Chapter No. 39 Fellowship

Kathy sat on a bench near the dolphin tank and watched the approach of a silver-haired woman in an aqua bikini. She admired this old--by her standards--woman, this spunky female dynamo who is still actively pursuing her dreams, who is full of life, who is not allowing adversity to dampen her spirits. If any woman could be the prototypical role model for modern young women, this is she.

"Hi, Margaret."

Margaret returned her usual smile and nod.

Kathy glanced at Margaret's right leg. "How are you feeling today?"

"Fine." She glanced down at her leg lined with ugly copper and black splotches. "The bruises are starting to disappear. Thank goodness the pain is gone. It just looks bad."

Kathy shook her head. "I don't know how you do it. If I had gone through what you had . . . I don't know."

Margaret smiled again but the smile was tempered by painful memories. "Let's not dwell on past sins. We have work to do."

"What's on the agenda?"

"Well, I thought we would use air snorkels today so that we can be more interactive with the creatures. You know: stay under longer without using bulky scuba gear."

Kathy smiled. "Cool!"

Margaret slipped a duffel bag from her shoulder, squatted down, and unzipped it. She handed Kathy a snorkel mask with a small tank attached to the side band.

"We can stay submerged about fifteen minutes. I have more cylinders." She opened the bag to show them. "They should be sufficient for a day of fun."

"Way cool!"

The two women adjusted their masks, slipped their feet into flippers, and dove into crystal clear water. Alternating gray shadows and patches of bright light shimmered and undulated, creating kaleidoscopic patterns on the bottom of the tank. The source of these patterns--sun light filtered through blue water--refracted into specular sheets of white that danced to the whimsy of the lapping waves above. The underwater view was perfect, especially for the show that was about to begin.

As the two divers slid deeper trailing streams of tiny bubbles, shadows emerged from the depths but did not approach. Kathy and Margaret had to chase after them.

Kathy pointed at two figures locked together ten meters ahead. She and Margaret swam faster to catch up to the adult and infant pair. As the pair meandered through the water, twirling lazily in their maternal embrace, the infant held on to the adult for dear life and suckled at its breast.

What a wonderful opportunity. No one had yet seen the nursing of infants. It answered a lot of questions.

Or, did it?

Margaret spotted it first: a pair of adults entwined together, one sucking from the other's breast. When she pointed the amazing sight out to Kathy, Kathy's eyes widened in wonderment. The two women moved closer, but not too close. They were here to observe, not interfere.

The adult pair seemed totally impervious to human presence. They were locked in ecstasy, a dance of pleasure, twirling around and around, their bodies undulating, their flukes waving.

This doesn't make any sense, unless . . . maybe this is the way they avoid consuming seawater. But, that would be inefficient. More importantly, it would mean that they had to depend on one another. No loners in this species.

Perhaps their milk contains antibodies or some chemical--like a hormone--that's essential for biological function. Or maybe it contains an aphrodisiac. What a wild idea that is! I don't know. Maybe I'm way off base. One thing's for sure: I have to get some of their milk and run it through analysis.

###

The young man sank back in a swivel chair and propped his feet on the security console. He ran a comb through his short dark hair while he looked at his reflection in a monitor screen.

The late night shift sure is lonely. Nothing much going on. He took a sip from coffee that had lost its warmth.

I wonder if Simmons is as lonely as I am.

He glanced at the main monitor cluster, which showed six views of the room.

The old bitch is still up. Doesn't she ever sleep?

His legs swung down from the console and he leaned forward to better study one of the monitor screens. All he could see was the woman's back. She had positioned herself to avoid a clear view of her front.

What the hell is she doing?

He squinted. Then he saw it: a hand going from the table to her mouth.

"Oh, shit!"

He punched a button and sprang out of the chair. He made it to the door just as a young woman dressed in a white uniform came running down the hall.

"What's up, Meiers?"

Meiers was frantically trying to unlatch the cell door. "The bitch has some pills."

The nurse's pert face twisted in anger. "How the hell did she get 'em?"

"Hell if I know. I just hope we're not too late."

The last of the locks undone, the pair burst into the room and sprinted to Marian. Meiers knocked the pill bottle from her hand and Simmons grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides. She was rewarded with a kick to her shin.

"Ow! You bitch!"

They dragged the struggling woman over to the bed and wrestled her into a seated position. Meiers tied a strap around her arms to immobilize them. Simons secured her legs with a similar strap. Marian wiggled and squirmed but she wasn't going anywhere.

"Hold her head," Simmons yelled.

Meiers fitted his hands around Marian's face so that he could maintain a strong grip on her jaw. Simmons stuck a large syringe in the woman's mouth, a syringe that had a tube substituted for the usual needle. She pushed the plunger to deliver a syrupy yellow liquid directly into Marian's throat. Meiers kept a tight grip on her jaw so that she couldn't spit it out. Simmons completed the job by stroking her trachea. Marian struggled and tried to resist but, in the end, she swallowed, the look on her face telegraphing her extreme displeasure.

Simmons pointed to a bedpan. "Get the pan."

Meiers got the pan into position just in time. Marian threw up the contents of her stomach. Several undissolved pills graced the mess.

Meiers wiped his brow. "Whew! That was too close."

"I declare. You security people must be asleep most of the time."

"Hey. I'm only here on night shift. What happens during the day is out of my control."

Simmons stood up and slicked black hair out of her face. "Well, one thing's for sure: We can't trust her. She obviously had 'em on her, probably hidden in her underwear."

"I say we take her clothes. She won't be able to hide anything, at least not easily."

Simmons smiled. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"You think this scrawny old bitch can turn me on? Is that what you think?" He stood up. His face changed from a look of indignation to one of ornery anticipation. "Now, if we took your clothes. That would be different."

Simmons gave him a look of mock disgust. "Only in your dreams, Sweetheart."

Marian glanced at both of them and then grinned at Simmons. "Oh, come on. Take your clothes off for him. He looks like he needs some fun."

Simmons smiled for a fleeting second but then glared at Marian. "How'd you get those pills?"

She laughed. "That information is classified."

"Maybe you're right, Meiers. Maybe we should take her clothes."

###

Eric stared at the shapely woman in a white lab coat bent over a lab bench and smiled. It was good to see her working again, her enthusiasm back up to its normal exuberant level. She had been moping of late, not sleeping or eating well. He assumed that it was post-traumatic stress, but he wasn't sure. Psychology isn't one of his better suits.

"How's it going, Love?"

Margaret turned to glance at her husband before returning to examining a slide. "It's going . . . slow."

He climbed up on a lab stool. "How are the new fishes doing?"

She straightened up. "Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you. Kathy and I observed an infant suckling."

"No kidding!"

She smiled. "That's not the half of it. We saw adults suckling one another."

"Oh, my God!" He rubbed his beard. "Now, why would they do that?"

She returned to peering through a microscope. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I obtained some of their milk. It's a very interesting liquid."

"How's that, Love?"

"Well, for one thing, the triglycerides are more in the middle chain length--stearic and oleic. The micelles are predominantly kappa caseins, and the stuff is loaded with immunoglobulins."

"How exciting." Eric gave her a wry smile.

She gave him a smug smile.

Eric's eyes widened. "I knew it. You're saving the best for last. Right?"

She grinned. "It has several very interesting substances."

An eyebrow rose. "Oh?"

"It contains what could be considered a DNA vaccine."

"A vaccine against what?"

"It contains a gene from a herpes virus, something like a bovine herpes. Dr. Acikens thinks it builds immunity against mucosal microbes. He also thinks that this DNA vaccine mutates to counteract the mutations of the herpes virus."

"I guess that's not all that unusual. Mother's milk, you know."

Margaret smiled. "Well, mother's milk has some naughty stuff."

"Oh?"

"They're alkaloids. One has an interesting physiological property. It causes increased spermatazoidal activity. I believe it also functions as a stimulant."

"Stimulant?"

"Yeah, you know, an aphrodisiac."

"Oh, my. An aphrodisiac! That is interesting."

His wife gave him a sly grin. "That's only the half of it. Dr. Harmon thinks the other alkaloids are related to morphine and papaverine."

Eric's other eyebrow rose. "Why in the hell would they have narcotics in their milk. It's crazy."

"What's crazy?" Anderson asked as soon as he crossed the threshold of the lab.

Both Eric and Margaret turned to him. Eric couldn't resist a tease. "Why, Alan, what brings you into the trenches?"

"I do make it into the lab once in a while, Hauptman. I have to check up on you people."

"Speaking of checking up," Eric said with pride showing in his smile, "George and I have been going through the DNA data. It's only preliminary, but we found some sequences that are characteristic of the Amblyrhynchus Cristatus."

"Marine Iguanas? That doesn't make any sense."

"Perhaps not," Eric said, rubbing his beard. "Perhaps, it explains why they have reptilian facial features, why they slither around, and why they have those eyes. Another thing that backs that up is the fact that they don't exhibit the usual simian facial expressions. But what I don't understand is why they don't have reptilian flesh."

Anderson rubbed a nervous finger over his lips for several seconds. His eyes shifted around as if he was searching for a reply. "Perhaps, marine iguana DNA explains why they were found in the Galapagos?"

"That wouldn't explain why they were also found in the Micronesian Islands."

"Maybe this creature has some relation to the Devonian Tetrapods," Margaret said, her eyes narrowing, "like the Ichthyostega or the Acanthostega or perhaps even the Casineria, which has a five fingered arm."

"Yes," Anderson said, cradling his chin. "But creatures that evolved from the Tetrapods, like the amniote amphibians, lay layered eggs on land. Our creatures still have a larval stage and do not have complex eggs."

"Even more important," Eric said, "The Tetrapods evolved into land animals, not aquatic. Amniotes were in the Carboniferous and came out of the sea because they were too small to survive."

Margaret sighed. "We should be having this conversation with Joyce. She's the evolution expert."

Eric smiled. "Amen to that."

"How were the DNA evaluations made?" his wife asked.

A quick smile crossed Eric's lips. "Old George has been giving me lessons on the new Bioanalyzer."

"How's that thing working out?" Anderson asked. "The Institute sure dropped a bundle on it."

"Works fine. It uses microfluidic chips to determine the DNA sequences. No more of that old Gel Electrophoresis Blues."

Anderson shook his head and sighed. "Everything's a computer now. No one really understands all this . . . this technology."

Eric grinned. "Don't have to understand it. It works. That's good enough for me."

"Well, I don't want to hold up your work," Anderson said with a cautious smile. "I just wanted to inform you that Marian Stram tried to commit suicide."

Margaret's face twisted with concern. "Oh, no!"

"How?" Eric asked.

"She obtained some sedative capsules. Fortunately, the guard observed her."

Eric stood up and moved closer to his wife. "How'd she get the capsules?"

"They don't know yet. She had them hidden in her clothes. I understand that they've removed all her clothing."

Margaret stood up. Her eyes spewed inner fire. "Who in the hell gave her the pills?"

"They don't know," Anderson said with frustration glowing in his eyes.

"They--whoever they are--had better find out or she'll succeed in killing herself. I know that woman; she can be very determined."

Anderson moved closer to the door and said wryly. "I'll convey your concerns to Mr. Willis."

Margaret sat back down on a lab stool with her brow wrinkled and her lips twisted. "You know that what we're doing is not only unethical, it's a crime. This institute is imprisoning someone. We have no right to do so. If she dies under our control, we could be liable."

"Yes. You're right," Anderson said, shaking his head. "Maybe it's time that I take control of this situation."

"I'm not sure that's wise," Eric said. "Stram's wife is our trump card. She may be our only protection."

Margaret stood up. "Stram doesn't care about his wife. If he did, he would have contacted us and tried to arrange her release." She paced over to the edge of the lab bench, stopping to slam her fist on the top. "I don't want anything to happen to her. If she dies, I will be very upset."

"How can you say that, Love, after what she did to you?"

"I don't give a damn what she did to me. I don't want her harmed. And I want them to give her clothes back. It's indecent to keep someone naked."

"They kept you that way."

She glared at him. "Damn it, Eric! I will not stoop to revenge. They have no business stripping her. It's wrong."

Her husband lowered his eyes. Whenever his wife uses his formal name, she's really upset. He had no intentions of making her more upset.

Anderson held his hand up. "Look. I'll talk to Willis. We'll give her clothes back. I promise that. I'll also find out if we can release her without causing a problem. Ok?"

Both Eric and Margaret nodded, but Margaret's nod was less than enthusiastic.

###

Kathy Tuller stretched her arms over her head and yawned. The warm southern California sun made her more relaxed than she wished, but what the hell. It's a lazy Saturday afternoon at the Marineland dolphin-training tank and nobody's paying attention.

The sound of bare feet striking cement and tile caused an eyelid to jump open. She stared into the bright noonday light at olive flesh accented by bright red. The olive skin and the red bikini belonged to a trim body with long anthracite black hair confidently strolling toward her along the trainers' side of the tank.

She swung up to a sitting position. "Hi!"

"Hello." The response was cordial but not exactly friendly. "My name is Karen Santez. Are you Kathy?"

She blinked her long lashes. "Yes. Are you my new partner?"

"Yes." She swiveled her head around. "Where are they?"

"The mermaids?"

Karen cracked a coy smile. "I've heard that they're quite ferocious and that they've eaten humans."

Kathy cracked an amused smile back at her. "They only like to eat men. That's why you don't see any men working with them."

"Just as well," Karen said, shaking her head in disgust. "The male trainers around here are assholes."

Kathy giggled. "Like, I know what you mean."

She gestured to a lounge chair next to hers. "May as well make yourself comfortable. The mermaids work on their own schedule."

Karen wrapped her lithe frame into the chair and stretched out. "What's this scientist from the Institute like? I heard she's an old woman."

"Margaret Hauptman? Nah, she's in great shape for her age. In fact, she's probably in better shape than most younger women."

"I heard she's tougher than nails."

Kathy smiled. "She tough all right, but I've had no trouble with her. It's almost like working with your mother."  "Good thing it isn't my mother. We'd spend the day being cussed out in Spanish."

Kathy giggled. "Margaret's nice. I'm sure you'll like her."

Water splashed near the rock pile. An alien head popped from the surface.

Karen riveted her eyes on the creature as it pulled itself up onto a rock. "Wow! I've never seen anything like that." She turned to Kathy. "I didn't realize they're so big."

"That's an adult. The adolescent is smaller."

After the creature ascended the rock, it sat on it and immediately looked over at the two humans.

The look ran a chill up Karen's spine. "Jesus, that's enough to give me the willies."

Karen tensed her jaw. "Yeah like, it takes some gettin' used to."

Another creature broke from the water and climbed up to a rock near the first.

"I thought one of them was a male?" Karen asked her mouth twisted with confusion.

"The first one's a male. That's the female."

"The males have breasts?"

Kathy laughed. "Yeah, that also takes some gettin' used to."

Karen frowned. "They don't look like they're in a hurry to come over here and see me."

Kathy stood up. "Like I said, they operate on their own schedule. We'll have to go to them."

Karen's face froze with indecision. "I don't know if that's wise. What if they don't like me?"

"What's not to like?" Kathy said with an amused grin.

Her grin was returned, but it was tempered with concern.

The two women dove into the water and swam to the rocks. The creatures eyed them but did nothing to indicate that they were alarmed.

What happened next alarmed the two women. The surface of the water became alive with alien heads and these alien heads had them surrounded.

The alarm on Karen's face was closer to panic. "Jesus, I don't like this."

"The first rule of training animals: don't look like you're afraid."

"Who is that, Kath-ee?" One of the alien faces sung.

"Jesus, they can talk."

Kathy pointed at Karen. "This here's Karen. She's going to be helping me."

The alien faces parted, allowing the two women to continue their swim to the rocks. They quickly climbed out of the water and sat on rocks. The rest of the creatures stayed in the water and stared at the new human.

"Is her body the same as yours?" the male asked from a rock above them.

"Yes," Kathy said, turning her head. She turned to her partner. "Take your top off so they can see."

Karen's eyes squinted. "Say what?"

Kathy smiled. "They want to ogle your boobs."

When Karen removed her top, the male moved closer, causing Karen's heart rate to quicken.

"I hope this is not going to be our usual work attire."

Kathy mouthed a "No."

"She is a fe-male?" the male asked, pointing at her.

"Yes," Karen said. "Only human females have breasts."

"Cur-i-ous," the male sung with a sequence of clicks.

Then, he did something that made Karen flinch. He reached out and touched her breast, probing his fingers into the flesh and rubbing around her black areola.

"Why co-lor diff-er-ence?"

"Why do you have yellow hair and the other has red hair?"

The creature stared at her for several seconds. "Un-der-stood."

Karen looked at Kathy with a dumbfounded expression.

"Yeah, like, another thing that takes gettin' used to."