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Underwater
by
Andrew
"What if we could breathe underwater?" questioned Stephen while staring at the
deep dark ocean. "Why, we could live down there, with the fish," said John.
"Wouldn't it be great?" exclaimed Stephen. "Yeah, it sure would" wished John.
"Just think... we could stay down there as long as we want, and we would never
be hungry, for we could just eat the fish and other animals down there" said
Stephen. "But think to yourself Stephen, how could we, air breathing animals,
just suddenly adapt to living in the water? It's impossible, but still a good
dream," sighed John. "Yeah, maybe someday" said Stephen as he contemplated to
himself.
The next day Stephen, a lonely 18 year old with only one friend, John, the same
age as he stumbled upon the news channel on television. What he saw startled
him. "A Japanese scientist in Tokyo has implanted a gene in humans that will
allow them to breathe underwater," said the broadcaster. "No way this could be"
Stephen whispered to himself.
"I wonder if I could have that done on me," wondered Stephen. He raced to the phone as quickly as possible, dialing John's number as fast as his fingers could move. "John!" he yells. "Turn to channel 6 right now!" he ordered. Stephen sprang back to the television amazed at what he saw. "What you are looking at now is the man with the new gene swimming beneath the surface of the water, breathing at the same time. It's just incredible! It's one of those dreams that every person has dreamed: to be able to breathe in the water, to live with the fish!" said the astounded reporter.
Here we have the brilliant mastermind behind one of the most amazing discoveries of all time. Welcome Mr. Mitsubishi, please tell us about your amazing discovery and how it will change the world as we know it" questioned the reporter. "Being able to breathe underwater has been one of my dreams ever since I was a child. I grew up by the water, and knew I wanted to learn how to breathe down there", said Mr. Mitsubishi. "Just how did you discover how to do allow people to breathe underwater?" questioned the reporter. Mr. Mitsubishi eagerly replied,
"It was quite simple. Fish have a gene that
allows them to form gills to breathe underwater. Then, after many tests, I
simply transplanted that gene into a living human. In only 3 days he grew gills
and could breathe in the water", stated Mr. Mitsubishi. "Quite astounding!" said
the shocked reporter. "Now, back to you in the studios" exclaimed the reporter.
Stephen just stared at the television, numb from what he just heard. He slowly
pushed the button on the remote to turn the television off. "Could this actually be? Could my dream really come true?"
Stephen
queried.
As soon as Stephen woke up the next morning he packed his things and went to
John's house. There they both prepared to travel to Tokyo to have the operation
done on them. Stephen and John quickly booked the next flight to Tokyo. During
the flight, Stephen said, "If this is true, it will change your life as well as
mine. It will truly be a dream come true." "Yeah, just think... we, two ordinary
guys, will be able to swim the depths of the ocean and live with the fish,"
replied John. "Hey John" asked Stephen, "Do we like fish?" "Well I really
haven't tried much of it before, but I'm sure we can adapt," answered John.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Once we grow gills, eating fish will be normal. It
will probably be one of our instincts that comes with the gene," said Stephen.
"I guess we will just have to wait and see," replied John hopefully.
Later in the day Stephen and John arrive in Tokyo, eager to seek out the
scientist they saw on television. They begin asking around and finally come
across someone who knows where the scientist's office is located. After finding
out where to go, they hop into the nearest taxi and tell the driver where to go.
In only one hour, the find the office of the scientist. "Umm, excuse me miss,
but where can I find Mr. Mitsubishi?" asked Stephen. The woman replied, "Go down
the hall and he is in the third door on the left side." "Thank you very much,"
said Stephen.
They go down the hall and at the third door on the left side is Mr. Mitsubishi's office. They knocked twice, and quickly the door opened. "What brings you two boys to my office?" questioned Mr. Mitsubishi. Stephen answered," We saw yesterday on our television news station that you had performed an operation on someone that caused them to grow gills. "Yes, yes, he was the first in the world to have this done," said Mr. Mitsubishi.
"Well, we were wondering if we could get that procedure done on us, so we could breathe in the water also," said Stephen. "Why certainly. I just need you to sign these papers this afternoon that tell all about the procedure, risks, side effects, and refunds if anything goes wrong," said Mr. Mitsubishi as he dropped a stack of papers on the table.
"Wow, this is a lot of papers!" exclaimed John. "Yes, I know this is a lot of papers, but the procedure, while not complicated, has not been thoroughly tested for all side effects and other things like that," stated Mr. Mitsubishi. "Is the procedure safe, though?" questioned Stephen. "Well, yes, as long as you read the papers I have given to you, you will see that there is not much that will likely happen to you, besides growing gills," said Mr. Mitsubishi jokingly.
"So it is set. I will see you in
the morning with your signed papers to begin the procedure." "Sounds good Mr.
Mitsubishi, thanks for your time," Stephen and John said thankfully. "See you in the morning," said John and Stephen as
they waved goodbye.
All night Stephen tossed and turned, just thinking about how his life would
change thanks to this miracle of modern science. He looked to see if John was
awake, but he was sound asleep. Stephen lay there for two more hours until he
had to wake up to prepare himself for the operation. As soon as John woke up,
they both looked at each other and smiled. "Today is the day!" they shouted in
unison. They both prepared themselves for the big operation, fully aware of all
the potential side effects and risks.
When Stephen and John arrived at Mr. Mitsubishi's office he warmly greeted them.
"Are you guys ready to begin?" "Yes, sir," they eagerly replied as they handed
him the stack of signed papers. "Okay, please wait here for a moment as I
prepare the operation room," said Mr. Mitsubishi. In no time at all Stephen and
John were escorted to the operation room where they lay down on two separate
beds. "Okay, the procedure begins by putting you both to sleep," said Mr.
Mitsubishi. Both boys felt a slight pinch as the needle with the anesthesia went
into their arms. They fell asleep almost immediately there after.
By the time Stephen and John woke up they were in no pain. Mr. Mitsubishi
advised them to go back home, and in about three days their gills should be
fully formed and ready to be used in the water. On the plane ride home Stephen
noticed some flaps forming at his sides. "Wow!" he said in amazement. "John,
look, I am getting flaps on my sides. Do you have them yet?" asked Stephen.
"Whoa, look at them!" John said with his jaw wide opened. "I can't wait to try
them out when we get home," said Stephen excitedly. "Yeah, it'll be awesome!"
exclaimed John.
The minute Stephen and John arrived at the airport they rushed home to try their
new gills. "You first," said John. "Okay, here goes nothing," exclaimed Stephen.
He dived into the water, swimming as a fish. When he jumped out of the water, he
shouted for joy! Immediately John dived in and joined him. They stayed down for
10 minutes, exploring their newfound talents. When they both rose to the
surface, they were ecstatic! They had never experienced a joy as thrilling as
breathing in the water. Stephen walked on the shore, speechless. John followed
until they went back to Stephen's house.
"That was the most amazing experience I
have ever felt," said Stephen at a loss for words. "Wow," said John to himself.
"I better get going. I'll be back here first thing in the morning," said John.
"Okay, see you then," said Stephen as he waved goodbye.
The next morning, John arrived as early as possible as he promised. "Are you
ready to go exploring," asked John. "Let's go," said Stephen. They dove into the
water, swimming longer than they have ever known. An hour after they had been
down, Stephen decided to kill a fish and eat it. They were extremely cautious at
first, however as soon as they both took a bite of the fish, they knew that
eating fish was part of their instincts now. They swam for another two hours
before they ascended to the surface.
Stephen and John continued swimming for hours at a time, killing fish whenever
they were hungry. As time went on, however, they began to notice more and more
people with the operation done on them swimming for hours at a time and also
killing the fish. The coral reef around them slowly deteriorated, and fish were
becoming more difficult to find. These events led up to the end of all ocean
life, and the end of human life, as we know it.
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