Dolphins of Pern

by Anne McCaffrey

  "The very one." Then F'lessan cast a look at the awed expression of the boy. "Who knows where some of your study mates may end up? Where you yourself will."

  "Oh, I know where I'll end up,' Readis said. "I'm to be Paradise River Holder." He flicked a finger at his right leg.

  "I'm to learn so much that even this won't keep me from being confirmed.”

  "Your father's a strong, healthy man. You might have to wait a long time to accede. What're you going to do with all that time in between?"

  Readis had thought about that. During his initial Turns at Landing, he realized that he had absorbed a great deal of Hold management from following his father about and hearing him give orders. Managing the Hold would be easy.

  "I'd like to be a dolphineer."

  "A what? Oh, yes, you've been talking to the creatures, haven't you?"

  "There aren't any dolphineers, not like the Ancients had and the dolphins are very helpful, you know. To the Fish Craft Hall and the healers. But we just sort of call them when we want them. We don't do much for them apart from pry off a bloodfish now and then . . Readis paused, not wanting to appear to belittle the delphinic accomplishment but he had to be truthful to the dragonrider, "but nothing at all like the great work they did exploring the oceans and coastlines."

  As I understand it, the coastline's always changing. Charts will need to be updated, won't they? Are you studying cartography?"

  "Not as much as I'd like. I'm good at the maths but you also need special instruments to do a proper job."

  "I understand that Master Fandarel is making those instruments since everyone seems to want a chunk of the Southern Continent." F'lessan chuckled.

  "Don't you dragonriders get the first choice?"

  "Where'd you hear that'?" F'lessan shot the lad an appraising look.

  "Oh,” and Readis shrugged, "you hear lots of things at Landing."

  "I'll just bet you do,” and F'lessan snorted. "Have you accessed the tapes on dolphins in the Library?"

  "I did that the first term I was here,” Readis said, grinning.

  Then he went through some of the hand signals that dolphineers had used and F'lessan's eyes widened respectfully. "That's how dolphineers gave directions to the dolphins underwater. They still know them. The dolphins, I mean.”

  "And with you living right on Paradise River and the sea, you must make good use of them." Readis mumbled a noncommittal answer. This was not the time, nor the person, to confide home problems too. Oblivious to the boy's hesitation, F'lessan went on, "You might even start up your own Craft Hall. That's what Benelek did, you know, by learning all he could about Aivas' terminals."

  "He did?"

  "He did!" Then F'lessan gave Readis a mischievous grin.

  "Right now, you and all the other students at Landing have a brilliant chance to make sure that Pern becomes what the Ancients wanted it to be before Thread interrupted their progress." F'lessan gestured behind him, to the murals. "The sum total of their knowledge and their overview of this planet is available to us. It's up to us, and you, as the next generation, to be sure we pick up the plan where they left off and see that Pern becomes the planet they envisioned. That's what must be done if Pern is to be what it could be. D'you see that? That's what Master Robinton wanted. It's what my parents want. But not all the Holders or Master Craftsmen. They're still hanging back with what's comfortable and familiar." He narrowed his eyes slightly to assess the impact of his words on his audience.

  "It's going to be difficult, the next twenty‑odd Turns, to set in place what Pern will be now that Thread has stopped."

  "But it hasn't, has it?"

  F'lessan gave him a quick look and grinned. "But it will."

  "Were you . . . " Readis began tentatively, "one of the dragonriders who took the engines to the Red Star?"

  F'lessan nodded. "Golanth and I."

  Readis' jaw dropped in awe.

  "All in a day's work for a dragonrider,” F'lessan said, dismissing the feat in his usual light manner.

  On the top of the weyrhold, Golanth lifted his head and uttered a welcoming bugle.

  "Ah, your conveyancers arrive,” F'lessan said, standing up, though Readis could see nothing but empty sky in front of them. "Think about what I said, Readis, about the dolphins and about what Pern could be."

  Readis nodded, eyes front. Of course, Golanth, being a bronze, would know when dragons were arriving, so Readis kept staring and was rewarded by the thrilling sight that always made his heart pound faster: the abrupt emergence of a half wing of dragons. They were so beautiful. But not for everyone. Dolphins now, they weren't so restricted. Anyone could get to know a dolphin. He could be a dolphineer and a Holder. Form a new Craft Hall? That did appeal to Readis and he turned over that possibility. Of course, his mother would have an attack if he even whispered of his interest in the dolphins around her. She persisted in believing that it was the dolphins who had put his life at risk when it was the other way round. His father might understand, especially now that the dolphins had been shown to be useful in so many ways, guarding the coastline and warning them of bad squalls and good fishing. Certainly mastering another Craft would only show the Lord Holders that Readis, son of Jayge and Aramina, was that much more capable of managing an important Southern Hold like Paradise.

  "Thank you, F'lessan,” he said.

  "For what?" the bronze rider asked, smiling down at the boy.

  Suddenly Readis went shy and covered it by waving his arm about to indicate the weyrhold. "For what you just said."

  F'lessan grinned and placed his finger beside his nose, indicating secrecy. "Think about it, lad. We dragonriders are, I assure you.”

  Before Readis could ask him what that cryptic comment meant, F'lessan had walked off to find Master Samvel.

  Back at school, when he had some free time to use one of the keyboards, Readis tried to find out exactly what the Ancients had meant Pern to be, before Thread ruined their plans. Eventually, he found the Charter in LAWS and that gave him a good deal to mull over. He wished he could talk to F'lessan again. By deft questioning, he learned that the son of F'lar and Lessa was considered a competent and much trusted wing leader but, until he had discovered Honshu Weyrhold, had not been given to much serious thinking or behavior. That made Readis give more weight to what the bronze rider had said that day.

  Of course, the dragons were not mentioned in the Charter since they hadn't been created. Nor in any other file on LAWS or GOVERNMENT or VETERINARY or FARMING. They were listed in BIOGENETICS, though Readis couldn't understand half the words and gave up trying to figure out what the cryptic words in the lab notes meant.

  Nevertheless, in twenty Turns or so, Thread would stop falling on Pern and would never come back to rain on the planet. What would dragonriders do then? Surely there had to be something special. Readis gave a shudder. Pern without its dragons would be unthinkable. He was awed by the ingenuity which had resulted in dragons. He'd had enough biology to understand the concept of biogenesis even if no‑one on Pern now could possibly perform it. So what would dragons do when Thread was gone? He fretted over that question for quite a few weeks of that school term. Dragons did so many things that didn't have to do with fighting Thread. They conveyed people, and often these days, materials that would take days to be transferred by cart or ship. Well, the blues and greens did, and occasionally the browns and the younger bronzes before they started flying Thread. For adult dragons to do so was somewhat demeaning. He couldn't imagine a queen lugging things from one Hold or Hall to another.

  Dolphins could do quite a few things only they could do, being water creatures. Dragons were of the air. There had to be something that only dragons could do.

  Readis' distraction had not gone unnoticed. Master Samvel found him staring at a screen displaying the earliest flight of dragons: dragons as small as large runner beans.

  "I've been meaning to have a word with you, Readis,” Samvel said, sitting down on the next chair. "You've not been
paying as close attention in class as you usually do. Are you troubled about something?"

  Readis took a deep breath. "Master Samvel, what's going to happen to the dragons?"

  Samvel blinked in surprise and then he smiled and, in a rare gesture, patted Readis on the head. "You are not the only one pondering that question, young Readis."

  "Yes, but what can they do when Thread is all gone?"

  "This is a huge planet, Readis, and there is much work to be done to settle all the land available to us. Right now the dragonriders are carefully overflying this vast Southern Continent, making as detailed a map as possible. We know only a small part of it and much of it would be impassable to people on foot or uninhabitable until the Pass ends. Don't you worry about the dragons. Their riders will take care of them, as they've always done. But your concern does you credit. We must never, on Pern, forget what the dragons have done for us for twenty‑five hundred Turns."

  "How could we forget?" Readis asked, appalled at the very notion of such ingratitude.

  Samvel's smile was sad. "We've done it often enough in long Intervals. You concentrate on your studies now, lad, and let the Weyrs worry about themselves. You have your future to worry about."

  That put Readis in mind of F'lessan's advice to him: to learn more about the dolphins. So once again he accessed that information: most of which he knew by heart already, as well as being fluent in using the underwater hand signals.

  "Underwater” was the relevant word. Though Readis had learned how to hold his breath so he could follow the dolphins on some of their shallower dives, the Ancients had had special breathing equipment which had allowed them to stay underwater for long periods of time. Tanks, smaller but similar in design to those used with flame‑throwers, had been strapped to swimmers' backs. They'd had face masks to cover nose and mouth and had breathed proper air from a tube to the tank. The device seemed simple enough to Readis, although how he would acquire one was beyond him. He had a small hoard of marks since his father had paid him the last two seasons for helping with the harvesting but he doubted that would be sufficient since it would be new work. However, since the tremendous effort from all Craft Halls to implement Aivas' plan was a glorious page of history now, craftsmen might take such a commission.

  They might even know how to construct one since they, too, had access to many, more specialized Aivas' files.

  So Readis sought Uncle Alemi the next time he was back at Paradise River. He'd brought a diagram of the apparatus with him. In the evening, he turned Delky to the shortcut to the Head and, as he'd suspected, he found Alemi and his son, Kitral, on their way to the pier for their daily talk with the pod.

  Readis got through the courtesies as fast as possible and then shoved the drawing at Alemi.

  "If we had something like this, which the dolphineers used, we'd be able to function better in the dolphins' own environment.”

  Alemi gave him a startled look and then laughed outright.

  "You have learned a lot in that school, haven't you, Readis”.

  “Kami's nearly as bad with all the terms she throws out to confuse her poor parents. Now, let's see what you have here to perplex an old sailor."

  "You're not old, Unclemi, and I don't think you'll be the least bit perplexed about an aqua lung."

  "Hmmm. Is that what this contraption is called?"

  "That's how I read it."

  Alemi wasn't as condescending as many Masters were but he still liked to tease and Readis was not in a receptive mood. He was in deadly earnest about this project.

  "I looked back over all the tapes showing dolphins and dolphineers. When the partners had to do underwater work, or long distance swimming, the humans always wore this sort of equipment. And special clothing called wet suits."

  "One would need special gear to keep skin from softening too much during long immersions." Alemi examined the drawing closely. "The Ancients had special gear for just about everything, didn't they?"

  "More than we'll ever have,” Readis replied. "More than we'd ever need. The Charter Preamble states that they formed the Pern Colony to avoid the intense specialization that had stratified Earth culture. They intended to achieve a good standard of living using the lowest possible form of technology needed to supply essential services and a good, rounded life‑style."

  Alemi grinned at Readis. "You're much worse than Kami.”

  “Does the Charter really say that?"

  Readis nodded, grinning back. At least Alemi wasn't peremptorily dismissing the notion.

  "And since this equipment is not beyond our current capabilities ‑ oh, yes, I see the similarities and I know we have this much technology,' Alemi added, tapping the mask and the tank with one finger. "It's only a matter of recreating the elements displayed here. And, since such an order would come better from a Master Fishman, you've come to me to make the request.”

  Readis nodded enthusiastically now, immensely relieved that Alemi grasped what Readis hesitated to voice. Alemi handed the sheet back and sighed deeply.

  "You know your mother's opinion about dolphins and you, Readis. It wouldn't be right for me to deliberately assist you to further your association with them."

  "Oh!" Readis sank into Delky's back and, as she'd been trained to do, she halted.

  "But you know she's wrong”

  "She's your mother, Readis, and my Hold Lady. I'm well aware of the loyalty I owe her. I've not been all that easy in my mind about allowing you to swim with the pod here. Oh, I know you've been doing it and, as long as I didn't actually see you in the water with them, I could pretend I didn't know." Alemi gave a wry grin. "The dolphins don't at all understand your mother's attitude since Afo warned you about the thorn."

  Readis groaned. "But it was my fault, not Afo's, or any of the dolphins."

  "True. Look, lad, I'm on your side in this even if I can't sail on a dangerous tack. You could,” and here Alemi paused, "see what your father says."

  "He won't upset Mother.”

  Alemi lifted his hands in a gesture of impotence. "Try him, Readis. He's really easy to approach on matters that improve the Hold, you know. And he never accused the dolphins." Alemi shot the boy a glance. "He knew where the fault lay,” he added in a kindly voice. "Afo and Kib are always asking for you. Will you join us?"

  Though he didn't really want to in his disappointment, Readis knew that certain courtesies were required of him as the Holder's heir. So he asked Aleki if he'd like to ride in front of him on Delky. The little boy was delighted and Alemi obviously approved of Readis' demeanor.

  Seeing the pod improved Readis' spirits, especially after Kib and Afo did an enthusiastic tail walk when he gave them some of the hand signals he'd learned from the old tapes.

  "Member! "Member!" Kib cried, squeeing and blowing with pleasure. "You do good. Very good. Better best. You come under soon?"

  "Not today, Kib. But I will, someday,” Readis assured the happy dolphin.

  "Old times come back” Afo said, her jaw dropping low as she squeed and chirped.

  Readis could not resist giving Alemi an accusing look for failing to fall in with his plan to obtain an underwater breathing device.

  It was full dark before the three of them made their way back to the hold proper. When his mother asked him where he'd been so long, he could quite honestly reply that he'd gone to visit Alemi and stayed to play with young Aleki.

  Sometime during the night another solution presented itself to Readis. He had experienced a keen sense of betrayal when Alemi refused to help him get an aqua lung. The device would only make his swimming with the dolphins that much safer.

  He'd've thought that Alemi would see that, too. However, he had another, stauncher ally in T'lion. When he got back to Landing after this break, he'd leave word that he'd like to speak to T'lion. As well as his duties as a member of a fighting wing, the bronze rider was often in Landing. They hadn't seen that much of each other lately but theirs was a friendship that could be resumed at any point with no s
ense of time lapse.

  T'lion sought him out one afternoon a sevenday later.

  "Sorry to be so long getting to you, Readis, but what with Fall and all" and the bronze rider let his sentence dangle.

  "That's all right,” Readis said, pawing through the sheets that littered the desk in his quarters to find the diagram. "I found this,” and he shoved it at his friend.

  "OOOOh. This is great,” T'lion said, his eyes widening as he scanned the sheet. "An aqua lung? Hey, we could get one of these. No trouble at all. Are you?"

  "I'm only a student, T'lion." Then in a rush, he added, "I tried to get Alemi to help but he wouldn't on account of my mother not liking me associating with dolphins and all."

  T'lion made a sound in his throat and smiled wryly. "They just won't let you live that down, will they?"

  "Evidently not!" Readis couldn't suppress the bitterness. "It'd cost a lot of marks, wouldn't it?"

  "Hmmmm. Could. But we're not the only ones who're swimming with dolphins whenever we get the chance. Can I have this?" When Readis eagerly agreed, he folded it carefully and put it in his inside pocket. "D'you have time to come see my pod?"

  "Your pod?" Readis said, raising his eyebrows in surprise at the possessive pronoun.

  "Well, the pod that answers my Bell,” T'lion said with a grin.

  "Coming?"

  Readis' answer was to grab up the lined jacket and a swimming clout. He paused only long enough to scrawl a note on the message board at the entrance to his dormitory that he had gone with T'lion. He was old enough now that he didn't have to ask special permission for short absences.

  Once on the strand near Eastern Weyr, Readis helped T'lion divest Gadareth of his riding harness. T'lion rang the Bell in a ‘come‑in' sequence which was less urgent than the ‘report' and gave the dolphins the opportunity to ignore the summons if they chose. They rarely did but sometimes only one or two answered. By the time the boys had changed into the swimming clouts, the waters of the cove showed half a dozen dolphins leaping and speeding towards shore. Raising himself up on his hind legs, Gadareth opened his wings and threw back his head for a welcoming bugle. The air was immediately full of wild fire‑lizards for they loved nothing better than to play with their large cousins in the water. Flattening his wings right to his back, he walked into the water and began to swim out to meet the dolphins with the fair display above him.