Part 5

Part 5 - New Atlantis, Bermuda Triangle

Valeena studied the message glimmering in front of her with an apprehension bordering on paranoia. Her son’s communication was brief, all too brief in fact. It did not instill in her the confidence she had propelled with him when he had left. She read the words again:

Have made contact with the human. She is a wrecked girl.

But inside she is remarkable!

She is a true descendent of The Keepers.

The problems with this message were not entirely on the surface. ‘Wrecked’ covered anything from a propeller cut to complete physical incapacity. If the girl was a descendant of The Keepers, she would be able to manifest as a unicorn in her dreams. Finn was well versed in that world, and if the girl was as ‘remarkable’ as he said, Finn would find that a powerful attraction. He was enticed by the magical arts, especially their application in the real world. For dolphins to perform such feats required an orchestrated effort; the bigger the concert, the more the effort. If this girl could manifest magic in the real world, Finn would be naturally drawn to her. Was her son becoming - she could hardly bear to concede to the word, so vile was its meaning - corrupted? 

For a dolphin to develop feelings for a human; it was disgusting, repellant, hideous. Oh it happened, once in a while. Some young, impressionable dolphin would find a ‘special friend’ who they believed understood them like no dolphin could. They would pine for this land meat, perform tricks for fish, come to its calling. The pity and contempt that her son would endure. The humiliation would be too much to bear. She would have to abdicate, and how Lady Rey would love that. She was always waiting in the wings, always plotting and maneuvering. Valeena had to separate her son from this human and do it fast. Was the cost of this forsaking some minuscule chance that this girl could stop the tidal wave of human destruction? Well she could afford that in exchange for keeping her son from making a mistake that would ruin them both. 

Valeena dismissed the message and opened the Court channel. The ‘event’ had been the premier source of discussion in the Court. What she needed was someone to drive the wedge home. A doubter. Someone with enough political and social clout to make Finn, and the Court, listen to reason. She flicked through the commentaries, assessing the tone of each speaker. She listened to each argument and counterargument, gauging the mood of the Court by the level of applauding clicks. She stopped as a verdant voice thrust out.

‘This fraud. This fake. This bemusement is nothing but the humans’ attempt to draw us out! They have used their technology to pretend to be something they are not. They are afraid of us, scared that their time on this planet is coming to an end. They realize that they draw the picture of their own destruction, and that we are safe in our depths. They cannot live with the idea that we might survive them! They would take us with them into the abyss, never to return. Once already have our kind taken that plunge for humankind’s sake. Never again I say!’

Clicks. Thousands of them. The whole Court it seemed. She checked the feed and was not surprised to discover that the speaker was Lord Skagen, one of Lady Rey’s staunchest allies. No doubt the old fool was being paid for this rhetoric with promises of suitable companions for his children. Nothing was more important in dolphin society than ensuring the social elevation of your offspring. Skagen would be hard to beat down. He had political astuteness, and his family was old, with a direct line of sight to the Nordic clan. The Nordics were considered stoics, not easily flabbergasted by trickery or pomp. When Skagen spoke, his words had weight - whether they were being fed to him or not. If she could engage him, he would be a powerful ally in pulling her son away from this girl. 

This would have to be handled strategically. Skagen would know that Valeena was likely on the humans’ side. It was part of her job description to protect dolphinkind, and by extension all the denizens of the deep. It was one of the qualities that made her a great queen, but a bad politician. Half the time she considered handing her crown to Lady Rey with a message saying, “Here you go, see if you can do any better!”. The temptation passed when she considered what the scheming b***h could do with such power: sink a few human submarines (whales would be very useful here), brainwash a couple of world leaders (they loved their private beaches), persuade the sharks to go on a killing spree (the tiger sharks would totally go for this). Lady Rey would make life very uncomfortable for humankind, but what would that get her? The hatred of the most powerful species on the planet. For all their magic and insight, dolphins were behind in technology and in this context that meant only one thing, weapons of war. If the humans did one thing fantastically, it was manufacture weapons of mass destruction. Teasing humankind would be like sticking your beak inside a shark’s mouth and asking it to smile whilst you nibbled the roof of its mouth. 

 Valeena summoned Skagen for a private audience. 

**********

Lord Skagen swam into the Queen’s audience chamber with the gait of a dolphin twice his age. Valeena was not fooled. If the giggling of her maids backed up the rumors around the Court, he was as spritely as he had been twenty cycles ago. This disjointed effect was intended to put her at ease. No doubt thanks to Lady Rey’s coaching. 

‘My Queen,’ Skagen said after coming to a stop in front of her dais. He dipped his beak with the exact amount of grace required to satisfy formality.

‘My Lord.’ She saw no point in circling around the subject. ‘I need your help to debunk this human insanity.’

The look on Skagen’s face was rich enough to give her pleasure for the next cycle. His beak opened then closed, as his (presumed) script was torn up. ‘I…I…am at your service, Your Majesty,’ he croaked. 

She could see him trying to recalculate, regroup his thoughts. What did this mean? Was this a trap? Were the Queen’s guards waiting nearby, ready to drag him away?

Valeena said, ‘This human girl cannot be allowed to influence the path destiny has set out for us. Any skills she has are useless. humankind has thrown itself off the trench wall. The best we can do is not get crushed in its descent to oblivion. I have listened to your orations. I wish to offer you the opportunity to serve by presenting the facts to our kindred.’

She saw him glance left and right. It would have been hilarious, had the situation not been so dire. She could sense his mind working. He couldn’t trust her…could he? 

‘What do you desire of me?’ Skagen said, drawing the words out in even measure. 

Valeena descended to float in front of him. She dropped her clicks to the private mode; there was no point taking any chance that someone might be listening. ‘I want you to travel to meet my son, and assess this girl. Find her faults, her grievances, her fears. Lay it all open. Flay her soul and report back to the Court that she is unworthy. She must not be allowed to present dolphinkind with an excuse to hope for better from the humans. She must be withered; be driven back whence she came. She is not an infant, so her home must be away from the sea else we would have felt her presence before. Send her back there, doubting herself so that she will not interfere with us again.’

Skagen backed off. ‘Your Majesty, this is a task for a younger dolphin. I am too old, too weak.’

Valeena lanced him with her most withering stare. ‘You have strength enough for copulating with my serving maids. Or is that vigor only available in the bedchamber?’ 

To his credit, Skagen didn’t react. Valeena supposed that once a dolphin reached his level of maturity and power, it was assumed that someone would know about even small indiscretions. This was a chance taken, and part of the fun of the chase she imagined. 

Skagen sighed. ‘Your Majesty is well informed. Perhaps one day I might be allowed the chance to demonstrate my vigor on her?’

Valeena laughed. ‘Don’t push it, My Lord. Our royal canal has done its duty. It has no desire to be invaded by you or any other Courtier.’

‘Well,’ Skagen said, ‘should Your Majesty decide her canal needs some lubrication, I should be honored to supply it.’

‘Enough!’ Valeena roared. ‘To the coast of Florida with you. I shall tell my son to await your arrival. Fair warning, he will not be pleased to see you.’

‘No one ever is, Your Highness.’ Skagen replied in a drooping tone.

Valeena couldn’t resist one last barb. ‘Not even Lady Rey?’

Skagen smiled. ‘Lady Rey is a dolphin of many talents. However her canal is as wide as the mid-Atlantic Ridge.’

Randy old sod, Valeena thought. But he knows how to play the sides. He’s decided to hedge his bets for now. Siding with me could lead to a Consortship. He realizes that this is an opportunity, at least in his mind. We’ll let him believe that.

‘Away sir. I expect your report broadcast on the public channel within two moons.’ She turned and dismissed him with her back. She felt nothing for a few laps, then sensed the pressure waves as he swam away. 

Valeena swam back to her dais and settled herself. What was the human expression? “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This thief who sought to steal her son and usurp her crown must be stopped. Skagen certainly had no belief in the girl. He would do his duty, she was sure of that. The ‘event’ was a problem, but it had only happened once and could be put down to some technological device the humans had invented. It would not be a stretch to fabricate this as being responsible for the jolt that had stung them. Humans were devious and cruel, that was a common truth. All she had to do was to make sure that Skagen magnified that feeling and shone it at the heart of the Court. Where the Court went, the populous followed. That was the way of the polis.  

But what about Finn, was his heart already lost? For so long he had sought something to attach himself to. The dalliances of The Court could not keep his attention. Now along came this witch, and suddenly he was enthralled. Asking for The Restoration. He showed all the signs of being corrupted. To think that the populous would willingly donate themselves to magic a wrecked human. Such efforts were reserved for healing the most valued members of The Court. Of course she and Finn rated it. Even the cursed Lady Rey was a likely recipient. But for Finn to come right out and nominate this girl showed a lack of control she had never before seen from him. It was up to her to extricate him from the situation before he lost all perspective. Poseidon forbid that he spent the rest of his life in some tank so that this two-legs could feed him fetid fish from a bucket.

Her ire raised, she opened a private-channel connection to Finn. 

I am sending a neutral emissary to assess the human’s suitability.

Do nothing until he arrives. That is my command. 

She blocked the channel immediately to prevent the wail she knew would come. It would find nothing but the wall of her mind, smooth and repulsive like oozing lava.