Songs of Thalassa

by Brian Tissot

Lani, looking grief-stricken, caught up with Nani in the crowd and told her the news was spreading like lightning through social media and across the holosphere. Sage, Maka, and Thalassa were center stage for the world’s attention, and they would probably dominate the news for months.

  Despite her deep despair, Nani realized that among the ‘ohana’s coalition in the audience, and across the world, it was both a stunning blow to their cause but also a rallying cry for action. The plan, worked out by Sage and her family the week before, was to use the momentum of her speech and Maka’s charm to rally the crowd and march through the city to draw media attention to their cause. With their march as a starting point, their expanding networks would be extended globally to put pressure on the CITETS conference, the Hill, and on the UN to reign in commercial space businesses, using Maka as a symbol of their movement. Ultimately, they agreed, they wanted a new treaty that banned the exploitation of planets with sentient life, beginning with Thalassa. Somehow, the turn of events, although horrifying to Nani, was uniting people around their cause in unprecedented numbers.

  As they spilled out of the oceanarium with the crowd, they joined a large throng of people milling around in the streets. Everyone was stunned and walking around randomly crying and hugging each other; she saw others leaving their homes to join the crowd in solidarity. Almost simultaneously, she heard leaders of the ‘ohana’s coalition rallying people to action: the enviros, the animal rights folks, surfers, teachers and their students, native Hawaiians and indigenous tribes, and those from her church network. Within minutes, the disorderly crowd coalesced into an organized stream and marched down the streets toward city hall, spreading Sage’s message of love and aloha as they reached out to others through interviews. The press poured in along with hundreds of vloggers broadcasting on their personal channels. As Kēhau and Lani pulled her into a car, Nani saw that news of the event had rippled through humanity as an unprecedented news story.

  The next day, with dark, downcast eyes, she gave a broadly carried holoscreen interview. In addition to retelling her daughter’s story about the Thalassian cetaceans and their beautiful songs, she described the horror Sage felt at the massacre of the Nesoi and how her focus and ingenuity, with help from Two-Spot—the Nesoi she had rescued from the net—and a huge group of Nesoi, were ultimately what got her back to Earth. Although Nani was visibly shaking, Lani said her proud stance, stoicism, and obvious grief resonated with many and strengthened her request to support Sage’s wishes.

  Sage’s story, along with her father’s reputation with NASA, generated an outpouring of support from the space colonies, the military, and the scientific community, including Byron and Georgia’s families, who supported the lobbying efforts to advocate for change. Biologists were analyzing recordings of the songs of Thalassa and geologists were poring over rock and fossil samples that Sage had brought back from the Proteus. Nani’s church, as well as congregations across the globe, introduced sermons on the love of nature and animals, including humanity’s responsibility to protect them. Love was the central message, partnered closely with finding an end to divisive tactics. She was pleased that Sage’s vision was spreading quickly, although she realized many people didn’t know who her daughter was.

  Believing the news would die quickly, Nani sat sobbing in her Hilo home with her ‘ohana as tribute videos flooded the holosphere, while the world learned, many for the first time, her daughter’s life story and the challenges she faced leading up to her fateful speech. Keoki worked with Surfrider and its hundreds of global chapters to create and distribute a documentary focused on her surfing career and her relationship with her father and Dina. It began with home videos of a young Sage and her dad surfing together. Then it switched to Sage’s epic ride at Jaws when she was 18. Nani was stunned once again at the determination and raw courage of the young Sage dropping in on a giant wave.

  The documentary followed her through big-wave surf contests around the world as she became famous. As it switched to home videos of Sage’s dad, Nani watched with tears as he spoke proudly of her as a child of the sea and they played the song he had written for her. There were interviews with Dina, who described her as the toughest, most dedicated big-wave surfer she had ever seen. The film ended at Nazaré with Sage’s vicious wipeout and rescue. Nani’s face turned ashen watching the last scene, which she had never seen, showed her lying in an ambulance, sobbing as blood poured out of her bandaged wounds. Nani let out a heavy sigh, realizing how driven her daughter was to win at all costs. Then, the documentary said, she disappeared from professional surfing for several years. The broadcast was an important prelude to what had happened next—her return to big-wave surfing and the giant wave at Colossus—except that Milo had edited out most of her surfing footage from Thalassa.

  The next day, Nani heard that Moshe, despite opposition from Cutten, had re-edited an extended-length film of their footage from Thalassa. The stunning holoscreen footage included interviews with Sage, Georgia, Byron, and Dina on their trip to Procyon. Their surfing at the Slab served as a nice introduction, but the focus was on the giant waves on the Bulge. Nani was spellbound as she witnessed Sage’s monstrous wave. Her daughter surfed it with incredible courage and grace. The sheer size and massive power of the wave stunned the world with awe and appreciation for Thalassa.

  The film ended with a slow-motion repeat from the lander of Sage on her 180-foot wave as she looked up from the bottom at the wave’s face, bravely turning on her koa board into the wave’s turbulent core as the massive lip keeled over, completely encasing her inside the mountain-sized tube. Home videos flooded social media showing people in their living rooms recoiling in fear in response to the pure power of the wave on their holoscreens. In this case, virtual reality became too real.

  Through follow-up interviews, leaders in the surfing community were outraged at Milo’s deception of deleting Sage’s wave, which was by far the largest ever surfed. The record-setting wave she didn’t even mention in her speech. Nani was mortified at Milo’s deception, but amazed at her daughter’s pono to avoid mentioning the wave.

  Another film emerged from Hawaii focusing on her ‘ohana. It featured interviews with several Hawaiian kupuna who remarked on the spiritual power of Sage’s tutu and their assessment of Sage’s growing awareness of her Hawaiian spiritual connections, cut short by the tragic turn of events. Through her experiences on Thalassa, they believed she connected with her ancestral spirits and reestablished a connection to the Koholā through the songs of the Nesoi and the other cetacean-like creatures on the planet.

  The quick succession of major media events, combined with the endless replaying of Sage and Maka’s last dance, created a synergy of emotion and purpose of surprising breadth and magnitude. Halina remarked to Nani that Sage had created a Ho‘olōkahi—a coming together in harmony and unity of purpose—of epic proportions. For the moment at least, the world was acting like a planetary ‘ohana, all focused on Sage’s life and her vision for a future.

  The next week, Nani flew to Lausanne with Kēhau, Steve, Lani, and Keoki to support the CITETS amendments before the UN convention began. In Geneva airport, they found themselves surrounded by large groups of scientists and educators that had organized an uprising to support legal protections for the Nesoi, Thalassa, and other life-supporting planets. The opposition was unusually quiet.

  On the day before the CITETS meeting in Lausanne, Nani and her ‘ohana united with tens of thousands of people as they flooded the streets of the city. With tears and sobs, she joined hands in a chain that stretched from the medieval walls of Lausanne down to the shore of Lake Geneva and 25 miles to Montreux where rock, blues, and jazz bands played for days around the event. Lani told her there were similar unprecedented demonstrations in support of the legislation occurring around the world and at several space colonies. Weakened by intense emotions, Nani leaned on Lani and Keoki as a stream of love and aloha flowed through her while holding hands with t
housands as they sang songs together. Her daughter’s love had created a moment she would never forget.

  News from the convention electrified the crowd: after brief debate, all 200 nations fully approved the CITETS amendments prohibiting the capture and trade of Thalassa’s life forms and any sentient life discovered in the future. Although member party nations could have filed reservations concerning the amendment, which would effectively have allowed them to opt out, none did.

  But Kēhau and her supporters demanded more. Amendments were quickly introduced to change the UN Outer Space Treaty to regulate commercial mining activities on any planet with microbial or sentient life. There were plenty of lifeless planets and asteroids to mine, they argued, and even the simplest life forms deserved protection. Within a few days, the general assembly passed the amendments and included strengthening enforcement provisions and penalties. Any private corporations found violating the rules of the new amendment would be banned indefinitely from commercial space commerce.

  Returning to Hawaii, Nani was overwhelmed by the strength of the movement Sage had started. Political experts who were amazed at the momentum created by Sage’s speech and sacrifice likened it back to the unexpected synergy created by the first Earth Day in 1970. From a historical perspective, the event was unique due to the world’s burgeoning population of 10 billion, the spread of education and technology, including social media, and growing income inequities that helped fuel the growing wave of response. The holosphere, long a home for trivial news and entertainment, had become instrumental in sharing the feelings and emotions of the event and shaping the world’s attitudes.

  Although the shooting was ruled an accident, Milo’s career was irrevocably damaged, and he disappeared from public view. Hearing the news, Nani smiled at the tragic power of Sage’s pono. She held back her anger and revenge and faced the world with love and aloha. But like the greedy chief, Milo’s insatiable appetite for attention resulted in his ruin.

  Many believed that Sage changed the winds of environmentalism. In the past, economic busts were attributed to environmental protections, but the public had finally learned better. As one environmental disaster after another occurred, it became obvious who was benefiting and who was paying the price. The deep distrust of political discourse had reached a fever pitch, and some say that Sage simply appeared at the right time with the perfect message. The world had reached a political tipping point, and Thalassa and Sage’s spirit of aloha had pushed things over while helping to calm the storm, with love as her weapon.

  Nani was astounded that the momentum her daughter created didn’t end with changes in legal protections. Instead, a small movement to promote compassion and love and rejoice in connections to the universe grew, supported by grass-roots efforts in towns on every continent and throughout the space colonies. On the streets, she saw people carrying signs that expressed love for all life and wearing t-shirts that proudly displayed Sage, Maka, and the Nesoi. She understood that it was the start of something new. It was a paradigm shift in humankind’s relationship to all living things and to each other. The only question was how long it would last.

  Chapter 41.

  Edge of Pō

  Lani sat in a small boat next to Nani and Halina scanning the crystal-blue waters off Honoliʻi Beach Park. The ‘ohana had organized a memorial paddle-out for Sage, and people across the world had been pouring into Hilo for days to participate. They were moored offshore, amid a large flotilla of surfers, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, and small boats scattered in all directions. Everyone wanted to honor Sage, and the crowd had grown to staggering proportions. The ceremony was broadcast live to billions over the holosphere, and thousands of groups had organized synchronous paddle-outs and similar ceremonies across the globe.

  The beach, street, and cliffs were lined by throngs of people, all watching the large aggregation drifting offshore in a glassy-slick ocean. Many locals remarked that they had never seen the ocean so flat, so devoid of waves. But to Lani, it was simply confirmation that indeed Sage had becalmed the turbulent world. She managed a weak smile as she remembered her cousin describing her dreams on Thalassa. The volcano had erupted, Lani thought, and everyone was still listening. Now their song would begin.

  To start the ceremony, fragrant ginger and plumeria flowers were launched into the warm, lightly gusting offshore winds, which blew petals onto the great circle of Sage’s ‘ohana floating on the water. Stricken with grief, her aunt Nani leaned on Lani, who said, “Auntie, you should be so proud of Sage. Thalassa and all new planets with life are protected. Plus, they’re launching a special expedition to take Maka back and remove all traces of the Proteus wreckage and the Duke’s expedition. From now on we’ll observe from probes in space.”

  “Oh, I am proud,” Nani said, looking at Lani with dark, wet eyes. “It’s just that I miss her. And her father. It’s a hell of a price to pay for protecting that place.”

  Lani took her hand. “Yes, it is. But she did more than that. She changed the world, and things will never be the same.” She took a deep breath and continued, “There are some things about Thalassa you should probably know, things I have just learned.” Nani stared blankly at the water, appearing uninterested.

  As Lani spoke, the surfers tightened the circle around them, and gentle Hawaiian music floated through the air. “For one, we have definitive proof that the Nesoi are genetically related to Earth’s cetaceans. Also, Sage brought back rocks and fossils from the Proteus that show how Hina has a very interesting history. It’s really weird because Hina didn’t even orbit Thalassa until about 10 million years ago. For billions of years, there was only Lona, and the planet’s climate was cold with huge ice caps. As a result, sea levels were lower, and there was a large continent covering half of Thalassa. It wasn’t an ocean planet.”

  Nani stared blankly at the water as Lani continued, “After Hina appeared, massive cyclical tides began, just like the ones Sage experienced. And get this: the Hina meteorites Sage brought back were 15 billion years old! Auntie, we’ve never encountered an object from space that old, ever. And we have no idea where Hina came from. But after it showed up, geologists found heavy sediments from massive storms and layers of ash and basalt, indicating renewed volcanism in the geological record. Then, the Nesoi arose—well, their bones at least—and they weren’t there before Hina. And millions of years later, the other cetacean-like species emerged. What is fascinating is that the primary productivity on the planet—the conversion of sunlight into living matter—increased by several orders of magnitude with the higher tides. It was like Hina mixed the planet. From the fossils, we know the indigenous fauna, the fronds, the amoeba-like plankton, the pika, the mantis squid, the terrestrial lichen-slug-bug-predator food chain, all of them began to quickly diversify and get larger and more abundant after Hina’s tides began. They were all derived from smaller ancestors that go further back in Thalassa’s geological history; they were all in the fossil record.”

  “Well, that’s fascinating,” Nani said politely. “But I’m not in the mood for a science lesson right now.”

  Lani gave her an intense look. “Auntie, don’t you get it? Scientists say it’s like that place was almost engineered to be a cetacean planet.”

  She perked up. “What do you mean?”

  Lani continued with relish, speaking in a blur as the ceremony started to begin, “What I learned is that the moon’s arrival and eccentric orbit had major effects on the planet. The increased tidal exchange enhanced ocean mixing, which increased oxygen content and nutrient exchange right down to the deep ocean floor. The planet’s plate tectonics, which had stopped after forming the Bulge, kicked back into gear, and volcanic gases warmed the planet, reducing the size of the ice caps, causing sea levels to rise, and, very importantly, opening up the poles to two circumpolar currents—two! That change created the perfect whale feeding grounds. It’s cetacean heaven! Add the lava tubes, submarine canyons, and isola
ted islands, and you have an optimal habitat to accelerate the evolution of intelligent creatures. The Nesoi songs and their use of symbols demonstrate their high intelligence.”

  Nani looked thoughtful despite her deep grief. “Well, Sage felt their songs were saying something important. They were sending a message. I guess we’ll never know what it was.”

  Keoki paddled up on his surfboard and listened as Lani finished. “Maybe someday I’ll figure it out.” She looked down at Keoki and winked. “But the bigger question is who engineered Thalassa in the first place. It’s all too perfect to be an accident.”

  Nani weakly shook her head as Keoki spoke from his board. “Tutu Kalena said Sage would reconnect us with our ancestors, the source of the Hawaiian people, but I don’t see how that’s possible now that she’s gone.”

  Halina, who had been listening, leaned in and said, “Yet that’s exactly what she did. She brought it back through their songs, their love, her circle of aloha. Don’t you see? She was the connection. She brought the old wisdom back from our birthplace in the universe. She reminded us that we are all connected.”

  “And she did it with pono,” Nani said with pride.

  Nodding her head, Halina looked out at the calm sea. “Her destiny was to humble humanity with her love. She became Hōkūlani e hoʻāla i ka moana, the heavenly star that awakens the ocean.”

  “She did more than awaken the ocean,” added Keoki.

  Halina looked sternly at Keoki. “To the ancient Hawaiians, the ocean was their world—they knew no other.” Then she paused, and Keoki dropped his eyes as he saw the lei niho palaoa around her neck, stained with blood. “And indeed, it has been changed through Sage’s blood.”

  A slow, steady drumbeat floated through the air, signaling the beginning of the ceremony, and the crowd grew quiet as the ceremonial ‘awa in a coconut shell passed around the circle. The ceremonial bowl ended at Sage’s ‘ohana and with the ritual elders. Lani gulped the brew, tasting coconut as her mouth began to tingle, before passing it to Nani and the elder kahuna, with Great-Auntie Halina the last to drink. As thankfulness to the ‘āina, she poured the last portion into the ocean.