We Float Upon a Painted Sea
mother earth

When Andrew and Bull arrived on the RV Mother Earth, they were taken to one of the lower decks by a young woman who introduced herself as Nico. They were shown inside a store cupboard and told this would be their berth until they were set down at the nearest port. They were given bathrobes and shown to the ship’s shower room. Andrew asked for a razor, but Bull decided he would keep his beard. “It makes me look more intellectual, he said looking in the mirror,” he stated pensively.Once they had washed several days of dried sweat and salt water from their bodies, they were examined by the ship’s medic and returned to their accommodation. To their amazement, they found the room cleared of junk and illuminated by a soft light from an electric lantern. The floor was adorned with a Persian rug and a spiral joss stick was burning on a wooden table, filling the room with a sweet aroma of camphor wood. There were two hammocks erected in the corner, a psychedelic stylised poster of Geronimo pinned to the ceiling, a shell braided mirror on the wall and two beanbags provided for sitting on. Bull stood motionless. In many ways the scene reminded him of the narrowboat back in Glasgow when Saffron had lived with him. His eyes were drawn towards a pile of sandwiches lying on the table. Nico stood by the porthole at the opposite side of the room. She was smiling. She said,

“I’ll split and let you be in peace, and once you have chilled for a while, the Captain would like to rap with you. There has been much happening on the Earth and we were hoping you may have some news of our crewmates onboard the Flower Child, but rest for now. I have brought you a change of threads. I will take your old garments to be detoxed.” Nico placed a pile of fresh clothes on the table and left through the beaded curtains. Bull descended upon the sandwiches like a raptor upon its prey.

“I didn’t catch most of what she said, did you?” Garbled Andrew. Bull snorted,

“She said the Captain wants to talk to us about their missing ship and she’s brought us some fresh clothes.” With a fresh sandwich, he pointed to the clothes placed on the hammocks, “She’s taken our old clothes to be incinerated in the ship’s boiler.” On seeing Andrew’s alarmed reaction, Bull laughed, “I’m only joking. They’re just going to wash them.”

Bull lay down on his hammock. He vowed never again to take for granted the sensation of being warm, dry and comfortable. He looked at the skin on his feet. His blisters had gone.

Andrew removed his bathrobe and moved towards the table to inspect his new attire. He started to dress. Bull stretched his hand out to the table and picked up a shell braided mirror. He was admiring his beard when, in the background, he noticed there was no image in the glass where Andrew should have been. With a sharp intake of breath Bull turned his head and gawped. On noticing the look on Bull’s face, Andrew said,

“What’s up with you I wonder? Haven’t you seen another man’s naked body before?” Bull remained silent, watching Andrew and sniffing the air as he moved around the room. When he turned back to the mirror, he searched for a reflection of Andrew. Nothing. Bull was distracted by a hand coming through the beaded curtain door. The Captain entered the room. He was a large, muscular man with a grey beard. He wore a green baseball cap with a GM logo emblazoned on one side and a Stars and Stripes on the other. After a brief smile, he said,

“Welcome aboard. I’m the Captain but most of the crew call me Waxy. We’re just about to hold a ship’s meeting and I wondered if you would like to attend.” The Captain’s looked at Bull, noticing a disturbed expression on his face. Andrew’s voice cut through the awkward silence. He said,

“We would like that.” The Captain continued to look at Bull for a response. Finally, Bull said,

“Did you hear a voice?”

“A voice?” said the Captain, putting a hand on Bull’s shoulder.

“Yes, did you hear a voice?”

“Look son, you’ve been through a lot. You’re disorientated and probably mystified. I get it, but if you could just keep it together until we get you some professional help on the mainland, that would be cool.”

They followed the Captain out of their quarters and to the bridge where the crew had assembled. A hush had descended upon the room. The Captain stood with his hands planted on the head rest of his chair. He cleared his throat and then said,

“Ok settle down. I said I would have some updates on our missing comrades. As you know, the Flower Child was carrying out operations at a Russian drill site in the Arctic when things turned nasty with the oil company’s armed security service. Shots were fired and one of our own took a bullet in the leg. He’s now recovering in a Norwegian hospital. Most of the crew were in the process of being beat up and arrested when the Earth Liberation Front showed up. I’m not totally clear on what they did but the upshot was the release of the crew and the destruction of the drilling rig.” One of the crew raised his hand to ask a question. The Captain said, “Doobie, what’s on your mind, or can it wait until after the update.” A couple of crew members sniggered. Doobie lowered his hand and said,

“It’s cool man, it can wait.” The Captain continued,

“While Flower Child was still in the Arctic, the GM received intelligence from a valid source working for the MoDs. The military were carrying out an operation to detonate a sub-aqueous explosive device in the North Atlantic. The plan? To create a monster wave. Why? It would have the potential to kill everything in its path. Orders were given to plot a course to Rockall.”

Doobie cut through the muttering crowd and said,

“It’s the most westerly point of the British Isles.” A section of the crew started to laugh. The Captain continued,

“Thanks Doobie. Now, for any of you not familiar with Rockall, go look it up. I’m your captain, not your geography teacher. The Flower Child was pursued by a Russian warship into British waters. They took evasive action. However, fast as she is, they couldn’t shake the Russians off and the Captain must have decided there was little alternative than to head for St Kilda. There’s a military presence on the main island of Hirta. Ironically, with the Russian’s on their tails, they must have thought they were safe there. They were wrong. The detonation went ahead as planned and since then we have lost contact with the Flower Child.” The crew emitted a collective gasp. Doobie raised his hand but the Captain dismissed him. He said,

“When Mac joined us, he gave us a description of the wave he witnessed. If his assessment is accurate, and I have no reason to doubt him, the Flower Child would not have survived the impact of the wave. We now also know the Russian warship and a passenger ferry were also sunk. We have unconfirmed reports of most, if not all of the crew making it to shore before the wave struck. The bad news is they may have been detained by the Feds. To appease the Russians, as of today, the Green Movement has been officially listed as a terrorist organisation by the Allied Governments. We have lawyers fighting this decision so don’t overreact. There’s a long way to go on this one.” Bull’s jaw dropped when the news settled in his mind. The Captain continued, “All satellite navigation systems are now under MoDs control, including GPS and network cells are restricted, so we are back to the dog days of Morse code. Word over the VHF radio, before it was jammed, was that the Feds are rounding up all GM vessels and personnel. Yesterday, the ELF responded in typical fashion and destroyed the MoDs listening station at Taransay.” The sound of groaning noises rippled around the bridge. The Captain continued, “I know many of you are opposed to their methods and believe them to be infiltrated by agent provocateurs, but despotic times have called for radical measures and we are fully cooperating with them at this moment in time.” The Captain held out his hands to calm them.

Bull surveyed the room to locate Andrew, but he was gone. He could see McIntyre standing by a porthole, close to the Captain. Occasionally he would step forward and whisper in the Captain’s ear. “I’m not fully aware of all the details,” continued the Captain, “but with the Prophylaxis Trident satellites temporarily down and the MoDs pulse jamming capabilities halted, our adversaries are now operating practically blind. Our radar is up and running again, hence how Mac was subsequently able to pick up one of the Flower Child’s two lifeboats. Sadly, as you know no members of the original crew were onboard, but we did see some signs of life.” The Captain pointed towards Bull. The Captain said, “Alright, settle down. I know what you’re all feeling. I’m going through the same emotions, but we need cool heads at a time like this. Our priority is still to find the Flower Child and document evidence to use against the Government. I for one still believe our comrades are still on St Kilda and I’m prepared to try and secure their release and expose this atrocity. I can’t force any of you to come along with me. You need to make that decision for yourselves. If you decide this is not what you signed up for I’m sorry, but I can’t drop you off on the mainland as the Feds will be waiting there for us. I can set you down on one of the other islands and we will collect you when all of this is over. So if there’s anyone who doesn’t want to go any further raise your hands now.” There was a moment of quiet then Doobie raised his hand. The Captain said, “Ok Doobie, get your stuff packed…” Doobie replied,

“No, I’m with you Waxy, I just wanted to ask a question.” Doobie lowered his hand and turned his head to the source of giggling amongst the crew. He scowled and then said,

“The Russians are pissed about something and their defences are on high alert. There’s talk of a potential conflict on the BBC World Service.” Doobie held up an old fashioned transistor radio. One of the crew shouted,

“The BBC also announced in a newsflash that you’re a total geek, Doobie.”

“Maybe so, but you’re a bunch of potheads,” replied Doobie, “There are still people broadcasting on medium and long wave and just as well since the satellites and the internet link ups have all gone cold. I knew this would happen. All I’m saying is, with the Russian’s testing the MoDs defences we might be putting our heads in the lions mouth. There was also a report about a tsunami in the North Atlantic hitting a passenger ferry, but they said the wave was caused by seismic activity linked to a submarine landslip. Nothing about detonations or even linking it to methane hydrate drilling activities.”

“Thanks for the intel Doobie,” said the Captain, “The Allies are playing this to make the GM look like the bad guys and portraying our activities as responsible for bringing the world to the brink of war. The public appear to be buying into it and a lot of folk are pissed with the GM right now, but we’re also pissed. Our so-called leaders have allowed greedy corporations to decimate the environment, they have endangered life and they are bringing the world into an age of chaos and armed conflict. So what do you say, will we go and get our comrades and bring them home? Will we expose the Governments nefarious scheme? Will we go to St Kilda?” The crew offered a nervous cheer.

Still dressed in his slippers and bathrobe, Bull stood in silence. He was absorbed by a moment of clarity. Andrew approached him from behind and whispered in his ear,

“What is up with you?” Bull shuddered and then he turned around. He said,

“Oh, it’s you, I was wondering where you had gotten to.”

“You’ve been acting all strange of late, and that’s saying something because you’re a bloody peculiar bloke at the best of times.”

“Go away, you’re not real,” exclaimed Bull.

“What are you talking about man?”

“You’re not real. You’re a figment of my imagination. I invented you. It must have been something to do with the trauma from the accident, but you’re not real.”

“You’re not making any sense and didn’t you hear the Captain, this is a time to put a stout heart against a stey brae.”

“What? At least on the life raft you were intelligible.”

“It’s an old Scottish proverb my grandfather used to say. It means you need determination to climb a steep hill.”

“Are there any Scottish proverbs about how to deal with hallucinations?”

“No as a nation we have a poor record of dealing with mental illnesses, but a fine history of locking them up. Maybe we should put you in a straightjacket and thrown into a padded cell? Look, when I was a child I had an imaginary pet which I used to constantly play with, but then I got bored with my imaginary pet and invented myself an imaginary friend, but he got bored with me, stole my imaginary pet and ran off with it. I know the symptoms…” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Go away, you’re embarrassing me. People are staring. Wondering why I’m talking to myself.”

“Everyone is staring at you because you’re dressed in slippers and a bath robe and acting like a mental patient. You’ve been through a lot over the last week: stress, dehydration and hunger.”

“In our quarters, I looked in the mirror and I couldn’t see your reflection where you should be standing, so unless you are a vampire, you must be a hallucination.” One of the crew approached. He turned to Andrew and said,

“You’re the cat we rescued from the soup aren’t you? I didn’t get a chance to properly introduce myself, I’m Ty Kurt.” He extended his hand and gave Bull and then Andrew a traditional Inuit handshake. Andrew leaned forward and pulled Ty Kurt towards him and rubbed his nose against the Inuit man’s nose. He then said,

“My friend here isn’t feeling himself today.” He looked at Bull with a smug expression on his face. Bull returned his stare and said,

“Vampire it is then.” Bull walked back to his quarters. Ty Kurt smiled at Andrew and said,

“Hey man, we just shake hands these days. Only family members do the kunik and pretty much only amongst the elders now. I just thought you might want to know before you try that one again.”

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