Guy--Part Thirty-Eight

Splog # 157

Thirty-Eight

   Guy was slightly taken aback by Bugs' last remark and asked,

   "They can find something when they know where it is? Can't anyone do that? If you know where something is, then there's no need to find it."

   "Ah ha ha! But if I told you that something you wanted was three miles east and twenty feet up, would you be able to find it?"

   Guy thought for a moment. "Well, if I had a map, and a way to measure distances, I probably could."

   "Granted. Granted you could. But the LIng-Lings require neither map nor means of measurement. If they know the location of a place on the ocean floor, all you need do is mention that place and they can guide you there, no matter where you start from."

   "They can?" Guy was suitably impressed. "However do they manage it?"

   "Well, to tell the truth, I'm not in posession of any knowledge as to the how's and why's of their uncanny abilities. Communication with them tends to be a trifle one-sided. They comprehend what is required but don't respond in any way except simply by complying."

   "Oh." Guy thought for a moment and then asked, "Have they been trained by someone to do the things you ask them to?"

   "Well, trained is a bit of a stretch. They don't need to be trained to take you to a place. If you tell them a place, they simply go there."

   "They just go where you tell them to?"

   "No. No. No. You just mention a place - for example, Walla Walla - and they go there."

   "Really? But how would they get to Walla Walla? That's in Washington state and isn't even underwater?"

   Guy's mouth opened rather widely for a moment. "Do you actually possess cognizance of a location that refers to itself as Walla Walla? I was merely pronouncing nonsense syllables by way of an example."

   "But there really is a Walla Walla. Didn't you ever study geography?"

   "Of course I know my geography. But there's no Walla Walla around here. Sounds like a fairly ridiculous cognomen with which to christen a town or city or whatever. Unless it happens to be a haven for clowns or jesters or fools, perhaps?"

   "Clowns?" Guy pondered for a moment but was too preoccupied with the habits of the Ling-Lings to pay much attention to Splog's query. "So you just say a place and they go there? But how do you know they'll wait for you?"

   "Oh, the Ling-Lings love company. See what they're doing? They don't just swim right to the place. See how they're swimming around us? They enjoy the proximity of other creatures. If we didn't tell them a destination and follow along with them, then they'd follow us if we started heading out somewhere else."

   "So if they have a destination, they'll go there and if not they'll just follow along with anyone going anywhere?"

   "Exactly."

   "And that's all they do? Just swim from here to there?"

   "Yup."

   "Do they eat?"

   "Of course they eat. Everything eats."

   "Well, what do they eat?"

   "I have no direct knowledge of their dietary preferences. But they skim along the sand sometimes and they're probably picking up whatever it is they eat, I guess."

   "Oh."

   Guy was silent for a while, watching the myriad of lights all around him. He enjoyed the sensation of walking through the water. It was a languid kind of motion and made all his efforts smooth and easy. He was getting quite accustomed to having conversations with himself and wondered if everything Bugs knew would somehow leak into his brain. If it did, he might end up twice as smart as he'd been before he met Bugs. Maybe three times as smart. Or even ten times. At least, he'd have a much more extensive vocabulary. And then a thought struck him.

   "Where did you tell the Ling-Lings we want to go?"

   "To the Black Gate, of course. Where else? Isn't that where we're supposed to be going?"

   "I don't know. What's the Black Gate?"

   "What's the Black Gate? What do you mean, what's the Black Gate? Didn't Splog tell you about the Black Gate and the Islands Beneath and how to find the Toremal and about the Children and Nimos? And, of course, the monkey?"

   The voice stopped and Guy found himself at a complete loss. Splog had told him about a woman whose children had gone somewhere with their father and he came back alone. He knew there was more but it was hard to remember. He'd dozed off for parts of it and must have fallen completely asleep while Splog was still talking.

   "I don't really know much about where we're going," Guy reluctantly admitted, "or what we're doing. Splog did mention two children that I think got lost. But - uh - he didn't say anything about a monkey...I think."

   "But then what did he say about me?"

   "Well...I don't think he said anything about you, either."

   "But if he didn't mention me, how did you know where to find me?"

   Guy took a deep breath. "Listen, Bugs. Do you think that maybe you could just tell me where we're going and why we're going there and what we're s'posed to do when we get there?"

   Guy waited during a pause that continued longer than he'd expected. He hoped he hadn't asked too much of Bugs.