In the beginning of the 21st century the polar ice caps melted and the sea level rose to cover every continent on Earth. Surviving humans were scattered across the ocean on ramshackle floating communities known as atolls, mostly built from scrap metal and decrepit sea vessels. Far in the future, although land-based societies had been eventually forgotten, many still cling to belief in a mythical Dryland. A drifter, known only as the Mariner, arrives at an atoll seeking to trade dirt, which is a precious commodity. When the mariner is revealed to be a mutant with webbed feet and gills who is able to breathe underwater, the fearful atollers vote to drown him in a brine pool they maintain for composting. As they begin lowering the Mariner into the sludge, local pirates known as Smokers raid the atoll. The Smokers are searching for an orphan girl named Enola, who has a map to Dryland tattooed on her back. The leader of the smokers is the Deacon, who wants the map so he can be the first to claim Dryland and build a city upon it. Enola and her guardian, Helen, had planned to leave the floating city with Gregor, an inventor. However, Gregor accidentally launches the gas balloon they planned to escape in with only himself on board. Helen rescues the Mariner from the drowning in the sludge, and he agrees to help them escape on his trimaran. They encounter the Smokers again, but Helens naïve actions result in damage to the Mariners boat, and he angrily cuts their hair to use to splice the ships ropes back together. Helen is convinced that Dryland exists and demands to know where the Mariner finds his dirt. The Mariner puts her in a diving bell and swims her down to the ruins of Denver where he collects dirt from the bottom of the sea. Helen then realizes that former human civilization existed on land, and had not always lived on water. When they surface, the Mariner and Helen are captured by the Smokers and used to flush Enola from hiding. They dive overboard, barely escaping. Since Helen cannot breathe underwater, the Mariner uses his gills to breathe for the both of them. They resurface and find everyone gone and the trimaran destroyed. They are rescued by Gregor in his balloon and taken to a new makeshift atoll where the survivors of the first atoll attack have regrouped. Using a captured Smoker jet ski, the Mariner chases down the Deacon, finding him on the remaining hulk of the Exxon Valdez. The Deacon is celebrating with the huge Smoker crew, proclaiming they have found the map to Dryland. After the crew have all gone below decks to row the ship, the Mariner walks out onto the deck, where the Deacon and his top men are examining Enolas tattoo. He threatens to drop a flare into the oil reserve tank unless the Deacon releases Enola. The Deacon refuses, so the Mariner ignites and drops the flare. The ship explodes below-decks and begins sinking while the Mariner escapes with Enola by climbing a rope up to Gregors balloon. The Deacon makes a grab for Enola, but Helen throws a bottle at him, causing him to fall. He pulls out his pistol and shoots one of the balloons lines, causing Enola to fall into the sea. The Deacon mounts a jet ski and signals two other jet skiing Smokers to converge on Enola. The Mariner, seeing this, ties a rope around his ankle and jumps down to grab Enola. The recoil of the cord pulls them to safety just as the jet skis collide and explode, killing the Deacon. Gregor deciphers the Asian symbols on the map using an old China Airlines magazine. He realizes that they are coordinates and steers his balloon in that direction. They find Dryland, the top of Mount Everest, which is now verdant and welcoming with fresh water, forests, and wildlife. Gregor, Enola, Helen and other atoll survivors land and find the remains of Enolas parents in a hut. They prepare to settle, but the Mariner decides he must leave as the ocean, his only home, calls to him. Kevin Michael Costner
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 11:30:48 +0000
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