When I began my research in Tarifa, I had no idea what I might find. I was simply studying the ocean’s algae, looking for the reason why it was invading the coastlines of this small Spanish town. That’s when I came upon the worst discovery of human history. The algae wasn’t producing oxygen anymore. It was dying– dying in numbers that I had never quite seen before.
I had just finished my postgraduate degree, becoming a doctor in marine botany. I had started this job out in Spain, primarily to get rid of the hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt that I was in. Luckily for me, I was alone when I made this discovery.
I understood immediately that this finding must be shared with the world. I don’t know what came over me, but I instantly knew that this was going to be something that the government did not want people to know. I was panicked. What does someone do with information this important? I took a beat, and eventually decided that I needed to leave. I grabbed my car keys, and ran to the parking lot by the beach. I simply put the keys in my ignition and sped off.
Algae produces more oxygen for the Earth than all of its rainforests combined. A loss of all oceanic algae producing this oxygen as it does, would mean an annihilation of life worldwide. We simply wouldn’t have the oxygen for the population that we currently hold, not even accounting for how this disruption will affect the ocean’s ecosystem. It would be debilitating for Earth. Correction, it IS debilitating for Earth.
– – – – – – – –
I pull over onto the side of the road and stop. I’m about two seconds away from having a panic attack, and a breath of fresh air is needed. My first instinct is to make a video on my phone. Post it to Instagram or Tiktok or Twitter or some form of social media where people could easily access it. But I’m too smart for that. The government regulates those apps more than we could possibly know, and one simple video might get “lost” in the algorithm. I need to find a way to make this known. I look behind me and I see a white van pull off to the side of the road. Did I see this van following me when I was driving away from the beach?
A man and a woman hop out. They are wearing masks, and I can’t see their faces. I am in full flight or fight at this moment. I see them running directly towards me. I wonder for a brief second if they are the government, if this is really going to be my end. I try to run. They catch me and I kick, scream, anything to get away from them. They pull a black sack over my head and shove me into the back of their van. I feel a rag over my mouth, and I pass out.
I wake to two people standing over me. I’m tied to a chair in what seems like a warehouse. Their faces are hidden by masks, specifically masks of marine animals. A turtle and a shark. I attempt to analyze any possible way that I could escape, any way that I can flee from my captors. I see nothing. The two are dressed in regular clothing. The turtle man in a far too tight green polo shirt, and the woman in a dark blue long sleeve shirt, both wearing denim jeans.
The burly man in the turtle mask, gruffs out: “Are you Louise Stratford?”
“I am. What do you want with me?”
The woman in the shark mask gently pushes her colleague aside. She walks slowly up to me and looks me right in the eye.
“We are part of a group named Angelshark. We believe in this planet’s success, in its restoration. We believe that you hold similar beliefs, Miss Stratford. We’ve been watching you, your expertise could prove quite useful.”
Angelshark. It was a name that was vaguely familiar to me, and I couldn’t readily recognize why. Regardless, by some divine intervention, this was exactly what I needed. A way to make my discovery known. It really doesn’t matter how, even if I’m helped by two lunatics playing dress up.
“So you know of my discovery this morning?”
There’s a brief silence until Turtle chimes in, sarcastically: “No, of course we don’t, we just felt like kidnapping someone today.”
Shark punches him in the arm and responds in a much nicer tone, stepping closer to me. “We know. We also know that this is something that the world needs to hear. We want to help you, Louise.”
I’m skeptical of their motivations. I don’t understand what these people could possibly gain from helping me. This world’s “restoration” invokes a large variety of meanings. I look down and I can clearly see the outline of a gun tucked into the front of Shark’s jeans. Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice in joining them or not.
Admittedly, I was nervous. I sheepishly answer: “…I’ll join. But we need to be quick.”
Shark unties the ropes and I stand up. The group leads me to a backroom with a setup of cameras and technological doohickeys all around.
Turtle begins messing with the tech and after a minute he states: “Prepping the stream.”
Shark puts her hand upon my shoulder. “Are you ready for this, Louise? This is going to be in the history books. We’re letting you take the lead.”
I’m anything but a public performer, but it doesn’t seem like there is any other way. I want this known, and I also do not want a bullet in my chest. So it wasn’t a very hard decision. I take a breath and prepare myself. I’m doing this.
Turtle brusquely begins: “Stream is a go in three, two, one…. Action!”
“My name is…Louise Stratford. I’m a marine botanist working on the coast of Spain.”
I’m extremely nervous. My heart is beating out of my chest and I’m having trouble breathing.
“This morning…I made a discovery. The ocean’s algae is no longer producing oxygen that we need to survive. I understand that many of you might not know what this means for us. It means that many of us are going to die.”
I’m doing it. I am currently making the most important discovery of the 20th century. I’m elated, and terrified. How will this change my life? How will this change everything?
“…The world is going to change, starting now, starting after this. Please take the time to-”
A group of men dressed in black bulletproof vests rush into frame and the stream cuts out.
The next morning a woman wakes up. She does her normal morning routine and sits down at her dining room table with a pot of coffee and pulls out her phone. She scrolls for a second until she sees a video of the livestream titled “Oxygen on Earth Depleting?” The woman sits for a second looking at the footage. Her expression is blank as she scrolls right past it.