The Great Barrier

Write a Book in a Day

Words: Whistle, Light, Gold, Hungry, Bubbly Setting: Boarding School Issue: Mysterious Gift Primary Characters: Weather Forecaster, Army General Non-human Character: Mermaid

Jamestown Team Members: James Enwright, Jack Daly, Ashlee Park, Amelia Wilson, Niamh Rogers, Amy Barry and Anthony McKenna

Copyright Published by Jamestown, Somerset College, Somerset Drive Mudgeeraba, James Enwright, Jack Cooper Daly, Ashlee Park, Amelia Wilson, Niamh Rogers, Amy Barry, Anthony McKenna

Copyright © 2020, Jamestown

All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.

Chapter

: A Prison in Disguise

Ophelia The boarding school was hot at night, especially for a girl wearing hot and stuffy pyjamas. The school was too overprotective; Ophelia loved seeing the sky at night, and she couldn’t do that unless she finally broke the rules. Her heart was beating way too fast – maybe she shouldn’t have left her room ... No, she couldn’t back out now. She missed home and lying under the stars, the school rules were suffocating. Part of her wanted to turn around and run away. Away from the restrictive walls, away from the stuffy dormitories and daunting great halls. From the outside, Miss Roger’s Academy for Gifted Children looked like a palace, a place Ophelia would read about with princesses and dragons with towering pillars and green courtyards. But it was nothing like what she had hoped. It was filled with strict teachers and kids who only cared about themselves, and being on an oil rig, there wasn’t much freedom. Oh, what she would give to send Ms Doyle far, far away. Ophelia just wanted to be home with her family – she didn’t belong here. But she couldn’t run. Because she’d promised she’d behave at this school. Because she wouldn’t be able to meet her parents’ eyes and say she’d wasted this opportunity. Because the school was situated on a massive abandoned oil rig and unless she found a speed boat and a day’s supply of food, she wouldn’t be able to get anywhere. This school wasn’t a palace, it was a prison. The air was humid, Ophelia was sweaty, but outside, everything was beautiful. She walked to the side of the rig and dipped her toes into the cool water. Smiling, she breathed a sigh of relief, looking up at the map of stars above her. Her eyes slowly drifted shut. Owen For someone so accustomed with the North Queensland weather, Owen was struggling in the immense heat of the night. His sticky arms made things difficult; the air felt heavy and humid. Looking out of his window to see the reflection of the moon on the far-reaching ocean, he knew he had important work to do. Grasping the landline phone in his hand, he called the boarding school principal. “Good evening, Mr. Daly, it’s Owen Davis, the weather forecaster … I’m sorry for the late call, I just wanted to check that I’m still speaking to the children tomorrow? … Excellent, thank you.” He shuffled his palm cards anxiously, making sure the humidity did not let them stick together. The title, written in strong bold text, stood out on the front: The Dangers of Coral Bleaching. Owen had performed this presentation numerous times before, yet the issue persisted. Soon, he thought to himself, the consequences will show. The Great Barrier Reef will be in ruins, and they will all regret not listening to me. Coral bleaching was a new phenomenon, in which the rising temperature of the world’s oceans caused the bleaching and destruction of vast aquatic life. The Great Barrier Reef, being the largest living structure in the world, was at great risk from this. Speaking to the younger generations, Owen hoped, would allow them to grow up and fix the problem. Too many people brush off this problem and don’t do anything to fix it, he thought. I want to fix it!

Chapter

: The Paintbrush

Ophelia Ophelia woke up hungry , aching and uncomfortable. What gave her the bright idea to sleep on the edge of an oil rig? She was going to be in so much trouble when she got back – Ms Doyle would never let her out of her sight. Judging by the fact that the sun was just rising over the horizon, there was a chance the teachers hadn’t woken her classmates up yet. She still had time to get back. Maybe if she could just slip silently into the great hall she could pass with the excuse of going to the toilet. She might still get in trouble because of the slim chances of Ms Doyle believing her (Ophelia couldn’t imagine why) but at least she wouldn’t be found out. She managed to find her way to the entrance without spotting anyone, and was so close to relaxing. Then, she pushed open the door and found herself staring directly at Ms Doyle. Fantastic. “ Good morning, Ophelia, is it a nice day out today?” Ms Doyle had never looked more smug. “So sorry I was outside without permission Miss,” Ms Doyle hated it when people called her Miss, “I was just feeling really sick . I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you by throwing up in my dormitory.” Ms Doyle’s mouth was a line, “Well, you’re looking bright and healthy now.” “Yes Miss, thankfully I feel all better now from the fresh air. I should go to my dorm to get as much sleep as I can now.” Ophelia smiled and tried to skip her way past the nuisance teacher blocking her path, but Ms Doyle stepped in front of her. “Deary me, no that won’t do, you must come with me to the infirmary. We wouldn’t want the other students catching whatever you have.” Ms Doyle grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her away. Ophelia had a feeling she would never be let out of the infirmary again. As she walked away, she suddenly felt a pain in her foot. She reached down and found a small, gold paintbrush, which was seemingly humming with warmth. Ophelia tucked it into the waist of her pyjama pants before Ms Doyle could take it off her - she didn’t know how it got there, but she could tell it was important. Owen The sun was inescapable as Owen sailed towards the boarding school. The presentation was only supposed to take fifteen minutes; he just hoped it was enough to invoke change. Sweat rolled down his forehead as he disembarked his boat. Thankfully, the presentation went smoothly. In fact, it piqued the interest of a number of curious students, which Owen loved to see. With the presentation done, Owen found a place to sit by the edge of the oil rig under the shade of the abandoned crane. Leaning against a steel beam, he closed his eyes, took in a deep breath through his nose, and left himself to his own devices. The ocean was calm and peaceful, without the roar of the shore but still with a flared personality. He was happy. The absence of the ocean’s roar, however, made the singing from the depths ever-more omnipresent. He thought it was a simple whistle at first, but soon realised that it wasn’t that at all. It grew louder and

louder, like the rising tension of an opera singer. But it did not sound like an opera singer; rather, it had the foundational sound of a whale singing with the tonal complexity of a human singer. It was marvellous . Owen dared not open his eyes, for fear that it would cease. However, he heard someone approaching from behind. The footsteps were quiet. A student?

Ophelia Why did she think this was a good idea? She couldn’t explain why, but Ophelia found herself standing in front of a stranger holding a tiny paintbrush, hoping to end coral bleaching. When she was locked up in the infirmary, she had played around with the paintbrush by running it along the walls and bed frame. It almost looked like the colours became more vibrant and clearer – but what was really strange was when she ran the paintbrush across a bruise she had found on her side when waking up that morning. Her bruise had just … vanished. Eager to experiment more with the paintbrush, Ophelia had run it along a bleached piece of coral she had found on one of the school’s excursions to the beach and to her surprise, a deep red followed the paintbrushes trail until the whole piece looked alive again. She couldn’t help but think the paintbrush had something magical about it. “Hi … Mr Davis, right?” Ophelia squeaked. “Yes! Sorry,” - Owen had been caught off guard - “are you here about my presentation?” “Kind of … I think I found something that could help.” She paused. Would he really believe her? “I think this paintbrush could end coral bleaching.” Owen almost grimaced, confused, before clearing his throat and bringing back his soft smile. “May I …?” he gestured to the paintbrush. Ophelia, looking at it intently, handed it to him. “Where exactly did you find this?” “It’s a long story, but I woke up this morning by the edge of the rig and it was wedged in my shoe. I think it might have healing properties.” Surprisingly, Owen smiled, he was running out of solutions after all. “Well, let’s test it out.” Earlier, Owen had felt like he was a victim of the curse of knowledge; now, this was exemplified, and he had to do something. The paint brush that Ophelia had showed him was life-changing, it could be the start of the solution to coral bleaching! Anything the bristles touched was reverted to a state of life, a state of youthfulness and newness! His shoes were polished, the pathway clean, and no harm to the brush was seen! After a talk with Mr. Daly, Owen and Ophelia took the first boat back to Queensland. Looking down, Owen could see the white, bleached coral below the surface. Clenching his fist, he felt more determined than ever that he could really do something; he could fix this! He could paint the life back into the reef!

Chapter

: Lavarack Chat

General Richards Lavarack Barracks Military Base, just outside of Townsville, was Lieutenant General Richards’ favourite place. Industrialised, artificial, orderly, and routine. General Richards was sitting quietly in the war room doing his favourite leisurely activity: nothing, with nobody to disturb him. Then someone disturbed him. “General,” Sergeant Joe said, “you might want to see this.” Disgruntled, Richards followed the Sergeant into the war room. “Something’s come up regarding an old case.” Now this piqued Richards’ interest. He had been in the military for nearly five decades, yet to his dismay “How could I not?” In that moment, Richards was suddenly overcome with an urge to vent his interest. “That may just be the greatest achievement of our generation, the Aqua Warriors program. I’ve seen the images of the creature's countless times; they were a true achievement! They were nicknamed after the famous folklore creatures they resembled: ‘mermaids.’ The project was sadly abandoned due to some government bureaucrat opening the tanks and letting them out. So anyway, what is the news?” “Well, sir,” said Joe, clearly surprised by the General’s passion towards the case, and now more excited to deliver his news. “There have been quite a few reported sightings of large human-like fish on the Great Barrier Reef and the brass in Canberra think it’s our mermaids. They want us to investigate.” Richards was of course surprised by this news. “You mean to tell me that they’ve have survived? My goodness, there could be an entire colony of them out there, hidden away in the Great Barrier Reef just under our noses. But, Sergeant, how could they have survived in the Great Barrier Reef all these years? I mean, the rampant increase of coral bleaching over the years alone would surely make for a toxic environment for a genetically modified species like that.” “That’s true, General,” replied Joe. “The coral bleaching would have left an impact on them, but fortunately they’ve been able to survive. However, if the bleaching continues at the rate predicted, then at some point the reef may become inhospitable for them.” “Excellent!” exclaimed Richards. “Well, let’s not wait a second longer! We must relocate and contain these mermaids! They are an essential asset to us! Just imagine what we would have been able to accomplish had the government not realised them. If we recapture them and safely secure them, just think of the advances we could make to genetics!” “Great idea, sir!” asserted Joe. “Well, we can begin investigation right now. You aren’t busy with another case, are you?” “Not at all,” stated Richards. “And anyway, what could be more important than this? Let’s go!” They promptly gathered their gear and left. was never able to be deployed. Perhaps this was his chance to prove himself. “You remember the famous genetic experiments of the 60’s, General?”

As they walked down the hallway, Richards briefly glimpsed his stagnant office as he passed. No more sitting around and waiting, he said to himself: time to take action.

Chapter

: General Management

“Is there a problem here, General...?” “General Richards,” he answered.

Owen and Ophelia were stopped on the highway by a military car. Owen was slightly shaking, took a gulp, and tried to keep eye contact. “You see, Owen, we’ve had word that you and your friend here might have seen something... weird while at Miss Roger’s Academy for Gifted Children,” Richards said. “What do you mean, General?” asked Owen General Richards bent down to eye-level with Owen and spoke in a threatening tone. “I mean that I think you have seen a mermaid, and if you don’t tell me the truth, I will be forced to arrest you.” Owen was taken aback. How did they know about Ophelia’s story? he glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw Ophelia calmly slip the paintbrush back in her shoe. “A mermaid, General? I’m sorry, I’m confused,” he chuckled nervously. “Mermaids aren’t real! If you don’t mind, sir, I have to get my daughter home quickly, she isn’t very well.” Ophelia coughed in affirmation. General Richards thought Owen was lying, but he had no proof of his suspicions. After a second of suspicion, he let out a nervous, conciliatory laugh. “Of course, Owen. I apologise for stopping you, have a good afternoon.” Owen took a breath of relief as he drove away from the parked car. That was too close . What Owen did not know, however, was that General Richards would not give up that easy.

Chapter

: Deep Dive

After getting away from General Richards, Owen and Ophelia looked for a place to rent scuba diving outfits. The only way to test Ophelia’s paintbrush was to see it in action. The Great Barrier Reef was quite shallow in some sections, and so they were confident in their ability to test the brush on some bleached coral. Besides, Ophelia reassured Owen that she was an excellent swimmer. After about half an hour on a small motorboat, the coral was only a couple of meters below the surface. Perfect , Owen thought. With the paintbrush in hand and eyes set on a goal, Owen and Ophelia fell backwards into the water and dove deep down. The sky and ocean were completely clear, and the ocean was a beautiful bright blue colour. The golden sun rays shone into the illuminated world below the waterline. Only an arm’s reach away from the bleached coral, Ophelia brandished the thin paintbrush and swept the soft bristles against the coarse reef. Owen watched with a hopeful expression. This soon turned into amazement; with each stroke of the brush, colour returned to the reef! It was working! After about two minutes, Ophelia had managed to bring colour back to the whole branch. Owen was left speechless; a solution to the problem he cared so much for had been found! He was exuberant, over the moon! He did an underwater somersault out of excitement! And another! And anoth-… What was that? While upside down, Owen noticed something behind him. He touched Ophelia on the arm and, together, they turned around slowly, fearful for what might fall in front of their eyes. Ophelia almost screamed at the sight - she’d never seen a person more beautiful, but then again, this wasn’t a person. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to scream with fear or excitement, Ophelia had spent hours poring over fantasy books with dragons and fairies, and to see a real-life mermaid. She might have passed out over a hundred feet underwater, but she felt her hand brush against the mermaid’s silky tail. Thick, crimson hair swirled around her and her tail was the most vibrant violet she had ever seen. Her eyes were wide and she looked terrified, but for some reason she wasn’t swimming away. Ophelia followed her eyeline and saw her looking at the paintbrush she was holding. She carefully held the brush out in front of her and watched as the mermaid reached into her hair and brought back another gold paintbrush, identical to theirs. Her face softened and she held out her hand. Ophelia looked back to Owen and saw he wasn’t moving and shoved him. She signed for him to move and they both grabbed the hands of the mermaid. Ophelia felt bubbly with joy. After some travel through the ocean, Ophelia was half convinced she was hallucinating. She was looking at a civilisation of mermaids and other sea creatures alike, small goblin-like creatures with wings and stubby fingers chittered and swam in circles and merpeople travelled to and from the towering buildings. Ophelia let go of the mermaid’s hand and swam towards a crop of sea flowers and laughed as one of the goblins peaked his head out. She silently named him Gill-bert and laughed to herself. She realised she wasn’t meant to be exploring as the mermaid and Owen swam over to her and grabbed onto her again. The mermaid turned to them and gurgled something incoherent and Ophelia looked to Owen to see if he could grasp what was happening. The mermaid shook her head and dragged them with her to one of the houses.

“Nova, what have you been up to?” came a voice in a slow, stern tone. Nova turned around and saw her mum, floating there looking at her. Nova gestured to the bewildered humans to wait there. “Just...” Nova wasn’t sure how to reply. She knew that her mother had always hated humans. But she thought about it, and she was convinced that the humans she’d met were nice. How could they pose a threat? So she decided to take a risk. “I met two humans. They’re using the brush that I gave the girl to save the coral! It’s working out so well, there might actually be hope for us!”

“But how could you do that to us, Nova?” Her mother was angry, but also seemed reserved, as if she genuinely had to teach her a lesson. “How could I not, mum? The humans were so kind to me, how could they ever harm us? They genuinely want to use the paintbrush to bring the coral back – and this is just the start! Just think of what they could do-” “Humans can’t keep anything pure, Nova. The last thing that they’re going to do is paint the coral and not stop until every piece of coral has been saved. I mean, to them it has value, right? So they’re probably just going to sell it or use it to gain money and fame for themselves. Meanwhile, they’ll just keep on polluting until we all die. So from now on you will not give them anything else, okay? You can’t trust the humans with these things.” “Fine,” said Nova defiantly, swimming away. “But you’d be surprised by how kind these humans are, mum. Besides, we need some help. Surely we should accept it rather than run from it.” Nova dragged the two people out of the house and started bringing them back home.

Chapter :

Non-Artistic Militaristic Operations

While Owen and Ophelia were exploring Atlantis, General Richards and Seargent Joe were embarking on a Coast Guard cutter that would take them out to the Top-Secret military base that first created the Mermaids. While en route, Seargent Joe saw that they were heading towards the school. “Why are we going this way, General?” he asked. Richards responded with the cryptic answer of, “That school is the centre of everything.” Joe puzzled over this, until they docked at the school. There, they were met by Mr. Daly, who saluted the General and was saluted in return. The General and Joe were escorted to an elevator that took them to the base below the rig. The base was suspended off the floor of the ocean by the immense rig supports that extended hundreds of meters below the rig. They emerged from the elevator to encounter a vast, luminous ocean view, fully encircled by a giant glass wall. There, the General immediately called a meeting with the most senior officials at the base and laid out a plan to catch and destroy the colony of mermaids. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the mermaids from the Aqua Warrior project have reappeared, and it's up to us to ‘relocate’ them,” he started the meeting with. Immediately, the meeting room was filled with the buzz of chatter as the Officers discussed various strategies in order to control the mermaids. After close to an hour of discussion, the all agreed on a plan of attack, and General Richards ordered the mini subs to be prepared and called over his chief engineer, Katrina-Anne. “Katrina-Anne, come here please” “Yes Sir, how can I help you?” “I need you to check the engines of all of the mini subs and prepare our thermal trackers. Those mermaids need to be captured and studied.” “Of course, sir” “Thank you, Chief Engineer” General Richards turned to Joe and asked him to ensure his orders were carried out at the base while he met with Mr Daly again to discuss the use of the school as a docking station for the mini subs and patrol boats.

Chapter

: Owen and Ophelia’s Army

Owen Owen may have been a weather forecaster, but he never would have predicted such a strong current. Nova and her people were masters of the ocean, and thanks to that, she gave Ophelia and Owen a speed boost to get back to Miss Roger’s Academy. Knowing that Atlantis had innumerable paint brushes, Owen and Ophelia formulated a plan. With the help of the students at the boarding school, they had hoped to recruit the school to paint the whole Great Barrier Reef back to health! All they would need was to convince Mr. Daly, and the Reef would be saved! Nova stopped the current once at the foot of the school, and following an embrace, Nova waved the duo goodbye and good luck. Having pulled themselves onto the pontoon, Owen and Ophelia took off their scuba suits and hastily sped towards Mr. Daly’s office. “We’re really going to fix it, Mr. Davis!” Ophelia excitedly remarked. “Please, my name’s Owen,” he replied in-between breaths with a smile. Ophelia was struggling to keep up while Owen struggled to hold all the brushes. Finally, they had reached Mr. Daly’s office. Owen charged into the doors with his shoulder, almost slamming them against the wall. “... oh, that won’t be necessary, Mr. Daly, we’ll take care of things from here.” General Richards was at the school! The slam of the door caught Richards’ attention, and he turned around with a grin on his face. “Oh, hello Owen, hello Ophelia. Fancy seeing you here. It’s good to see that Ophelia is feeling better,” he said satisfactorily before releasing an evil laugh. “Why are you here, General Richards?” Owen asked, with fear and nervousness. “Well, Owen, to be honest, we saw mermaids,” General Richards replied. “These mermaids escaped from our base many years ago, and it is our task to take them back to where they belong. Oh, are those mermaid brushes in your hands, Owen? We’ll be taking those, thank you.” General Richards smiled with a large, concerning, scary grin, and a look in his eyes that showed no life. Owen turned towards Ophelia. She was scared, but she barely showed it. She was brave, strong, and determined. “Ophelia”, he said, “follow my lead.” She nodded in approval, not breaking eye contact with General Richards.

Chapter

: Big Red Button, Big Red Heart

Owen gave the brushes to Ophelia and asked General Richards to step outside tor a talk. Owen had a lot to say, but not a lot of time to say it. “See this, Owen?” General Richards waved around a green, diary-sized metal tool, with a big red button in the middle. “The second I push this button, Operation Uncreation will begin. All of my submarines will capture the mermaids before studying them and their empty homes. They were created by us, and we need to save them from the polluted reef and take them back.” Owen was clearly shocked by what he was hearing; he understood the army meant trouble, but this was on a whole other level. With the light of the sun glaring down on him, he had to think fast. “General, I assume you’ve been to this school before?” The General scoffed. “Of course, my military base is under our feet! This is no oil rig; this is an old military headquarters!” The day was full of surprises for Owen, but he did not let this get in the way of his task. “Right, then I imagine you came here a long time ago. Twenty, thirty years maybe?” Owen received a sly nod in approval. “I can imagine you taking a boat out here, General. Looking down at the ocean, you would have seen the vast and sprawling Great Barrier Reef. Thriving with beauty and life. The largest living organism in the world. What a sight to have seen! Oh, how we cheated Mother Nature by seeing such natural magnificence! But today, General, today it is not sprawling. It is not thriving. It is being bleached. But the mermaids, General, they have these brushes!” Ophelia held out a brush for Owen, who softly but passionately grabbed it. “One stroke of this brush, and the colour – the life – is painted back onto the coral!” General Richards, caught in his memory for a moment, reminiscing on the beautiful reef, snapped back to reality. “Don’t lie to me, Owen. The mermaids are incapable of such wonder.” He snatched the brush out of Owen’s hand, and pointing the bristles at the steel beam beside them, said, “I bet these were bought at the dollar shop!” With a swift swipe of the brush, General Richards struck the steel. To his amazement, however, he created a line on the beam that looked polished, good as new. He was dumbstruck with awe. “You see what I mean, General! I understand that you are hungry for power and satisfaction, but what we need right now is co-operation. Do not focus on your big red button, your power and ability to evoke negative change. Instead, focus on your big red heart! Your longing for the reef to return to its original glory! And let the mermaids live in peace. We may have created them, but they are much bigger than us now, and we should keep it that way. Please, General, open your eyes!” Owen’s voice was breaking and quaking as he pleaded with the General. General Richards glanced over at Ophelia, who had remained quiet during this conversation. “P-please, General, Sir.” Richards looked at the ground. Not in defeat, no- he had not been beaten. But rather, he had an awakening, he realised a new goal. “What a reef it was,” he said, voice brimming with nostalgia. He looked back up at Owen and Ophelia. “And what a reef it will be! Get me Sergeant Joe on the phone, now!” Owen looked at Ophelia, and they nodded at each other. We made a difference , they thought, and things will change.

Chapter

: The Recovery

Nova looked over at all of the mermaids gathered in front of her. Some time had passed since she ran into the two humans in the coral reef. The mermaids standing before her were healthy, thriving, and, for the first time in thirty years, finally happy. Not only had the students used the paintbrushes to save the entire reef, but the massive outpouring of support had convinced the government to enact urgent climate control laws. Slowly, but surely, they got to see the reef, the desolate place that they had lived for years, start to come back to life and bloom into a beautiful environment. She remembered the moment that her mother apologised to her for doubting the humans after seeing the massive crowd of students painting the reef. She looked out at the bright coral, which had been grey and decaying just months ago, and spoke. “There was a point in time where we were in a terrible situation that wasn’t our fault in the slightest and we had no control over. We felt like there was no hope. And we felt like no one else would understand how we felt even a tiny bit, and never would. To be honest, no one can ever really feel what someone else feels. That’s just how life is; we all have different lives, different experiences. But there were plenty of good people in the world, who even if they didn’t feel our pain, would empathise with us and stand with us. All it took was two people who believed in us to get us to where we are today.” With that, Ophelia and Owen swam out in front of her, in scuba suits. Nova had taught all of the mermaids what clapping was and how to do it. It was a human symbol of appreciation that they would love, she said. And it that moment, the mermaids showered the two humans with thunderous applause. Nova caught a quick glance at Ophelia; even in her suit, she could see that she was overwhelmed, but proud. In that moment it didn’t matter that they were humans; all that mattered was that they had done the right thing. Finally, there was harmony.

One day, a young girl at a boarding school finds an unusual gift in her shoe. As it turns out, scientists created mermaids in the 1960’s, however, over time their habitat, the Great Barrier Reef, has suffered due to coral bleaching. The young girl must team up with an activist weather reporter to save the mermaids from an army general who wants to perform experiments on them. An energetic story with environmental values that would be perfect for readers aged 10-16.