Chapter 1

Angry Tide — Into the deep

26 July 2022, Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

A deafening noise rips through the silence, followed by a flash of light, from which a strange capsule appears. The words “last chance” stand out on one side, with the number “2050” on the other, glowing as the capsule plummets towards the ocean and then quickly disappears into its depths.
Shortly afterwards, in the darkness of the seabed, a shoal of fish are frightened by, then drawn to investigate, an unusual thud. Their lanterns pick out the site of the impact and what remains of the capsule, then their attention is caught by three mysterious objects.

What are they? And how did they get here?

The fish are curious but a little nervous.

They are swimming slowly towards the objects when, all of a sudden, one of them, which vaguely resembles a prism, begins projecting a small but dense beam of light a short distance away.

A video message appears.

The young man in the video begins to talk, accompanied by sounds and symbols that the fish seem to understand immediately:

“I am speaking to you from 2050, and the planet is in grave danger.In our oceans there is now more plastic than fish, and we passed the point of no return several years ago. We have sent this capsule back in time as our last chance: after years of research and experiments, and with the invaluable support of the “Creators”, we have found a way to save the Earth, but for us it is now too late. If you are listening to this message all is not lost: you still have the power to change the course of history! Inside the capsule you will find the information you need to build the project: the only chance you have to save the sea and humanity from plastic.”

At the end of the message the project is illustrated: numbers, data and drawings provide a detailed description of a monumental, awe-inspiring, futuristic work.

“I am begging you: do everything you can to make it happen!”

The man’s face is replaced by a rapid succession of catastrophic images: huge islands of plastic adrift on the sea, endless expanses of fish floating belly-up on the surface, and a few survivors with a strange, feral look about them, who are searching for food among bottles and other trash.

The fish are appalled.

As the images scroll by, their emotions run wild. Their initial fear gives way to a profound sadness that soon turns into disappointment and bitterness. But this is only the lead-in to a full-blown Angry Tide.

The situation is spiralling out of control, when one fish comes forward and speaks up:

“We were destined to hear this cry for help, and we cannot let these things happen.Let’s use the anger we’re feeling and turn it into energy!We are the Earth’s last chance and we can do this! We’re going to build this project, for our future and the future of the planet!”