10. Hvaal
Hvaal thought hard into his neural transmitter and watched the wizard. The little white-haired man sat calmly looking into his mighty eye from the other side of the glass. This human had a fine sense of introspection as well as what appeared to be an incredibly advanced mind, especially when compared to his travel companion who, though sprouting from the same planetary gene pool had failed to open her brain up to the infinite possibilities of learning.
Hvaal thought some more, gave up, and used the translator.
"You don't have a neural transmitter do you?" asked the whale via the computer voice of the ship's translator matrix.
Melock's face flashed with surprise. "I've been working on telepathy for many years."
In Hvaal's mind, the whale heard, "Can you hear me now?" in the voice of the wizard. But when Hvaal tried to communicate back via his own form of technological telepathy it was clear Melock couldn't hear him.
"This is unfortunate," said the whale via the translator.
"I'm sorry I'm not able to hear you. I see you have a device implanted on the side of your head, can I assume it connects to your brain the ship's communication network and allows you to speak via computer assistance?"
"Yes. I am also piloting the ship, analyzing sensor data, and keeping an eye on our two warrior friends."
A digital image appeared on the glass wall of Øregård and Murphy sparring with melee weapons in a kind of iron dojo. Murphy was swinging and jumping, ducking and diving. Øregård in turn parried and lunged, swung and pivoted. Both their faces beamed with exhilaration and enjoyment.
"They seem to be getting along fabulously," said Melock.
"Yes." Hvaal moved his tail in the affirmative and Melock noticed it for the first time.
"I've done a quick study before coming here on the history of the galactic sperm whale. Your name is a misnomer is it not? Primitive humans on your nursery planet hunted you and thought of the fluids that enable your echolocation as sperm. Yet, you've carried that name hundreds of thousands of generations into the future, adding galactic to your name as your species spread across the galaxy."
"That is correct. I scanned you and Sister Murphy when you arrived and you are a human variant but not of my species' origin world. Your DNA seems to have a few markers outside the norm. How is it that you suddenly appeared on our ship?"
"We teleported aboard," said Melock.
Hvaal fanned his tail in the negative and said, "We do not have this technology."
"I see," said Melock.
"Where do you come from?" asked the whale.
"Our world is called Abraxas; a mythical near fantasy world of utter beauty, where good and evil forces abound and attempt to live in harmony, though occasionally battle each other for supremacy. It's a magical world isolated on the opposite side of the galaxy."
"We do not believe in magic here. We are scientists," said the whale before the computer translator made a distorted coughing sound. Hvaal's body heaved in the water.
"That's too bad," said Melock.
Melock reached into his bag and grabbed his mobile device. He brought up his mapping protocol and held it up for the whale to see.
"It looks like we're now heading into this empty region of space," said Melock, "and Abraxas is way over here."
"May I sink to your device?" asked Hvaal.
"This is my digital spellbook and it would be against my personal code to share it with you in its entirety. You must understand that there are dangerous entries held within it. However, I have partitioned it into sections and I'd be glad to share my map with you."
A request to connect popped up on Melock's mobile and he allowed it with restrictions. The whale read and copied at an amazing speed. Melock was about to tell him to slow down when he realized that Hvaal had already read everything he gave him access to.
"You've traveled a great deal. Far further than I in my long five hundred year lifespan. I'm impressed," said Hvaal. "I only wish I had longer to live. I would enjoy traveling to these unexplored sections of our galaxy."
"Funny you should mention long life. That's why I'm here."
"Oh?" asked the whale curling his fluke.
"I'm researching life expansion."
"What can a dying whale do to help?"
"I like you, have lived many centuries, millennia even. And I, like you, am reaching the end of what my abilities will allow for. I'm seeking the 71EEB8 clones in order to learn their secrets of immortality. I've heard some of their species also travel to the whale graveyard when they are ready to die."
"The clones, yes, we know them. Their space shares a border with Gastraddar on the edge of the Flower Nebula. They have treaties with many species and are a peaceful race of males, all genetically identical, all frozen at what for a human would be middle age."
An image of a clone appeared on the glass alongside several of their geometrically shaped spacecraft.
"As you can see they are silver-skinned, bald, with black eyes, and they all, without exception, dress in seafoam green; usually robes or flight suits. They travel freely throughout the galaxy and often act as arbitrators between warring factions. They do not get involved unless asked but they are often observing from afar. They're considered by many to be one of the top technological species. Legends say their previous iteration existed for multiple galactic rotations making them one of the oldest species to continuously exist. Their current 71EEB8 form has been stable and expanding for thousands of years now. Their previous society suffered an extinction event that eventually resulted in their taking on a new form."
"Fascinating. Do you think we will meet some?" asked Melock.
"Not on the Dead Planet. Nothing lives there. It is a rogue world, sunk in eternal darkness, drifting in empty space. The planet feeds on the dead that go there to become a part of it."
"Would you be willing to share your star charts with me? To help me find the clones?"
"We whales don't use maps. We have it all in our heads. It's what makes us such great starship pilots; we navigate on instinct. Like my ancestors of old who swam the seas by memory, we swim between the stars. A benefit of having such a big brain. I will, however, ask Øregård to bring you to the clones after I depart. If that will suffice?"
"That would be splendid," said Melock rubbing his hands together. "Now, tell me of this Dead Planet we're journeying to."
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