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PCRI, Molokai, Hawaii, Earth
August 29th, 2035
Terry watched the TV news in the kitchen with half his attention as he ate breakfast. His tablet sat unused, his unfinished homework languishing as he ate. There’d been a brief bit about the Hawaiian junior baseball league championship on the Big Island. He was still stinging from the beating his team had taken in O‘ahu two weeks ago. Yui said they’d been beaten so bad, charges should have been filed.
“In further news, it has been reported from China that the infamous Golden Horde mercenary company, one of the so-called Four Horsemen, has experienced a change in ownership.”
Terry focused on the news report. Anything about Human mercs was interesting stuff. All the kids in his class were completely fascinated by the stories of the Horsemen, or any of the other myriad companies which had sprouted up in the last few years.
“When we contacted the Golden Horde’s press liaison for a more in-depth interview, however, they declined to offer information beyond their basic press release. In further news, the world government has approved the Global Development Incentive Act which, among other things, establishes a 5% tax on all mercenary income...”
Terry tuned it out as his interest in the story waned. His mother came in and offered him some more toast.
“No, thanks,” Terry said, so she headed back for the kitchen. “Oh, Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Is Kray going to be back in the tank today?”
“Yes, the doctor said he’s clear to return.”
“Do I get to find out what kind of surgery he had?”
His mother grinned slyly before she answered, “I’m sure you will. Kray says he’s been missing you.”
“Really? Cool!”
“Hurry back from practice after school. We need you to help with the dolphins, too, before you can see Kray.”
Terry nodded, glad they hadn’t had plans to dive. Doc had been too busy since the dive on the Dixie Maru to take them out again. Yui and he had been forced to subsist on snorkeling at the beach just down from the institute.
The day’s lessons went slowly, partly because they’d just started back to school the previous week and were spending a lot of time going back over stuff, and partly because he was eager to see Kray again. They hadn’t been using the translators much since Kray had had his mysterious surgery. The other orcas didn’t want to talk about anything. They’d all seemed nervous about something.
Yui wanted to go snorkeling after class, but Terry told her he needed to get back and do chores. She was suspicious; he could tell. He took off the first chance he got and rode his bike back to the institute as fast as it would carry him. He forgot to plug it in, and had to go back down to attach the bike to its charger before he could do his chores.
After an hour of mopping the fish room and helping feed the bottlenoses, he went into the residence for dinner. He fairly jammed the food in his mouth, and his mother clucked with disapproval. She didn’t stop him, though, because she knew why he was so excited.
“Can I be excused?” he asked, though his plate was still half full. She looked skeptically at what was left. “Please?”
“Go,” she said, and he bolted.
When he got to the Resident tank, all four orcas were there. The other male and the two females floated next to Kray. As he entered, they immediately noticed him, and Kray gently floated over.
“Terry, I greet!”
Terry took a step back in surprise.
“You can talk without a translator?”
“I get talk box,” Kray said. He turned sideways slightly, and there, just behind his huge eye, something was embedded in the orca’s flesh.
“The surgery implanted a translator,” Terry said in amazement.
“Talk box, yes! You like, Terry?”
“Yes, it’s excellent.” Terry considered for a second. “You know my name now, too?” Kray and the others had always called him “Warden Calf” before, a name he liked even less than Terrence.
“Talk box help me know stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“New stuff.”
That’s informative, Terry thought.
“Enjoying Kray’s new side?” his father asked as he entered.
“Yeah, it’s cool! Alien stuff?”
“An implant we bought to showcase their abilities. If we can get enough interest, we’ll be able to get them for all the cetaceans.”
“Even the bottlenoses?”
“Yup.”
“Wow, Dad, that would be incredible. Who did the surgery?”
“Dr. Jaehnig. You remember, he did the surgery on Ulybka’s fluke?” Terry nodded. “James has done more surgery on orcas than just about any other marine biologist.”
“So it’s a translator and something else?”
“Just a translator,” his father replied.
“Then what does Kray mean by ‘new stuff?’”
“We’re not sure,” he admitted. “We’re still running tests.”
Terry looked back at Kray, and the orca looked back. “Can I help?”
“It’s better if you just do your chores and help with feeding.” Terry looked down in disappointment. “I’ll tell you what, maybe after we’ve finished our evaluation?”
“Excellent,” Terry said, and went to get the fish cart.
Despite his complaints, he really enjoyed feeding the cetaceans. He’d been around a couple of times as the scientists had tried to get the hang of talking to the bottlenoses, which seemed to be going nowhere fast. He’d also talked with all the orcas. He wasn’t surprised they’d chosen Kray to give a translator to. The Resident orcas were far more talkative and willing to learn. The Transients were another matter entirely.
Terry rolled the cart into communal tank #2 and saw a group of scientists working with the Transients. He looked at the orca talking. The long, thin dorsal fin meant it was Uila, the dominant female. She was also the most communicative of the mostly quiet Transients. The head of the group talking to the orcas was Dr. Orsage.
Dr. Penna Orsage had been researching cetacean language long before the aliens had brought translators to Earth and revolutionized the process. Scientists had known cetaceans communicated for many years, though they were uncertain how and to what order. Did they merely express desires and information like where food might be? Or could they convey complex meanings and theories?
Orsage had already been learning how orca society interacted and was correlating sounds and actions against those interactions. When the alien translators provided the words, Orsage put her previous knowledge toward making more sense of what the orcas were trying to say.
Terry put fish on poles and held them out for the orcas to take one at a time. These animals weren’t the passive, trained ones you found in places like SeaWorld. Their actions weren’t as predictable, and even SeaWorld had experienced loss of life in spite of the training. Only a few of the most skilled marine biologists could enter the water with the orcas. Terry was certainly not qualified.
While he fed the other five, he listened in on the conversation with Uila.
“...was a decision based on many things,” Dr. Orsage was saying.
“Not ask us,” Uila said. “Not ask Uila, not ask Ki’i.” Ki’i was the dominant male, and her mate. The Transients took their lead from a female, unlike the Residents, who followed a male. It was some of the sociological details Dr. Orsage was studying.
“No, we didn’t.”
“Wardens do without ask.”
“There are complex factors you would not understand.”
“Wardens think we calves.”
“We don’t think you’re children,” Orsage said in a steady voice.
Uila snapped her jaws twice, rolled over with her pectoral fins, and showed her belly. She pushed away from the tank wall with her flukes and moved toward Terry, evidently to get a fish.
Dr. Orsage sighed and turned off the translator before speaking. “I guess the interview is over,” she said.
“They’re mad because you gave a translator to Kray?” Terry asked from across the pool. He held a big mackerel out on his pole. Uila snapped it away so viciously, she almost pulled Terry in after it. She shook the fish, tearing it apart. The other orcas moved away from her anger.
“Not that we gave it to Kray, but that we didn’t give it to her,” Orsage said.
“You could argue she’s jealous,” another scientist said.
“That’s a reasonable assertion,” Orsage said, picking up her tablet computer and making some notes. “The Transient and Resident pods have never been seen to interact directly.”
“But orca specimens with Resident traits have been spotted with Transient pods,” another marine biologist pointed out, holding up his computer stylus. “Five separate discreet occasions.”
Orsage nodded. “And in each occasion the Residents were eventually gone from the Transient pods.”
“Dr. Gene Meander suggested it was kidnapping for breeding purposes,” still another marine biologist said.
“That’s been pretty roundly criticized as apocryphal,” Orsage said with a wave of her own stylus.
Terry kept feeding the orcas, keeping a careful grip on the pole after the earlier incident. He liked listening to the scientists arguing. His mother and father did the same thing sometimes. It wasn’t like other grownups argued; this was science arguing. His father called it searching for consensus. He wasn’t sure if he completely understood.
After a while, all the other scientists left, and only Dr. Orsage remained. She watched the five Transients eat and talk to each other. Her brows knitted together in concentration. He didn’t know why they didn’t just listen in; he would have. When the fish was all gone, he rolled the cart toward the door. He stopped before leaving.
“Dr. Orsage?”
“Hmm?” she replied, not looking up from the orcas.
“Do the Transients hate the Residents?”
She turned her head and focused on him, seemingly realizing who was talking. “That’s a strong word,” she said, “maybe too strong for the orcas. We don’t know if any other species have hate in their repertoire.” Terry’s brows knitted, and she smiled. “I don’t know if they can hate the way we do.”
Terry looked at the way Uila was swimming, then back at Dr. Orsage. “Ma’am, she looks pretty pissed off to me.”
* * * * *
