I dont understand, Im not an engineer, how am I supposed to -

Do you want to live? The angry man who had led me underground shouted while I trembled.

Of course. But-

Then you work here.

I glanced at the geology equipment cluelessly. This wasnt covered in my university ecology

classes. I could never understand why they recruited me.

And now, I have to tell them when they will die.

Before the War on Water began, I was a researcher at Rice University in the Ecology

Department - an underfunded, non-reputational office of important ecosystem research. After

finishing college, I found that there were no governmental jobs available for ecologists, so I

settled for a low-pay job doing what I love.

I spent most of my days researching, protesting, begging for grants, and desperately

trying to convince my non-scientist friends that our environment was dying. My complaints were

met with indifference, a shrug, and a new landfill down the street.

Back then, the motives of society were much different. Survival was easy. Expansion was

necessary. Plastered propaganda read, Expand! Expand! The height of society has arrived.

Seize the day. Government officials shared news of great success, whilst the world slowly

decayed. For years, environmental scientists had attempted to persuasively educate people about

the polluted water supply, excessive manmade gas atmospheric concentration, and resource

irresponsibility. But, as those individuals enjoyed their filtered water - which they retrieved by a

push of a button - they ceased to believe our cries.until it was too late.
 When the war started, cities were destroyed on nuclear impact. Families were broken

apart, children were orphaned, and ecosystems collapsed. The water supply became radioactively

contaminated, and the water providers shut down without explanation. Countries fought over

access to clean freshwater. When innocent viewers asked the cause of this nuclear war, they were

replied with only one word.

Water.

Confused and frightened, the citizens of water rich countries were unaware that they were

draining water resources while many others shriveled with thirst.

I was one of many who predicted this collapse - I am nothing special. But, I am needed.

Almost all of the others who had predicted this change are dead. They refused to further drain

resources underground, and therefore were fed to the so-called Great Creature Upstairs.

It is a common belief among humans from all across planet Earth that scientists no longer

hold important roles in societal functions. The shift in focus from the natural to the technological

world slowly took place over the last century, and the result is, from my perspective, terrifying.

Despite these claims of my low value, when the Downstairs formed, the first

professionals that the Council requested to see were scientists. How can a society function

underground? How does one grow plants, or extract water, when underground? These questions

were the first that required answers. They spurred the creation of the Water Squad.

The Water Squad consists of an electrical engineer, a mathematician, and myself. We

have only one instruction. It is posted on the workroom wall.

Make water. We dont care how. Just make it available and cheap.
Tasked with preserving the survival of an entire civilization, we trudge through each day fixing

the worlds greatest problem.

But the Council doesnt need ecologists like me, they need geological engineers. We

arent working with the above-ground issues with which I am familiar. To retrieve water, the

only direction to go is down. To find water Upstairs means to threaten the lives of the water

seekers. Drilling below is the only option - and not a sustainable one, at that. I have been

assigned an outdated version of a high school geology textbook to assist in my role of

determining how to extract water. Each day, our manager requires a submitted update on our

progress, as the bottled water supply is draining. When I write a report, I try to use as much

jargon as I possibly can so that our manager, Stephen, will complain about having to decipher a

cryptic language. The reports are concise, thorough, and hilarious to watch Stephen attempt to

read angrily.

The average day begins with a review of what we know. Then, we start to investigate

what we dont know, assigning certain unknown elements to each person. Today started like any

other day. I awoke from a six hour rest in my assigned hammock, received my daily portion of

morning foods, and walked to the Water Squad workroom all before 0700 hours. Gmorning,

Natascha. Evan, an experienced electrical engineer in his 40s, cheerfully welcomed me into the

workroom. Good morning, Evan. I replied, Any progress on those calculations?

Not yet, he said, Meizhen wont be in today, shes been selected for the breeding room.

Meizhen, our Chinese mathematician, was in tip-top shape for producing a healthy offspring.

Anyone had to agree that she was the perfect choice for producing offspring for future
generations. Good for her. I said, enviously. It had always been a dream of mine to have my

own child.

Wasnt Meizhen going to do those supply time length calculations today? I asked.

Yep. Theyre due tonight. Would you mind doing them? Im overloaded with water pump

design plans.

Sure.

I grabbed the geology textbook from the lonely cabinet in the corner, and sat down,

exhaling for concentration. Okay...how much time before we all die of thirst? I ponder to myself.

I flip to the Earths Crust section of the book, and scan for the important notes, stopping at a

striking line.

1.5% of the Earths crust is water. This water is rich in

minerals due to subduction processes that transport the water

through various rock and sediment quantities.

Only 1.5%? I turned the page.

The volume of the Earths crust is 7,582,000,000 km^3.

I noted the volume. I multiplied the volume of the crust with the percentage of water, and

recorded, Volume of Water in Crust: 113,730,000 km^3. Using an estimate of just how deep

we could drill, I determined that we could extract about 0.19% of that water, and recorded the

new amount, Volume of Water Available: 318,444 km^3. My calculations continued, as I

found excerpts of the book that included the average amount of water used each year by different

amounts of people. The day passed by as my research continued. How long until we run out of

water? How long until we die? Is dying better than this?

 By 2 PM, I had reached a conclusion. In approximately 15 years, we would almost

completely exhaust the water source beneath us - and this was just if the population remained the

same. But, the council is calling for population growth, which reduces the number significantly,

dooming us all even sooner than I had imagined. My heart sank, and my hands were cold with

fear.

Um, Evan. Yes? You might want to come and take a look at this.

Evan rose and trudged over to my workdesk. I circled the newly calculated number - 7.02 years.

Evan gasped, shaking his head quickly. Go. He said, short of breath.

I grabbed my notebook and started running out of the workroom and down the west hall.

How will they react?

How could they understand?

Will they deny it?

Will they tell the Wanted that theyll soon die of thirst? Will they spread a heartbreaking lie?

Will they force me to keep quiet?

Will they send me Upstairs for telling the truth?

I ran to the council door, and politely knocked twice. A large man met me at the door.

With frustration and worry, I pushed him aside and walked through the door.

What are you doing here?! A council member shouted while the others judged my entrance

with narrow eyes. I decided to present it bluntly, with haste. Hello, my name is Dr. Natasha

Miller. Im an ecologist in the Water Squad. Theres something you need to know.