Dolphin Island - Arthur C. Clarke [61]
He smiled at the rather dazed look on Johnny's face, and came back to earth.
"If you think that half my ideas are crazy, you're quite right. But we don't know which half, and that's what we've got to find out. Now do you understand why I want you to go to college? It's for my own selfish reasons, as well as your own good."
Before Johnny could do more than nod in reply, the door opened.
"I said five minutes, and you've had ten," grumbled Nurse Tessie. "Out you go. And here's your milk, Professor."
Professor Kazan said something in Russian which conveyed, quite clearly, the impression that he didn't like milk. But he was already drinking it by the time that Johnny, in a very thoughtful mood, had left the room.
He walked down to the beach, along the narrow path that wound through the forest.
Most of the fallen trees had been cleared away, and already the hurricane seemed like a nightmare that could never really have happened.
The tide was in, covering most of the reef with a sheet of water nowhere more than two or three feet deep. A gentle breeze was playing across it, producing the most curious and beautiful effects. In some areas the water was flat and oily, still as the surface of a mirror. But in others it was corrugated into billions of tiny ripples, sparkling and twinkling like jewels as their ever changing curves reflected the sunlight.
The reef was lovely and peaceful now, and for the last year it had been his whole world.
But wider worlds were beckoning; he must lift his eyes to farther horizons.
He no longer felt depressed by the prospect of the years of study still ahead. That would be hard work, but it would also be a pleasure; there were so many things he wanted to learn about the Sea.
And about its People, who were now his friends.
A Note from the Author
I hope that if you have read this far, you will want to know how much of this book is based upon fact and how much is pure imagination.
The hovership described in the opening chapters does not yet exist, of course, but the first commercial "Hovercraft" (the VA-3 and the SRN-2) are now operating in Great Britain. In fifty years, such air-supported vehicles may well have grown to the size of the Santa Anna. "Hydrofoils"—boats with large skis which allow them to skim on the surface of the water at fifty miles per hour or more—are now in common use in Russia and Europe. Versions carrying several hundred passengers are operating on rivers in the U.S.S.R.
All the descriptions of the Great Barrier Reef, both above. and below water, are, entirety factual and are, based on my own explorations as described in The Coast of Coral. The story of Mary Watson in Chapter 13 is perfectly true, and I have changed neither names nor dates. However, her tragic adventure occurred not on my imaginary Dolphin Island, but on Lizard Island, much nearer to the mainland. The full story, with a reproduction of Mrs. Watson's diary—which I have handled myself—will be found in The Coast of Coral.
Whether dolphins are quite as intelligent as I have assumed is one of the most fascinating problems of present-day research. There is no doubt, however, that they are very intelligent and have some sort of language, as well as a marvelous "sonar" system, which allows them to detect underwater obstacles and to catch fish in the dark. If you want to know more about these delightful animals, try to get hold of Antony Alpers' A Book of Dolphins and Dr. John Lilly's Man and Dolphin, from both of which I obtained much useful material. I would also like to express my thanks to Mr. F. G. Wood, Curator of Marineland, St. Augustine, Florida, for providing me with valuable information on dolphin behavior.
The controlling of animals by electrical impulses fed into their brains, as described in Chapter 16, is already an accomplished fact; indeed, it was achieved as early as the 1930's. If you want to learn more about this fascinating (and