Tumbling down from high peaks of orange rock coated in cypress shrubland, New Genoa meets the azure sea in a white cascade. The grand spectacle of the Amari Falls brings in brightly dressed tourists the world over, who are cooled as they walk along the long white quays by the spray that washes over the port area and drenches the lower city in dappled rainbow light. The buildings are painted in bright pastels that mirror the rainbows and are fashioned in an intricate and baroque style. Trees shade the winding paths and long causeways, while potted wildflowers scent the salt air and brighten the steel lamp posts. In the middle city the Central Fountain is found, a crescent plaza facing the open air and the glittering sea beyond. Marble statues stained with oxidized copper depict naked figures and mythical beasts who send jets of water gurgling into the air, much to the delight of the local children. The waters around the fountain are deep and are fed by the undercity passages connecting to the natural water caverns deep within the orange cliffs. The New Genoans have built underways below the plaza and great glass windows in which to observe the occupants of the fountain’s waters. Schools of sleek, strong trout with silver scales that glisten with a rainbow sheen are the most populous, but there are also little stingrays, greenbacked turtles, crabs, starfish, sponges and shrimp. King of all are the freshwater sharks. Their dorsal fins part the waters around the fountains. The other critters move around their great dark masses. And when sunlight kisses their leathery hides, they move slowly to return to their subterranean haunts, eyeless and hungry.
Paddy Dobson
28th September 2021