by Chris Hechtl
Gentek had played with jackalopes and other chimeras for various rich clients. The things were amusing, but she couldn't see the reasoning in designing them. And genetically engineering an animal just to hunt and kill it? That bothered her. So did the altered marmosets. They were brilliant and beautiful, but she was pretty sure Gentek was playing with fire with them. They may look like cute adorable tiny pets of the future, but looks could be deceiving.
Recently Gentek and others had upped the ante of the designer pet competition by coming out with their first dinosaur animals. They were Therapods, and according to company Intel there had been some cover-up scandals and staff changeovers. None of that had hit the media yet, but there was mention of a lawsuit in the works, something about a wrongful death. When the media did find out about it, there would be all sorts of recriminations. She shook her head.
A second lucrative market had turned out to be bioengineering organisms for the various terraforming projects. They'd made a bundle modifying bacteria and later lichens for Mars and Venus. She'd been consulted a few times about future projects. She shook her head. Sometimes she wished for when she'd been a grad student. Things were simpler then.
Those grad students had worked their tail off Kathy thought. They had started out short on real world experience but had a lot of dreams. Some of those dreams had the potential to turn into nightmares. She was glad Aurelia and Jack had insisted they game out each project to see what would and wouldn't work with it, then run it past an independent review board. Some of the students had moved on to other projects and fields once they'd gotten their doctorates. She smiled as she watched a fifth-generation dolphin Squee'clock'ch'tk sign in to her station. She was a med student, one of the first dolphin healers. She was signing in to work in the organ farm for her shift she realized.
Some of the students had worked with Aurelia to pioneer new cloning techniques to replace organs or body parts. The tech was licensed to other corporations instead of made open source, which had gone a long way to solidifying the Neo project's finances.
Of course, they have to bring people up to replace the organs, which was a pain in the ass. She made another note to talk to legal about how the lobbying to repeal that stupid act, or at least modify it, was going. Getting the tech to ground-based medical supply companies would be lucrative. It would impact the space clinics, but it she was fairly certain the wider market would more than balance things out in the long run.
She watched Tik'tik'clock nudge a ball with his head then try to grab it with his mouth. It was a volleyball; an inflatable wouldn't last more than a minute with those sharp conical teeth. The dolphin couldn't get his mouth wide enough to grab the ball. In annoyance he blatted something and then twisted in the air and slapped it with his tail away from him.
Kathy frowned. Tik'tik'clock had a short temper and was the most aggressive of the males. He didn't understand why he wasn't a pod leader. He had intelligence, but he didn't understand leadership meant more than being the biggest and roughest bloke in the habitat. She shook her head as she surveyed the rest of the group.
Another pair of dolphins were busy rounding up the calves to take them to school. A few were still sleepy; they clung to the sides of their mothers. Other dolphins were moving to testing stations to begin work there. A few were lining up to the cybernetic ports to jack in to check the latest news feeds. There was another group around the wide vid screen across the room.
She looked up to see dolphins using their implants to control bots to attach harnesses to themselves and others. They then went to work cleaning the interior. Others settled into harnesses and jacked into bot controls. That was a recent thing, allowing the dolphins to control robots through telepresence. They still had attention issues though. They also were prone to the usual dolphin pranks and mischief. Only those dolphins with a serious mindset like Kaku were allowed to jack in. The company didn't need an incident.
-*-*-^-*-*-
Tik'tik'clock looked over to the two-leg healer still staring about. He was tempted to go over and harass her but decided he should be on his best behavior. He wanted to get out after all, to be in a new habitat, to see new things. He was bored with the lab. He glanced around, noting most of the pods were headed off to various projects. A few were going to sleep. That was tempting; a nap would help him digest. He rumbled a sigh.
He'd been okay with running a robot for a while … but it had gotten boring. He resented being taken off that project. So he'd banged it about a bit! So he'd ran it out of fuel going all over space that he'd wanted to see! He shook his head. Two-legs he thought had no sense of humor.
He eyed Kaku with scant favor. It wasn't fair that he could jack in for longer than any other dolphin. He was a show off Tik'tik'clock judged. But yet not, he thought, not understanding the contradiction. Kaku didn't challenge him, he just worked. Of all the dolphins Tik'tik'clock judged him to be the most human.
He ticked a bit, scanning Kaku afar with his sonar. He knew the other dolphins knew he was being scanned but didn't care. He got an image of the fish breakfast being digested and then flicked his head away. He scanned the healer once more and then went over to her cautiously. He made certain he wasn't in her view. One of the dolphin's favorite games was to goose people, especially two-leg females.
-*-*-^-*-*-
Kathy felt a bump on her right flank and whirled, not quite surprised, but definitely not amused. Tik'tik'clock floated back away from her slowly, turning his head this way and that to eye her. She heard his ticking and judged he was scanning her with his sonar lazily. “You really should stop doing that. People are going to wonder if you are mixed up, Tik'tik'clock,” she said reprovingly. She was glad he hadn't hipped her. Or pulled her hair though.
“Tradition,” Tik'tik'clock said, pleased he remembered the word and could get it out. She eyed him and then nodded slowly. She could tell he was stalking her; it reminded her of a shark.
-*-*-^-*-*-
Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't watched from a distance as Tik'tik'clock interacted with the two-leg Abrams. He considered going over there to break it up but instead saw Kal'nik working with his younger brother, Clock'ch'nik, to sexually harass a young male. Clock'ch'nik had the male hemmed in from above while Kal'nik came up from below and rolled. He even went so far as to stick his genitals out. Nak'nak'chick squealed in dismay, loud enough for others near to hear his distress.
Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't knew that Kal'nik and his brother were asserting their dominance over the younger male and humiliating him by treating him like a female. That was normal for some dolphins; they'd seen such behavior on the vids. But the two-legs didn't like to see it, so he sent a sonic pulse at the trio in warning to behave. When it hit them, they instantly broke up and went their separate ways. Nak'nak'chick in relief.
Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't judged the younger male would appreciate his rescue, even though it wasn't intended to be for his benefit. Let him think that though; Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't could use the favor in the future.
Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't was one of the youngest of the second generation of the dolphins, younger than Tik'tik'clock but a pod leader. He was the youngest pod leader, well respected by the others and those of his pod for his wisdom. He turned back to Tik'tik'clock. The other wasn't quite ready to challenge him for the alpha slot. He still didn't understand that it was more than body, it was brain as well—brain and the pod itself. Make too many enemies in the pod and none would support your bid. He watched as Tik'tik'clock lazily teased Abrams, hunting her like a sharp tooth. Shark, he reminded himself. The two-legs … humans called them sharks. The temporary distraction was welcome, but he probably needed to do something he judged, but was … reluctant to court an incident with Tik'tik'clock. He was about to intervene anyway when he noted another was about to do so. He grinned. The hunted was about to become the hunter.
-*-*-^-*-*-
Tik'tik'clock felt a hand slap on his flank and turned in surprise to see the two-leg healer Lagroose lady there. “Gotcha!” the two-
leg Aurelia said, grinning at him from the platform.
He blanted and spun, twisting about, humiliated that a two leg could catch him off guard so easily. He was supposed to be the one to goose them! Eventually he settled back down and came back. She smiled politely as he waggled his flippers and remained upside down in mock surrender.
“Have you been behaving?” Aurelia asked, eying Tik'tik'clock.
“The usual mischief,” Kathy replied, turning to her. “How is the swelling?” She asked, looking at Tik'tik'clock. “Any headaches?” She asked indicating his implants.
“Fine. Fin fine,” he replied, rolling upright to how they were oriented. He clicked at them rapidly.
“Uh uh, I'm not going to keep translating you.” Kathy held up a restraining hand. “English Tik'tik'clock. I know it's hard, but I also know you can do it if you put that marvelous mind to it,” Aurelia scolded mildly.
Tik'tik'clock rolled in agitation and frustration. He hated long discussions, especially in the two-leg language. He just wasn't good at it! He frowned as he eyed her. He warbled in distress, knowing she'd eventually give in.
“Oh, no, not the puppy eyes, bub. Not going to work,” Aurelia said, turning her head away. She saw a couple dolphins spinning somersaults with others arrowing through them like rings and felt dizzy. She coughed and turned a bit green. “Okay, null G is definitely not working for me,” she said weakly as she made her way back the way she'd came quickly.
“You okay?” The two-leg Abrams asked, voicing her concern.
For the first time Tik'tik'clock realized all was not well with the two-leg Lagroose lady. He scanned her, then did another scan. “You sick?” he asked, seeing her stomach clenching and unclenching. The fetus within her was turning about in distress.
“Pregnant. Yes. Morning sickness just put in an appearance. Thanks for asking,” she replied, one hand to her stomach, the other grabbing the safety bar as she passed through the hatch. She used a bar to pull herself down to the deck and then held on as she keyed the force emitter on in the airlock. As it spun up, she turned even greener and desperately went for the air sickness bag stored nearby.
As gravity returned though, it seemed to suck the nausea down. She gasped then made her way slowly out. A tech coming in saw her and took her by the arm to lend her a hand.
“I'm all right; it just caught me off guard. I think I'm going to have to refrain from null G though.”
“You're sure you are okay?” the two-leg healer asked over her shoulder.
“I'm going to be,” Aurelia said as she retreated, still clutching the sickness bag.
Tik'tik'clock eyed her and then the healer. “Sick?” he asked again.
“She's … pregnant. Humans get nauseated from time to time. We females sometimes throw up when pregnant. She'll be okay. I'll check on her in a bit,” she replied. “It's normal for us two-foots,” she said.
Tik'tik'clock understood half of what she said. He rolled, concerned warring with confusion and indifference. He did have something to tell the pod, a juicy piece of gossip though. “Better?”
“She will be,” Kathy sighed. She turned back to Tik'tik'clock. “Are you off duty?” She checked the schedule.
Tik'tik'clock blatted at her in annoyance and then flicked his flukes to move away. He came close to the wall and rolled, deliberately using it to scratch an itch along his flank, then he went off to tell the pod leaders what he'd learned.
-*-*-^-*-*-
Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't pulsed an inquiry at two-leg Abrams, then squalled in annoyance. He clicked in frustration as he focused on his implants and sent her a ping. She looked up, oriented as her implants directed her attention his way. She waved. He nodded and swam over to her, relieved he wasn't going to serve as a distraction.
“What's up, Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't?”
“Was Tik'tik'clock bad?”
“No, no, he was, just being his usual self,” Abrams replied hastily. “Any problems?”
“No.”
“Any decision about the gills idea?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. The dolphin turned, still having trouble interpreting her facial gestures even at his age. Finally he shook his head. “No?”
“No. No gills,” he said. He thrashed his head no.
“Oh. Okay. Can I ask why?”
“Too much. Too … different,” he said, tasting the word. “Too like food.”
Kathy blinked at him in surprise and then frowned thoughtfully. Grafting a set of gills or special lung wouldn't be that hard to do for the next generation of dolphins. It had been suggested by a young tech who apparently loved old Sci-Fi. He'd come up with the idea from a book he'd read about uplifting species to sapience. The book had made its way around the lab recently, and a few interesting ideas had been spawned from it. One of them was to increase the oxygen level in water to the point of forming amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid was formed in the uterus and served a variety of functions in the womb. They had plenty of the stuff from the artificial uteruses and from the now-dead acceleration project. It was reasoned that if they fortified the fluid they could cut back on the supplements for the dolphins.
However, gills were a radical change to a mammal. A massive intrusion, one they weren't willing to accept. Apparently Aurelia had discussed the idea with Jack who had insisted on their getting approval from the dolphins first as per their agreement. She'd resisted it, even going so far as to begin working on the design of the gills until he'd gone around her and asked Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't about the idea during a recent visit. That had sent the dolphins in a tizzy of thinking and wrangling about the idea, then questioning Abrams and Aurelia to distraction. Apparently Aurelia hadn't been at all happy with her husband for a while and let him know it. He'd let her know he'd been disappointed that she had been on the verge of breaking their agreement. Apparently that had made her stop and rethink her position.
Finding out that they now had a voice in their artificial evolution and a friend in Jack was new to Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't and the other pod leaders. They were still coming to grips with that. They liked it, having a voice meant they were one step closer to being recognized as a people. As adults like they should be.
“You don't like the idea …”
“Not fish. Breathers,” Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't said firmly.
“You aren't fish, mammals. Got it,” Kathy said, interpreting his short sentences and then exhaled slowly. She knew once they had made up their minds they were rarely willing to change it. “Okay then, that's out. I'll tell Aurelia and the others. They'll be disappointed, but we can refocus on other things. What else?”
“ … rogress?” Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't winced. He knew he'd mangled the word. He couldn't do a P very well and he hissed the s's.
“Not much. Doctor Lagroose is pregnant so she has slowed down progress for the time being. We have made some small progress with the speech centers. Can you ask some of your people to volunteer for brain scans again? We need to expand on the cerebral nodes, possibly graft in some more synaptic clusters if necessary. Any headaches? Bleeding or vision issues?”
Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't understood only a bit of what the two leg had said about brains. “Will,” he said, understanding the volunteer part. “Heads no hurt. Today good. All good,” he said and then chattered, nodding.
“Good, good,” Abrams said with a smile of approval. “Good,” she made a note. “The scans will be compared to each generation. If you could have a mix of people, not just your best talkers, it would help a lot.”
“Will. When?”
“I'll set it up. Probably tomorrow,” Abrams said, making a note with her watch phone. She'd rather have her tablet, but the atmosphere smeared the screen up something wicked when she left the habitat. “You're attention span is good. I'm pleased.”
“Good,” Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't replied, stuttering a bit on the G and D. English sounds with clicks in it were easier for him to pronounce. He found if he concentrated he could get the word across to her.
She nodded, know
ing he was struggling. It wasn't just his speech centers; second generation dolphins had a lisp with their blowholes. He blew a raspberry.
“Clean?”
“Work? I'm not sure. I can ask,” she said, interpreting his request for more general work for his people, not to be cleaned. It was a common request. Boredom and morale were a constant issue, right behind health problems.
Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't cocked his head and then nodded. She always said that he thought. Sometimes she did find something more for them to do, even if it was make work or a new video to watch. He turned observing his pod. Tik'tik'clock was chasing a wayward calf from another pod. The calf made a straight course to its mother. The mother saw the calf, saw who was chasing it, and chattered in rising distress. “I Go. Bye,” Whistle'Tr'ck'ka't said, then he sighed. His flukes kicked the bar at Kathy's waist, giving him a push as he moved out to the growing incident.
“Oh um … bye,” he heard behind him as he went to work.
Chapter 4
Robots were everywhere in modern human civilization. Most vehicles were automated in one form or another, computers were now standard in everything that moved. Cameras were likewise everywhere. Droids of different forms were in homes, businesses, and on the streets. Some complained that they took jobs; other more rational people recognized that they did tasks humans thought themselves above. The dirty unenviable tasks they did their best to avoid or pay very little for.
