« down to the sea bed »

Title : Down To The Sea Bed
Pairing : Rosalind Lutece/Sofia Lamb
Chapter : 2/?
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. 

Rapture was a true labyrinth for those who were not accustomed to it, and it was not rare that Rosalind would completely lose herself in the glasses tunnels and bathyspheres. Today was one of those day where she had wandered too far from her office and couldn’t find her way back. At one point she must have taken a wrong turn for now she was finding herself standing in front of the entrance to Dionysus Park – a place which she had vaguely heard of, but never been to.

Rosalind sighed and cursed her foolishness – if only she had had some sense of orientation about her… “Well, now that I am here, let’s find someone who will help me…” she said aloud before entering the park.
She found that it was more of an art gallery than anything else, and the works exposed here were rather daring. Rosalind stopped to look at them, trying to decipher them. After a while she was forced to realize her mind was more apt to analyse equations on a blackboard than a few paintbrushes on a canvas.

She was looking a the last one when she felt someone coming up behind her, and turned to face Sofia Lamb, smiling down at her.
“I hadn’t thought I would find you here, Madame Lutece” the soothing voice spoke, and Rosalind smiled as well.
“Actually, I got lost… I still have troubles finding my way through Rapture, to be frank.” That made the woman grin wider.
“Well, it doesn’t matter – I can help you now. Welcome to Dionysus Park, my private retreat for artists.”
Rosalind’s eyes widened. “Yours ?” she had guessed the woman must have been of some importance in Rapture, but she had never thought a whole level would belong to her. “That’s impressive…” she admitted. “I guess you must be very important in Rapture then, if Mr Ryan granted you so much.” Sofia Lamb let out a little laugh. “Let’s just say Ryan wanted me to keep angry people at bay, and I might be doing all the contrary…”

She had a smile on her face, almost mischievous though perfectly serious, which made Rosalind like the woman at once. As a woman she had always thought you had to stand up and step out of the ranks if you wanted to be seen and taken seriously amongst so many men. You had to be different, to have other ideas not to be swallowed by the gigantic mass of intellectuals. More oft than not, it ended up in people calling you a “weird bitch” or “cold woman”, and the hardest past was not to tell it get to you. Rosalind had built a shell around her when she had graduated from Cambridge and got into the research department – she was sure this woman had done the same. But there was something else – the coldness she constantly bore on her face and attitude hid a secret that ran much deeper than some sexist jokes thrown over a cafeteria table. Rosalind thought it would be better to wait for her to speak about it, rather than ask.

“How do you find my art collection ?” Sofia asked with a smile.
“Very interesting, though I must admit I’m not versed into art… I guess my mind is too rational for such things…” Rosalind shrugged with a sorry smile. “But for a psychiatrist, it must be quite an open mind to the mind…”
“Yes, it is” nodded Sofia “though I haven’t set up this gallery to read into people’s mind. Rather, to offer them the opportunity to express themselves without fearing the censorship of Ryan.”
Rosalind frowned and looked at the woman. “But I thought one of the principles of Ryan’s philosophy was precisely to suppress censorship…”
Sofia let out a little, cold laugh. “Ah, Ryan’s philosophy… He wants to create an utopia in which no one would fear anything, yet he himself fears he might lose his powers if he lets people voice their disagreement with him. He claims artists should no longer feel the censors, but he can’t accept criticism. Here they don’t have to fear Ryan’s power – they’re free of exploring their own talents, their own art.”
Rosalind bit her lips. “But – aren’t you afraid yourself?” she asked, and Sofia gave her a reassuring look. “Ryan has nothing against me, and he doesn’t want to appear as the tyrant he pretends he had fled.”  Despite herself, the redhead found herself worrying about a woman she barely knew. Ryan seemed like a powerful man, and it seemed to her it was not the best of thing to upset him.
“But let’s not talk about Ryan” Sofia suddenly said, before taking Rosalind’s arm with her. “Let me guide you to my own gardens. People have said they were as beautiful as those of Arcadia, though less grand, of course.”
She let herself be led by the blond, once again noticing how she was towering over her, like a Nordic totem made of ice, but also tenderness, and an empathic sense that Rosalind had never seen in anyone else. She couldn’t help but notice the bandaged wrist, and though the question was burning her lips she refrained from asking. Like the secret she was holding, it would come in time, she assumed.

Lamb’s Garden could almost make her feel like she was back to the surface again, though there was no sunray to caress her skin and warm her – only the fake warmth of spotlights. Yet the smile on Sofia’s face was enough to make anyone forget that this was only a facsimile of what the Earth was truly like – there was a pride in her eyes, and happiness at the work she had achieved. “Julie Langford is the best botanist here, in Rapture, as she was back on the surface.” Lamb explained to Rosa. “This is her work, as well as Arcadia. She spends most of her time there, if you ever want to meet her. She is part of the Best and Brightest as well, but she barely comes out of her lab, especially for such mundane events. I guess I would do the same if I had a proper laboratory…” Sofia sighed and smiled. “I don’t really all those Ryan’s receptions – especially when I know the conditions of people living in Pauper’s Drop and other places…” A frown appeared on her brown, but she wiped it away as soon as that. “I suppose you do have your own lab, Rosalind – may I call you Rosalind ?”
“Of course, Sofia” Rosa smiled “Yes, I do. My work requires quite a space to experiment, but I am allowed free passage everywhere in Rapture to observe its structure – though I must admit I’d rather spend my days in my office, in Olympus Heights.”
“So that’s where you’re living – of course Ryan has settled you in the luxury resorts of Rapture…”
“It is not as beautiful as here, of course” Rosalind added with a smile towards the woman, and was pleased to see her smiling back at her.

“It’s getting late…” Sofia noted as she checked her watch. “and Olympus Heights is quite a long walk from here. Rapture isn’t exactly safe at night – of course Ryan would have you believe otherwise… You could sleep at my place for tonight. Besides, I think my daughter Eleanor would be pleased to see a new face.”
Rosalind was taken aback by the woman’s proposition, but she had a very convincing tone, with all that smoothness and gentle coldness.  “Hmm – well yes, why not… I haven’t brought my pajamas though, and I am pretty positive I will be floating in yours”