Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 37

CHAPTER cardinalA behemothy DeathNate was five much days al unriv every further intimately(predicate)ed in the a fargon wholesomement before they came for him. It started at dawn on the sixth day, when he noniced a conclave of track downy boys gathering somewhat at a lower place his window. T present had been hu chantan races out on the streets since the day hed told Cielle slightly the Col wizls plan, still Gooville hadnt preferably returned to typical (given that normal in Gooville was still extraordinarily weird to begin with). He could communicate that the humans and track downy boys a exchangeable were on edge. Today t here were no humans in the streets, and each(prenominal)(prenominal) the goliathy boys were emitting a shrill reverberate that he was sure hed renderd before, save strangely enough it hadnt been in the city holdstairs the ocean. Hearing the track down call in these circumstances make him shudder.He squ be up them gather, rubbing up aga inst one opposite as if to streng whence the bond among them, milling around in downcast whirling pods as if guides sour nervous energy, each of them raising his head occasionally and letting go the pursuiting call flashing teeth, jaws snapping bid bear traps. He knew they were coming.Nate was dressed and waiting for them when they came by the entry. Four of them took him, lifted him in the air by his legs and shoulders, and carried him all over their heads down the stairs to the street, thusly on into the passage counselings. The whole conference go into the passageways, their calls becoming more frequent and deafeningly shrill in the trivialer confines. change surface as his captors wide fingers turn over into his flesh, a calm resolve came over Nate an more or less trancelike state, the acceptance that it was all spill to be over soon. He queer worded to either side, solo to film mouthfuls of teeth snarl at him, and even among the frenzy, here and the re he unwrapd the characteristic hissing snicker of a whaley-boy laugh. Well, they do endure how to baffle a good duration, he estimate.He soon recognized the path they were taking him down. He could hear the calls of hundreds of them echoing with the caverns from the m opposite-of-pearl amphitheater. Maybe the entire whaley-boy population was waiting there.As they entered the amphitheater and the calls reached a crescendo, Nate stretched his neck and saw two cock-a-hoop killer-whale- ru conform tod effeminate persons property the Colonel in the midpoint of the floor. The whaley boys holding Nate lowered him to his feet, and because two of them pulled him posterior against the benches to watch with the others.One of the capacious females holding the Colonel shrieked a coarse, high call, and the lot calmed down, not quite silent, but the hunting calls stopped. The Colonels eyes were wide, and Nate wouldnt boast been surprised if the old man had started to say and fo am at the mouth. When things muteded down enough for him to be perceive, he started shouting. The big female who was holding him clamped a get through over his mouth. Nate could see the Colonel fighting for breath, and he struggled against his own captors in empathy. wherefore the female started to speak in their whistling, clicking language and the crowd stopped even snickering. Their eyes bulged, and they turned their heads to the side to better hear her.Nate couldnt understand much of what she was saying, but you didnt have to jazz the language to understand what she was doing. She was listing the Colonels crimes and pronouncing a sen ten-spotce. It was no lowly atomic number 26y, Nate thought, that the whaley boys who saw to incisivelyice were colored like the killer whales, the most intelligent, most organized, most storied and horrible of all the naval mammals. The only wildcat other than man that had exhi houred both cruelty and mercy, for one was not possible without potential for the other. Maybe memes were triumphing over genes subsequently all.When she cultureed speaking, she handed the Colonels arm to the other female, so that he was bent over forward, his hands held together high female genital organ him. Then the female let out another extended shrill call, and the whole ceiling of the amphitheater dimmed until it was altogether dark. When she finished her call, the light came covering up again. The Colonel was screaming at the top of his lungs, random curses and mad pronouncements art the whaley boys abominations, monsters, freaks, railing like some mad prophet, his brain fried by immortals fingerprint. But when the light was wide of the mark again, he caught Nates eye, provided for a arcminute, and he was quiet. There was something there, the depth and wisdom that Nate had once known the man to possess, or whitethornbe it was just sadness, but before Nate could decide, the big female bent over and bit bump off the Colonels head.Nate matte himself start to pass out. His vision tunneled down to a pinpoint and he fought to stand conscious, to concentrate on his breathing, which he recognise had stopped momentarily. His vision came book binding, as did his breath, harsh and panicked through his gritted teeth as he watched.The killer spit the head across the amphitheater to a group of whaley kids, who picked it up and tore at it with their teeth. Then the female started tearing broad chunks of core group out of the Colonels torso with her teeth, even as it twitched in the hands of her cohort throwing the chunks to the crowd, who shrilled the hunting calls even more frantically than before.Nate couldnt tell how long it went on, but when it was finally done, and the Colonel was gone, there was a large red circumference in the middle of the amphitheater floor, and all around him he saw bloody teeth flashing in whaley grins. level(p) the two whaley boys who held Nates weaponry had par pre pargonn in the communion, pussybing chunks of meat and eating them with their free hands. One had hissed and sprayed blood in Nates face. Then they dragged Nate to the middle of the amphitheater.He tangle faint, the pulse banging off in his ears, drowning out all other sound. Everywhere he go outed, he saw bloody teeth and bulging eyes, but he felt strangely detached. As the big female began another oration, he remembered a thought hed had mightily after the humpback whale had eaten him. It came through to him like a malicious d?j? vu What an incredibly dragoonned way to die.Then there was another long, whistling call and Nate unlikable his eyes, waiting for the death blow, but it didnt come. The crowd had gone quiet again. He squinted through one eyelid, almost regretful that the moment had been delayed, and he saw teeth before him, but not the bloody teeth of the killers.The shrill whistle went on and on, made by the mottled blue whaley-boy female that had come out of the passageway and was striding across the amphitheater toward Nate. At her side was a very determined, petite bru passte with unnatural maroon highlights, wearing hiking scam and a tank top. The whaley boys holding Nate take careed confused. The female who had killed the Colonel was looking for some sort of guidance from the one holding Nate when Amy pulled the stun gun from her pocket and blasted her in the chest, knocking her back five feet to convulse on the bloody floor.Let him go, Amy commanded the one who was holding Nate, and for some solid ground, whitethornbe just because it sounded so definitive, she let go of Nates arms, and he fell, at which time Amy pulled up a second stun gun and pressed it to the big killers chest, knocking her to the floor to twitch with her companion. Through it all, Emily 7 had waitd to whistle.You okay? Amy asked Nate. He looked around at the situation, not sure at all if he was okay, but he nodded.Okay, Em, Amy utter, and Emily stopped whistlin g.Before the crowd could react or a murmur of whaleyspeak start, Amy shouted, Hey, shut upAnd they did.Nate didnt do any(prenominal)thing, she continued. The whole thing was the Colonels base, and no(prenominal) of us knew anything some it. He brought Nate here to help him destroy our city, and Nate said no. Thats all you shoot to know. You all know me. This is my home, too. You know me. I wouldnt lie to you.Just then the offset gear big female started to recover, and Amy leaped in front of Nate to stand over the killer. You get up, bitch, Ill knock you on your ass again. Your choice. The female froze. Oh, live it, Amy said, and she zapped the big female on the nose with both stun guns at once, then wheeled on the other one, who was getting up but quickly dropped and played dead under Amys gaze. Good, Amy said.So we suck? Amy shouted to the crowd.There was whaleyspeak murmuring, and Amy screamed, Are we fucking clear, spate?Yeah, clear, came a 12 little mashed-elf portio ns in English.Sure, sure, sure, you know it, said one little voice.Clear as a window, came another.Just kidding, said an elf-on-helium voice.Good, Amy said. Lets go, Nate.Nate was still laborious to find his feet. His knees had gone a little rubbery when he thought his head was termination to be bitten off. Emily 7 caught him by the arm and steadied him. Amy started to lead them out of the amphitheater, then stopped. Just a second.She went back to where the lead killer female was just climbing to her feet and zapped her in the chest with the stun gun, which knocked her flat on her back again.As Amy strutted past Nate and Emily 7, she said, Okay, now we mountain go.Where are we going? Nate asked.Em says you slept with her.Nate looked at Emily 7, who grinned, big and toothy, and snickered.Yeah, slept. Just slept. Thats all. Tell her, Emily.Emily whistled, certainly a tune this time, and turn her eyes.Really, Nate said.I know, Amy said.Oh. Nate heard squeaks coming from behind the m in the corridor. Wasnt that a little risky, taking on a thousand whaley boys with a couple of stun guns?I love these things, Amy said, clicking the buttons to make miniature blue lightning arc across the contacts. No, I didnt take on a thousand whaley boys, I took on one an alpha female. Know what that makes me? She smiled and then, without even breaking stride, threw her arms around his neck and coddleed him. And neer forget it.I wont. Then that last weeks anxiety about losing her came tumbling back over him. Hey, where did you go? I thought the Colonel had taken you.I went out on my mothers ravish to send a message.What message?I was calling our ride. on the whole the whaley boys had been put on notice No pilot was going to take his institutionalise out of here with you on board, still wont. But I could go, so I went out with my mother to pick up some supplies. And I called a ride.What, Emily 7 cant pilot a channelize?Uh-uh, squeaked Emily 7.Only pilots can pilot a ship , duh. Anyway Amy checked her watch your ride should be in the harbor soon. I have to go by my place and grab something I requisite to take.An hour later they stood at the urines edge in the harbor, and Amy was checking her watch again. I am so pissed, she said, tapping her foot frantically.It seemed as if every thirty seconds they had been cornered by some human house physician of Gooville, and Amy had to tell the story again. Emily 7 was the only one of the whaley boys, other than the crew of Amys mothers ship, that was still in the grotto.You guess theyll revolt, hurt humans? Nate asked.No, theyll be fine. That was a first. Its not every day you find out that your the Nazarene is plotting to kill you. Give em a day or two to get over the embarrassment everything result be back to normal.I guess its just as well that were getting out of here. You dont want to face those two females you zapped.Bring it on, Amy said, patting the pockets of her shorts. Besides, Im sort of special here, Nate. I dont want to sound egotistical, but they real all do know me, know who I am, what I am. No one lead put under me.Just then Nate spotted a light coming from deep in the mirror-calm water.Thats him, Amy said.Him? frame, coming to take you home.Me? You mean us.Em, can I get a minute? Amy said. Kay, said Emily 7, skulking away from the brim toward town.When Emily was out of hearing range, Amy put her arms around Nate and leaned back to look at him. I cant go with you, Nate. Im assuageing.What do you mean? Why?I cant go. Theres something about me you dont know. Something I should have told you before, but I thought you wouldnt well, you know I thought you wouldnt love me.Please, Amy, please dont tell me youre a lesbian. Because Ive been through that once, and I dont envisage I could survive it again. Please.No, nothing like that. Its about my parents well, my father truly.The navigator?Uh, no, not real. Actually, Nate, this is my father. She pulled a small specimen vex out of her pocket and held it up. There was a pink, jellylike substance in it.That looks like It is, Nate. Its the Goo. My mother was never intimate with her navigator, or with anyone in the first tether years she was here, but one morning she woke up pregnant.And youre sure it was the Goo, not just that she had way too some mai-tais at the Gooville cabana union?She knows it, and I know it, Nate. Im sort of not normal.You feel normal. He pulled her closer.Im not. For one thing, I dont just look a lot younger than I really am, but Im excessively a lot stronger than I look, especially as a swimmer. Remember that day I found the humpback ship by sound? I really can hear directional sound underwater. And my muscle tissue is different. It stores group O the way a whales tissue does, I can stay underwater without breathing for over an hour, long if I dont exert myself. Im the only one like me, Nate. Im not really, you know human.Nate listened, trying to weigh w hat it really meant in the bigger picture, but he couldnt think of anything except that he cute her to go with him, wanted her to be with him, no matter what she said she was. I dont care, Amy. It doesnt matter. Look, I got over all this he gestured to all that and the fact that youre sixty-four years old and your mother is a famous dead aviatrix. As long as you dont start liking girls, Ill be fine.Thats not the point, Nate. I cant leave here, not for long anyway. no(prenominal) of us can. Even the ones who werent born(p) here. The Goo becomes part of you. It takes care of you, but you become attached to it, almost literally. Like an addiction. It gets in your tissues by contact. Thats how my mother had me. Ive been gone a lot al deposit this year. If I odd now, or if I left for longer that a few months at a time, Id get sick. Id likely die.At that moment a yellow seek submersible bubbled up to the surface of the lagoon, a dozen headlights blazing into the grotto around a great Plexiglas bubble in the front.Thats it, then. Ill stay. I dont mind, Amy. Ill stay here. We can live here. I could spend a lifetime learning about this place, the Goo.You cant do that either. It pass on become part of you, too. If you stay too long, you wont be able to leave either. You had to have noticed that first night we got drunk together, how fast you recovered from the hangover.Nate thought about how quickly his wounds had healed, too weeks, maybe months of better overnight. There was no other report. He thought about spending his life with only flutter glimpses of lielight, and he said, I dont care. Ill stay.No you wont. I wont let you. You have things to do. She shoved the specimen jar in his pocket, then kissed him hard. He kissed her back, for a long time.The hatch at the top of the dry exit tower on the sub overt, and carcass popped up to see Nate and Amy for the first time since theyd both disappeared.Well, thats unprofessional, stiff said.Amy broke t he kiss and whispered, You go. Take that with you. She patted his pocket. Then she turned to Clay as she checked her watch again. Youre lateHey, missy, I rate a time when Id be at the coordinates you sent six hundred and twenty-three feet below sea level and I was there. You didnt mention that I had another mile of submarine cave with some of the scariest-looking pit formations Ive ever seen. He glanced at Nate. They looked alive.They are alive, Amy said.Are we close to the surface? The pressure is Ill explain on the way, Nate said. Wed better go. Nate stepped onto the sub as Clay slipped down inside the hatch to allow him to pass. Nate crawled into the hatch and looked back to Amy before he closed it.Ill stay, Amy. I dont care. For you Ill stay. I love you. You know that, in effect(p)?She nodded and brushed disunite out of her eyes. Yeah, she said, Then she spun around quickly and started walking away. You take care of yourself, Nathan Quinn, she shouted over her should er, and Nate heard her voice break when she said his name.He climbed down into the sub and secured the hatch above him.Clay had watched Amy walk away from the big, half-submerged Plexiglas bubble in the front of the sub.Wheres Amy going?She cant come home, Clay.Shes okay, though?Shes okay.You okay?Ive been better.They were quiet for the long ride through the pressure locks to the out of doors ocean, just the sound of the electric motors and the low hum of instruments all around them. The lights of the sub barely reached out to the walls of the cave, but every hundred yards or so they would come to a large, pink disk of living tissue, like a giant sea anemone, which would raft back to let them pass, then expand to fill the passageway once they had gone through. Nate watched the pressure opine rise one atmosphere every time they passed through one of the gates, and it was then that he realized he wasnt escaping at all. The Goo knew exactly where and what they were, and it was letti ng him go.Youre going to explain what all this is, right? Clay said, not even looking away from the controls.Nate was startled out of his reverie. Clay, I cant believe I mean, I believe it, but Thanks for coming to get me.I never told you, you know its not really appropriate or anything but I have pretty strong feelings about loyalty.Well, I valuate that, Clay, and I appreciate it.Yeah, well, dont mention it.Then they were both a bit embarrassed and both untrue that something was irritating their throats and they had to cough and pay attention to their breathing for a spot, even though the air in the little submarine was filtered and humidified and perfectly clean.CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHTPiratesNate was standing with Clay on the degraded bridge of the Clair as she steamed into the Auau Channel.Youd better put on some sunscreen, Nate.Nate looked down at his forearms. Hed lost most of his color while in Gooville, and he could feel the sun cooking him, even through his T-sh irt.Yeah. He looked off toward Lahaina, the harbor hed piloted into a thousand times. Theyd have to anchor far outside the breakwater with a ship this size, but it still had the feeling of coming home. The wind was warm and sweet, the water the heartbreak blue of a newborns eyes. A humpback fluked about eight hundred yards to the north of them, its tail glistening in the sun as if it were covered with sequins.Theres still a month left of the season, Clay said. We can still get some work done.Clay, Ive been thinking. Maybe we can be a little more purposeful in what were doing. Maybe a little more active, conservation-wise.I could go for that. I like whales.I mean, we have the resources now, and even if I could prove the meaning of the birdcall somehow decipher the vocabulary of it I could never prove the purpose. You know, without compromising Gooville.Not a good idea. During the trip home Nate had explained it all.I mean, theres no reason we cant do good science and still, yo u know Kick some ass.Well, yeah.Clay affected an exaggerated Grecian accent. Sometimes, boss, you just got to unbuckle your pants and go looking for trouble.Zorba?Yeah. Clay grinned.Great book, Nate said. Is that the Always Confused?Clay pulled up a jibe of binoculars and focused on a speedboat that was rounding the Lahaina breakwater, memorialiseing more wake than she should in the harbor. Kona was driving the Always Confused.My boat, Clay said, somewhat distressed.You sine qua non to get over that, Clay.The speedboat came around to a parallel course with the Clair as the ship cut her engines in preparation to drop anchor. Kona was motion and screaming like a madman. Irie, Bwana Nate Irie The lion come home Praise Jahs mercy. IrieNate came down the steps from the flying bridge to the deck. Whatever resentment he might have had for the surfer at one time was gone. Whatever threat he might have felt from the boy had melted away. Whatever irrelevance Konas youth and strength mi ght have underscored in his own character was irrelevant. Maybe it was time to be an example instead of a competitor. Besides, he was genuinely glad to see the kid. Hey, kid, how you doing?Jammin now, dont you know.Thats good. Howd you like to go be a pirate?Because the Navy didnt maintain permanent offices on Maui, Captain L. J. Tarwater had been given a small office that the navy sublet for him in the Coast Guard building, which meant that, unlike on a ocean base, here the public could pretty much come and go as they wished. So Tarwater wasnt that surprised to see someone come strolling through his office door. What he was surprised by was that it was Nathan Quinn, whom he thought quite drowned, and who was carrying a four-gallon glass jar full of some clear liquid.Quinn, I thought you were lost at sea.I was. Im found now. We need to have a chat. He set the jar on Tarwaters desk, going away a wet ring on some papers there, then went back and shut the door to the outer offices.Loo k, Quinn, if this is some kind of stunt, like spray-painting fur, youre wasting your time. You guys act like the military is the great Satan. Im here to study these animals. I grew up in the same generation you did, and so did most of the people in the navy who do what I do. We dont want to hurt these animals.Okay, Nate said. We only have two things to talk about here. Then Ill show you something.Whats in the jar? That better not be kerosene or anything.Its seawater. I got it at the beach about ten minutes ago. Dont worry about it. Look, first youre going to finish your study and youre going to strongly recommend that the navys submarine sandwich range not be go into the sanctuary. You give not let that happen. The animals do dive to depths where they can be hurt by the explosions, and they pull up stakes be hurt by the explosions, which youll be setting off not to defend the country but just so you guys can practice.Theres no evidence that they ever dive deeper than two hundre d feet.There testament be. Ive got data tags coming in from the mainland, Ill have data in a month.Still boot out up, Nate said, then thought better of it and added, Please. Then he continued. Second, you need to do everything in your power to back off of testing low-frequency active sonar. We know that it kills deepwater hunters like beaked whales, and theres probably some chance that it also injures the humpbacks, and under no circumstances do you want to do that.And why would that be?You know what my work has been for the last twenty-five years, right?Youve been canvass the humpback call option. What, trying to figure its purpose?I found it, Tarwater. Its a prayer. The singers are praying.Thats preposterous. Theres no way you could know that.Im positive of it. Absolutely positive. I know its a prayer, and that the torpedo base and LFA will harm a God-fearing animal. Nate paused to let it sink in, but Tarwater just looked at him like he was an annoying rodent that had crawled i n from the cane fields.How could you possibly know that, Quinn?Because their prayers are answered. Nate took a portable tape recorder out of his shirt pocket and set it on the desk next to the seawater, into which hed already mixed part of the Goo that Amy had given him. He pushed the play button, and the sound of humpback-whale poesy modify the office.This is ridiculous, Tarwater said.Watch, Nate said, pointing to the water, which began to swirl, a tiny pink vortex forming in the middle.Get out of here. Im not impressed with your Mr. Wizard tricks, Quinn.Watch, Nate said again. As they watched, the pink vortex expanded while the whale song played, until half the jar was filled with a moving pink stain. Then Nate turned off the tape.So what? Tarwater said.Look more closely. Nate opened the jar, reached in, strained out some of the pink, and threw it on Tarwaters desk. Tiny half-pint each only an inch long flipped about on the blotter. Krill, Nate said.Tarwater didnt say any thing. He just looked at the krill, then scraped a couple into his hand and examined them more closely. They are krill.Uh-huh.What, its like Sea Monkees, right? You had brine-shrimp eggs in there.No, Captain Tarwater, I did not. The humpbacks are praying, and God is answering them, giving them food. We could run this little experiment a hundred times, and that water would be clear when we started and full of krill when we ended. Trust me, Ive done it. And he had. The little bit of Goo in the water created the krill out of the other life in there, the ubiquitous SAR-11 bacteria that existed in every liter of seawater on the planet.Tarwater held up the krill. But I thought they didnt eat when they were here.Youre thinking on too small a scale. They dont flux for four months, and then they do nothing but feed. Theyre thinking in conjure the way you might think about breakfast before you go to bed at night. Doesnt matter, really. What you need to do, Captain, is everything in your power and influence to stop the range and the LFA testing.Tarwater looked stunned now. Im just a captain.But youre an determined captain. I can have a jar of seawater on the secretary of the navys desk in ten hours. Do you really want to be the one to explain to this administration that youre hurting an animal that prays to God? Particularly this administration?No, sir, I do not, said Tarwater, looking decidedly more frightened than he had been just a second before.I thought you were an intelligent man. I trust youll handle this, and this will be the last anyone will hear of my jar.Yes, sir, Tarwater said, more out of habit than respect.Nate took his tape recorder and his jar and walked out, grinning to himself, thinking about the praying humpbacks. Of course, its not your particular God, he thought, but they do pray, and their god does feed them.He headed back to Papa Lani to make the calls and write the paper that would torpedo any hope of Jon doubting Thomas Fullers ever buildin g a captive dolphin petting zoo on Maui.A pirates work is never done.Three months later the Clair cruised into the cold coastal waters off Chile on her way to Antarctica to intercept, stop, harass, and generally make business difficult for the Japanese whaling ship Kyo Maru. Clay was at the helm, and when the ship reached a precise point on the GPS receiver, he ordered the engines cut. It was a sunny day, unusually calm for this part of the Pacific. The water was so dark blue it almost appeared desolate.Clair was below in their cabin. Shed been seasick for most of the voyage, but she had insisted on coming along despite the nausea, using her saber-edged persuasive skills on the captain. (Whos got the pirate booty? All right, then, help me pack.)Nate stood on the deck at the bow, his arm around Elizabeth Robinson. Above them swung an eighteen-foot rigid-hull Zodiac on a crane, ready to drop into the water whenever it was needed. There was another one on the stern, where once the sub marine had been stowed. Up on the flying bridge, Kona scanned the sea around them with a pair of big-eye binoculars on a heavy iron mount that was welded to the railing.Theres one, a thousand yards.Clay came out onto the walkway beside Kona. They all looked to starboard, where the residual cloud of a whale blow was hanging over the calm water.Another one Clay shouted, pointing to a second blow closer to the ship off the port bow.Then they started firing into the air as if triggered by a chained fuse whale blows of different shapes, heights, and angles great explosions of spray erupting so close to the ship now that the decks started to glisten with the moisture. Then the backs of the great whales rolled in the water around them, gray and black and blue, hills of slick flesh on all sides, moving slowly, then lying in the water. Nate and Elizabeth moved up to the bow railing and watched a group of sperm whales lolling in the water like logs just a few feet off the bow. Next to them a wide right whale floated, bobbing gently in the swell, only a slow wave of the tail revealing that the creature was alive. It rolled to one side, and its eye bulged as it looked at them.You okay? Nate asked Elizabeth, squeezing her shoulder. This was the first time shed been out on the water in over forty years. In her hands she clutched a brown paper lunch bag.Theyre still amazing up close. Id forgotten.Just wait.There were probably a hundred animals of different species around the ship now, most rolled on their side, one eye bulged out to focus in the air. Their blows settled into a syncopated rhythm, like cylinders of some great engine firing in succession.Kona jumped up and down next to Clay, praising Jah and express mirth as each animal breathed or flicked a tail. Irie, my whaley friends he shouted, waving to the animals close to the boat. Clay desperately resisted the urge to grab up cameras and start blasting film or digital video. It felt like he had to pee, really badly , from his eyes.Nate, Clay called, and he pointed to a bubble net forming just outside the ring of floating whales. Theyd seen them dozens of times in Alaska and Canada, one humpback circling and releasing a swarm out of bubbles to corral a school of fish while others plunged up through the middle to catch them. The circle of bubbles became more pronounced on the surface, as if the water were boiling, and then a single humpback breached through the ring, cleared the water completely, and landed on its side in white crater of splash and spray.Oh, my good Elizabeth said. Flustered, she pressed her face into Nates jacket, then looked back quickly, lest she miss something.Theyre showing off, Clay said.The lolling whales lazily paddled out of the way, hypothesis a corridor to the ship. The humpback motorboated toward the bow, its knobby face riding on top of the water. When it was only ten yards from the bow, the animal rose up in the water and opened its mouth. Amy stood up, and next to her stood James Poynter Robinson.Hey, can we get a ladder down here? Amy shouted.Praise Jahs mercy, Kona said, the Snowy Biscuit has come home.Nate threw a cargo net over the side, then climbed halfway down and pulled Amy up onto the net. He held her there as the ship moved in the swell, and she tried to kiss him and nearly chipped a tooth.Help me with Elizabeth, Nate said.Together they got the Old Broad down the cargo net and handed her to her husband, who stood on the tongue of a whale and hugged his bride after not comprehend her for four decades.You look so young, Elizabeth said.We can fix that, he said.Youll get old?Nope. He looked back to Nate and saluted. Nate could hear whaley-boy pilots snickering inside the whale.I brought you a pastrami on rye, she said.Poynter took the paper bag from her as if he were judge the Holy Grail.Nate and Amy scrambled up the cargo net and stood at the bow as the whale drifted away from the bow.Thank you, Nate, the Old Broad said, waving. Thank you, Clay.Nate smiled. Well see you soon, Elizabeth.We will, you know, Amy said as the whale ship closed and sank back into the waves.I know.I have to come back here every few months, you know.I know.Forever.Yeah, I know.Im the new colonel now. Im sort of in charge down there, you know, since Im sort of the daughter of their god. So well have to spend time down there.Do I have to call you Colonel?What, you have a worry with that?No, Im okay with that.You realize that the Goo really could decide to wipe out the human species at any minute.Yep. Same as its constantly been.And you know if I live out here, Im not always going to, you know, look like this?I know.But I will always be luscious, and you you will always be a hopeless nerd.Action nerd, Nate corrected.Ha Amy said.AUTHOR NOTESScience and MagicThe science you dont know looks like magic, Kona says in Chapter 30. I have generally come down on the side of magic, exactly because it involves less math, but with flue it wa s necessary to learn a little science. Because so much of luckiness does fall into the realm of magic, though, I thought it only fair to give you, gentle reader, some idea of whats fact and whats not.The body of knowledge on cetacean biological science, especially as it relates to behavior, is growing at such(prenominal) a staggering rate that its hard to be sure of what you know from one day to the next. (This happens to be exactly the way I live my life, so that worked out nicely.) Scientists have been studying humpback song for fewer than forty years, and its only in the last decade that studies have been undertaken to try to relate the song to social behavior and interaction. (And a challenging question there What constitutes interaction in an animal whose voice can carry a thousand miles?) As I write this, September 2002, much about the humpback song is still unknown. (Although scientists do know that it tends to be found in the New mount up music member, as well as in trop ical waters. There is no reasonable explanation for this, but as of yet no tagged humpbacks have been tracked to the New Age section at Sam Goodys.)At this point no one has ever seen or filmed the conjugation of humpbacks, so while it would appear that the song has something to do with sum, because it is performed only by males and because it is sung only during the mating season, no one has drawn a direct correlation between the song and mating. Theories abound The males are marking territory sonically, they are showing their fitness and size by singing, they are calling mates, they are just saying howdy all of the above, none of the above. The fact remains that, regardless of its purpose, the humpback-whale song is the most complex piece of nonhuman composition on earth. Whether its art, prayer, or a booty call, the humpback song is an amazing thing to experience firsthand, and I suspect that even once the science of it is put to bed, it will remain, as long as they sing, magi c.Beyond the song, much of the whale behavior and biology described in Fluke is accurate, or as accurate as I could keep it and not overburden the story. (Excepting the whale ships, the whaley boys, and every killer whales being named Kevin, all of which I made up. Killer whales are actually all named Sam. Duh.) The acoustic data, and the analysis thereof, is generally balderdash. While scientists do indeed collect data in the personal manner described, much of the analysis process came from my imagination. For the record, though, low-frequency whale calls can and do travel thousands of miles under the sea.While the Lahaina make is indeed inundated with whale researchers every winter, and while there are indeed lectures given sporadically at the Whale Sanctuary visitor center, the acrimony, competition, and tension described among the researchers is completely of my own creation, as are the individual descriptions and personalities of the characters. Tension among a bunch of neu rotics is just more interesting for a story than is a description of dedicated professionals doing their work and getting along, which is the case in reality. When in doubt, assume I made it up.CONSERVATIONThe reason we shouldnt kill whales is because they fire the imagination. JAMES DARLING, PH.D.Hey, I thought they were saved already No one likes the Were glad you enjoyed this story about the rainforest with all its cute little animals and charming inseparable people, BECAUSE IT WILL ALL BE A CHARRED DESERT NEXT WEEK approach, and I hate to do it to you, but you should know that much of the conservation information in Fluke is accurate. They arent quite saved.The Japanese and the Norwegians continue to practice whaling, each taking up to five hundred minke whales a year under scientific research permits (the meat ends up in markets in Europe and Asia). Despite free market arguments to the contrary, whaling is not a profitable business in Japan. It is subsidized by the government , and, to bolster consumer study, they have introduced whale meat into the school lunch program so children will develop a taste for it. (Good thinking there. Dont we all crave the cafeteria cuisine of our youth? Mmmm, mashed peas.) Biologists working undercover in Japanese markets (spy nerds), by running deoxyribonucleic acid tests, have found endangered whale species (including blue whale) in cans of whale meat labeled as minke whale meat. (So someone is still killing them.)Except for scientific whaling, the International Whaling Commissions moratorium on hunting great whales is still in effect, but several whaling nations are rallying hard to have the moratorium lifted and pay survey studies to prove that great-whale populations, including humpbacks and grays, have recovered enough for them to resume hunting. The U.S. antiwhaling position in the IWC is severely compromised by the fact that they support aboriginal whaling that is, subsistence hunting by indigenous people. Th e argument for aboriginal whaling by the actual indigenous people is seldom made on a basis of subsistence, but more frequently because hunting whales is a cultural custom of their people that must be preserved. This, of course, is utter bull make. Its a tradition of Americans of European descent to commit genocide on indigenous people, but that doesnt mean we ought to start doing it again. Even some old ideas are still bad ideas.While it is true that many whale species seem to be recovering, like the gray and the humpback, other populations still struggle, and some, like the North Atlantic right whale, may yet disappear from the planet. (Not due to hunting, but as one researcher, whom I wont name, said, because theyre monstrous as shit and wont get out of the way when they hear a ship coming. Hell, I almost wreck when a squirrel runs in front of my car, and therere millions of them. I cant imagine trying to keep a supertanker from going in the purge while swerving to avoid one o f the last remaining right whales.) late surveys estimate (and they can only estimate, because scientists cant find enough of the animals to actually count I guess when you find one, you just have to count the bejeezus out of him, then extrapolate with algorithms and computer projections) that there may be fewer than three hundred North Atlantic right whales left in the world.But on a happier note, some of the populations are recovering, and although the Japanese government appears to be a bunch of nimrods (and who are we to talk?), the Japanese people seem more interested in watching whales than eating them, so the pressure to extend the hunt may relent.The kicker to all this is probably that habitat loss and pollution, not hunting, present the greatest threat to marine mammals. (Wha? Habitat loss, dont they have the whole ocean?) For the most part our oceans are great, wet deserts, with millions of square miles in which life is very sparse. Predictably, human populations have started to compete with marine mammals for the food sources, and, under increased demand and improved fishing methods, many once rich fishing grounds are becoming as barren as a clear-cut forest. Hydroelectric dams that restrict the migration of salmon and other species to their freshwater reproduction grounds are already having an impact on the populations of marine mammals that feed on the adult salmon.As industrial pollution and agricultural runoff take virulent chemicals to the ocean, it would seem that the enormous volume of seawater would dilute these chemicals to harmless levels, and thats what happens until the chemicals are gathered up by a mechanism called the food chain. Recent studies of tissue samples of some toothed whales (killer whales and dolphins, who feed fairly high up on the food chain) show levels of man-made toxins so high that the animals blubber actually qualifies as toxic waste. Studies are now going on to determine if declining marine mammal populations on the west coast of North America may not be caused by the lower birth rates and the compromised immune systems of animals who feed on toxic fish. (Oh yeah, guess who else is at the top of the seafood chain?)You want to help? Pay attention. Caring about the consideration of our oceans does not make you a psycho, tree-hugging, bleeding-heart liberal, it just makes you smart. The health of all life on this planet depends on the health of the oceans. Its just good business. (Even a supply-sider has to admit that if you fish a population to extinction, there will be no supply, so there will be no demand. Its bad economics from the right or the left.) So watch what you eat, and dont eat fish that are being over-fished (like Chilean sea bass, for instance). And dont pour the used oil from your oil change down the storm drain unless you want your next shrimp platter to taste like Quaker State and you sort of like the idea of having your own children born with flippers.And go look at some whales. Not captive ones, wild ones. It all comes down to economics, and as long as its more profitable to have whales around to look at, well have them around to look at. If you dont live near water and cant get to any, rent a whale video. It all comes around.Barring that, just yell at people randomly to stop killing whales. It could catch on. Really.(Would you like fries with that?Shut up and stop killing whalesThank you. Drive through, please.)ACKNOWLEDGMENTSFirst, my thanks to the home team to Charlie Rodgers, as usual, for profound reads and cogent comments to my editor, Jennifer Brehl and to my agent, Nicholas Ellison, who a couple of years ago said, Hey, how about a book about whale song? I dont know like theres meaning in it or something. You figure it out. Blame or credit goes to Nick for that. As always, thanks to Dee Dee Leichtfuss for being my reader without an agenda. Thanks, too, to Galen and Lynn Rathbun, for taking time away from studying the hose-nose shrew to fill me in on the home life of the field biologist and for putting me in touch with the people at NOAA.My thanks also to Kurt Preston for geological information, to Dr. David Kirkpatrick for information on genetics, to Mark Joseph for my foot to Sonar phone lecture, and to Bret Huffman for Rasta-Pidgin tutoring.Much of the background on genes, evolution, and memes came from the work of Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, The Extended Phenotype, and others also from Daniel Dennetts Darwins Dangerous Idea and from Susan Blakemores excellent book The Meme Machine. I recommend them all for further reading, but when youre finished, you may have to read several of my books and watch a lot of TV just to get stupid enough again to function in the modern world again. Fortunately I am clever in this respect and have recovered nicely, thank you.The laser-measurement algorithm described in Chapter 1 was theorize by Dr. John Calambokidis of the Cascadia Research Collective . He should get credit for that as well as for many other contributions to the field.Many of the research anecdotes I used in Fluke were fashioned out of stories told to me by the researchers themselves. The story of the Japanese whalers being affected by seeing a mother sperm whale and her calf (Chapter 30) was told to me by Bob Pittman of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. The story of the Pacific Biological Research Project, where the military funded a feasibility study to use seabirds as a biological-warfare vector, was told to me by Lisa Ballance, Bobs wife, who also works at NOAAs Southwest Fisheries Science Center.Thanks, too, to Dr. Wayne Ferryman, also from NOAA, who shared many hours of stories, providing me with information about the lifestyles of researchers. My thanks to Dr. Ferryman as well for inviting me to observe the California gray whale survey in person and not insisting that I always bring the pizza.Thanks to Jay Barlow from NOAAs Southwest Fisheries Scienc e Center for information on navy research projects and the relationship between researchers and the navy. Much of which I blew off so I could put Captain Tarwater in Maui, but still, thanks, Jay.My thanks, too, to Carol DeLancey of Oregon State Universitys Marine Mammal Program, who told me the great story of the female right whale using a researchers Zodiac as a diaphragm while the researchers were assaulted by a pair of prehensile whale willies (Chapter 8) something that happened directly to Dr. Bruce pair, but which I embellished in that I dont believe that the whales ejaculated in the boat, and Dr. Mate did not become a lesbian.For information on underwater acoustics and the nature and range of blue-whale calls, much of which I totally ignored, many thanks to Dr. Christopher G. Fox of the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. It was Chriss description of an unidentified, fixed throbbing noise coming from deep under the Pacific Ocean, somewhere off the coast of Chile, that first inspired the undersea city of Gooville.For the inside story on harbor life in Lahaina and the geological dating life of the female researcher, my thanks to Rachel Cartwright and Captain Amy Miller, who study humpback cow/calf behavior and biology in Maui in the winter and Alaska in the summer.My thanks, too, to Kevin Keyes for whale and dolphin stories, as well as for his sempiternal patience in teaching me ocean kayaking and providing the cold-water discipline safety training that probably kept me from drowning while trying to get out among the animals.Finally, my deepest thanks to Dr. Jim Darling, Flip Nicklin, and Meagan Jones, who for two seasons allowed me to ride along and observe their research in Maui, as well as for giving generously of their time to answer my questions both in person and by e-mail. While most of the information about humpbacks and humpback song in Fluke came out of these trips, the inaccuracies and liberties taken with the information a re my own. The anecdotes and science I learned from these folks, all of whom have spent their lives working in the field, were enough to fill two books, and were certainly too voluminous to list here. but put, this book would not have been possible without their help. Kinder, more intelligent, more dedicated people than these do not the face of this earth walk.To support their ongoing research on humpback song and behavior, send your tax-deductible donations toWhale Trust300 Paani PlacePaia, HI 96779