The New Romford Free Press

Tag: Atlantis

PFHQ Abuzz with Activity

By Stan Hopewell

The Peace Force-Atlantis Meeting has gotten underway at Peace Force Headquaters. The Royal Circle is talking with their counterparts in the U.S. cabinet and state department over hors d’oeuvres in the main hall. Various members of the Peace Force are chatting with the Atlanteans as well, but Adonis, Titana, and Secretary of State are separated on the balcony with the royal couple.

The press has been allowed to wander around as this opening hour is left open to the public. So far, most of the Atlanteans have kept their conversations with reporters brief as many of them aren’t fluent in English. Aja N’jorna, who is part of the Atlantean city project council, was the best English speaker of the Royal Circle and most open to comment.

“I believe much good can be done today,” she said. “Our benevolent King Morn is wise and honorable, and the Peace Force is great force for good.” Asked about whether she thought the Atlantis Underway could be built, she said, “Yes, I think it can. Atlantis has wonderful engineers, and you overlanders have the great Dr. Amazing. There is none reason we cannot build it.”

After an hour of mingling, Adonis and King Morn called for everyone’s attention from the balcony. Adonis said, “Thank you everyone for coming. It is always a great pleasure to have our friends, the Atlanteans, here in our home.” He spoke for another few minutes, greeting specific members of the Royal Circle, and offered the King a chance to speak.

“You overlanders have been most gracious to us this day,” said King Morn, “and I thank you.”

Adonis thanked everyone again and encouraged the press to hang around the main hall until later in the day. Then, the Peace Force, Atlanteans, and U.S. officials retreated into various hallways and rooms for their meetings.

More information to come throughout the day.

July 17, 2012
King Morn A’Ganor Greeted at Docks

By Stan Hopewell

A little after 9am, the Atlanteans arrived at pier 34 as the M’ranic surfaced from Winston Bay. Several Atlantean troops, wearing the country’s patented SCOBA devices around their gilled necks, exited the giant ship to form a royal procession for their king.

Morn A’Ganor, along with his wife, Rosn’elia, exited the M’ranic to greet Adonis and Titana. They had a small conversation at the pier, and then greeted Mayor Lawrence and the U.S. officials before entering their limousine with some of their Royal Circle. As the limousine drove down Trevor Rd, King Morn and Queen Rosn’elia waved to the onlookers behind the police barricades.

The rest of the Royal Circle joined the U.S. officials in their limousines and proceeded to follow the royal couple. Adonis and Titana flew away to PFHQ while Dr. Amazing wrapped his arms around two light posts and slingshot himself into the air in the form of a bouncing ball.

The remaining Atlanteans stayed with the M’ranic. More to come later today from PFHQ.

July 10, 2012
Atlantis-Peace Force Meeting to Begin at 9am

By Stan Hopewell

The Atlantis-Peace Force Meeting is set to start in an hour, and downtown New Romford is abuzz with activity. The NRPD has barricaded Trevor Rd, 31^st St, and 4^th Ave to make a clear path for the Atlanteans. Adonis, Titana, and Dr. Amazing are waiting at the docks to greet King Morn A’Ganor and his Royal Circle, along with Senator Saluzzi and Secretary of State Clinton. The rest of the Peace Force is waiting at PFHQ.

Adonis and Titana could not be reached for comment, but Dr. Amazing was able to step away for a few moments. “I think we can expect a thorough and engaging discussion today,” he said. “King Morn is a very smart man and always has the best and brightest in his Circle, so I predict a spirited discussion.”

Asked about the possibility of the Atlantis Underway, Dr. Amazing was excited but subdued. “This would be an amazing project. So many ideas and goods could be exchanged with this, but unfortunately, it’s also an expensive endeavor. We’ll have to see how the government and Atlanteans approach it and go from there.”

Behind the police barricades are hundreds of onlookers and Atlantean fans, waiting for a glimpse of the Visitors from Down Below. Several of them are dressed up in Atlantean clothing, some are holding up signs they’ve made (some written in Atlantean), and everyone has their phone or camera out.

But not everyone is so excited. Most of the store keepers along Trevor Rd grumbled about the intrusion. “I have to deal with this every year,” said Sal Coulton. “Nobody wants to buy my seafood when they’re around. Everybody thinks it’s their cousins or something. But guess what? They eat fish, too.”

In the rest of New Romford, it’s business as usual when the Atlanteans emerge. “There’s always something like this going around town,” said Julie McCalister, owner of Floral Dreams, just a few blocks off the barricaded roads. “Yesterday, it was bug people. Today, it’s fish people. I’m sure tomorrow will be some other kind of people.

“Nothing we can do about it, so we just carry on. Just another day in New Romford.”

July 3, 2012
Atlantis-Peace Force Meeting Set for Tomorrow

By Stan Hopewell

The final touches are being made at the Peace Force Headquarters today as the annual Atlantis-Peace Force Meeting will take place all day tomorrow. Members of Congress and the State Department have arrived in New Romford, and the majority of the Peace Force has been seen in and around the PFHQ.

Adonis, leader of the Peace Force, is hoping that the meetings will be productive. “King Morn A’Ganor and I go way back, so hopefully that means we can move forward on a lot of issues,” he said. “Considering what happened last year, there can’t be much worse that could happen.”

Last year’s meeting was infamous for the brawl between King Morn’s army and the Peace Force which blew several holes through PFHQ. The fight spilled outside before eventually ending in Winston Bay when it was discovered that the King and his army were being mind-controlled by the supervillain, Mind Master. Reportedly, he was trying to impress Jodie Foster. The meeting ended before it even got started, and no issues were discussed.

This year, barring any mind-controlled fights, the topics will be centered around water pollution levels, particularly the oil spills in the Gulf Region, trade routes, and the possibility of an underwater highway from New Romford to Atlantis. Pollution levels and trade routes have been a staple of these meetings ever since the first one took place over 40 years ago, but the proposed Atlantis Underway is a new topic that will surely get a lot of talk tomorrow.

“In theory it sounds like a great idea,” said Senator Mike Saluzzi. “It’d be like the Chunnel between England and France, and it’d be a direct path to trade with the Atlanteans, and a lot better than the way we currently do it [which is a series of “drop-up” points where barges are tied to balloons inflated with air pumped from the surface]. I mean, we could just send a train down there and back without having to worry about the conditions above the water. But of course, this would be an enormous project. There are so many details that need to be ironed out.”

Still, Saluzzi and other U.S. officials sounded optimistic going into the meetings. The Atlanteans are expected to arrive in the morning.

June 12, 2012
Atlantean Dishes Just In Time for Atlantis Meetings

By Julia Crumpleman

As the Atlantis-Peace Force Meetings get underway tomorrow, at least one New Romforder is embracing their culture via their food. Elizabeth Schumacher, head chef of Amethyst in LoDo, has debuted a new Atlantean menu today.

“Atlantean cuisine is so foreign to us land-lubbers,” Schumacher said. “We think we know seafood, but we know so very little. They eat creatures that we’ve never even seen. It just fascinates me.”

Crafting an Atlantean menu was a particularly difficult task due to lack of authentic ingredients. “I can go online and find so many recipes, but half of the ingredients come from the bottom of the ocean,” she said. “Their skin is so thick that they can survive the pressure, and there’s no way I can afford a submarine. So I do the best I can.”

One dish, called Ac’jurlnnam Ka’put’ka, involves sautéing the liver of a Trench Crawler, an animal that crawls deep trenches in the ocean. Famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau is the only human who has ever seen one. According to Cousteau, the creature was at least seven meters (about 23 feet) long, virtually blind, and moved at a snail’s pace. “It was as magnificent as a turtle,” Cousteau said. “Its movements were exact and carefully planned. The pads on its feet felt the ocean bed’s surface like a blind man with a cane. It had a grace to it, not forcing its way through the world but, instead, moving where the universe led it. We could learn so much from this gentle creature.” Schumacher is substituting the liver with tuna, peppercorns, and fennel.

Another dish, P’kan An’kan, mostly uses kelp and sea salt but requires coral reef, which is also difficult to obtain. “I don’t really swim,” Schumacher said, “and it’s not like people go out to fish for coral reef. So I’m using hard pretzels, paprika, and red wine vinegar instead. I hear it’s practically the same.”

For the most part, Atlantean dishes can substitute most ingredients for any sort of seafood from Hobbs Market. Squid, octopus, sea anemone, and even sponge are common ingredients. “But it’s all in the preparation. They can’t have fire or electricity down there, so most of their food is eaten cold. They cure a lot of their food, and if they do use heat, it’s from an underwater volcano pit or whatever they call it, and that’s takes hours to cook.”

As for whether or not an Atlanteans will visit her restaurant, Schumacher is skeptical but hopeful. “I would love for a few of them to stop by,” she said. “It would be a great honor. I’d love to just pick their brains about food and their culture.

“I’d even serve them raw puffer fish. I hear they eat those like fruit.”

May 22, 2012