The lost city

Word count 1240


“I can make out the date, Aria.” The surface-scout tugged at the ivy clinging firmly to the stone wall.
         “Be careful, Kai,” his companion’s voice raised when crumbling masonry threatened to collapse. Pieces of limestone dropped onto the moss-covered paving stones, disturbing the uncanny silence.
         “Melbourne State Library 1854” he read. “Wow,” he whispered in awe. “That’s over 400 years ago.”
         But Aria didn’t hear him, she’d gone to the vehicle to get the equipment needed to safely enter and explore the historical site.

         Appearing to be structurally complete but certainly not sound, the ancient building showed evidence of the great fire which tore through Melbourne all those years ago. The limestone walls, which back when it was first built must have shone in the sunlight, now were blackened with sooty, mouldy residue. During the many weeks the two enviro-venturers had been exploring the devastation of what once had been a thriving, bustling metropolis, this building alone still stood, apparently intact.

To reach the entrance they’d first had to navigate a set of crumbling steps. Even in the state of devastation they’d found it, it soon became apparent the Melbourne State Library had been an important landmark of the city, before the devastation of the Great Climate Shift in 2124. The wide doorway, which must have been impressive back in the day, was open to the elements. Any ornate doors there may have been were long gone.

What greeted them left them speechless and neither attempted another step, bewitched by what surrounded them. They first became aware of the awful devastation, the odour of long years of neglect but most of all they sensed the building had an air of sadness.
         At last Aria spoke. “What a wonderful place this must have been, Kai,” she whispered, as if to raise her voice would have been disrespectful to those who used to inhabit the library. “Did you know libraries were places which were free for any citizen to use? Where anyone could come to study, learn or simply read for enjoyment?”
         Kai simply nodded before he too found his voice. “What a civilised world it was back then. Now look at us, we have no culture, no such things as books. So sad.”

         Although they knew about the lost cities, the architecture and the people, because of having access to information at the touch of a button through Artificial Intelligence, laying their eyes on the reality first hand, they found no words to express their feelings. Kai and Aria, brought into existence so long after the GCS, could barely believe their eyes.

         ”This must have been the La Trobe Reading Room.” Aria pointed to what remained of the magnificent domed ceiling and circular reading room, surrounded by multiple levels of bookshelves.
         Kai touched some of the books still remaining, amazed they even still existed and hadn’t turned to dust. “The dry atmosphere has kept them from disintegrating, Aria. Just imagine how dreadful the situation they faced must have been to force the citizens to flee this city.”
         “The information I have is that the original section of the library was constructed in the mid-nineteenth century. Look, some of the columns are still intact.”
Kai cast his eyes upward. The columns, no longer white marble but green with moss and foliage, took on the appearance of tall, stately trees, firmly rooted.
         The pair stood silently as if they were in the presence of some diety of which they were unworthy.
         “What really happened here?”
         “We know the ice caps melted and the ice shelves collapsed. Sea levels rose at an alarming rate. This city was submerged for a while, then the water receded and as intense heatwaves and droughts lasted for years, it became impossible for the citizens, those who’d survived, to sustain themselves.”
         “How wonderful it must have been all those hundreds of years ago to be able to walk those wide streets, to eat food grown in open fields and to live above ground and breathe fresh air.” Aria continued to speculate about what they’d lost. “There used to be fish caught fresh each day from the oceans and rivers. Now the waters are polluted with plastic, not even safe to swim in. There was a wide river, the Yarra, which used to flow through here. That is now just sand and dust.”
         “Yeah, it’s hard to visualise, isn’t it? The ancestors would have found it impossible to even envisage the future we are living. Our cities, all underground, food sourced from vertical farms.”

The sound of Aria’s heavy boots crunching on the rubble strewn marble tiles echoed through the abandoned building as she walked over to a bookshelf and selected a swollen, fragile tome. She laughed out loud before sharing the title to her companion.          “Raising a happy child,” she read the faded title before she tentatively opened the pages and read a little to her fellow explorer, “…encourage your child to enjoy nature-based activities, to get outside, climb trees and play sports. Limit their screen time….”.
         Kai smiled ruefully. “Limit screen time? If only they knew then that screens would be the only way we can access images of nature. Without screen images today’s population would know nothing of previous life. No one would possibly imagine the birds and animals that lived before GCS. The trees and wildlife which are all extinct, we see only through the medium of screens.” He stopped talking and pointed at the timer on his apparatus.
         “Yes, I know, we need to get back to base and report before we run out of time.” Aria agreed before taking a last look around before reluctantly heading back the way they’d entered. “What an amazing discovery, Kai. Let’s get back underground and show the team.” She touched the camera on her suit, ensuring it had captured all of their experience.
         They went outside into air, unsustainable to life and climbed into their PAV (Personal Air Vehicles) for a flight back to the Subterranean Airport based in their city faraway underground.

The PAVs descended five hundred metres through a vertical access shaft, passing through a series of airlocks regulating the air pressures.
         Aria and Kai exited their crafts, after they’d reached the spacious SubTerra airport. Tunnels leading to various locations in the city branched out from the concourse and they both took a PRT, (Personal Rapid Transit) to the headquarters located several kilometres away.
         On their way to brief their supervisor, it was as if they were travelling through a forested area. Birds flitted amongst the foliage and wind ruffled Aria’s long hair, but they both knew they would never see the real thing, never smell a rose or stand under a real waterfall like the one that seemingly splashed into the lake they had just passed.

It was difficult, almost impossible to differentiate between the races in SubTerra. Lack of sunlight ensured the population appeared pale and sickly. Here when bodies began to erode, either from age or sickness, humans had become integrated with robots. Robotic limbs were common, aging brains were reinforced in an effort to keep the minds functioning.
         Although the human race had managed to keep existing and evolving ensuring it didn’t die out completely, after their exploration of what used to be above their underground existence, Kai and Aria knew what they’d lost forever.

Written for Short Shots Contest.
Prompt: An image of a deserted library. It’s overgrown with plants and creepers.