บท 14: Chapter 14
A black ocean of stars stretched overhead, swallowing up the entire Earth, expanding so much that there was nothing else the eyes could see, except for a heavenly canvas dotted with myriads of flickering beads. The foggy star belt was inviting, convincing them that they were not alone in the universe. Not that the specimen sitting next to Chris was insufficient confirmation, but his thoughts did not linger on the mundane; the cosmos captured him, did not let go, did not allow other reflections, even in passing, to touch his consciousness.
He hadn't seen so much sky in a long time. Living on a tropical island, the starry landscape was either partial, given the hilly territory, as a result of which only a flat picture above the horizon remained open. From behind you can see mountains or a city with a thousand lights. You either have to put up with lace weaving of leaves and twigs on the park territory surrounding the research institute, or all the same flat picture if you are lucky to stake out the roof of one of the tower-buildings, and then you have to stargaze exclusively while lying down to cut off all the illumination that blurs such intense blackness.
But here everything was different, everything was the sky, enveloping three hundred and sixty degrees from above, to the right, in front, as far as the eye can see – the whole universe unfolded for him, exposed to his gaze, reflected in the depths of his pupils, and seemed to be looking back at Chris, blinking with all the innumerable eye-stars, some of which have long since turned into nothing but the shine of their farewell.
The first thing Chris did when the city lights were left behind was to adjust the roof tint settings in the rented gyro car, lean back, and stop responding to external stimuli. He just lay in the reclined chair of the car that carried them to the South of the island, along the coastline, and never took his eyes off the night sky over Australia. There was still an hour's journey ahead; an ocean of water, in which the stars were drowning, breathed on the left.
And yet Chris dozed off. When they drove up to Lucinda, a small coastal town where they were to change transport, Tau even had to shake him slightly by the shoulder until the young man gathered his consciousness. They were met in the dock parking lot by a dark-skinned man in his fifties. Tau shook the man's hand in a friendly manner and introduced him to Chris as Barry. They unloaded their suitcases from the car. Barry helped carry the things to the boat that swayed melancholy at anchor at the very end of the pier.
"How was the flight?" The man moved in a springy manner and was clearly glad to see both of them, as the smile never left his face.
"Didn't crash," Tau could not help but joke. Chris noticed that the corners of his lips remained lifted for an unusually long time, which meant that he was also happy to see an old acquaintance.
The Australian laughed loudly, letting the guests on board and climbed in himself. He dropped the anchor off quickly and walked to the control panel. Starting the engine, he commanded everyone to buckle up, and the boat started easily, heading northeast, away from the coastline. The sea journey to the national park island should take no more than fifteen minutes.
All this time, Tau and Barry exchanged news from the parts of the world where they spent most of their time. The night over the ocean was even thicker than over the mainland; Barry's skin was so dark that one would think that his clothes were just floating in the air. Like his bright eyes and a smile, flashing white every time he turned to look at the voyagers, thus reminding Chris of a Cheshire Cat. He was curious to watch the two of them, though he couldn't quite figure out what kind of relationship they had. It seemed unlikely that Barry belonged to the department of the research institute, although in conversation he often mentioned a certain Dr. Kelly. Perhaps he was a procurement officer.
"Thanks again! And say hello to Marge," Tau called after the boat and raised his hand to wave goodbye to Barry after they were dropped ashore.
"Have a safe trip!" Chris also waved to the man before bending over to pick up his bags.
The long-legged alien had already walked almost half of the beach, while Chris, drowning in the sand, waddled in the direction of the research base that was standing at the edge of the jungle, looming over and glowing invitingly in the night like a Christmas house.
"Do they work at night? Or is it only when you arrive?" Chris asked, shaking sand from his socks, balancing on one leg in front of the main entrance as Tau went through identification, allowing the panel to scan his palm.
Hearing the question, the zirka looked at Chris in a strange way and, instead of answering, nodded at the panel for Chris to do the same.
"Well, nice to meet you," Chris muttered and touched the sensor. After a couple of moments, the interface asked what to do with the new set of fingerprints. Tau gave the command to acknowledge it and issue the fingerprints high-level access, then entered the admin password and walked through the open door.
Chris followed on his heels, not paying much attention to the interior, which was not much different from the research institute on the Biosphere: a spacious reception, glass walls of laboratories with a bunch of equipment, corridors leading in different directions, a staircase. People and zirks were not visible. Maybe only the machines were working but Chris really thought that they ought to leave all they were doing to perform the dance of labor to please the demanding boss.
The elevator went up to the third, topmost, floor. In the corridor, the greenie turned to the left, and after a couple of meters slowed down to only say, "This one is yours", pointing to the door of a room on the left side, and continued along the corridor to the next door, behind which he disappeared.
Chris was not ready for such a swift goodbye, but shrugged it off, turned to his room and hesitantly scanned his band at the sensor panel. It blinked with the green light, making a soft sound, and then the door clicked, confirming that they were ready to let him inside.
The room was small, about half the size of his studio at the Biosphere II. There was only a bed, a small modular table designed to accommodate little more than a laptop, a chair, and a chest of drawers for clothes. Minimalistic, but really, this was more than enough for a short piece of work as a temporary laboratory assistant. In addition, the bedroom was accompanied by a bathroom and a balcony, and ... all the luggage fell out of Chris's hands right onto the floor as soon as he realized the zest of the room. In two steps, he crossed the studio, pulled the sliding sash aside and found himself engulfed in the breeze and the sound of waves running ashore literally a couple of tens of meters below.
He turned sharply, hearing a muffled laugh from his right. Well, surely enough, not only Chris was immediately drawn outdoors to enjoy the view. Tau stood straight, resting his hips on the balcony railing, and crossing his arms on his chest. He didn't look at Chris even when he spoke; his gaze was directed forward and slightly upward – the high sky tempted him too.
"Do not fall off on the first day, please. I will need your hands and brain."
"Glad to hear that. I'll do my best not to fall," Chris bowed his head, involuntarily breaking into a smile. "Although I'm sure there are enough working brains here, and I can at least rest in plaster casts."
And here again this strange look, which Erzketau threw at the young man, distracted from the contemplation of the horizon.
"There's no one else."
"Huh?" Chris wasn't sure if he heard correctly. Were they at the right research center?
"All the personnel are on vacation." The zirka condescended to explanations. "No one will return before we leave. Usually, I come here to be on my own," he vaguely shrugged his shoulders, "but so be it, I'll survive the change."
Chris stared blankly at Tau, forgetting about the waves and the breeze, while the truth settled in his head. When Madame said that they would leave together, the fact there will be just the two of them at the destination point escaped his attention somehow. Only Tau and Chris, and no one else in the entire base, and for several kilometers around. How could he have missed it? And how to react to this now that he knew?
"We need to get a proper sleep to start as early as possible before the mud rises from the bottom of the ocean. I'm expecting you for breakfast at eight. The food block is to the right of the elevator."
The zirka turned around and walked into his room, and Chris stood there unmoving for some time lost in thought, until an incomprehensible sensation ceased to swarm in the back of his head. Then he trudged into the shower room, grumbling to himself.
Praise the slippers, a full five hours of sleep! Why would he need this much? Why not call the gathering at six? And they'll have breakfast too? Is that lizard even going to work or is he here to slack around?
Despite all the worries and fears, having Erzketau as company was not as scary as Chris had painted to himself on the first night. He was so exhausted and bitter that he got up completely broken, nodded off throughout the whole breakfast, and woke up only when he realized that they were moving in a small motor boat. An exoskeleton converter was put on his arm and a bunch of equipment for underwater research lay at his feet. They stopped a couple of meters from the reef shallows – the near edge of the Great Barrier Reef. The zirka activated his armor and leapt into the water, holding one end of the cable tie in his hand to anchor the vessel without damaging the local biosystem. Less than five minutes later, he surfaced and, easily pulling himself up, climbed into the boat.
"Put on your gear, grab your tablet and swim to the shallows. You have an examination plan; register all the species that you find at the first depth. We work for half an hour, then return to the base." This scheme was given to Chris by his supervisor when they were at their research institute, so he knew the drill. "And please," the zirka added, squinting, "don't kill anything while doing the job."
Chris gave him the most venomous look he was capable of, to which Tau just grinned, fixed his aqualungs to his torso, and tumbled back into the water.
The main function of the Hinchinbrook Reef Study Base was to track changes in the state of the reef every day. As the Earth experienced its worst years, the temperature of the atmosphere rose to the point that the ocean dropped to unacceptable levels, taking trillions of underwater lives with it. How the polyps were able to survive at least partially remains a mystery, but the Zirkaazte were sure – a couple of years more, and the reefs would cease to exist.
With the hot climate, the water of the world's oceans had warmed so much that half of the living organisms became uncomfortable living where they were accustomed to. Those who could – have gone to the depths of the ocean. Deep-sea species migrated lower and lower, but if the temperature there was more or less suitable for them, then the pressure and the lack of a minimum amount of light did not spare everything, and in an attempt to escape, many simply disappeared forever.
Shallow-water species suffered less, but for many years settled at a lower depth, which also led to changes in the structure and work of cells, as a manifestation of adaptation in new conditions. At the time of the Zirkaazte intervention, all coastal reefs turned into lifeless white bones of a once lush and colorful organism – fragile remains, blown by the wind and sand, unhealed scars on the planet's body.
After the restoration of nature, the climate returned to normal, water came back, and the process of repopulating corals began. It was already possible to see the incredible dynamics, the road of hundreds of years, which microscopic organisms were now able to overcome. Even if not all, albeit not immediately, they returned home.
The first depth is the depth from the surface of the water to one meter below, and one can scan it simply by walking around the sandbank, since it is in this bay behind the first ridge that the bottom goes down abruptly. So far, Chris has not been given a dive mission; Tau said that the next depth is on him today. During the scan, a special gadget analyzed all corals caught with its lens, one by one, and at the same time, marking the coordinates of the analyzed spot. This immediately overlaid the data on the graphs of previous scans of the same area, and created a bottom relief map.
During the routine operation of the base, the scanning function was performed by aqua drones, but twice a year, one fern-green enthusiast was called in as a "human factor" to confirm the results of the automated scanning. The procedure took from half an hour to an hour and a half, depending on which area was scanned, whether they worked together under water or separately at different depths. It was pointless to stay longer, as the lighting shifted and the flow of suspended particles of sand and crumbs, gnawed at by the coral fish, interfered with accurate scanning.
Upon returning to the base, they had a bite to eat and looked through everything they "shot" today. A couple of times Chris observed an unusually happy and, one might even say gentle, smile on the alien's face when the scan indicated the appearance of new species of coral at the first depth. He was especially delighted by a small grayish ribbed mound; reminiscent of a mushroom cap torn off and turned upside down, near which Chris also spent some time looking at it from all the sides.
As Tau said, the name of the mushroom is actually Cantharellus noumeae, and everyone thought it was extinct. Then Tau went to the incubator – a laboratory compartment, where colonies of polyps were grown in aquariums, sometimes planting new samples taken from the depths, fiddling with them until evening, or spending an all-nighter in front of the monitors, and Chris was free to do whatever he wanted. Sometimes he helped in the incubator, sometimes he went surfing, and on other days he went out into the thickets to collect plant samples, which he then examined under a microscope, made notes, and cataloged, like in the good old days, when he was a fresher, just to keep himself busy.
On one of those days, Chris wandered through the jungle for no particular purpose or reason. The surroundings were fresh and green, and although he had intended to simply walk, the diversity of the flora made him wish he had brought sample bags with him. The jungle floor went a little uphill, and it was too far to return to the base, but after giving it a second thought, he decided to go fetch the necessities and then return for business. As soon as he turned around, he backed away until he bumped into a tree trunk. He spotted two black eyes watching him from behind the bushes.
"Bloody hell!" His heart was pounding in his throat. He was about to scream in fright when at the last moment he realized who those eyes belonged to.
Erzketau emerged from the dense interweaving of branches, practically indistinguishable in color from the surrounding foliage – a useful armor's option for "mimicry", although he could just as well cut through the forest naked because his skin had the same tint.
Chris stared at the teacher's chest for a split second. No, he did wear the armor. "Do you get any special pleasure in scaring miserable people, sneaking up from behind?"
"Are you that scared?" The zirka snickered. "And I was not sneaking up on you; it was you who wandered into my hunting grounds."
"Oh, I beg for your excuse; did I scare off a flock of anacondas with my stomping?" Chris said sarcastically.
Tau didn't answer, just narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did you go to the waterfall?"
"Come again?"
"Zoey's cascading waterfall is on that side," he pointed with his hand in a direction that coincides with the one that Chris has been holding for the last half hour.
"I didn't even know there's such a waterfall." With wide eyes, Chris slowly shook his head. "How far is it from here?"
"C'mon" said Tau, and went forward, a little to the left from where the trodden path led, deftly weaving between the trunks and jumping over the roots.
Chris followed, glancing over the body of the zirka, tightly covered with exoskeleton. It was common to see UFO representatives in their white tights. It had not seemed strange to anyone that they walked so easily in clothes that closely followed all the contours of their bodies. Moreover, the Earth students wore the same tight-fitting uniform, only navy.
Perhaps it's all about the informal setting, or the color, but looking at the silhouette looming in front of him, Chris now and then felt heat on his face, constantly reminding himself that this was just a suit of the same color as his teacher's skin. Or maybe the reason for his embarrassment was the fact that he had been feeling hormonal fluctuations in his body for the past week.
This was a bit unusual, as the waves were typically three to four days long. But Chris did not think about it too much, because everything proceeded calmly, did not interfere with daily functioning, and, like at home, the discomfort was perfectly relieved by meditations, walks and work. Though he did plan to report on changes in the cycle if his condition does not return to normal by tomorrow.
After another fifteen minutes of walking, the noise and murmur of water began to mingle with the chirping of birds in the trees; the path underfoot became less and less earthy, and more stony and wet. Gaps between the trees began to appear ahead, the forest was thinning out, and the two came out to the lake, nestled beneath a crystal clear stream falling from a low cliff. The waterfall was noisy and shimmery with all the colors of the rainbow in the slanting rays of the sun, which had deviated from the zenith already.
In the place where the water flowed into the lake, it foamed slightly, sparkling and scattering in circles. The ripples went out before reaching the center of the lake, and a calm smooth surface spread to the shore. The lake was a noble jadeite hue, given its color by stones covered with a velvet coating of green algae, which paved the bottom.
"This..." Chris tried to find words, but everything that flashed in his head, like "picturesque", "amazing", "incredible", was not enough, not regarding this piece of nature. He saw many lakes and a couple of waterfalls too. Including Victoria – one of the most, and still, impressive on the planet! The sensations when you watch how many tons of water disappears into the crevice of the earth's crust, while saturating the air with so much moisture that you want to grow gills. And the noise, like an awakened ancient dragon, is bursting with steam and fire in a rage because he slept for so long and woke up at the wrong time, when all his enemies left this world and now there is not a creature to retaliate against.
The picture that opened up to Chris here was not like those that were deposited in his memory. It awakened something quiet and calm in him, evoking unclear feelings of security and trust. The place was so cozy and homey. He suddenly wanted terribly to know how often hikers could wander here and was ready to despise everyone for seeing what he was looking at now.
The scene was lovely. He turned his gaze to Erzketau, involuntarily remembering that he was still here with Chris, and the zirka grinned and nodded knowingly in response. Without saying anything, Tau tapped through the settings of the armor on his body and folded it in completely.
This shocked Chris, who was still in some kind of emerald delusion, so much that his mouth fell open and eyes popped out witnessing the bare bottom of the transplantologist. In that instant, he hastily averted his eyes, focusing his attention on the intricate weaving of vines at the nearest trunk. He heard the quiet splashes of water cut by the long legs of the shameless Grinch.
For all the restraint and stiffness of the extraterrestrial race, they were characterized by a strangely low lack of modesty and shyness. Perhaps they believed that because their bodies were slightly different from the humans', then this neutralized the physical attraction and perception of them as sexual objects? Really, over hundreds of years of coexistence, no one has thought to tell them that their opinion is wrong and a naked ass is still a naked ass? The fact that their genitals do not stick out and they don't have nipples on their chest, but have pointed ears and creepy colors does not mean that...
"The water is wonderful!" The zirka exhaled blissfully, falling, back first, on the water, cutting off Chris's mental monologue. "Pay attention going in; the boulders are very slippery."
"I… I don't…" Chris was not sure how he was going to get out of swimming. I cannot swim? Didn't take a swimsuit? I don't wanna? It's kind of stupid, especially considering that he absolutely definitely wanted to swim in this jade lake.
"Come on, I promise not to pester," Tau threw over his shoulder with a smirk and swam with quick strokes to the wall of rock.
It would be better if he didn't say excuses. Just who pulled his tongue? Cursed pictures from the web immediately popped into Chris's mind. And what was that all about? Had he become wild in nature, or what? Learned a few vulgar jokes? Sniffing noisily, he pulled off his sneakers and shirt, leaving his shorts on though. Stepping on the huge stones furiously, Chris promised himself that nothing would prevent him from enjoying this place and the swim. He can even pretend that this is some stranger nudist who has nothing to do with Chris. The lizard can swim all he wants and in any preferable attire, as long as he behaves.
The water, of course, did not ache with the cold, but it decently cooled his body which had been warmed up by forty-degree heat. Gathering up his courage, he plunged up to his neck and made several active strokes, and only then could he stop shuddering. After lying on his back a little, he rolled over and was about to swim to the waterfall, when he realized that the Grinch was nowhere to be seen. It was clear that there was no point in worrying about his life, since this zirka, if he could not breathe under water, certainly knew how to hold his breath for a long time, which Chris was convinced of more than once every day on the Reef. But, if he is not on the surface, then he dived and god only knows exactly where he was hiding and what he had planned. Having overcome the desire to freeze in panic, Chris slowly swam forward, listening to the splashing of the water around him. He couldn't hear it, but the fluctuation on the left at his feet indicated where to expect ... whatever was there. A thick and wide body slowly emerged nearby and slid in the same direction.
In vain Chris stressed so much, because, despite the teasing comments, the zirka left the playful and mocking mood on the shore, and just enjoyed active water rest. Having swum across the lake, Chris dived under the dense jets and looked around under the water. Dozens of silvery fish that looked somewhat like perches were scurrying in flocks in the transparent column.
He swam a couple of meters until his eyes stung, and emerged, shaking his head. He then covered the lake width a few more times and decided that he had bathed enough, even seemed to be slightly overcooled in the refreshing water. Rubbing the trembling muscles of his arms, he moved to the shore, trying to maneuver as accurately as possible on the stones, but still losing his balance – only for a second, and registered the bottom shifting dangerously from under his feet, and then felt a steel grip on his shoulder. Steel both in terms of firmness and temperature.
That crafty Erzketau, who no one knows how he found himself next to Chris so quickly, probably accommodated the thermoregulation of his body so that the water seemed wonderful to him. His touch immediately lifted all the hairs not only on Chris's arms, but also on the back of his neck. Skillful daring craftsmen; what their bodies are not capable of!
"If you only knew what my UFO can do..." Shut up! Gritting his teeth, Chris besieged his memory, which decided to throw in another element of the information found in the database in the most impudent way.
As soon as he stood on solid ground, he yanked his arm out of Tau's grip, not knowing why he got so angry at him. But the zirka did not pay attention to the rude gesture and the fact that Chris did not even thank him for the help, but instead immediately came close and put his palm on the frowning forehead of the young man.
"Chris, are you unwell? Do you have a fever?"
In the minute when the black eyes without pupils found themselves in some five centimeters from his own, Chris felt too that he was slightly more feverish than earlier. He quickly put on his shirt and lowered his eyes under the pretext of buttoning.
"It's okay, nothing out of the ordinary," he replied. "It's just the hormones." Sighing, he nevertheless returned his gaze filled with equal condescension and skepticism, to Tau, but the zirka was already looking not at Chris but at the data table displayed on the projection screen of his band.
"Thirty-seven point five… that's not quite a normal figure for your hormonal waves," he said slowly, continuing to flip through digital displays of Chris's activity in recent days. "And why does the activity not subside for long?"
Chris didn't even have time to roll his eyes, let alone express his opinion on the contrived problem, when the table blinked and was replaced by the image of Dr. François, which announced an incoming call.
"I'm listening," answered Tau.
"Tau! Where is Chris!?" The speaker yelled demandingly in Madame's voice.
"He's right next to me. What's the matter, Marie?"
"What's the matter!? What is the matter, you ask me!? Can't you see!? Take out your eyes and insert them where they should be! LH, FSH, they're hitting the sky! Where is he? What is he doing!? What are you both doing there!!?" Chris could see her running up and down her lab, as she usually does when she's preoccupied or extremely anxious. A real threat to all the test tubes within the radius of her arms and robes.
"He… Chris is fine, he has a fever, but he's in the wave right now, so…" Tau looked confusedly from Chris to the screen and back.
"The wave?" Screeched Marie. "Oh yeah, I see that, but it's not just a wave, but a killer tsunami! He's OVULATING! Do you copy that? Right this very minute! Lord, how can one not believe in you, Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Thank you for letting me live to see this day!"
Madame kept praising all the gods in all religions, and wailing in hysteria and ecstasy, while here, on the island, where there were only the two of them, the water seemed to stop flowing and the birds hid – so gravely quiet it suddenly became.
Chris stared without blinking at the shrieking device on the zirka's hand, feeling as he goes numb and his brain unable to analyze what was happening. And Tau looked at Chris as if expecting that what was happening inside him was about to somehow manifest itself on the outside, and thinking to himself that he was not sure if he was ready to face it.
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Praise the slippers – read like "holy moly".
LH, FSH – Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), together with luteinizing hormone (LH), is produced in the pituitary gland and directly affects the maturation and release of the egg. Their concentration in the body is taken as the basis for an ovulation test.
What Chris found on the reef – perhaps you'll need to copy-paste the link(s). I like it more in the first resource but had troubles opening it from the text document with Ctrl+Link so just in case adding another:
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_summary/cantharellus-noumeae/
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/cantharellus-noumeae-coral
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