« down to the sea bed »

Title : Down To The Sea Bed
Pairing : Rosalind Lutece/Sofia Lamb
Chapter : 1/?
Rating :  M (for later chapters)
Synopsis : Rosalind Lutece is a renowned physicist who was invited in Rapture by Andrew Ryan, in hope that she would help improve the city’s structure. There she meets Sofia Lamb, a psychiatrist devoted to the cause of the people. 

She wasn’t quite accustomed to Rapture yet. The constant blue-greenish light, and the chillness coming from the sea surrounding them. This city was nothing like the surface, in every way. Here people seemed to live in a constant huis-clos, and be perfectly happy with the idea that they didn’t get to see any other places besides their underwater buildings. Yet when seen from a strictly scientific point of view, it was an interesting microcosm to observe and to experiment.

But as a physicist, it was not the people she was interested in, but the structures they lived in – how the whole city managed the water pressure, the balance between the buildings, and all those things normal citizens didn’t care about.

Rosalind Lutece didn’t care much for people, and would rather spend her days in her office in Athena’s Glory. In there at least she wouldn’t notice the lack of sunlight and the fact that she actually missed the surface, the sunshine and the feeling of wind upon her face.
There was something though, that she didn’t miss – here in Rapture, she wasn’t regarded as inferior because of her sex. She had been invited because she had proved herself to be one of the brightest scientists of her age, and Andrew Ryan believed she could improve the city’s structure with her works. Rosalind only  saw a great opportunity to extend her knowledge on a completely new playground. She hadn’t debated much – having no family to left behind, nothing was holding her back.

 In Rapture, it was hard to tell whether it was night or day. She went to bed when she was tired and woke up when she wasn’t anymore. As she never took part in social activities, it didn’t bother her and she wouldn’t even notice it. She was asleep when the door bell rang, and she assumed she had been lost in time once again. Fortunately Rosalind had never been the heavy sleeper, and she got up quickly to answer.
“A letter from Mr Ryan” the young boy said while waving a paper. She took it, thanking him in a yawn, and closed the door again.
“Andrew Ryan has the pleasure to invite you to the Best and Brightest’s Ball in Fort Frolic, on Friday January 16^th, 1954.” Rosalind frowned and sighed. She was not accustomed to those social gatherings, and found herself rather awkward when invited. She never really knew what to wear, and how to do her hair, and what was proper or not. Yet if there was one thing she had learned in the short laps of time she had spent in Rapture, was that one could not decline Ryan’s invitation, and she resigned. The 16th was in three days – it gave her plenty of time to get ready.

 Rosalind hadn’t expected so many people – all the upper class citizens of Rapture were gathered here, it seemed to her. She stood in the corner, awkward, clinging to her glass of champagne. She had managed to dig through her wardrobe to find a decent green, polka dot dress she had bought which seems a thousand year ago, back when she was studying at Cambridge. Andrew Ryan had only given her a quick handshake, before returning to his other guests, who no doubt were more important than her. She sighed and looked down at her glass, who appeared to be already half empty. She drank the rest in one go – better be tipsy at a party when you knew no one and there was nobody to pay you attention. Her eyes looked for the waiter, but they couldn’t find him, and she retreated back to the corner.

She was considering going home when she felt someone approaching.  Rosalind raised her head and she found herself facing a giantess of a woman. The blond stood 6 feet tall of sharp features and Northern warmth. She bore a smile on her face, but there was something cold about it, yet it didn’t really bother Rosalind. There was something incredibly pleasant about this woman, though her height made her feel even tinier. The redhead had never been very tall, but she had never had to pale of her 5’2”.

“You are new in Rapture, aren’t you ?” the woman spoke, and Rosalind found her voice to be incredibly calm and soothing, yet very impressive. She gulped down and managed a smile herself.
“Yes, indeed. I am Rosalind Lutece.”
“And I am Sofia Lamb. Welcome here.” She extended a hand towards Rosalind and she timidly took it, briefly shaking it.
“I haven’t seen you talking much…” Sofia noted as she sipped at her own champagne.
“I don’t know many people and I have never been the social kind…” Rosalind shrugged and smiled. The woman too, grinned. “What are you doing here ?” she asked.
“I am a physicist. Mr Ryan invited me in Rapture hoping that my works could improve the structure of the whole city.”
“Ah, Ryan.” the Lamb woman said before emptying her drink. Rosalind did not dare ask what resentment she might have towards the founder of the city, instead finally catching the waiter’s eyes who came forward to pour them another drink.
“And yourself, if I may ask ? What are you doing here ?”
“I am a psychiatrist. I was invited here, too, to counsel the populace who might feel lonely here, missing the surface.”
No doubt lots of them need your help, Rosa thought without daring to speak.

 The two women spent the rest of the evening together, talking about the surface and how they both came from England – except of course, Rosalind had been to Cambridge and Sofia to Oxford and therefore would never be able to come to an agreement when it came to rowing competition. When it was finally time to part, they were both sure they would meet again soon.