Attunga

by Peter Wood

  ‘Extraordinary! That sounds very different to being with Sonic. His personality is so real it hits you like a hammer.’

  Wirrin smiled. Another interesting saying for Sonic.

  ‘Yajala says humans and dolphins recognise that in each other because the terms of our existence are mostly shared. Our experiences of pain and pleasure, and reactions to input from our senses are almost identical.’

  ‘You live an amazing life, Wirrin. Are you pleased with your shift to Warrakan?’

  ‘Definitely. We love exploring, too, and every time we say we’re going to do it more often something else always happens. On the two lots of activity days before the last ones we went with Burilda and Sonic to visit the Earth dolphins. It’s nearly seven months since they settled in and they absolutely love their new homes. The rangers and marine scientists are all excited because a huge number of the females are pregnant and there’ll be over four hundred babies in another six or seven months.’ Wirrin smiled fondly. ‘The time before that we went with Thom to see the three new Comets, which had just been completed. He’s working like crazy to get to know them because they’re not the same as Sonic’s main Comet.’

  ‘We build them in much less than fifteen months then?’

  ‘About five weeks. That’s the difference between real AIs and the Intelligent Systems they use on K74.’

  ‘That’s astonishing. What section of the Comets is Thom learning? The navigation system?’

  ‘Everything. He can fly them all but he likes our main Comet best. It’s faster than the rest.’

  ‘He’s given enough control to check out their speed at his age?’

  ‘He gets complete control. He sometimes does training flights with no other people on board, except Turaku of course. He’s built in. Thom was more amazed than anyone that he was given so much responsibility, but we found out Sonic requested it.’

  ‘Sonic has a great deal of influence. He should. But flying spaceships doesn’t seem like an area dolphins would be involved with.’

  ‘He is though. He can fly the Comet too. He doesn’t know as much as Thom but he often takes over. It was built especially so he could go anywhere, with two permanent AIs, picofactories, science laboratories, and incredible defence abilities.’

  The doctor was drinking in every word. ‘How does he control it? I’ve got this ridiculous image in my mind of him pushing levers or pressing touch pads with his beak.’

  ‘He does it all with sound signals and special pick-ups.’

  ‘Dolphin auditory skills. I should have realised that … I see he’s grown quite a bit since you invited me over. Has he changed much?’

  He must have seen Sonic on the InterWeb. Wirrin grinned. The leading question he’d been waiting for had just presented. ‘Come and see for yourself.’

  The doctor’s face lit up but then he frowned. ‘I hope you’re not going to say tonight, because I can’t manage it.’

  ‘No, tonight’s no good. It needs to be your next activity day.’

  ‘Wirrin, that smile makes you look as if you’re implementing some Machiavellian scheme.’

  Wirrin paused for a retinal scan then nodded. ‘It’s not my scheme, and there’s nothing sneaky about it. Sonic wants to see you again and he’d like you to bring your partner and children with you. He wants to meet them all.’

  ‘Sonic asked for me himself?’

  ‘Yes. When I mentioned I was due for a health check he said he’s been wanting to talk to you. He got Gulara to change things so I’d see you sooner and could ask you in person.’

  The doctor thought that over, obviously not knowing what to make of it. ‘Wirrin, I expect to hear unexpected news from you but this is more unexpected than I ever expected. What does it mean? Does Sonic often ask people to visit him? … What’s that look for?’

  ‘I’m just working out the sentence … The expected unexpected one. No he doesn’t, but he likes you, you know that, and you told him about your family, except he calls it your pod. That’s one of the reasons for an activity day since it involves the trip to Warrakan.’

  The doctor pounced. ‘There are other reasons?’

  ‘I think he wants to talk about health stuff. You talked about it last time and he said it was interesting.’

  ‘Hmm! I have a funny feeling you’re not telling me everything.’

  Wirrin laughed. ‘Which day works best for you?’

  ‘If Sonic wants to talk to me on an activity day it will be the first one available.’

  Chapter 24

  The doctor’s partner, Miah, a dark-haired lady with a brilliant smile which had won the trio over in very short order, was laughing as she joined Thom, Calen and the three children in a splashing war against Sonic, who didn’t have a hope against such formidable opponents. Well, that’s what the two younger ones were thinking.

  Miro, the thirteen-year-old, was pretty clever and most probably realised they were all being treated very gently.

  ‘They’re never going to forget this. None of us will. Raji couldn’t do his EdCom classes yesterday because he was too excited, and Miro was nearly as bad about travelling through space and visiting Warrakan.’ The doctor was sitting with Wirrin and watching all the laughter and happiness with delight.

  ‘Alisa seems quieter than the boys.’

  ‘Not really. She’s just awed by meeting Sonic.’

  She didn’t look awed at the moment, hanging on tightly to Sonic’s tail flukes to stop him splashing.

  ‘How did your talk go?’

  The trio had taken the three children in Sonic’s transporter for a rendezvous with Puck and Flute and the rest of the pod, where they spoke and played and were entertained while the doctor and Miah spent an hour with Sonic.

  ‘Unbelievable. Did you know what he wanted the other day on your visit?’

  ‘I knew he wanted your help but that’s all.’

  ‘Help? I’d hardly call it that. He’s asked me to move to Warrakan and be in change of an age extension program for dolphins.’

  ‘In charge? Really? He said he thought you’d like to be involved with dolphins after your talk with him last visit, but we didn’t know he was going to ask you to move.’

  ‘I’d have to. It’s a new venture for the dolphins and I’d have to do it properly. Sonic says I’d have no limits on equipment and staff and a living space next to the facilities.’

  ‘Would moving be a problem?’

  The doctor gave a little laugh. ‘You could say that not moving would be a problem. Sonic told Miah she’d be able to involve the dolphins in her music studies, and if the children found out they’d missed a chance like this I’d never hear the end of it. Raji would probably murder me. Look at him. Judging from his expression Sonic could do the Pied Piper trick with children any time if he ever wanted to.’

  Raji was hanging onto Sonic’s back and watching Calen and his mum get deluged.

  ‘Does that mean you’ve made your decision?’

  ‘There is no decision to make. It’s an amazing opportunity for me and when I told him there are people far more qualified he wouldn’t even consider them, except to say I could involve whoever I wanted.’

  Wirrin grinned. ‘That’s Sonic. He likes you and his dolphin senses tell him you’re the person for the job.’

  ‘Dolphin senses?’

  ‘For this kind of thing I suppose you could say Sonic senses … No, the other dolphins work that way too. Puck and Flute spent half an hour with us the first time we met and that was enough to decide Calen was the right companion for Sonic. And look how right they were about that. Has he told you much detail about what he wants?’

  ‘No details, just overview, Wirrin. He thinks that age extension for dolphins might work in a similar way to the way it does for humans and he wants me to develop reliable techniques that would apply to him and any others like him if his special enhancement proves to be viable. The other dolphins don’t really think about their lifespan but he wants them to be healthy and happy
for longer than the current eighty-year life expectancy, and he thinks twenty or more years could be added by adapting the known techniques.’ He paused. ‘Going by that special report you accessed I think it will turn out to be much more. At any rate he says the Witnesses and AIs will give him any support he needs to get the program implemented. He has amazing influence with them doesn’t he?’

  ‘Doctor, that’s nothing compared to the other things they’ve done for dolphins since he turned up. They’ll probably have the buildings and equipment ready a few weeks after you give a definite yes.’

  ‘I’ve already given it. Well, Miah has, by telling Sonic we’d be here as soon as we could tie up everything on Attunga.’

  ‘Did Sonic say how long you might be involved for?’

  ‘Indefinitely. Why?’

  ‘Warrakan leaves in another six or seven years and you might want to stay in the solar system.’

  ‘Sonic already mentioned that and said there’d be a similar project on Attunga for dolphins who are staying, so that’s a decision for later.’

  ‘Does this mean we’ll have a new doctor for our health checks? I’ll miss our talks.’

  ‘I would too, but that’s your decision. Sonic seems to think I’m good for you and he says it would be easy to arrange.’

  Wirrin had to smile. Trust Sonic to know how the trio liked and trusted the doctor. ‘That’s great, except you’ll probably start to treat us like dolphins if you’re working with them all the time.’

  ‘Treat the Dolphin Boys like dolphins? Sounds eminently sensible to me … What are they doing?’

  The laughter and romping in the pool had stopped and Calen was handing out facemasks. He looked at Wirrin and the doctor and beckoned, urgently.

  ‘I don’t know, but from Calen’s expression it looks important. Grab a facemask.’

  Moments later Wirrin watched the youngsters, just beneath the surface and eyes all agog, receiving a gentle dolphin nudge in the chest. The doctor and Miah were next and then Sonic manoeuvred himself directly in front of Raji. A happy dolphin trill filled the pool, making everyone smile and watch raptly. The trill changed to a bouncy medley of clicks and strangely melodious squeaks.

  Wirrin fleetingly looked for meaning, but this wasn’t speech. It was song, beautiful, lively, happy dolphin sounds being directed at Raji with meanings that didn’t need words for expression.

  With a burst of wondrous comprehension Wirrin saw that this song was Raji, Raji as Sonic saw him. Too quickly the magical sound ended and after one more gentle touch to Raji’s chest Sonic drifted upward for a breath of air. It was a signal for everyone else to follow. The masks came off and there was a moment of stunned silence. The doctor looked amazed. Miah looked so happy Wirrin wondered if they were tears or pool water he was seeing. The children reached for Sonic.

  ‘You great lump of fish. That’s the best thing you’ve ever done.’

  ‘Thank you, Thom. That is Raji’s song.’

  ‘Mine? You sang it for me?’

  ‘Yes, Raji. Puck asked me to let you know that dolphins like you and your family.’

  Wirrin was used to seeing the wonder and amazement of children in the nurseries when Sonic spoke and interacted with them, but the look he was seeing now would stay with him all his life.

  ‘I wish I could sing for you.’

  ‘You do, Raji, in your own way, and I sing it back to you. Come with me now to say goodbye to Puck and Flute.’

  Everyone looked round. Yes, there they were, shown via the big display screen, just outside with the rest of the pod. The children rushed to follow as Sonic headed out. The doctor and Miah moved close together.

  ‘We are overwhelmed. Is it like this all the time when you live with dolphins?’

  ‘We’re overwhelmed too, doctor. I’ve never seen that before.’

  Wirrin turned a questioning glance to Calen.

  ‘Not for humans. Individuals sometimes do a version when they’re bonding but it’s nowhere near as complex as that. That was dolphin sound adapted for humans.’

  Miah, with her love of music, fired excited questions at Calen about Sonic’s abilities while the wall display showed the children mingling with the pod.

  ‘Do you think we’ll ever hear it again? Or is it something impromptu?’

  Calen looked thoughtful.

  ‘Sonic will sing. I know that because he loves it, but I think it would change a bit as he sees new things about Raji. We can get it off the translator machines though. They keep a record.’

  ‘Ask Brainiac. He zaps everything so he’ll have images as well.’

  Wirrin shook his head at Thom. ‘The translators are designed specially to pick up dolphin sounds so they’ll be much better than my ears. You can have whatever you want though.’

  ‘Put your images with the sounds from the translator. That’ll be best.’

  The children returned and Raji, rushing to his mum and dad, started begging to come and see Sonic again.

  ‘Sometime, Raji, but right now it’s time to say goodbye and thank you for such a special day.’

  ‘Not quite, doctor. Thom’s arranged to take you back to Attunga on the Comet instead of the ferry. He likes showing off and he thought Miro might enjoy it.’

  ‘What’s the Comet?’ Miro asked.

  The trio grinned. If Miro was as interested in space and spaceships as the doctor had suggested then he was in for a big surprise.

  ***

  With a degree of trepidation Wirrin looked at the vast bulk of the 300 kilometre long K74 asteroid.

  Admittedly the visuals were at full magnification and the real distance was much further than it looked, but this exercise, testing Thom’s skill with the stealth abilities of the Comet, was still in its early stage and the risk of detection would steadily increase from now on.

  Red blips indicating the presence of two of the big Cadre ships added almost as much excitement as Thom’s eagerness to show how easily he could sneak close.

  There was no real danger – the trio would never be allowed to take such a risk – and should Thom make a mistake of any kind the Comet’s security AI would cut in with all the defence capabilities available, operating with AI speed and accuracy.

  Thom had already practised the active part of the exercise eleven times and was very confident he would make the 15 kilometre approach he was aiming for. He’d taken eight tries with the simulators to be successful, and three more to be sure he could do it consistently. He was full of confidence, as he always was, despite having explained that unforeseen factors almost invariably messed things up in real life.

  ‘Are you ready with your InfoSystem?’

  Wirrin was more than ready. Everything had been running for the last half hour.

  ‘What about you, Calen? Any worries?’

  ‘Of course I’ve got worries. I don’t even know what I’m looking for.’

  ‘You’ll know when you see it. Just take notice of the difference signals.’

  Calen’s task – checking the visuals – was, like Wirrin’s, mostly redundant, and Thom’s way of getting them involved.

  ‘Stealth mode is initiated and we’re on our way.’

  For half an hour the Comet slipped steadily closer with absolutely nothing happening, and Calen’s concentration on his section of display screen gradually relaxed till he turned to Thom with a grin. ‘Is this all that happens? There hasn’t been a single signal yet.’

  Thom finished doing something with his controls before giving a short and almost terse reply.

  ‘That’s what I want.’

  Whoops! Calen and Wirrin exchanged an understanding glance. There’d be no more unnecessary comments to Thom while he was concentrating so fiercely.

  A quick check of the range indicator showed they’d moved from the 500 kilometre mark to a separation distance of 105 kilometres. The next 90 kilometres would take longer and if everything went well they’d remain stationary at the 15 kilometre point for a period of time while the sec
urity AI made some sort of assessment.

  Wirrin focused a window on the closest of the two big spaceships and enlarged the image. That was interesting. At two locations small fleets of construction vessels were at work busily attaching something to the hull. Wirrin sent a query through his InfoSystem to the Comet’s database, then blinked in surprise when the reply said the construction vessels were an unknown type.

  ‘Turaku, there something strange here. We should have information about everything happening external to K74.’

  Turaku’s voice sounded in Wirrin’s ear – he didn’t manifest because it would distract Thom.

  ‘Yes, very strange. I’ve relayed your query and the information we’re gathering to Pirramar and we’ll have his assessment as soon as it arrives. My analysis of this visual data suggests the early stage of some type of special cradle or attachment point.’

  ‘That’s not what’s strange. I don’t understand how there can be construction vessels at all without our surveillance drones having reported them. They watch everything that happens.’

  ‘There is no record of the vessels travelling from K74. They must be based on the spaceship itself. Yes, one is just now emerging from that anterior docking bay.’

  Wirrin began to watch but lost all external vision when his retinal mode activated opaquely. It was Pirramar.

  ‘Wirrin, keep your InfoSystem locked on the K74 vessel and initiate any search or scanning actions you think appropriate. We have a seven-minute window of opportunity to retrieve an analysis of those construction vessels. The Comet picofactory is following instructions I’ve transmitted and in another two minutes you will be able to direct a stealth diagnostic module to one of the small unknown vessels. Watch it carefully for any attempted disablement and use the programs now showing on your transfer screen to monitor and quarantine every databit the module records. Isolate the incoming information from any contact with Turaku and your security AI, as there is a low, but unacceptable, possibility it may contain some sort of rogue signature. Store it directly to your personal memory space and apply some of those special analysis techniques we’ve developed for AI traps. Don’t distract Thom, and start to act now. I will contact you in three minutes.’