Attunga - 32. Part 32

ATTUNGA Part 32.

***

Three weeks later Calen arrived at the end of the day with another surprise announcement. In eight days time the Comet was leaving for Earth with Sonic, Puck and Flute and their whole pod, on an expedition to recruit dolphins for the Attunga reaches. Wirrin hadn't forgotten Sonic's eagerness, but since Calen's first mention of the possibility nothing had been said and the impression had grown that with so many other things happening it would be a 'sometime in the future' kind of event.

“In eight days? Then Sonic must have organised it sometime today because when I looked at the Comet's schedule this morning it showed plans for special group training for the next two weeks.”

“Yes, he worked it out with Turaku and Yajala just before midday.”

Wirrin was far more interested in a couple of other aspects. For Puck and Flute to leave their reach for an extended time was quite out of the ordinary, let alone the whole pod.

“Why are Puck and all the others going? Sonic must have persuaded them?”

“He did. He thinks the pod as a unit can give Earth dolphins a better idea of what's here and make them more likely to want to come.”

“It still doesn't make sense. I remember you said there were only a hundred and forty dolphins.”

“That was the dolphins associated with Rangers or marine scientists. The number's grown to two hundred and thirteen definites now but Sonic wants to try for a lot more. There are over two million wild dolphins on Earth and he's going to ask some of them.”

“Completely wild? Ones that have had nothing to do with people?”

“Yes, and he hopes to return with representatives of other dolphin species as well. We'll be there for over a week with all the different locations he's going to.”

“So we're all going?”

“Wirrin, you'll just have to take a break from your Pirramar sessions. Sonic wouldn't dream of us going without you.”

“And neither would we. It's definitely a trio trip.”

***

Two days later, after having his study session interrupted by a holo visit from Akama, it was Wirrin's turn with a surprise announcement for Thom and Calen.

“Listen to this. The whole trip to Earth has been escalated. We're going to be there for at least three weeks, and your ship and a second Comet are coming with us as well as Akama and Warragul.”

“Akama! Why? Is something else important going to happen?”

“In a way.”

Thom interrupted.

“Why do they want my ship there?”

“For the times when we travel without Sonic. ...It's very superior to any earth transporter and we'll need it for all the extra time.”

“...Are you saying I won't be with Sonic for two weeks?”

Wirrin now had total attention as he went on to explain the details of the new arrangement.

***

“I call it the Pacific approach. I thought the pod would find it interesting.”

Every person and dolphin on the Comet was drinking in the incredible view of a planet seemingly covered with water. From this aspect, with the Pacific Ocean central, and the edges of the continental land masses peripheral it was easy to believe. Wirrin wondered just how much the dolphins understood the scale of what they were seeing. Sonic did, maybe better than humans for all anyone knew, but it would be interesting to talk to them about it after they reached the surface. For himself it was a reminder of just how tiny their mighty Warrakan really was.

Thom changed the descent path and the familiar shape of Australia moved into view, increasing in size as they headed for Monkey Mia with its ready-made landing cradle.

“Two minutes to touchdown.”

Wirrin's heart leapt as landmarks, burnt forever into his memory, came more and more clearly into view. He couldn't help smiling at the excited tone of the buzzes and squeaks coming from the dolphin pod in the pool behind him. There'd be even more excitement when they reached the real thing.

What? Total silence? A quick glance caught a flash of movement as the last two shapes darted for the exit channel. Sonic was leading them to the hull exit bays where transporters would take them in rapid convoy to the open waters of Shark Bay.

With a flick of his InfoSystem Wirrin took over a section of the display screen and zoomed to what must be a welcoming committee. Yes! There was Narn, peering upwards.

“Touchdown”

***

The get-ready call came and the trio rushed from the cool clear waters of Gnardune Springs to the base of the willy-willy tree where Warragul, Akama and Barudin were waiting with their meagre supplies for the next six days. Thom's ship was settled a hundred meters away where he'd landed the previous evening, on an expanse of rich red sand beside several grotesquely shaped paperbark trees.

For two days they'd been based at the underground Cultural Centre, learning the basics of survival and some of the meaning behind the traditional journey of initiation they were about to undertake.

Last night they'd slept on a patch of sand near the willy-willy tree, chosen because they thought of it as their strongest association point. Warragul laughingly described it as their acclimatisation period, spoilt by the use of soft mats and insulated covers if they felt they needed them. Not tonight. The only comforts would be those they could devise for themselves from materials found in their surroundings. And the same for the six following nights as they followed the route chosen by Barudin, their guide.

This journey was one of the main reasons for the lengthened Earth trip and the trio had been astonished when Akama had given them the option to try it. Not quite an option really because his enthusiasm when he explained it to Wirrin was so strong there was no other choice. Not that there would have been anyway. They'd all done traditional studies through EdCom when they were little and the comments by Akama and Warragul about their own experiences were also strong in their minds.

Thom and Calen couldn't believe Akama would give three weeks of his valuable time to go with the trio till Wirrin explained he was going anyway as he was almost certain this would be his last chance to visit his home country on earth.

“Good morning little brother. Did the night pass well?”

Akama was asking a very good question because spending the night beneath a gum tree close to the river waters had been a unique and surprising experience.

“There were strange noises all night. They made me feel like things were watching us.”

Wirrin and Calen nodded their agreement. They'd all been amazed at the variety of sounds and even wary of the indeterminate little scuttlings and scurryings.

“Something was splashing and the frogs kept starting and stopping their croaking.”

“The trees on the other side of the river were glowing like they were on fire till we realised it was the moon coming up, and then its reflection was so bright and shiny on the water.”

“Did you sleep?”

“Eventually. Everything was so different and then the birds went crazy and woke us up and the trees went on fire again. From the sun rising this time.”

Barudin nodded, slung on his backpack, and pointed.

This was it. It was time to go.

Wirrin strapped on his light, but very tough, sandal type footwear, feeling like he was taking on the role of some character in a virtual reality drama, and picked up his short, sharp jabbing stick. They could have chosen to make this journey of survival and learning with a great deal more comfort but after talking it over with Warragul, Akama and Barudin they agreed to be as authentic to the old way as possible. The footwear was a necessary concession for feet which wouldn't cope with hard ground, rocks and prickles without weeks or months of acclimatisation, and even more necessary was a subcutaneous infusion of special health-bots to protect their skin from unaccustomed sun's rays. Thom also carried a jabbing stick and Calen, probably sharing the same out of place feeling as Wirrin, brandished the fire hardened digging stick which was his sole accessory, and pointed through the trees to the not too distant hills. These hills, really an ancient eroded mountain range, were the territory for their journey, and today, evidently a very easy day, they'd be covering nearly twenty kilometers to reach a waterhole which almost always had water.

Barudin led the way.

***

“I can't believe you did that.”

“I can't either and it felt awful, but what else could I do? I had to come up with an answer or we'd be hungry, and besides, it's part of our wallkabout so I have to start sometime.”

Calen had just shocked Thom and Wirrin by killing a number of tiny lizards, skinks according to Akama, to provide bait to help catch the yabbies which were meant to be their evening meal. The small lobster like creatures were especially abundant in the waterhole and the technique of catching them required small pieces of meat. Calen's solution was the skinks.

The big rains which had earlier caused the river to flood meant that, providing you had the knowledge, there was plentiful food to be found and all day Barudin had been teaching them, showing them plants with tiny berries to sample or pointing out likely spots where a fat lizard might be hiding. It was vital to remember every skerrick of this information because the trio had been assigned with the responsibility of gathering everyone's food. Wirrin was zapping the knowledge of course. That was second nature now for every waking moment, but for the purposes of this journey he was restrained from using any information stored in his memory implant.

“Is that all there is?I could eat twice as much.”

Barudin, Akama and Warragul all pointed at the waterhole, meaning that if Thom wanted more he'd have to go through the lengthy process all over again. Wirrin was just as hungry and the surprisingly delicious taste when you de-shelled each yabby tail and popped the hot little curl of meat in your mouth was no help, as it made you want more.

“After you make shelter we'll find something sweet.”

Making shelter meant copying the efforts of the three elders, especially Barudin, with modifications to accommodate three instead of one. Wirrin gathered extra leaves and armfuls of tussocky native grass because the ground here wasn't soft sand and the only pad was one they could improvise. He did like the eucalyptus smell from the leaves on his hands.

***

“Hold them like this and suck the juice from the swollen sac with a very gentle pressure.”

It was Thom's turn to be first taker, and looking very dubious at the idea of putting the rear end of an ant in his mouth he went ahead. His eyes lit up.

“It really is sweet.”

“That's why they're called honey ants. Don't eat too many.

Thom, now eager, went ahead.

***

“Calen, here is the story of your sparrowhawk. Practice it in your mind for a retelling tomorrow night.”

An entranced group, sharing the glowing coals of their campfire, listened to the ancient story while the sky above morphed dark and darker, deep purple to black.

***

Wirrin and Calen, warmth on their skin, watched with enjoyment and laughter as Thom tried to emulate the rhythmic foot stomp Barudin was demonstrating to the steady beat of two fire sticks.

Wirrin and Calen, warmth in their hearts, joined in with enjoyment and laughter when Barudin added a guttural chant. The trio, fire in their spirits, felt a time of communion.

Warragul, Akama and Barudin, their dark skin gleaming in the occasional flare of light from a handful of dry leaves cast on the embers, passed on special dreamtime secrets.

***

“Close your eyes and pretend they're chunky pieces of your favourite protein-sub.”

This portion of their evening meal had taken a good deal of effort, with the trio using Calen's digging stick to unearth a number of fat witchetty grubs, after Akama, claiming it was one of his favourite bush tucker foods, had taken over Barudin's role and pointed out the right shrub and signs.

Today's journey had been harder, traversing higher ground, with views of the harsher country to the north and west, and a dark band of thicker vegetation defining the course of the river to the south and east.

The highlight for the trio was sneaking quietly along the base of a rocky outcrop and watching a group of rock wallabies sunning themselves on the ledges, then hopping to cover in consternation at the six monsters intruding in their territory and peering from the safety of a cleft or cluster of boulders.

***

“Barudin, come quick!”

Calen's soft call alerted the group and Wirrin's pulse raced at the sight of the coiled brown shape partially obscured beneath a low shrub. This was one of the dangers to watch for and all three elders had exhorted them to on no account interfere with any snake they happened to encounter.

“King Brown. A big fella. Give me your jabbing stick.”

Wirrin was surprised because on the two other occasions they'd seen a snake they'd watched from a respectable distance and then moved on. Surely he wasn't going to disturb it? A small stone or twig tossed from a distance would do that if he was wanting to make it move.

Motioning everyone to move away, Barudin waited till that was done then edged slowly, watchfully, closer and closer. With shocking, brutal suddenness the jabbing stick lashed with a powerful thud across the quiescent form and Barudin darted away. When the frenzy of thrashing and convulsions subsided Barudin delivered another sharp blow, pinned the slowly moving head to the ground with the jabbing stick, then grasped the still writhing body by the neck and held it aloft. The trio stared in fascination as loops and coils rippled along the whole body.

“He's dead. First strike killed him but his nerves keep him moving for a long time. Don't touch his head though. He's still full of deadly venom.”

Everyone moved closer and watched, fascinated, as the reflexive movements diminished. This was a big snake and nearly as tall as Barudin.

“Um!... You killed it?”

Thom's statement of the obvious was the question on everyone's mind really, after all the previous powerful non-interference warnings.

“Yes Thom, in the night he might have slid into your shelter seeking warmth.”

Barudin pointed to the site ten metres away where they planned to set up their campfire.

“This little spring is his territory where he searches for frogs and insects and native mice or any other life along the water course. You won't have to dig as many tubers now.”

“We're going to eat it?”

“Good tucker. Look how fat he is. We can't waste him.”

He gave a slight shake and Wirrin watched a vestige of muscle movement in the middle section. How long could those nerves keep contracting?

When Barudin proclaimed that something was good tucker the trio had come to expect something of a a taste treat, and pieces of snake grilled on a stick over the coals of the campfire turned out to be no exception. The only complication was separating all the little vertebral bones from the meat.

***

Each day they travelled through new terrain, listening to Barudin talk about trees, rocks and hills as if he knew them individually, recounting features and stories about them and always pointing out relevant food sources. Across more of the mountain range the group trekked, down to camp for a night by the main river near a shallow lagoon with hundreds of water birds, then rock-hopping up a tributary on the southern side where a trickle of water came over a series of mini waterfalls to a camp under a rock shelter overlooking a number of small pools. Akama knew this place from his own walkabout journey and told how there'd been no water flowing in his time and the only place you might find it was a deep pool several hundred metres upstream. Warragul knew none of this area. His home country was over a thousand kilometers to the east.

Each evening they set up camp, foraged for food, then after eating, spent several hours listening to and recounting stories, acting out some events from the day to the ceremonial background of beating fire sticks and Barudin's guttural chanting, and learning special men's business for their walkabout.

***

On the afternoon of the second last day they watched in awe as the sky, up till now unrelentingly clear, filled, in the distance, with great masses of cloud climbing high and high with shining white crowns and darkening bases. Thom gasped with excitement when a streak of white joined earth and sky. The lightning he'd questioned Akama about on their previous visit was happening for him here and now. A minute later while they were still watching expectantly a rumble of sound made them stare at each other.

“It's a long way off Thom but it might get interesting if that main centre keeps heading this way.”

The sun disappeared behind the leading edge of cloud and Wirrin marvelled as the sharp contrast of his surroundings dimmed. More bolts of lightning flashed at varying intervals. The volume of the thunder increased as the storm approached and suddenly the trio were caught by another new phenomenon. Wind, real wind, wild and buffeting their bodies like a live thing. Not the gentle caress of a sea-breeze at Monkey Mia. The sky darkened even more and just as Wirrin was turning to Calen to comment, everything lit up for an instant of startling brilliance with a crack of sound so loud it gave him a moment of pure fear. Even Barudin looked shocked till he laughed and said it was a close one.

***

On the very last day they travelled the greatest distance yet, over thirty kilometers, to the banks of the big river again, and almost seventy kilometers upstream from Gnardune Pool.

After their meal Barudin conducted their completion ceremony. The trio performed a special little thank you dance for Barudin which Wirrin had worked out, and the time of isolation was over.

Thom called his ship.

Calen, who'd been suffering their separation gamely, contacted Sonic.

Akama and Warragul contacted Attunga and Warrakan through the Comet, while Wirrin remotely activated his Comet InfoSystem to get an overview of what had been happening with the dolphin recruitment program. He was barely connected when his attention was distracted by an excited babble of dolphin speech from Calen and then a shout.

“An orca chased him and he wasn't fast enough to get away. Turaku saved him with the Comet.”

Everyone rushed over.

“Is he all right?”

'Earth adventures are even better than asteroid labyrinths. Orca is awesome.'

“Why did you go near an orca?”

'I wanted to talk to him but he was hungry.'

The trio shared a moment of surprise.

“You can't talk to orcas. They have a different language.”

'I have started to learn it.'

“Where are you?”

'With the little dolphins of South Island New Zealand. How long before we see our brothers?'

“Soon.”

Calen looked at Thom who in turn looked at Akama.

“After we return Barudin to Monkey Mia.”

“...If you take me to meet Sonic you can fly direct?”

Akama laughed at Barudin's direct manner of request.

“Of course. He'll love to hear you recount the antics of his pod brothers, especially the skink exterminator.”

“We'll be there in about half an hour Sonic. My ship is about to arrive.”

That brought Wirrin up with a jolt. The journey from here to Gnardune Pool would take about three days on foot and Thom's ship was traversing it in minutes. Yes, their traditional pace of life was finished.

***

After an evening and part of the next day Akama returned to Monkey Mia where he was spending time at his own private agenda.

Calen stayed with Sonic.

Wirrin, Thom and Warragul went to Alice Springs, almost in the centre of Australia and, as named friends, spoke for several hours with a number of the AIs based there before being guided through part of the enormous North-South Australian population corridor.

Over two thousand kilometers in length, this extended Habitat was one of the earliest models in the move to live self sufficiently underground and help restore the biodiversity of the planet's surface. Started under North Australian leadership, a later version of which was the inspiration behind the launching of Attunga, it was now one of the most advanced communities on the planet. Much of this newly advanced development had come through the particularly close relationship with AIs, sharing the expertise gained from the more complicated processes involved in nurturing the closed societies of an anti-grav habitat. According to Akama, the links between the North Australians and Attunga meant that in a matter of years this would be far and away the premier planetary life centre in the Solar System.

Thom's ship was, in Sonics words, a gift from the gods. It would go anywhere, meet them anywhere, and allowed the trio and Sonic to be together at the end of every busy day. The Comet stayed close to Sonic of course. That was its primary purpose. The second Comet stayed close to Akama. Again, its primary purpose.

Wirrin, Thom and Warragul spent a day at the Great Barrier Reef visiting the big marine centre there, and being guided to explore other special features with skimmers and face-masks. After spending twenty minutes on skimmers to get to the second location, Thom amazed the guides by calling up his ship and saying they'd use that instead to save time and see more.

Calen elected to stay with Sonic and make do with a much briefer visit at pick-up time.

Everyone was together for the visit to Antarctica. The dolphin pod, though limited to shorter sorties by the water temperature, was particularly eager to see the great icebergs and frozen cliffs, a completely new marine environment for them, and their eagerness just might have been magnified by Calen's talk of giant schools of fish, kilometres long, feeding on the abundant krill.

***

“Are you serious? It started out at two hundred and thirteen. When we landed we said we'd be impressed if we got a thousand, and now you say it could be six? We can't take that many. The Comet modifications after the Freedom hijack mean our limit has gone down to just over five thousand.”

Calen was reporting the results of a tally between Sonic and Turaku of what was likely to happen when they started collecting the Earth dolphins who'd decided to make Attunga their new home.

“Yes we can Thom. Sonic and Turaku already thought the number might be high by the time we went walkabout so the second Comet has been working flat out converting its storage space to dolphin transport pools. They've built just over three thousand places so there'll be tons of room.”

“What? They changed a Comet and I didn't even know?”

“Yes, you a slacker! You've been having so much fun visiting mountaintops and exploring underwater ice caves at the South Pole that you're neglecting our spaceships.”

“Hah! You can talk. Letting Sonic get eaten by a killer whale. That's neglecting!

They must have had the pico-factory working at maximum to do that much. It's a massive internal change.”

***

Halfway through the first of the two pick-up days the pico-factory again went into overdrive as the real numbers again went way in excess of expectations and at the end both Comets were overcrowded with a total of 9153 extra passengers.

Calen, remembering the first trip, was stressed that Sonic would be a physical wreck trying to keep them all happy for the long journey to Attunga.

Sonic wasn't, saying there was no panic and fear to overcome this time.

It was tiring, with the added complication of several dockings so he could move between ships, but he was older now and much stronger, as well has having all his pod, including Calen, to share the support work.

Turaku, through Comet-Turaku, had set things in motion on Attunga for receiving the big influx and the rangers and marine scientists there were stunned and delighted at the prospect of such a huge boost to the dolphin program.

The two Comets departed earth and some thirty hours later the pristine reaches on Attunga were receiving their new occupants.

***