Ocean: The Sea Warriors (9 page)

Here and there, bioluminescent fish and other marine animals lit up the darkness and then seemed to vanish, only to be replaced by other illuminated organisms. A dragonfish came into view, with red light coming from under its eyes and lower jaw. A viperfish, looking like a snake with long, barbed teeth, lit up its body briefly and then flickered off, but not before illuminating an owlfish, whose oversized eyes soaked up even the smallest amount of light, enabling it to hunt in the deep without its own luminosity.

Gradually colors began to splash around the craft, making Kimo think of pictures he had seen of deep space nebulas. The passengers fell silent, except for occasional oohs and aahs, and gasps of delight.

Finally, they began to drop straight down slowly, inside a tunnel of dim illumination that marked one of the entrances to Moanna’s magical Womb of the Ocean, a tunnel that sparkled with translucent bubbles and diamonds of water. Down the clam shell went, guided by the giant squids, toward the deep ocean—a benthic region that had always seemed like the center of the universe to Kimo.

They descended through an area of illumination that emanated from minerals and creatures attached to the inside of the tube, and moments later they entered the largest of many lava tubes in this realm, causing small, silvery creatures to scurry out of the way. The tube spiraled downward in gradually increasing red illumination, until the colossal clam emerged into the immense, water-filled cavern that Kimo had been to many times, and where both he and Alicia had been transformed. He saw the ruby-red glow of Moanna on one side, where it always was. The glow seemed to approach them and encompass the shell, so that he felt the warmth of the Sea Goddess and her probing thoughts.

“In a few moments this clam shell is going to open and fill with water,” Kimo said to the passengers, “but do not be alarmed. This is necessary for the transformative process of your bodies. It is painless, entirely painless.”

He heard faint protests, but they were drowned out when the shell opened and water surrounded the startled passengers. At first they all seemed frozen in time, floating near the bottom of the shell. Then, gradually, all of them drifted upward and out into the reddish water of the cavern. Their expressions of terror changed to smiles and faces filled with wonder as the volunteers began to swim on their own, breathing through new gills, protected by these and by other features of their altered bodies—wondrous gifts from Moanna.

She had not rejected anyone.

Watching the recruits, Kimo saw no problems whatsoever. The adults seemed rejuvenated, swimming about and grinning as if they were children cavorting in an immense underwater pool. The youngest of all, Gwyneth, floated into the brightest section of ruby color, seemingly drawn toward the light like an insect. Except in this case, no harm would come to the teenager.

The ruby brightness glowed more, a miniature red sun that enveloped the teenager and everyone else. Moanna spoke in her gentle, murmuring voice that Kimo had always found so comforting. “You have all been transformed; you have been reborn. Welcome to my troubled domain, and to the critically important task before you. I have accepted each and every one of you, with all your human flaws and strengths. In your new incarnations, I expect you to rise to extraordinary heights of achievement. Some—but not all of you—will discover that that I have imparted additional abilities to you, beyond the deep-ocean swimming abilities you are already enjoying.

“In Kimo’s case, ever since his transformation in childhood, he has had a way with the creatures of the sea, causing them to follow him, and he eventually discovered that he could heal them of their injuries. Now he faces a much larger and more difficult task, that of leading the Sea Warriors in healing the ocean and the living things that inhabit it. Lately, Kimo has been working hard to improve his skills, becoming what he needs to be, discovering even more of his potential. And so it is with Alicia as well, a more recent convert who always loved the seas and was good to dolphins and porpoises, and who can now generate a variety of extremely useful waves.”

For a moment, the red glow seemed to highlight Gwyneth, then became more diffuse.

“Some of you will discover that you can lead specific species in the sea,” Moanna said, “as subgroups of Kimo’s larger responsibility, while others of you will be expected to follow Kimo’s commands in other ways, perhaps even counseling the humans of land—thus finding common cause between the creatures of the land and the creatures of the sea.

“As you swim back to the surface, some of you may become aware of the unspoken words of your companions. There is nothing telepathic about this; rather it is a molecular connection that each of you have with one another while you are in the sea. With your bodies and minds in direct contact with the ocean, and thereby with me, as if I were a telephone hub, you will be able to transmit thoughts to one another—but only if you wish to do so, and only to those companions you intend to address. It will take a little practice to get used to it, but I assure you, the system works quite well—once you are aware of it and are associated with me.”

The peculiar echo that followed her voice faded. Then she glowed more brightly, and continued, “No matter how much you learn, there will always be things to discover, new and wondrous things. Even Kimo, as much as he can already do, will continue to make discoveries. Think back, Kimo, on the healings of sea creatures that you have accomplished, and those that failed. You may not have noticed, but you can only accomplish healings when both you and the victim are immersed in the water, and when the victim is not too badly injured. It is your molecular linkage with all living things in the sea that enables you to heal; they are a booster system for you. There are many more aspects of the molecular connection with the ocean, and with me, that you will discover as you progress.”

Startled, Kimo thought back, and recalled failing to heal a dolphin that lay on the sand, where it had beached itself. He couldn’t remember if any portion of the animal was in contact with the water, but he knew that
he
had not been—that he’d been standing on dry sand when he attempted to help the creature. He had failed, and now he understood why.

Moanna’s murmuring voice continued. “Go now, my splendid Sea Warriors, and discover your true potential to perform good deeds….”

Kimo felt a chill of pleasure go down his spine, and if he were not entirely immersed in ocean water now, the people around him would be able see tears of joy streaming down his face.

***

Chapter 12

Fuji Namoto had been on Loa’kai island for four days now, her second extended trip to investigate the strange events in the area. She’d been walking the beaches on the Wanaao side, going in the water with scuba gear, taking measurements of water temperature, analyzing water samples and sea plants, as well as capturing small fish and sea organisms and taking them back to her room (where she had a makeshift laboratory) for tissue analysis.

It was early morning, and she stood in her rented studio apartment just outside of town, looking at the collection of vials she had assembled on the counter of the kitchenette, each containing a piece of cellular material, seawater, or minerals that she had analyzed. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Absolutely nothing.

At least, nothing physical or chemical that she could determine. Setting aside everything else on her calendar, Fuji would continue gathering information for another week or so, but she was beginning to suspect that the crisis in the ocean had less to do with science than it had to do with something else, something that would not turn up in any laboratory analysis. She feared that it would not be revealed by any investigative method she knew.

There were always new things to learn, and she had long known that the sea was full of mysteries. It was why she became an oceanographer in the first place, why she had dedicated her life to the study of the ocean. For years Fuji had worked in conjunction with the Navy, developing information that they used in their dolphin training programs and other programs that involved national security. But this was something different.

For some time, she had been wondering if the woman at the Wanaao town meeting had been correct in claiming that sea creatures were protesting against the way humans treated the ocean. The scientist part of Fuji’s brain told her this was impossible, because several species of animals could not coordinate any sort of an action, let alone one that sophisticated. And yet….

The small apartment she rented was in the guest wing of a waterfront home on several acres of land, owned by an elderly widower whose wife had died the year before. Mr. Harui was a collector of Japanese art, and had valuable wood-block prints displayed around his home, some by great masters of the past, such as Hokusai, Utamaro, and Toyokuni.

She looked out the window above the counter, saw an immense container ship a couple of miles offshore—and beyond that she made out the sinister profile of an oil tanker—the largest type on the water, a supertanker. Fuji didn’t think any oil tankers should be allowed in the Hawaiian islands, because she always worried that a spill could wreak havoc with the marine ecosystem, killing certain species of sea life that were found nowhere else in the world. Of course, it was an impossible dream to think of the islands without oil tankers, or the world without them, for that matter. But someday it would become a reality, when alternative energy sources were adequately developed, or oil supplies were exhausted.

Old Mr. Harui had been a friend of her father’s, and they had served together in the U.S. Air Force. In keeping with Japanese tradition, Harui expected Fuji to remove her shoes before entering the house, and he provided her with silk slippers. He was so fastidious about cleanliness that he made his collie go through a special dog shower and drying room before re-entering the house from outside, to keep the animal from getting rugs and furniture soiled with its dirty paws.

Despite Mr. Harui’s idiosyncrasies, Fuji liked him, and had selected his home for its privacy, giving her a place to work and think without interruption. Most of the time she had been keeping her cell phone off, only turning it on when she wanted to make a call, and she’d only been using the internet sparingly. Even so, she couldn’t prevent some locals from discovering she was here. Preston Ellsworth, for one. She had a breakfast appointment with him today.

They shared a table in one of his lush tropical gardens, but the old man was not himself. Dressed in an elegant white morning coat, he said he was recovering from a mild cold, and seemed preoccupied, concerned about his granddaughter’s welfare and about trouble his grandson might be getting into. Whenever the subject of Alicia’s involvement with the Sea Warriors came up, he became extremely agitated, railing against the organization and the “crazy” Pohaku family for taking his granddaughter away from her family.

After listening to this, Fuji took a deep breath and decided to press the subject anyway. She took a sip of strong coffee, then asked him, “Setting aside your worries about Alicia—which are legitimate—doesn’t the message promulgated by the Sea Warriors make some sense? Don’t we human beings need to clean up our act when it comes to how we treat the ocean?”

He stared at her long and hard without answering, his blue eyes bloodshot and rheumy, as from sickness combined with his advancing years. He did not look that well, and she worried about him. Still, she had to ask that question. A lot of questions needed to be asked, and this man represented a class of people who needed to be influenced to help the great cause of the ocean.

The great cause.

Fuji paused at this thought, realizing that she was shifting farther and farther away from her past professional life into something new. She’d always been concerned about the environment, but in the past it had been second to her career and personal matters. Now it had moved into first position.

“I really need to get going,” he said, glancing at his expensive watch. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, and rose from his chair. “It’s been nice seeing you. Please, don’t rush your meal. Go ahead and stay as long as you wish … on the house, of course.”

He turned abruptly and walked down a stone path toward another portion of his gardens, leaving her feeling sad, but still determined….

When young Alicia Ellsworth left her grandfather and devoted herself to the ocean, she took an important step in her life; she set a new priority—and Fuji realized that she needed to do the same. She had been heading toward a decision for some time now, and today she decided to make it, and notify her husband.

In the hotel lobby, she placed her daily call to Heinz. The Governor was at home, fighting a bad sinus infection, trying to avoid a secondary infection by getting extra rest. He sounded a little groggy when he answered the phone.

Fuji was concerned about him, and had been having a doctor look in on him every other day. Today was one of the days. “Did Doctor McNulty stop by?” she asked.

“He left around an hour ago, says I’m getting better, though I don’t feel like it. He gave me one of his canned speeches, about getting my rest and eating hot soup.”

“Did he bring you the hot and spicy soup today?”

“Yeah. It’s not an FDA approved remedy, but the spices in it sure make my sinuses feel better.”

“That’s good.” She paused. “Listen, I’m going to be here longer than expected, at least if what I hope for comes to pass.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to join the Sea Warriors. You and I have talked about it several times since I left, and now I’ve decided to do it.”

“Your name wasn’t on any list from Kimo Pohaku’s dreams.”

“No, but the organization is accepting other people, too—associate members. I just won’t be able to be transformed by the ocean goddess.”

Heinz coughed, said, “Do you have any idea how nutty that sounds?”

“I know, but I think it’s all true. I saw the video recording that the newspaperman made in Honolulu, showing Kimo and Alicia stay underwater for a long time, and there’s evidence about the waves she can generate and the way Kimo has been able to heal injured sea creatures. I’ve also seen videos of the jetfish pod Kimo and Alicia have been using to go around the world and pick up recruits. Think of it, Heinz: the pod is an amalgamation of jetfish—who knows how many—and it contains a passenger compartment, full of oxygen for the human passengers. Something big is happening in the world, Heinz, something huge.”

“The situation is totally out of control. Now I’ve lost my wife.”

“You haven’t lost me,” she insisted. “I still love you, and I’ll come back when I can. My dear husband, I may have a higher calling than anything I’ve done before, a new priority in which I can use my technical expertise. The ocean desperately needs the help of everyone possible, especially professionals. The ocean needs me.”

“
I
need you!”

“You’re getting better, my darling. I’m really sorry about the timing of this, but it’s something I have to do.”

“And if they don’t accept you?” he asked. His voice had a hard, angry edge to it. It was a tone she recognized, and meant that she needed to do everything possible to keep from having a full-blown argument with him. She had to end this call as quickly and as diplomatically as possible.

“Obviously, that would change my plans,” she said.

“Then I hope they reject you.”

“You don’t mean that!”

“Actually, I do.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, “but I’m going to do this. I want you to cool off, and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

He started to sputter something in protest, but she shut off the call quickly.

Alicia sensed the excitement around her as she helped Kimo lead the recruits in their first major practice session, following several hours of getting used to their new swimming abilities. It was late morning, and they were around a half mile offshore—far enough away that they could have some privacy from the onlookers who stood on the beach with binoculars. Of great importance, Kimo’s mother had arranged with the local police to set up a perimeter around the training area to keep boaters out of the water near them, because curious people would interfere with the training, and someone could be injured.

The recruits, wearing a hodgepodge of swimsuits, were learning a lot of things quickly. Most of them were able to use the molecular communication system that Moanna had imparted to them, by which they could transmit their thoughts to one another underwater—as if they were spoken words.

The system was intriguing to Alicia, giving each of them their own private thoughts if they wished, while allowing them to transmit thoughts to selected persons, as well. The way it worked was mind-boggling to her. Somehow, with each person immersed in ocean water, they were effectively in physical contact with each other, and could communicate with one another, with Moanna at the hub of the system. This might be linked to the manner in which Alicia had been using her own thoughts to generate waves—communicating with the life-energy of the water when she was in it. The entire ocean was, in effect, a single marine organism, and now she was part of it.

The recruits were undergoing drastic changes in their lives, but most of them seemed willing to make the necessary adjustments. Today, Kimo had spent time teaching them to breathe through their gills underwater, and periodically he told them to surface so that he could give them additional tips on swimming and breathing with the most efficiency, in both the air and in the sea.

He was also showing them which ocean animals and underwater plants could be eaten, and which should be avoided as potentially poisonous, or because they were an endangered species. Some of the new Sea Warriors took this opportunity to eat small fish or crabs raw, or took in mouthfuls of seawater, from which they strained out the nutritious phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Some recruits were hesitant to eat living creatures from the sea, saying it compromised the ethical basis on which they had undertaken this mission—but Kimo and Alicia told them otherwise.

“We must learn to live in the ocean if we are going to help it,” Kimo said. “We can’t keep taking breaks to go ashore for soup and sandwiches, and we can’t pack our lunches and take them with us. The more time we spend in the sea, living carefully off its bounty, the more we can contribute to the restoration of its health.”

This convinced some the people who had moral qualms, but not all of them. Kimo also told the recruits they could take the vegetarian approach, just eating plants such as kelp, leafy seaweed, and other marine algae, but he made it clear that plants were life forms, too, just as animals were—and all were part of the ocean ecosystem.