***
Chapter 11
Just before reaching Hawaii, Gwyneth asked to be released into the water. “I must see Moanna,” the humanoid teenager said. “I hear her calling to me. She wants to see me!”
Kimo and Alicia stood in the passenger compartment of the lead jetfish pod, at the edge of the open tank of seawater that held Gwyneth.
“I’m receiving the same message,” Alicia said.
“So am I,” Kimo said. “The Goddess of the Sea wants to see all three of us. For what, I don’t know.”
The Sea Warrior leader knelt on the deck of the pod, touched it gently with both hands and murmured as he commanded it to open underwater, along with some of the other pods. Moments later, the reddish, translucent jetfish separated into individual fish, and Alicia, Kimo, and Gwyneth swam out with all of the passengers.
They went to the surface first, where Alicia saw other open pods and more Sea Warriors swimming freely, beneath a blue, tropical sky. Kimo spoke to Dirk Avondale, leaving him temporarily in charge of the hybrids, associate members, and various experts who were still with them.
Swimming on the surface, Alicia saw a large fishing trawler not far away, with its nets extended. Crewmen were on the deck, using a pair of davits to haul in nets that were full of thrashing yellowfin tunas, along with dolphins that happened to be in the way. She shouted an alarm to her companions.
A fast swimmer, Kimo surged toward the boat, with Dirk and Alicia right beside him. On the way, Kimo summoned a number of longnose sawsharks that were nearby. Five of them appeared quickly, and began ripping into the nets, tearing them open and freeing the trapped fish. Whales surfaced, too, and gathered with the Sea Warriors, as did the freed dolphins and tunas.
On the deck of the fishing boat, men shouted in anger, and one brandished a rifle. Climbing atop a humpback whale, Kimo yelled in return, “We are Sea Warriors, with jurisdiction over this area! We command you to cease this illegal operation immediately, or we will sink your boat!”
The crewman lowered his rifle. Alicia saw the captain on the deck, gesturing and shouting to the pilot on the bridge. The motors started, and the big trawler sped away, trailing fragments of torn net.
“We won’t have to put up with this kind of crap much longer,” Kimo said, bobbing in swells left by the boat.
When Alicia, Gwyneth, and Kimo finally dove underwater and swam toward Moanna’s deep-water domain, Alicia transmitted a message to her companions, “I wonder why she summoned us.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out soon,” Kimo said.
As Alicia swam beside him, she noticed that he looked worried. “You’re sensing something bad, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” he said. “Moanna is more deeply troubled than I have ever known her to be, but I don’t know why.”
With Kimo in the lead, they located an underwater current of glowing redness, which they followed. It led them to Moanna, who was in the same deep-ocean trench where Kimo reported seeing her the last time he’d called on her, but farther to the west than before—at least a hundred miles, he estimated.
“The glow is weaker than before,” Kimo said. Alicia heard the worry in his transmitted voice.
Presently the redness grew brighter, and they saw a glowing orb that marked more precisely where Moanna was. It was not nearly as bright as Alicia remembered, and she shared Kimo’s concern about the condition of the Sea Goddess. He’d told her that Moanna seemed more fragile than usual the last few times he’d visited her. But if she was in a diminished condition, why was she now on the move?
And Alicia wondered, as she had before, what was moving westward in the deep trench, what the essence of Moanna might look like, the source of the radiant energy.
The three Sea Warriors swam near the glowing red orb, which no longer reminded Alicia of an underwater sun. Now it was more like a large light bulb, and only of medium intensity. But it gave off enough of a glow to encompass the trio into it, and Alicia felt the presence of the entity, and a very slight warmth.
Now Moanna spoke, her murmuring voice barely audible over the molecular communication. “I have returned to the place where I first became conscious eons ago, when I realized who and what I was, and the obligations I had.”
“This is where you were born?” Alicia asked.
“Similar. It is where I first gained consciousness, and it is where I am going to lose it as well, the equivalent of death.”
“Can’t you prevent that in some way?” Kimo asked.
“Oh no. It is my fate, and it’s happening because the ocean is ill, a condition that has built up over millennia, and has accelerated since dense human population and industrialization made my ocean waters so filthy. I’ve had a belly full of sewage, industrial pollutants, and greenhouse gases. The gradual increase in toxicity and acidity is finally doing me in.” The volume of her voice went up and down like a feeble, fading signal. Her light pulsed, in weakening synchronicity.
Alicia felt an overwhelming sensation of sadness, and saw this on the face of Kimo and on the humanoid countenance of Gwyneth as well. Alicia wished she could do something.
Turning to Kimo, she asked, “Can’t you heal her?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I would have no idea how to accomplish that.”
“It is not possible,” Moanna said.
“You have no physical form, then?” Alicia inquired.
The murmuring voice was barely audible. “Wherever the tides lap against the shore, that is me. Wherever the water surges in a hurricane, forming great waves, that is me. Wherever the sea is becalmed, so that there is hardly a ripple on the surface, that is me, as well. I am rogue and tidal waves, whitecaps, and sea swells. I am the sunlit surface of the water and its dark, mysterious depths. I am every spark of life in the sea … I am Ocean.”
Kimo neared the glowing orb, and reached toward it. The brightness increased, and his hand was surrounded by a small area of more intense redness.
“What will we do without you?” he asked.
Alicia heard the emotion in his transmitted voice, and felt tears coming from her own eyes, even underwater. Both she and Gwyneth swam closer, so that they were beside Kimo, and could immerse their hands in the stronger illumination. The brightness held, and she felt increased warmth.
“When I am gone, all three of you will be quite busy,” Moanna murmured, and now her brightness dimmed and cooled around Alicia and Gwyneth, while highlighting Kimo as she said to him, “Kimo, since your childhood you have been receiving data from me without always being aware of it, as I taught you how to heal ocean creatures—and only recently you realized that both you and the animal you want to heal need to be immersed in seawater, so that there is a molecular connection between the two of you. I provided this additional information to you, as well as how to direct all the creatures in the sea, and cause them to follow your commands. While Gwyneth can lead whales and other large animals, Kimo, you have overall dominion. Even shorebirds fall under your control, and although you have no experience with this yet, so do sand fleas and other tiny organisms in the beaches of Earth.”
The brightest section of water then shifted to the morphed teenager like a spotlight, and Moanna spoke to her. “Gwyneth, your special talent, even more than your affinity for whales and love of those spectacular animals, is your ability to hold vast amounts of information about the ocean in your remarkable brain. You do not have all the data yet, even though your brain has plenty of additional capacity. I have delayed some of it because I have been so weak, and because you needed to assimilate the huge quantities that I have already given you. This weakness also explains why I have lost control of virtually all creatures in the sea, and why I am incapable of interfering with their independent behavior.”
She glowed brighter. “Now I am making a last surge, Gwyneth, transferring directly to you instead of the way I did it before. Being in the water with you so close, this is actually a more efficient, faster method. The other method, chann
eling it through Kimo as he dreamed, involved water as well, through a more circuitous route that included moisture in the air.”
As Alicia watched, Gwyneth’s entire lumpy form seemed to absorb the redness and become intensely ruby red, so that she was highlighted in the illumination. She floated motionless in the water and her eyes glazed over, a beatific expression on her humanoid countenance.
The murmuring continued. “Gwyneth has received additional information that she, in turn, will transfer to both Kimo and Alicia, concerning even more abilities that all three of you possess, and which are latent within you now. From Gwyneth’s central storehouse of information, you will learn how to make those talents blossom, so that you can contribute even more to the welfare of the ocean. For example, long ago when I possessed the equivalent of full health, I held dominion over more than the world’s ocean; I also extended my influence up rivers that empty into the sea, and to all of the creatures in those rivers. In policing the ocean against future human violations, it would be handy for you to include in your arsenal all of the aggressive, dangerous fresh water creatures, such as electric eels and piranhas, and adapt them to salt water.”
Moments later, the brightest illumination shifted to Alicia, and the young Sea Warrior felt warm radiance suffuse her while Moanna encompassed her in gentle, comforting sounds, “Alicia, you have already received information from me on how to move the waters, enabling you to generate a useful assortment of waves. There are many more types of water movement you can develop, using techniques that will gradually surface in your consciousness—allowing you to create much bigger tidal waves and whirlpools, as well as vee-waves with massive detonation power in the tips. And, with Gwyneth’s guidance, you will also learn how to direct certain ocean creatures to do your bidding, in combination with waves and ocean currents.”
“It seems that all of us still have a great deal to learn,” Alicia said.
“So you do, so you do. And with your powers comes a great deal of responsibility.” The brightness dimmed, so that it was homogeneous around all three of the Sea Warriors, and Alicia felt some of the warmth draw away from her.
A long pause ensued, after which the goddess spoke again, in a weakening voice. “And you will have a long time to learn, for I have extended your lives. The three of you will live for eons, just as I have, giving you time to accomplish a great deal. You will not be immortal in the pure sense of the word, no more than I am. And if the ocean gets healthy, perhaps you will live even longer than I have. Before humans began fouling the waters so heavily in the industrial age, healthier seas sustained and nourished me, made me quite strong and powerful, back in the days when I generated massive storms on the water and flooded the land.
“It can be that way for you as well, but you will need to be extremely wary and vigilant, to ward off further abuses by humankind. They are a devilishly tricky breed, and I must confess that they have worn me down. Now I am giving the three of you what energy I have remaining, all that I have left. You are a new triumvirate, each of you having equal authority compared with one another, to rule over the seas of the world. Each of you has special abilities, and in some cases your areas of expertise overlap. Together you will also have the responsibility for creating thousands of new Sea Warriors, giving them specialized skills, just as I have done for the ones who are already hybrids. You will discover that you can amend those skills at any time and shift them around as you see fit, whenever you notice talents and knowledge that will fulfill particular needs.”
Again Moanna paused, like an old person catching her breath. This gave Alicia a few seconds to think, as she tried to grasp everything that was being revealed to her.
Presently Moanna said, “One day, each of you will be able to glow bright red as you have seen me do, and when you draw Sea Warrior recruits into that aura you can learn about them and decide whether or not to accept them into the organization. Never forget the terrible mistake I made in not reading the innermost secrets of Vinson Chi’ang and Emily Talbot. Perhaps it was my weakened condition, or I was too anxious for recruits, causing me to rush, and miss something. Learn from that and take your time with each recruit, and if you work at it hard enough, while immersed in the sea, you can actually read their most secret thoughts, and discern their motivations.
“Maybe Chi’ang and Talbot changed for the worse after they were recruited, a terrible side-effect of the extreme physical metamorphoses each of them underwent, which upset them a great deal. That is entirely possible, meaning you might not always be able to see the potential for problems in the recruitment process. To guard against any members later doing harm, you must set up a method of monitoring them after they are accepted as Sea Warriors, and reevaluating them—something I failed to do.”
Deep in Alicia’s soul, in the farthest reaches of her mind, in the cells of her body, she felt a new ultra-sensitivity, as if she were far, far more closely attuned to the pulse of the ocean than she had ever been before—a progression that really began in childhood when she loved the sea, before meeting Kimo and experiencing any of the extraordinary events that unfolded after that.
She felt a slight disturbance in the water, and Moanna said, “Go now, my brave and noble Sea Warriors, and heal the waters of the Earth.” Then the illumination dimmed, and abruptly the light went out, leaving the ocean trench dark and cold.
While hearing a faint, eerie echo that followed Moanna’s voice, Alicia felt terror and sadness, as did her bosom companions. Able to see clearly despite the darkness of the ocean, the three of them swam to the place that had seemed to be the source of the vanished illumination and warmth. They found nothing there, nothing at all, not even the faintest of sounds, which they could have picked up with their enhanced auditory abilities. The place was intensely, disturbingly quiet.
Minutes passed, in which they remained in the depths, as if thinking that Moanna would return and continue to guide them.
But that did not happen. Filled with sadness, they swam upward, ascending toward the sunlit surface of the sea.
***
Chapter 12
Alicia found her grandfather on the arched bridge in the hotel gardens. He wore a lightweight white suit, was leaning on the railing, gazing down at the carp pond.
“Good morning,” she said.
He straightened and smiled. “Alicia!”
The old man had good color in his face, and she was relieved to see that he looked much better than the last time she’d seen him. She complimented him on his beautiful tie, which had colorful pictures of reef fish on it.
With all of her responsibilities, Alicia had a great deal on her mind, but she didn’t want to lose touch with her grandfather, especially now that he was giving his ranch land to the Hawaiian people, and directing a large portion of his other business profits to the welfare of the ocean. Before that, she’d thought he would never change, that he would spend the rest of his days being miserly and accumulating as much money as he could. She’d been disappointed in him, and had begun to be ashamed of the Ellsworth name. But no more.
After they embraced, the elegant old gentleman escorted her on a walk through the gardens. Everything looked normal to her in this tropical sanctuary, with the team of Japanese gardeners tending to rare orchids and other exotic plants, and sunburned guests enjoying the grounds.
“I’ve been worried about you,” he said. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you made it through all the turmoil, and that the result was so favorable for the cause you love so much.”
“Thank you, Grandfather. I was worried about you, too, but you look great now.”
They talked about the business profits he was going to direct to ocean welfare, and the ranch land he was giving away to the native people. Then he said, “For the first time in my life, Alicia, I have something to look forward to each day that does not involve my own selfish interests. I appointed Kimo’s mother—actually, his adoptive mother—as the trustee of this property. She’s working with locals to set
up a cultural center on the land, to honor Hawaiian traditions and history.”
“That sounds nice. I’m very proud of you.”
He beamed. “They take ownership at the beginning of next month. It looks like they’re going to keep the hotel and resort going.”
“The aquatic park is a problem,” she said. “Under the Declaration of Ocean Independence, some research operations will be permitted, but only under strict Sea Warrior control. There can be no more dolphin shows, or tanks to hold sharks, jellyfish, seals, and other animals.”
“I’m aware of all that, and there’s no conflict about it. Ealani and her associates are adamant that marine animals should not be kept in captivity, and they don’t even want to do it for any permitted research purposes.”
They followed a cinder path to the beach, and stood on a black lava ledge, gazing out at the glittering aquamarine sea, with incoming waves slapping the rocky shoreline and shooting sprays of white water high in the air. Alicia felt the mist on her face.
“It’s so incredibly beautiful here,” she said, “so spiritual.”
“The Hawaiian people are the best caretakers of this land, Alicia, just as you and your friends hold stewardship over the seas.”
Wearing a black Sea Warrior swimsuit, Kimo waded out of the water and stepped onto the sun-warmed cinder beach of Crimson Cove. The beach was empty; no sign of Alicia or Gwyneth yet. They were supposed to meet him here, as they had been doing regularly in the past couple of weeks, to confer and improve their ability to work together.
It was mid-afternoon, and he had just swum here from Honolulu, where he’d met with Fuji Namoto in the resurrected Sea Warrior office that she managed. Fuji was coordinating worldwide fund-raising efforts for the organization, and was arranging with the U.S. Postal Service to have them develop stamps bearing the images of marine animals, as well as picturesque vistas of the ocean and various seashores. Her idea was to add a few pennies to the normal postage rates, with the excess going to the Sea Warriors for ocean-related causes.
Ocean: War of Independence Page 10
