Attunga

by Peter Wood

  ‘All your parameters were universal. In just one part of your task you’ve asked for a search of everything that’s been said or documented by 400 billion people in the four weeks since the Freedom incident. All your results are then, of necessity, cross-referenced, and that’s an order of magnitude even more complex. It’s the correlators that will take the time though, and the way you’ve linked them in is very interesting.’

  Wirrin watched the tasks initiate then flicked to see what Calen was doing. He was play wrestling with Sonic while Puck and Flute pressed against the sides of the transport unit to make room.

  Thom gave him a nudge. ‘What are we going to tell him?’

  They’d tell Calen everything – Thom was really thinking about Sonic and the dolphins.

  ‘Wait till we’re back on Attunga, Thom. Puck and Flute already know. Sonic doesn’t,’ Burilda replied.

  Warrakan loomed and one of the gigantic drive engines filled the general view screen. A quick link to Calen showed that playing was forgotten: Sonic’s curiosity had taken over. The view changed as they moved toward the centre of Warrakan’s rugged elliptical shape.

  Wirrin forgot everything when the alert from the archival task arrived.

  ‘Michael Hallen and Warren Clarke. There is a link between those two names and the marine research stations.’

  Wirrin put the information on holo screen for the others and started reading.

  ‘Turaku, who are they? There’s hardly any information here.’

  ‘Without your correlator idea there wouldn’t be any at all. I’ve initiated a location search but it is likely that they are manufactured identities.’

  Pleased that he’d discovered something new, and frustrated that there was a wait of over six hours for anything else, Wirrin scanned through other findings then turned his attention to the docking station. Once again they’d have to use ferries as the security ship wouldn’t dock.

  ***

  ‘Look at them go!’

  Five skimmers raced erratically after the three exuberant dolphins as they barrelled through the water. They’d just explored one of the deep sections of the new reach, and according to Calen’s translation, were excited by the deeper water – four times the depth of any on Attunga. Sonic leapt nearly 2 metres in the air and moments later Puck and Flute followed in tight formation.

  ‘Burilda, do you know where we’re going?’

  ‘To the closest seagrass bed. They know there aren’t any fish but they want to have a look anyway.’

  Wirrin kept glancing across at Gulara. It was strange to see her in this active setting, dressed in a formfitting silver water costume and obviously enjoying herself. She was not very skilled with the skimmer or in the water, but of course she hadn’t had as much practice as the boys. She looked as fit as Burilda, which was interesting because, at eighty-three, she was more than twice as old.

  Calen put on a burst of speed, levelled with the dolphins and reached across to grab Sonic’s dorsal fin. Sonic bumped the side of the skimmer, trying to unbalance Calen and send him tumbling into the water. It was a game they played all the time and Calen rarely fell off, while Wirrin and Thom always did. Sonic knew the exact moment when his nudge would be most effective.

  The seagrass was growing like crazy and Wirrin was surprised at the difference in just six days. With optimum conditions and no fish to graze on it, it could only flourish. Sonic darted to the edge of the seagrass where the depth increased and disappeared behind a thick clump of kelp. The trio chased after him with Calen effortlessly in the lead. The hiding, chasing game lasted for five minutes with Sonic making sure everyone almost caught him before he dodged and disappeared again. Gulara and Burilda joined in, but underwater like this, no-one could catch Sonic unless he let them. When Sonic sneaked behind Calen and prodded his backside, Wirrin laughed, releasing a cloud of bubbles. Calen whipped around and after a burst of sound from Sonic he pointed everyone to the surface.

  ‘They’re going to the end of the reach and back. They want to map it all in their minds.’

  The boys slotted their masks into the retaining sockets on the skimmers to replenish their air supply. The trip would take hours, since this advanced section of reach was almost 11 kilometres long, and back on his skimmer Wirrin took the opportunity to check progress on the other dolphin works on Warrakan. Beyond the blocking wall at the end of this reach was the second enormous development of a 30 kilometre extension. It could hardly be called an extension because it was far more complex, with many more levels as well as an interlocking maze of parallel reaches.

  Wow! Half a cubic kilometre had been hollowed out, reinforced and filled with water from the ice asteroids in the last week. The rate of work seemed to increase every time he looked. Wirrin called up the overall plan then, puzzled, manoeuvred next to Burilda.

  ‘When did they change the plans?’

  ‘Which plans?’

  ‘All the plans … for the dolphins here on Warrakan.’

  ‘There are modifications happening all the time.’

  ‘This isn’t a modification. It’s a whole new plan.’

  ‘What?’

  Clearly, Burilda didn’t know what he was talking about so Wirrin set up a holo with an overview of the project. Burilda nearly fell off her skimmer.

  ‘Stop! Stop! Let me have a look at that.’

  Wirrin stopped and everyone else circled back to see what was going on. The space allocated for the dolphin project was now five levels of Warrakan. Wirrin worked out later that it was more than three complete Attungas in volume.

  ‘Look, Thom, there’s a reach that’s going to be half a kilometre deep … and another one devoted to growing corals. This is unbelievable. It’s a marine paradise.’

  After a quick sub-search Wirrin said, ‘No wonder we didn’t know about it. It was only set up fifteen minutes ago.’

  Gulara nodded. ‘Turaku and the Attunga gestalt initiated it. He’s just informed me. The dolphin’s reaction to this visit was the final spark for change.’

  The dolphins had forged ahead so everyone zoomed along at 60 kilometres per hour to catch up. The dolphins and Calen chittered to each other, and Sonic flipped into the air, then the three of them approached Gulara and greeted her. They did the same for Burilda and then each of the trio. Sonic said something and Wirrin’s holo activated. A large dolphin appeared, exchanged greetings with Sonic, Puck, and Flute, then dissolved from view.

  ‘That was Turaku. Sonic asked for him so they could say thank you. He looks like that when he talks to the dolphins.’

  It was rather startling. Wirrin knew about Turaku appearing as a dolphin because Calen had talked about it, but this was the first time he’d seen it for himself. He’d always had sole control of his holo too, so Turaku taking over like that was another surprise. The group moved off again and Wirrin spent the remainder of the journey in retinal mode with transparency, examining features of the new project so he could explain it all to Calen and Thom when they had some time at home.

  ‘Are you using the InterWeb?’ Thom said, leaning in towards Wirrin. ‘While we’re skimming?’

  ‘Yep!’

  ‘Well you’re getting too good at it. I hope you fall over.’

  Thom and Calen couldn’t cope with transparency mode while they were moving – it made them too dizzy – but Wirrin was good at it, and getting better.

  The scale of the new project started to sink in. This wasn’t a new and extra large dolphinarium, it was a habitat, but for dolphins instead of people, with space for millions. Where would they all come from? Wirrin searched the project files for a timeline of dolphin population and quickly found it: just under double every ten years. In ten years the prediction was for almost one thousand dolphins, and over a million in 120 years. That was easy. Human populations grew much faster.

  The group stopped at the end of the reach where a featureless barrier of reinforced construction material barred the way and, while Calen spoke with the dolphins, Wirrin
looked for a way to get past it. There wasn’t one, and a query on the InterWeb said it was currently off-limits for humans. Well of course it was. The energy levels from the rush of picobot activity would be way too dangerous.

  ‘What are you looking for?’ asked Thom.

  ‘I thought we might be able to see something on the other side of the barrier but there’s too much happening in there to be safe. It’s the start of the 30 kilometre reach.’

  ‘We’ll see it soon enough won’t we?’

  ‘Let’s see … um … in about six months, but it will only be dead water till the marine life gets going.’

  ‘Has the new plan changed anything?’

  That was an interesting thought and Wirrin quickly checked.

  ‘No, it’s practically the same as the last time we looked, except for new connections to other reaches … Hey, there is a change. It shows four other reaches connecting in and being finished at the same time.’

  Sonic came close and said something too quickly for Wirrin to grasp, and Calen laughed at the puzzled looks. ‘We’ve been here long enough,’ he said. ‘Sonic wants to do more exploring.’

  The trip back along the reach was much slower, and the skimmers were abandoned every time the dolphins found something of particular interest – a couple of seagrass beds, an extensive artificial reef with kelp forests in the watery canyons, and a different set of reefs with a number of underwater caves.

  The very last leg of the trip was different, short and fast, the dolphins setting a sustained pace of 15 kilometres per hour, spurred on by the thought of proper food at the staging area. No wonder they were hungry, after nearly five hours of constant activity. Wirrin felt distracted during this last burst on the skimmers; he’d had no results from the direct-data task but he couldn’t help checking every few minutes, even though he knew it was pointless – an alert would let him know the instant anything arrived.

  Just as the transport module came into view, with one end open so the dolphins could swim straight in, Wirrin’s retinal mode flashed briefly as a warning. His holo activated and Turaku appeared, hovering over the water as if he was flying. Information flashed into view. Wirrin stopped. Without him doing anything a section of text appeared next to Turaku.

  ‘Read it, Wirrin. I’ve brought up the most important findings for you.’

  While Wirrin was reading, the other skimmers slowed, then seeing Turaku, rushed back to find out what was going on.

  ‘What is it? Why did you stop out here?’

  Calen was looking very puzzled indeed. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Calen, some dolphins on Earth have been hurt and there might be another attack.’

  ‘Attack? Against dolphins?’

  Wirrin had read the news while the others were gathering and felt sick in the stomach.

  ‘The people who were linked to the first two attacks are now expected to make another one at Monkey Mia.’

  Thom, Burilda, and Gulara registered shock; Calen looked totally bewildered. ‘What do you mean? Tell me what’s going on.’

  Wirrin moved close enough to hold Calen’s arm and carefully told him about the earlier attacks and how his search had come up with two names. The direct-data search had just confirmed the names and made a new link with Monkey Mia. The correlators predicted a new attack within twenty-four hours with a ninety per cent certainty that it was instigated by K74. Turaku held up one hand in that way of his that commanded attention.

  ‘Calen, try not to worry. I sent requests to the two marine stations along with some detailed information that allowed them to better analyse what happened to their dolphins, and our health resources on Attunga have designed defensive picobots, which should provide complete protection. I know it’s a shock that the attack will be against Monkey Mia, but with the warning Wirrin’s work has given us, it’s probably the best place for it to happen.’

  Monkey Mia, in the north-west of the Australian continent, was very special for the Attunga dolphinarium as it was the birthplace of the original dolphins transported from Earth.

  ‘Best? It’s the worst. They’re attacking Monkey Mia because of Attunga,’ Thom said.

  ‘It is the best place, Thom. Northern Australia has the most open lifestyle on Earth and our ties there are very strong. Because it’s so open the attack can only be coming from the ocean. The Northern Australians will be horrified when they find out and when their AIs coordinate to use the information I’ve sent the dolphins will be protected. Calen, the dolphins are wondering where you are. Wirrin and Thom will explain everything back on Attunga.’

  With a worried look, Calen zoomed off and Wirrin turned to Turaku to hear more.

  ‘The unusual combination of methods you used has given us extremely valuable information, Wirrin, and put us in a position of advantage. When my message reaches Earth twenty-two minutes from now, all the surface area within 100 kilometres of Monkey Mia will immediately be placed under the highest level of surveillance. The airspace will be monitored out to 500 kilometres and the marine station at Monkey Mia itself alerted to the danger. Within four hours the waters of Shark Bay will be saturated with equipment that will allow us to watch the movement of any object with a cross-section greater than two millimetres.

  ‘We’re postulating the attacks will come from a device that homes in on each dolphin, attaches itself and then releases the picobots, and since we ourselves can’t yet construct a device any smaller than four mm to do that, it will be an adequate safety margin. Anything inimical will be captured or destroyed, and when any underwater or surface vessel is identified as a source, the occupants will be taken into custody.’

  ‘What if they get past the defences?’

  Burilda had a good point.

  ‘I’m confident they won’t, but in the unlikely event they do, every dolphin will be inoculated with our defensive picobots. I have a time concern there, as the technology I’ve sent is new for the Australian AIs and by the time they receive it, adapt their picofactories, build the picobots and transport and deliver them to each dolphin, nearly six hours will have passed.’

  Wirrin was amazed. All these things happening already when the information had only arrived five minutes ago.

  ‘Turaku, what if the correlators aren’t right and they attack somewhere else?’

  ‘That’s not likely, but within twenty hours we can inoculate the dolphins at any marine station that will cooperate. We don’t have to worry about wild dolphins. Only dolphins who have an association with humans are being targeted. That’s part of your report you haven’t looked at yet. Now, go and support Calen. He’ll need you. He has to tell Sonic what’s happening.’

  Chapter 8

  An hour later everyone was gathered in a tech room at the dolphinarium, looking at images that were being beamed direct from Monkey Mia. In one window a small pod of dolphins was cruising serenely in the shallow waters near the marine station and in another a pair of males were hunting food on the eastern side of Shark Bay. Another section of the screen showed the position of over seven hundred dolphins in the bay and the adjoining Indian Ocean. There was a stunningly beautiful aerial view, which ten minutes earlier had zoomed to a group of basking tiger sharks, mortal enemies of dolphins, particularly when there were vulnerable new-born calves around. Now water-craft were converging from all directions on the research station.

  ‘What’s that?’

  A new screen opened showing the approach of some sort of aerial craft. Turaku appeared as well.

  ‘It’s a transport from Carnarvon, Thom, with the surveillance equipment. Everything else is coming from Exmouth where there is a high level picofactory complex.’

  A quick check showed Carnarvon 100 kilometres north of Shark Bay and Exmouth another 360 kilometres beyond that.

  ‘The responses in Australia have been instant and they are moving as quickly as we could hope. Another forty minutes should see the arrival of the major consignment from Exmouth.’

  Turaku disappeared and Wirrin
headed off to join Calen.

  Wirrin soon realised that Calen was handling everything very well. The rush to support him at the staging area had turned into a kind of anti-climax because Sonic had done the job for them. When they’d arrived the dolphins and Calen spoke rapidly for a time, and later, Calen explained what Sonic and the others had said.

  ‘Sonic hates the attacks, but the dolphins all say Turaku will soon fix everything. Dolphins don’t think like we do. I got the impression that dolphins don’t dwell on painful subjects. Their minds were on the new reach and they were eager to see the other dolphins and tell them how good it is.’

  ‘Really?’ Wirrin was surprised. He’d thought the dolphins would be as distressed as he had been by the news.

  ‘Yes. And he called me a worry wart.’

  ‘A what?’

  ‘It means someone who worries too much, but it sounded funny and I had to smile.’

  Wirrin was amazed. ‘How would he know a word like that?’

  ‘He read it on an InterWeb dictionary. He’s got a new game where he says unusual words to surprise me.’

  Wirrin didn’t know Sonic could use the InterWeb, let alone read.

  ‘Do you think he said it on purpose to cheer you up?’

  ‘Of course he did.’

  ‘And he really didn’t seem too concerned about the attacks?’

  ‘I think I’ve got a lot to learn about dolphin minds and feelings,’ Calen said carefully, and Wirrin let it drop.

  It certainly seemed like the dolphins’ judgement of Turaku’s abilities was correct. For a while everyone watched the screens as information arrived from Monkey Mia, but when it didn’t change much Wirrin started his own holo and called up archived information about the area and started exploring.

  Shark Bay was beautiful, and ever since the planetary clean-up of ocean pollution had been completed over fifty years ago, marine life was flourishing. A satellite view showed islands, starkly contrasting blue water, red country and white shelly beaches.

  ‘This place is amazing. There are nearly fifteen thousand dugongs there.’