightly tugs on Amy’s ring finger. “Hey, do you have anyone that can pick you up?”

“Hmm… Wha? No not really.”

“Then do you live close?”

“Where is this place again…?”

“Okay… Hey, do you know any cheap hotels nearby?” Taiga asks someone. Don’t think taking her to my place would be a good idea right now.

Amy leans drunkenly on Taiga’s shoulder as he supports her step through the dark street. There was no sun or moon down here, all light was controlled by electronic xeon-panels lining the inside of the dome, adhering to a set nine hours bright, seven hours dimmed schedule. This way, people could live in the supposedly natural way, back before the moon tides shifted society underwater, and in most cases, it was far better considering the consistent or lack thereof of weather. Nearly everyone was accustomed to this, and Taiga was no different, and just like most people, a curious what-if laid in the back of his mind.

Taiga glances over his shoulder as he feels a sudden presence stalking them. He quickly shakes his head then turns back. What am I? A kid again?

…

He quickens his pace.

—

”Hey, I got a wasted person. Can I book a room?” Taiga asks a hotel receptionist.

“What is your relationship?” The receptionist asks suspiciously.

“Just met her in a bar. I’m dumping her on the bed then leaving immediately, don’t worry.”

—

Taiga dumps Amy over his shoulder onto the hotel bed, she bounces once, then plops down motionless.

“Bring… A… Friend… Next… Time… You… Drink…” Taiga writes down a note on the bedside before shutting off the lights. Before he closes the door, he turns around nodding to himself with self-satisfaction. I’m such a good guy. Then he closes the door.

Pedion huh? Doesn’t sound too bad, should I try it as well? Try living on land? Oh who am I kidding, of course I’m going to do it. Ah, isn’t this a perfect opportunity now that I suddenly have free time? Taiga whistles away, thinking to himself.

“Make a significant and documented contribution to society to enter Pedion.” This was the pervading zeitgeist for anyone who wanted to ascend to the first land society in multiple millennia. The process was highly competitive and frankly, Taiga would be going completely against the odds given his background.

How should I do it though… Taiga spaces out, knocking into shoulders and barely paying attention as he walks out the hotel lobby.

This is an awful first idea, how the hell am I going to do this? I wouldn’t even be thinking twice about this if I didn’t love it so much. Taiga suddenly jolts conscious as a woman with a familiar looking face passes him.

“Amy, how did you do…? Oh wait, nevermind, thought you were someone else.” Taiga returns to his stupor immediately.

Maybe I could write a best-selling novel series or something? Or a ground-breaking hit piece on a major corrupt company or photograph a bunch of novel ocean life or… Agh! All of these sound so boring compared to what I really want!

Taiga knew he could do all of the above, but Taiga wasn’t about to be a boring person, no, no, no. If someone else had done it to get to Pedion before, it was off the table for him.

Because Taiga Garten was… In his own personal words. “An insufferable contrarian whose biggest fear is that there exists a person that acts, talks, thinks, breathes, walks, and shits exactly like me, and that I’d kill myself just so my doppelganger would kill themselves as well.”