Dolphin Island - Arthur C. Clarke [28]
When Mick started to climb out of the pool, he was glad to follow. Yet he would not have missed this experience for anything; it had shown him another of the sea's many faces. Night could transform the world below the waves, as it transformed the world above. No one knew the sea who explored it only by daylight.
Indeed, only a small part of the sea ever knew daylight Most of it was a realm of eternal darkness, for the rays of the sun could reach only a few hundred feet into its depths before being utterly absorbed. No light ever shone in the abyss—except the cold luminescence of the nightmare creatures who lived there, in a world without sun or seasons.
"What have you caught?" Johnny asked Mick when they had both clambered out of the pool.
"Six crayfish, two tiger cowries, three spider shells, and a volute I've never seen before.
Not a bad haul—though there was a big cray I couldn't reach. I could see his feelers, but he backed into a cave."
They started to walk homeward across the great plateau of living coral, using the beacon on the radio mast as their guide. That bright red star seemed miles away in the darkness, and Johnny was uncomfortably aware that the water through which he was wading had become much deeper while they had been exploring the pool. The tide was returning; it would be very unpleasant to be caught here, so far from land, while the sea went pouring in ahead of them.
But there was no danger of that; Mick had planned the excursion carefully. He had also, quite deliberately, used it to test his new friend, and Johnny had passed with flying colors.
There were some people whose nerves would never allow them to dive at night, when they could see only the tiny oval of a flashlight beam and could imagine anything in the remaining darkness. Johnny must have felt scared, as everyone did for the first time, but he had conquered his fears.
Soon he would be ready to leave these safe and sheltered pools and to do some real diving off the edge of the reef, in the ever-changing, unpredictable waters of the open sea.
Chapter 12
It was two weeks before anyone on the island saw the first of the Professor's ideas in action. There were, of course, many rumors, for as soon as the details of the dolphins'
request were released, everyone had his own theories about what should be done.
The scientists of the research station were, as might be expected, actively pro-dolphin.
Dr. Keith summed up their views when he remarked, "Even if killer whales do turn out to be the more intelligent of the two, I'll back the dolphins. They're much nicer people, and you don't choose your friends for their brains." When Johnny heard this, he was quite surprised, as he still did not care for Dr. Keith's patronizing attitude and regarded him as a cold fish with few human emotions. However, he must have some good qualities for Professor Kazan to have made him his assistant; by this time, anything that the Professor did was, as far as Johnny was concerned, beyond criticism.
The fishermen were divided. They, too, liked dolphins, but recognized them as competitors, for they knew at first hand the arguments that Dr. Hirsch had put forward.
There were times when dolphins had torn holes in their nets, stolen most of their catch, and made them say things about his friends that Professor Kazan would have been very unhappy to hear. If killer whales kept the dolphin population from getting too large, then good luck to them.
Johnny listened to these discussions with interest, but he had already made up his mind; no mere facts were going to make him change it. When someone has saved your life, that settles the matter; nothing that anyone else can say will turn you against him.
By this time, Johnny had become quite a skillful diver, though he knew that he would never be as good as Mick. He had mastered the use of flippers, face mask, and snorkel, and could now stay underwater for periods that would have astonished him only a few weeks ago. Though the healthy, open-air life was making him bigger and stronger, this was only part