Sarah dwelt in Sir LaRosa's house amongst all the beautiful things he had crafted. Everyday was a day lived by grace. "Paradise" was the official name for the little district Sir LaRosa had carved for himself into the rock and it included all ground from the roundabout lamp to the big house on the wall. His domain was Undersea and here in it was his paradise: trees, deer, birds, streams, light; along with some things that made Sarah uncomfortable to think about.

Mother thought Sir LaRosa was a genius and worshiped her husband in all he said and did. When Sir LaRosa came home from the Lab in a stewing wrath over one thing or another mother would assuage his hurt pride or calm his anger with honeyed words. She would tell Sir LaRosa that there was no one like him, that he held the power, and then tie in a suggestion on how to be rid of the problem. The big house on the wall had quite the reputation with the elite of Undersea; it did not relinquish the power it held. It gathered more to it instead.

With that power came precaution; few were permitted into the LaRosa residence without mother's consent. Even Sarah's friends Zenith and Beamer were not allowed to come up. Sarah had to go down, taken in a vehicle to the outskirts of Sir LaRosa's estate. They would often meet by the large lamp in the roundabout or near the boulevard of trees. There the three of them would walk amongst the tall trunks, though even this activity was a conscession. Few indeed were allowed that far.

"What's it like in the big house?" Beamer would ask eagerly, looking across the meadows up at the mansion high on the wall. So Sarah would talk about the pretty things in the house and the servants that were trained not to look at you and the rage of Sir LaRosa. She spoke how she missed father and grandma and how Jack was being groomed to grow up like his step father.

"But I don't think Jack has it in him to be like that," said Sarah, "he isn't Sir LaRosa at all. And he comes over to my room at night and I read to him from grandma's book and I tell him stories about father and the above world and stories about where he comes from."

"You are doing what you can," said Zenith squeezing her hand, "one Sir LaRosa is quite enough for Undersea."

Beamer had been particularly excited when Sarah told them mother's promise about attending school with her at the Academy of the Elites. It never happened though, mother never seemed to remember making that promise. Sarah wondered if she would have said just about anything to get her into the big house that day.

At school everyone walked on egg shells around her and it felt to Sarah like school was no better then trying to talk with the servants at home. Students, teachers, administrators, and staff all knew where Sarah came from. It was as if they had been given strict instructions regarding her. "But I'm just me! You all don't have to do this!" Sarah wanted to shout when she was at school, but it did no good no matter who she tried to talk with about it. She was up against something quite beyond her, but Sarah worked hard at her studies all the same for bitterness was a choice. She threw herself into her class work and semester by semester she became more proficient in what she learned. Biology was her favorite subject; in particular marine biology, and she excelled. Word of her academic accomplishments reached the ears of certain family members in the house on the wall.

- - -

Sir LaRosa, whom Sarah called "Sir" whenever they spoke, was a busy man in Undersea, it's bureaocracy, and the goings on of the Lab; usually much to busy for Sarah and her intrests. He was often in the heart of the city at the Lab planning, plotting, and expanding Undersea. There were many things to consider, but his survival was number one. Sir LaRosa was a big believer in himself and his ideas (thanks in part to mother) and if his designs did not work then the flaw was in others. He used the Mariner Patrol with great effect; arresting, punishing, and disposing any dissidents. People quickly learned it was easier to live and let live in Undersea, but Sarah had a hard time seeing things that way. Thus any conversations between Sarah and Sir LaRosa ended in tension. Sir LaRosa wanted followers, so they seldom spoke after the first few months and mother worked keep it that way.

It was during these years that Beamer's father Oscar rose through the ranks of the elite to a seat on the Council of Seven: a position appointed him by Sir LaRosa. Only then was Beamer allowed to come to Sarah's school and her experience there got better. The teachers and students did not quite know what to do with Beamer and his personality, the energy, and the blurting out of what he thought. No doubt this caused his father no small distress; maintaining a good image was key to staying elite in Undersea. "If you get cut, don't let them see you bleed, then bide your time and cut them back," seemed to be the political philosophy of Sir LaRosa's underlings and none dared cross him. Yet.

At lunch Beamer and Sarah would sit alone while other students would kept their distance, eyeing them both with fear and jealousy, for a family's ambition seemed often to extend to the children as well. Beamer would chatter to Sarah about anything that came to his mind, even the political ambitions of his father.

"Not so loud!" Sarah said one day, glancing around the cafeteria, "people will hear!"

"What's wrong with that?" responded Beamer, "Sir LaRosa has already indicated that my father is to be made vice president of the Council of Seven, second only to Sir LaRosa himself!"

"Your father worked hard to get were he is no doubt," said Sarah in a low voice, "but in Undersea that means he's probably done so at the expense of others. I mean how do you think Sir LaRosa got to power himself?"

"My father is a good man!" insisted Beamer loudly, "he's different then the rest!"

"I hope you are right Beamer, but no doubt you have a bias in the matter? And to play politics at Sir LaRosa's table is not a living I would like to carve out for myself."

"Well, what's the worse that could happen?" returned Beamer.

"You know well enough," murmured Sarah remembering the day the war ended. Beamer grew quiet and Sarah felt sorry for him and a little remorseful for darkening Beamer's sunny outlook. "Hey Beamer I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that Sir LaRosa wants to..."

"No, your right," interrupted Beamer slowly, "the politics of this place," he sighed, "could really kill the soul."

Sarah nearly giggled at that, not because it was true but because of how Beamer said it: like an old man reflecting on the weary philosophies of the world. It was very un-Beamer like. They changed the conversation to more pleasant topics.

They were correct, however, to feel the way they did about things. Beamer was right, his father Oscar was being promoted; Sarah was right to, Oscar had maneuvered himself well. In fact in light of this new promotion and the fact that Founder's Day was fast approaching, Sarah's mother made an announcement to Sarah and Jack at breakfast one day (Sir LaRosa had long gone to work by then). There was to be a great party, a Founder's Day Gala, at the mansion high on the wall, a celebration of Founder's day and the new appointment of Oscar to vice president on the Council of Seven. It was to be a splendid affair: food, music, dancing, suits, ball dresses, and of course speeches. Everyone of course would need to look their best. Jack squirmed at this; he much preferred to be running through the meadows below, or knee deep in one of the watercourses. Maybe he could be excused? Alas no. Sarah and Jack had to attend, dressed in their best. Beamer of course would be coming too.

"And Zenith too?" said Sarah with pleading eyes.

"Well..." said mother.

"She could be Beamer and I's plus one," begged Sarah.

"Do I get a plus one?" said Jack.

"And just who might that be?" asked mother. Jack did not have many friends. He was shunned at school too.

"Emmie!" said Jack. Sarah smiled and mother fumbled for words. In the end mother convinced him that his plus one could be a girl from his class whose parents would also be at the party. In the end mother agreed Zenith could be Sarah and Beamer's plus one.

At school Beamer was besides himself with excitement. Finally he would be able to see first hand all the things Sarah had described to him about the big house on the wall. Zenith was happy too when told.

"You can come over early the day of the party and borrow one of my dresses to wear," Sarah had said as they walked under the trees. "I never wear half the stuff they put in my closet anyway."

"I will not be wearing a dress," said Beamer pretending as if Sarah had been speaking to him. They laughed.

- - -

In the days that followed the announcement of the Founder's Day Gala there was much activity at the Sir LaRosa residence. Mother stressed about the guest list for Sir LaRosa left the details to others. Things must go without a hitch however; that was implied in Sir LaRosa's understanding of these functions. Image was everything after all.

To make the gala reflect the image and power of Sir LaRosa's position little expense was spared.Sir LaRosa loved draping himself in the flag of Undersea; it was how he knit himself to the city. That he was Undersea and Undersea was him was his much desired image. That an affront to one was an attack on the other was the perception he coveted. This message was the root of his power with the masses. "For the good of the city" ment more then just the stones of Undersea or its people.

Sir LaRosa did much to reinforce the association between himself and the land he governed. Everything at the party must be done to support their union. The flag of Undersea was draped liberally above the entrance to the big house on the wall and the white starfish on the blue field was the singular motif used to decorate the inside of the mansion. The house seemed to swim in blue fabric and the starfish emblem. It decorated cakes and plates, its colors were found in streamers. A large carpet in the Front Room before the grand staircases was specially made; woven so that the image of many little flags made a larger mosaic that bore the very appearance of Sir LaRosa's visage. It did not occur to the planners that there might be those in Undersea who would enjoy walking on that face more then they cared to admit.

In the Front Room and throughout the main floor statues were placed amongst those already there. Many of these were of Sir LaRosa himself, depicting him at one of his many duties. There was Sir LaRosa the scientist, holding up a beaker as if pondering it. There was Sir LaRosa the orrator; hands and face frozen in passion; no doubt expounding upon the virtues of Undersea in some speech to the masses. There was Sir LaRosa the general: hand on hip, dress jacket filled with decorations, stars on his shoulders, eyes looking ahead as if brooding on the future. There were other statues too of important people from Undersea's past, but Sarah did not really know their names.

Extra help was brought in to supplement the staff at the big house on the wall for the party. Not just additional cooks, gardeners, maids, and attendents, but also a contingent of the Mariner Patrol. They seemed to be everywhere in the mansion, some helped with the tasks of preparation. Others stationed themselves at important doorways and passages. These were the most loyal of Sir LaRosa's men, unquestioning servants who snapped to attention whenever he approached. Sarah found them to be a bit underfoot; hardly was there a place one could go to be rid of them.

Sarah's own preparations had been to pick her dress for the gala. After she had, mother, stressed from the party, selected the actual dress Sarah was going to wear. A long billowing blue ball gown with a fitted waist and generous white sash tied in a bow at the middle. Sarah would also be wearing white satin opera gloves, a necklace of pale pearls, and glittering platinum earrings shaped like starfish. Sarah had to get her ears pierced just to wear them.

Mother clapped her hands when the ensemble was all together. "Now that's the look I wanted," she beamed.

Sarah looked at her reflection and felt she had been draped in the very flag of Undersea itself. "Its a look alright," Sarah sighed, the outfit making a whooshing sound as she walked back to her rooms to change out of it. Emmie, now more open due to Sarah's efforts, murmured admiration. "You look beautiful!" she said.

Jack was also made to attend to his party clothes and was measured up for a new suit. Not thrilled at all with the proceedings he squirmed so much at the fitting that his dimensions had to be taken twice. "Whoa now mister, now what in Undersea do ya need that measurement for?" he had said more then once, much to mother's disaproval.

Beamer had informed Sarah all about the suit he was wearing to the gala; "white trousers and blue jacket with stars on the shoulders, like LaRosa," he said. "I hope I match what you guys are wearing," he said seriously, "I don't want to look like a vagabond escorting you two lovely ladies." Sarah and Zenith had giggled at this: "Lovely Ladies?" Beamer was changing.

- - -

On the morning before the gala vehicles began winding their way up to the big house on the wall. Some unloaded round dinning tables and plush, comfortable looking dinning chairs (trimmed in the blue of Undersea of course.) Others brought more decorations, hangings and statues; some arrived bringing more officers of the Mariner Patrol. The focus in those last frantic hours however was mainly in the Great Hall

Walls had been knocked out in the mansion and rooms merged with the Great Hall on the mansion's first floor to make enough room for the whole affair. Tables, chairs, a live band, dancing, and a platform for giving announcements (and inevitably, speeches). Everything was being set up. The tables had white table cloths trimmed in blue, draping to the floor. The set linens where a smaller version of the flag of Undersea. Candles and flowers formed the centerpieces; real flowers cut from the trees surrounding the mansion. The plates were made of a kind of porcelain and bore blue and white starfish decorations around their edges. The cups where crystal and when the candles where lit golden light glinted upon them.

Nearby the kitchens with their bright interiors were loading up with provisions. Kelp, sea bass, crustaceans, and mollusks of every kind and description were loaded into cooling units. Sweet plankton cakes were prepared and vegetables prepped. A large bale of sargozo tea arrived and divided into manageable amounts to be brewed in large pots later. Chunks of whale meat were put to boil; the fat rendered from them to be used in other dishes. Many bottles of spirits and sundries were stowed away and more kelp arrived, but of the paper variety and not for eating. Menus would be printed upon it and other sheets would be folded into intricate shapes, origami style, for place settings. "A little kelp goes a long way," was a saying in Undersea.

The smells of the feast being prepared made Sarah's mouth water, and she found herself looking forward to tomorrow's festivities in spite of herself. It felt a bit unfair she should get to enjoy such a lavish affair. Those whom she had loved dearly would not.

All the while Sir LaRosa had strutted about the house when he was there, breathing everything in as if it fed his very soul.

Then in those final hours Sir LaRosa ceased to strut. Instead he would fold his hands behind his back and bow his head. A hard look would come to his eyes. His brow furrowed as if he were brooding on some thought of great importance. Sir LaRosa doubled the guard the morning of the party.

- - -

When Zenith came over early on Founder's Day with a packed bag to stay that night, she had to be rescued from the door wardens by Sarah. They did not want to let her in.

"It's to early for guests to arrive," they said, "orders are orders."

"Then you can explain to my mother," said Sarah, "why her daughter isn't dressed and ready for the gala when the guests do arrive. For I shall be waiting out here with Zenith until we are both let in."

Sarah felt a bit like a heel using clout the way the elite of Undersea would. She tried not to make it a scene like a spoiled princess in a palace might. She had seen to much to let herself become that. The door wardens hemmed and hawed but were quick to give way when they saw mother stalking across the patio to give an earful to one of the gardeners.

"Wow..." was all Zenith could say when she stepped into the big house on the wall.

"Yes, I suppose that's one way of putting it," said Sarah, leading Zenith past an expressive statue of Sir LaRosa. "I'd show you around more but it's probably best if we go to my room. I'd rather not be underfoot today."

"Yes," said Zenith, "It's probably best if we make ourselves scarce until the party, but don't you have to be in the Founder's Day Parade later this morning? You've had to be in it these past few years."

"Not this year, mother gave me an exemption," said Sarah leading Zenith up a grand staircase, "oh, I want you to meet Emmie!"

Emmie was waiting in Sarah's room with bad news. Sarah would have to go to the parade after all, Sir LaRosa's orders. He had an image he wanted to maintain: Sir LaRosa, family man. They would have to be quick if she was to make it on time. Emmie had an outfit picked already and with Zenith's help went into overdrive to get Sarah ready. Sarah was on the verge of tears; she had been hoping to spend some time with Zenith. They never seemed to have enough of it.

Zenith squeezed her hand, "it'll be alright, Emmie will help me pick out something for the gala tonight and we'll start getting ready when you come back."

Sarah smiled, closed her eyes, and not for the first time in her life chose not to be furious.

"How do you do it Sarah?" whispered Emmie shyly as they helped her into her shoes and tied the sash of her dress.

Sarah glanced over at her pillow and was thankful. "Well it isn't on my own power..." she started to say. There was an urgent knock at the door. Emmie answered it.

"Time to go," said a young officer of the Mariner Patrol. He was new.

"Can I have five minutes?" Sarah asked, remembering right after she said it the last time she had five minutes. Zenith shuddered. "Sorry, I just remembered that too," Sarah whispered.

"Time to go," repeated the young officer, looking into the room.

"I think you look wonderful," said Zenith, slipping a matching handbag into Sarah's hands. Sarah smiled to Zenith and Emmie and then to the Mariner Patrolman.

"Ready!"

"Follow me," said the young officer spinning on his heels heading down the hall.

"Aren't we going to take a vehicle?" Sarah asked after they made a turn that was not taking them to the front door and the patio beyond where the vehicle would be waiting. "We'll be late."

"We will be if we take a vehicle," replied the young officer. "We are taking the Under-Line."

"Oh," said Sarah raising her eyebrows, "the Under-Line."

They headed down the hallway towards Sir LaRosa and mother's quarters. Mother was waiting. Nearby two guards stood watch at their post.

"Hurry it along now Sarah," mother said crossly, "you've wasted enough time already." Before Sarah could respond mother turned and walked to the entryway of the Under-Line just down the hall. "Hurry it up!" repeated mother, and the young officer came and at the door to the shaft of the Under-Line inserted a key card. He punched a four digit number into a key pad. Sarah, looking over his shoulder, saw him enter the code. 0-3-2-3. The door slid open and in they went in and stood on a narrow, well-lit platform. Before them hung a large sphere suspended over a yawning hole.

Sir LaRosa built the Under-Line when he built the big house on the wall. It was a way of getting from his residence to the Lab quickly, for it bypassed all the roads and switchbacks via a tube-like tunnel that went under Undersea. Using the assist of gravity the sphere, which could hold several people, released from the cable upon which it now hung and dropped down the shaft. A system of jet-like air blowers lining the shaft all the way from start to finish acted as both breaks and accelerators depending on what was needed. A gyroscope with programmable ball bearings kept the riders upright and steady. A winch system returned the sphere to the house. It was definitely faster going down than coming up.

Sarah had never ridden the Under-Line. All were barred from it without Sir LaRosa's consent. He had used it earlier and taken Jack (who loved riding it). Mother rode it all the time. She gave a heavy sigh when Sarah gingerly crawled in though the hatch. The officer climbed in behind her and closed the hatch. He belted himself in and when all were secured he reached for the release. With a metallic click the sphere released. Sarah felt her stomach drop into free fall.

"It's best not to eat anything right before you ride," said the young officer to Sarah as they bottomed out into the straight stretch. Fortunately Sarah had not.

In less then five minutes they were exiting the sphere. Sarah, wobbly from her first ride, needed a steady hand to help her out and the young office offered his. Soon they were street level in a side stairwell at the Lab, an exit on their left took them past two guards who manned a post there. A vehicle sped them to the parade's starting point.

Sarah saw Beamer at the parade and then sat next to him on the stage when the speeches where given. It was hard to keep a straight face as she sat there though: every time she glanced Beamer's way he pretended to be dozing off: complete with soft, fake snores and whispered nonsense as if talking in his sleep.

"See you at the gala tonight!" said Sarah when the ceremony and speeches were over at last and it was nearly time to be parted.

Beamer bowed deeply to her in a sort of half comical way, then in a serious note said, "Yeah, uh, so mom's been making me practice something called 'eddicate' recently. Not gonna lie, it feels weird."

"'Eddicate' Beamer? I think you mean 'etiquette'," laughed Sarah.

"Yeah that's what I said; 'eddicate'." Beamer gave her another deep bow.

"Eddicate and Beamer," smiled Sarah, "now those are some strange bedfellows."

Beamer looked at Sarah with a puzzled expression.

"What is it Beamer?"

"Well...I'm not sure if I'm supposed to kiss your hand now or not. This 'eddicate' thing's got more rules then English grammer."

"Oh dear," said Sarah laughing, "what hath your mother unleashed on the world?"

After Beamer left the young officer who escorted mother and Sarah from the house to the parade came to her.

"Oh, hello," said Sarah, hoping it was time to go back.

The young officer glanced about then looked at Sarah. "I wouldn't hang with that Beamer kid much longer if I were you," he muttered.

"Why officer," said Sarah a bit startled, "what could you possibly mean by that?"

"What I mean is exactly that. Stars fall. Undersea is a dangerous place to be elite, very dangerous," he said touching her shoulder.