“Could you possibly take me to the roof, please?”
“You mean, outside? I am afraid that is quite out of the question.”
“Oh, come on… I would so love to see the great water!”
“There are luxury viewing decks here below, ma’am.”
“Oh, please. I would love to experience the real thing! Come on, I am Emerald Greene!”
“And I am azure blue, and none of us colors are exceptions to safety protocols.”
“You are unnecessarily rude.”
“Only when I can save lives with it.”
“I’m sure I will be quite safe if such a strong, capable sailor such as yourself watches over me all the while…”
There was a tired sigh somewhere, and in five minutes, the two were on the roof of the great luxury liner that was riding the grey waves of the Atlantic. They were an odd pair: the stunning movie star, and the not-at-all strong but still very capable man in uniform at her side. They were both encased in a subtle, transparent energy-bubble that protected them both from the elements and the rapidly increasing wind, as the body of the steel behemoth rose almost completely out of the water to pick up speed.
“I just love the outdoors,” she sighed.
“Technically, we’re still inside, ma’am. This energy field will shelter us even from a tornado.”
“I guess we all make do with the best imitation of life available,” she shrugged her delicate shoulders. “Why else do we go to the movies?”
“To be enchanted by the exotic beauty of Emerald Greene, perhaps?” he smirked.
“Oh, shush, you were not in the least awed!” she huffed, rather self-consciously.
“On the contrary,” he smiled. “I am the greatest fan of all the wonders that nature creates.”
She squinted at him from under those perfect, long lashes, and there was amusement in her eyes.
“Is that what Emerald Green is to you? Just another wonder of nature?”
“One of the more sophisticated ones, yes,” he shrugged. “But I have to say that I like the primal force of the waves below us just as much, or the call of the black infinity of space, or the searing glare of the desert.”
“Oh, I do not believe you know what you’re saying when you talk about heat,” she shuddered.
“Correct me, then,” he smiled expectantly.
“All right, since you’re unimpressed by all of this, anyway,” she waved around herself vaguely, as if to point out the aura of her movie-stardom. “My real name is Emma, and I was born on the baking streets of the Paris harbor. My childhood memories are pervaded by an incessant smell of rotting fish, and the constant feeling of being baked alive in an oven. To me, Emerald Greene is not a movie-star but my savior, I owe her an eternal debt of gratitude for taking me out of that hellhole.
“Wait, are we talking about that same, sparkling port we have just left behind, equipped with the most modern street-cooling system on European soil?”
The movie star sighed.
“No, we’re talking about the seedy side-streets and alleys that provide the manpower to maintain said technological wonders. I was sure a sailor like yourself would be familiar with at least the cheap taverns of the area.”
“Oh, I’m not…”
“What is happening?” she suddenly looked around in alarm. It seemed as if the air were thickening around them, and in a few seconds they were enveloped in a white cloud that eventually dispersed as fast as it had gathered.
“Oh, that was just the atmospheric effect of the ship passing the sound barrier,” he smiled with moderate superiority. “Because we were at the center of the phenomenon, we did not hear the sonic boom that goes with it. It’s why this cruise takes the better part of an hour. First, we have sail out to high waters, so as not to disturb the coastal cities with all the racket we’ll be making. It won’t be long until we get there, now.”
She looked at him shrewdly.
“You’re no sailor.”
“I didn’t say that I was,” he shrugged. “You just assumed that because of my blue uniform. And you were not interested enough to ask my name, either, so I chose to keep personal information for myself.”
“Yes, I’m sorry, I do have the awful habit of looking right through people,” she said, genuinely ashamed. “It’s a side-effect of my profession, I cannot possibly memorize every person I meet, and most of them are maniacal fans that I would rather forget.”
“I was not offended. My name is John Wilson.”
“The John Wilson? Even I heard about you! No wonder you were not impressed by Emerald Greene. I’m sure you have a few of us in every port. And you’re the one who has made all this happen…”
“If you mean that I am the chief executive of Project WorldMove, you are right,” he smiled mildly. “And I do tend to meet quite a lot of celebrities due to my work, but I never take advantage of them in the way that you insinuate.”
“Oh, yes, I forgot. You see them as -what was that- mere wonders of nature. You know, you scientist types are all weirdos. I bet you found that sonic boom thing you mentioned more interesting than the conversation with me.”
“Actually, I was thinking about your present trip.”
“Oh? Well, I’m on the way to Rome, that’s obvious, that’s the destination of our ship. Actually, I’m moving there, permanently. With the insolent amount of money Emerald Greene earns, I was able to buy my own estate in that paradise. But why is that so interesting to you?”
“Well, a mere five hundred years ago, moving from Paris to Rome would not have meant a cooling change. Quite the opposite, actually.”
“Oh, look, he’s flaunting his scientific knowledge at me again, very macho, are you trying to impress me after all?
“A general reference to continental history is not what I would consider flaunting my abilities.”
“Yeah, right, like they teach geography in schools,” she huffed in indignation. “It’s not as simple as computer-programming.”
“I still consider European weather common to be knowledge, ma’am,” John replied, opening his hands.
“Then so is this,” she said and suddenly stepped close to him, twisted his arm behind his back and promptly rendered him helpless in an elaborate and savage, perfectly executed choke-hold.
He could only gasp for air in astonishment, but in the next moment she let him go and stepped back, unperturbed.
“That was specific knowledge I had to learn for my acting work, just like you were required to learn all that geographic mumbo-jumbo for your scientific endeavors,” she smiled with no little satisfaction at the coughing man.
“Let me guess,” he grunted. “Zombie Armageddon? It’s why I don’t watch series.”
“For once, I agree. I find the idea of a vaccine turning mankind into zombies the hilarious notion that it is. But somehow, people are still under the impression that there are global plots against them, or that medical research is similar to a monkey beating an engine with a wrench to make the car work. But I give the audience what they want to see, and they in turn provide me with this beautiful estate in the newest geographic paradise of the world. There, I hope you were impressed by my scientific choice of words.”
“Ah, and there it is!” John exclaimed, pointing ahead, happy to steer the conversation away from his own physical ineptitude.
The ship slowed to docking speed, and he deactivated the protective field around them. It was a breathtaking site, indeed.
The tropical sun was shining upon a golden shoreline, there were flocks of seabirds clamoring about in the air, the azure seas were teeming with frolicking dolphins, happy to accompany this strange behemoth to its destination. People were waving at them from the decks of their private yachts, while the youth practiced that new folly called rocket-surfing. The weather was hot, but lacked the searing heat of continental Europe. The pleasantly warm breeze caressed Emerald Greene’s perfect skin like a lover’s touch, and she sighed in utter contentment.
“Oh, it’s even more breathtaking in reality,” she murmured.
“You mean you have never actually seen your new house and land before?”
“Oh, I have, dozens of times, every night for the past two weeks!”
“Virtually, I presume,” John nodded knowingly.
“Unfortunately, I could not break away from filming,” she replied. “But I could hardly wait to arrive to my flat every evening and turn on the holo-projectors. And now I’m finally here! Oh, my God, is that the Coliseum?”
He looked into the distance and nodded.
“It is. More than three thousand years of history is crammed in there. It was one of the most difficult pieces to move to this new location, too, because of its sheer size. And in the other direction, those two great half-moons of colonnades encase Saint Peter’s Square of the Vatican. And the Sistine Chapel is still intact,” he added the last part with some pride.
“Beautiful. I can hardly wait to visit every little sight! Who would have thought that I would someday be living in Rome?” she beamed at him like a child. “Should it not be called New Rome, though? You know, like New York.”
“Well, the city of York was still standing at that time in Britain, so they added the extra word to the new name to distinguish between the two places. But I do not think one would actually be headed for the old Rome anymore, at a depth of almost three hundred feet of the Mediterranean Sea. So, no confusion of sites is possible. And, since we moved most of what defined the original city to this new location, I think the ancient site actually lost its claim to the name.”
“So, this is Italy now. I admit, it is hard to take it all in: moving an entire country!”
“Not just one, all of the coastal areas, mind you. We are looking at two hundred years of global relocation here. It is a great victory for the human race.”
“But wait, if this Rome is so close to the shore as well, is it not in danger of being swallowed by rising waters?”
“That is quite impossible, ma’am. You see, there is no more ice to melt.”
A melodious voice greeted the passengers from the loudspeakers:
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are preparing to drop anchor in Rome Harbor. The weather is fair, the temperature is 30 degrees Celsius, the local time is 11.45 AM, the date is 12th August, 2742. Welcome to Antarctica!”
Vorzsák Milán
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