Leap - 02 (18 page)

36

The metal door burst open, and Alves charged down the hall with Carolina hurrying behind him.  Miguel Blanco was waiting near the end of the hallway with arms folded, gazing through another smaller window.  He calmly turned when Alves reached him.

“Tell me!”

“He was here all along,” Blanco smirked, “hiding upstairs.”  He motioned back outside.  “We have him contained.”

“Is he talking?!”  Alves blurted, excitedly.

“Don’t know.  The woman asked us to stay inside.  She said they needed to establish a level of trust with the monkey first.”

Alves peered eagerly through the exterior window and across a small open area to where several cages sat at the base of the group of trees.  They were too far away to hear.  “We need a feed on them!”

“Enrique’s working on that,” Blanco replied smoothly.  He glanced at his watch. “He said he’d have video and audio in ten minutes.”

Alves nodded anxiously.  “Good.”  From their angle, they could only see part of Dexter’s tiny frame outside, but it was him.  He was sure.  After a long pause studying him, Alves turned back to Blanco.  “He doesn’t get out of that containment cage!  Understand?  No matter what!”

The roof was just the beginning.  Coaxing Dexter down was one thing, but once on the ground, watching Dulce ask Dexter a question and then relay the answer
back to them
left DeeAnn in awe.  She was sure she had just witnessed IMIS do something of which Lee Kenwood had never dreamed.

DeeAnn continued watching, still dumbfounded, as Dulce handed Dexter a small chunk of celery and asked,
Hungry
?

The tiny gray monkey studied the vegetable for a moment, but then seized it in a flash.  He finished it within seconds.  Dulce tilted her head and grinned, then reached for another.

The two were now in a different caged area.  It was smaller and located under the canopy and shade of several dark green, mid-sized mango trees.  DeeAnn and Juan were both inside but leaning against the chain link, a distance which Dexter appeared to deem safe.

They watched intently, and DeeAnn kept her vest pointed carefully, as to allow her to capture both primates within the tiny camera’s field of view.

What was interesting though was that over the last couple days, the IMIS vest had grown increasingly efficient at translating for DeeAnn, and yet it was unable to translate the exchange between Dulce and Dexter.  DeeAnn pondered what that meant.  Was there something else happening with the communication between the primates?

As was the case in human communication, words, gestures, context, and tone were also very commonly used by primates.  In fact, many primates knew what humor was and enjoyed playing tricks on their researchers.  Even more fascinating was their practice at varying levels of deception.  They also demonstrated human characteristics like greed, jealousy, and ire. 
So why couldn’t IMIS translate their speech?
  A thought suddenly occurred to DeeAnn, and she dropped her head, contemplating. 
Unless
it was something humans couldn’t do.  Or something humans had evolved out of.

Dulce spoke with Dexter again, who seemed to say something back.  Dulce rolled her head sideways with a curious expression and looked at DeeAnn.  When she spoke, the words emanated a moment later from the vest’s speaker.
  He hiding
.

DeeAnn replied softly.  “Ask him why he is hiding.”

They watched Dulce turn back to Dexter, who was barely half as tall as she.  His near white fur had a peppering of black, which from a distance gave him a gray hue.  After another blurted exchange with yelps and motions, Dulce turned to them again. 
He hide from bad people.

DeeAnn looked at Juan with widening eyes.  “Do you think that means he
saw
them?

“Maybe,” Juan whispered back.

DeeAnn cleared her voice.  “Who are bad people, Dulce?”

Dulce spoke to Dexter again and waited. 
He want out cage.

“Soon.  But first, who are bad people?”

After another exchange, Dulce replied again. 
Bad people hurt friend.

DeeAnn gasped. 
Luke!  Was Luke the friend?
  She took a deep breath, struggling to remain calm.  “Who was his friend?”

Dulce stared at her a moment, trying to understand the question.  When she turned and spoke to Dexter, his reply was brief. 
Teacher
.

“Yes, Dulce!  Teacher!”  DeeAnn said, gripping one of Juan’s sleeves.  “Who hurt the teacher?”

Teacher friend.

“Yes, yes.  Teacher is friend.  Who hurt teacher?  Where is teacher?!”

Dulce asked again.  IMIS didn’t translate, but DeeAnn could tell Dexter’s answer was different this time.  She stared apprehensively at Dulce, waiting. 

Dulce looked at DeeAnn but didn’t speak immediately.  She waited, staring, as her small face slowly changed expressions to one of sadness.  Her answer struck DeeAnn like a freight train. 
Teacher die.

Juan’s eyes widened and he turned to DeeAnn.  Her face went instantly white.  Her knees wobbled and she looked as though she were going to collapse when Juan quickly reached out and grabbed her.

Dulce watched DeeAnn with sorrow and finished the translation. 
Friend die teacher.

37

DeeAnn’s eyelids fluttered open, and she looked around with blurry eyes.  After taking some time for them to adjust, she finally recognized her room on Alves’ estate.

She turned her head and saw Juan’s face hovering above her.  Alves and Blanco stood behind him, looking questioningly.

“Dee, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”  She blinked and focused on Juan’s young, tan face.  “What happened?”

“You fainted.”

“Fainted?” she said, confused.  “I did?”

“Yeah.”  Juan looked to the other two men, then back down at her.  “How do you feel?”

DeeAnn blinked again.  “Fine.”  Her mind was fully aware now and trying to rewind.  All at once, she remembered and was instantly overcome with heartbreak. 
Luke!

She remembered what Dulce had repeated.  Even worse, she knew what it meant.  She had been hoping against hope that Luke was still alive, but she always knew the chances were remote.  Deep down she knew that Luke was dead, but she wouldn’t let herself come to believe it.  Until now.  They were just words.  From a monkey, no less, but she knew it was true.  She finally had to admit it.  Luke was gone.

Her eyes began to well up until streams fell from the corners, running down each of her cheeks.  DeeAnn closed her eyes and gently rolled her head back and forth.  What on earth was she doing here?  She just wanted to go home.

She opened her eyes again and reached for Juan’s hand.  “Help me up.”

“Hold on.”  He loosened his grip and gently placed his other hand on her shoulder.  Leaning forward, he brushed her hair off her forehead.  “I think there’s more here than just fainting.  You look like you might have a case of heatstroke.  You’re sweating quite a bit.  Are you thirsty?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been pushing yourself pretty hard, Dee.  I think you need take it easy for a while.”

She took a deep breath and forced her limbs to relax.  “What about Dulce and Dexter?”

Alves peered over Juan’s shoulder with a concerned look.  “Don’t you worry about them.  They’re safe and they’re not going anywhere.  You need some rest.  In fact,” he said, with a sigh, “I think we all do.”

DeeAnn nodded.  “They need to be separated without me in there with them.  And fed too.”

“Already done,” smiled Juan.  “Let’s just take the afternoon to get some rest.”  He turned to Alves and Blanco.  “If you gentlemen don’t mind.”

A flash of surprise passed over both of them, but they nodded and headed for the door.  With a quick glance back, they stepped out and Blanco closed the door softly behind them.

DeeAnn looked up at Juan and shook her head.  “I’m sorry, Juan.  I brought us on a wild goose chase, and I shouldn’t have.”  She reached up and laid a hand over her eye.  “I thought I could do something to help Luke before it was too late.  But in my heart, I already knew it was too late.  And now I’m worried about Dulce.  I know you can’t tell, but she’s not coping well.  And here I am, with a case of heatstroke.”  She took a deep breath and let it out quickly.  “I know this sounds harsh, Juan, but if Luke really is gone, I don’t think we’re going to find out who did it.  At least not soon.  I think it would take a while.  Longer than Dulce could handle.”  She frowned at him.  “We need to go home.  Before things get worse.”

“I understand.”  Juan nodded and gingerly patted her hand.  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

DeeAnn nodded.  “I’m fine.”

“Good,” said Juan, lowering his voice.  This time it was his turn to take a deep breath.  “Because I think we have a problem.”

DeeAnn wrinkled her brow.  “What?”

Juan leaned in and almost whispered.  “I said I think we have a problem.”

“What are you talking about?”

He looked up and scanned the room, wondering if he would be able to spot a bug, even if there was one.  “Listen.  Did you notice anything while Dulce was talking to Dexter outside?”

“Like what?”

“When you were talking to Dulce, I heard something.  When I looked up, one of Alves’ men had opened a window and aimed a video camera right at us.”

“They were recording us?” she asked.

“I think they only caught the last bit, but yes, they were recording.”

“That’s a little weird.  We could just give them a copy of the translations.”

Juan nodded, still using a low voice.  “That’s what I was thinking.  And there’s something else.  I know you may still be a little groggy, but do you remember the last thing Dulce translated before you fainted?”

DeeAnn thought a moment.  “Teacher die?”

“No,” Juan shook his head.  “She said something else right after that.  She said,
Friend die teacher
.”

DeeAnn’s eyes narrowed as she thought about it.  “Friend die teacher?”

Juan nodded but said nothing.

After thinking, DeeAnn looked at him curiously.  “Redundant translation?”

“Maybe.  Maybe it was a redundant reference or maybe it was one of those system errors beginning to cause problems.  But if it was, the timing would be extremely coincidental.”

DeeAnn propped herself up on her elbows.  “Well, you know the system better than I do.  What are you saying?”

Juan turned and looked cautiously at the door.  “The IMIS software catches most redundant translations.  It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty effective.”

DeeAnn’s eyes narrowed further.  “Spill it, Juan.  What are you getting at?”

He bit his lip, thinking.  Finally, he leaned forward again.  “I don’t think it was redundant.  I think the word ‘friend’ may have been a reference to a third person.”

DeeAnn gave him a contemplative stare.  Suddenly she bolted up.  “Oh my god,
friend die teacher
.  You think it was a reference to who killed Luke!”

“Shh!” Juan held up both hands.  “Look, I don’t know.  I don’t know what exactly was happening between Dulce and Dexter, but considering how accurate our other translations from Dulce have been, I think it’s very possible.”

“Oh, my god!” DeeAnn repeated, with both hands over her mouth.  “Do you think ‘die’ means
kill
?”

“It’s a possibility.  But Dee, we don’t know this for sure.”

DeeAnn dropped her hands.  “With what you know of IMIS, how much of a possibility are we talking about?”

“Well,” Juan replied, glancing at the door again.  “A few minutes ago, I would have said something like forty percent.  But…”

“But what?”

With one hand, Juan reached down past the side of her bed and came back up holding his cell phone.  He unlocked the screen and turned it toward her.  “Remember when Alves told us he had a cellular repeater on site here?  The one we’ve been using for calls?  Well, after you fainted, my cellular signal
disappeared
.”

38

A mild southwesterly produced a morning chop over the deep blue waters of the Caribbean; though for the open ocean, it was still considered relatively calm.  The swaying of the boat over the small rolling waves had increased, making it slightly more difficult for Alison to keep her balance.  Chris and Lee loaded her up with the diving equipment again.  Behind her, a soft sunrise shone through a veil of light clouds on the horizon. 

It was already nearly eighty degrees when Chris opened the valve and Alison tested the airflow once more, giving another thumbs-up. 

Lee stood in front of her.  “Okay, so remember, you’re only going to hear Dirk and Sally this time.  It’s the only way not to overwhelm the system.”

Alison pulled the mask from her face.  “Got it.”

After a few test translations, followed by the addition of her weight belt, Chris helped Alison back to the stern.  Dozens of dolphins were waiting for her again with their heads up out of the water.  One by one, they bobbed higher as the small waves brushed past them.  Alison smiled when she spotted Dirk and Sally in the middle of the group.

Her jump this time was more controlled and her splash smaller.  She immediately spun around to signal Chris.  After a short pause, she reached down to let some air out of her BCD and slipped below the surface, descending in slow motion through the emerald water.

The dolphins wasted no time circling her, all still trying to speak, but this time she felt a sense of calm as Dirk and Sally approached.

“Dirk, Sally, the metal is broken.  I can only talk to you.”

She wasn’t sure what she was expecting.  Dolphins didn’t exactly nod.  Instead, they just watched her and replied. 
You talk us only.

“Yes.”

Okay.

Dozens of dolphins continued to swarm around her excitedly.  

We all happy you here.  We like talk.

Alison smiled from inside the glass facemask.  “So am I, Dirk.  So am I.”  She watched as he shot past and stopped behind her.  He came in closer to examine her tanks.

Metal no broken.

She rolled her eyes.  “Trust me, it’s broken.”  The familiar buzz sounded in her ear, signaling a bad translation.

Alison watched Sally turn slightly and speak, most of which generated only more buzzing, courtesy of IMIS.  Out of the string, there were only two words translated correctly: 
she here.

She waited in anticipation as Dirk came out from behind her.  The field of swirling dolphins began to quickly thin until only a few were left, yet even they distanced themselves.  From a distance, Alison could see three faint shapes approaching.  All three swam in a tight group.  They moved steadily until they slowed next to Dirk and Sally.

The three looked noticeably larger than the others but not by much.  Instead, with their size and slow movements, they struck Alison as older.

Sally turned and drifted closer to Alison. 
Here our heads.

Alison stared at her with a puzzled expression.  “Your head?” 
What does that mean…what heads?
She pondered Sally’s comment for a moment and shrugged beneath her vest.  “I don’t understand.”

Sally blinked, continuing to drift in. 
Our heads.  Old.
 

“Your heads are old?  I don’t…” Alison stopped in midsentence.  “Wait,” her eyes lit up, “you mean your elders?!”

Yes.  Old heads.

“Old heads,” Alison repeated, inside her mask.  She looked back at the three older dolphins who seemed to be studying her.  One of them appeared to speak, but Alison couldn’t hear it.  She could only hear what Sally repeated to her.

How you speak.

“I speak with a metal,”

After Sally had repeated Alison’s reply, the elder spoke again. 
How many humans talk.

Alison smiled, feeling a surge of excitement.  “Just me now.  But soon, many will talk!”  She considered explaining what “soon” meant but left it alone.  She knew the IMIS system was wildly complex, not to mention expensive.  It would take time.  Years maybe.  But one day it would come.  One day everyone would be able to do it.

Another elder spoke to Sally, who repeated again to Alison. 
How old you.

She chuckled, creating a small patch of fog inside her mask.  Clearly dolphins didn’t have the same hang ups with age that humans did.  She briefly wondered if they had any hang-ups at all.

“I’m thirty-four.”

Finally, the third dolphin spoke through Sally. 
We happy talk again. 
Before Alison could reply the elder added,
You come
journey.

Alison gave a brief shake of her head.  “What?”

We journey.  You come.

“Journey?  You’re going on a journey?”

Yes.  You come.  We go to beautiful.

Alison stared at them, surprised.  “Isn’t this your home?”

We go --- home now.  --- Beautiful --- ---.

Alison’s earpiece buzzed again with more unrecognized words.  She reached down and found the glowing button on her vest that muted the speaker.  “Lee, are you getting this?”

Lee’s voice was clear and crisp.  “We sure are.”

“Who’s there with you?”

Lee glanced up at Chris and Kelly.  “We’re all here, Ali.”

“They’re leaving,” Alison said, looking at the dolphins.

“It sure seems that way,” he replied.

Alison was afraid to ask the obvious question.  They were, after all, out in the middle of the ocean and farther from land than any of them thought they ought to be.  She swallowed silently.  “What do you guys think we should do?”

Lee looked at Chris, who then looked at Kelly.  With a smile, Lee leaned in close to the microphone.  “Didn’t we hear an invitation in there?”

Alison was relieved to find the rest of the team was as excited as she was.  After some assurance from the elders that their journey destination was close, Kelly was confident the boat would be fine.  They had more than enough fuel and food.

Several hours of motoring later, Alison was woken by Chris shaking her vigorously.  She had managed to catch up on some sleep, but when she blinked up at him, he had an urgent look on his face.

“Ali! Ali!  You’ve got to get up!”

Her eyes darted around the small cabin in a panic.  “What’s wrong?!  Is something wrong with the boat?!”

Chris simply grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.  “Just get up!  You need to see something!”

Alison shook the cobwebs from her mind and slid out of the bed, onto the cool wooden floorboards.  Still being pulled by Chris, she stumbled up the stairs behind him and into the salon.  Lee’s laptop sat abandoned on the round table.

Chris yanked on her hand again, pulling her outside into the wide cockpit, where both Lee and Kelly were staring out across the water.

Alison blinked again and this time when her eyes cleared, she gasped.  “Oh my god!”  She turned and looked past the stern, then over to port.  “OH MY GOD!”

She finished a three hundred and sixty degree scan before turning back to Chris and the others.  She was speechless.

Together, they all stared incredulously.  That morning, during Alison’s second dive, they had seen more dolphins than ever before.  Hundreds of them.

But that paled in comparison to what they were seeing now.  They were now surrounded by
thousands
of dolphins.  No,
tens of thousands!
  As far as they could see in any direction were the familiar gray shapes and dorsal fins rising rhythmically up and out of the water, everywhere!

Alison stepped forward, completely bewildered.  “My god,” she whispered to the others.  “This isn’t a journey.  This is a
pilgrimage!
”