NOVEL NEXT Chapter 356: Cruel sea
Two more years had passed. A very short time, but which had marked new changes.
The humans had finally begun the construction of the great looking glass to obscure the planet Sarah. Using teleportation technology and bases established on main-belt asteroids, they had brought tens of tons of materials into the planet's orbit. Those materials had then been transformed into an initial structural system which would then be connected with glass to reflect sunlight.
The mirror would not have been thick or complex: the structural system was barely a micrometer wide. With the teleportation technology and the technological advances that humanity had achieved it was almost more difficult to build the mirror than to transport the materials to the right place.
Sarah, meanwhile, had now become very similar to Eden or to the by now terraformed Davis. Its dense, carbon dioxide-laden atmosphere had been almost completely converted to one similar to that of humans' home planet. The modified plants had almost completely cleared the air and only the slow rotation of the planet still warmed it to unlivable levels. But as soon as the mirror was finished, temperatures would drop enough for liquid water to exist on the surface.
Terraforming projects were far ahead of what was believed. Planetary engineers were already studying how much ice they would have to carry from the moons of giant planets or comets. They had also already established how to transport it to Sarah: using teleportation technology they would release it into planetary orbit, about 150 km high, and make it fall; by doing so, the ice blocks would have instantly evaporated and the water would have diffused into the atmosphere, to then rain on the surface in a relatively short time.
In the rest of the Solar System, too, humanity was making great strides. Davis was now completely self-sufficient and about a hundred million people already lived there permanently, at least five hundred million stayed there periodically, and billions of animals lived there permanently. Thanks to the gravity control technology, you didn't feel the difference in gravity at all.
Colonies on asteroids had grown in turn, multiplying enormously, and a first colony on a moon of Leviathan, the giant planet that replaced Jupiter in that universe, had been established. For the moment the colony consisted only of a non-self-sufficient base that needed constant changes of oxygen, food and water every month, but it would soon grow as well.
The planet Raab had now become a gigantic powerhouse. Its proximity to the Sun and its slow rotation made it possible to obtain a disproportionate amount of solar energy. Humans no longer had to worry about the energy problem: even if their number had grown thousands of times, the energy obtained would still be sufficient to satisfy all their needs.
On Eden, space tourism had by now become a practice of daily life. It seemed unthinkable that it didn't exist until a few years ago. Scientists around the world worked tirelessly to make communications more effective and thus break down that last barrier that prevented them from sending a colony to a nearby star.
However, humans weren't just focusing on space. Many of them had begun to explore the depths of the sea, which were still largely unknown. Entire armies of submarines dived continuously, aided by the animals that paved the way for them. In doing so, the seabed, the last unexplored place in the world, was slowly being mapped.
Sobek and Nefertiti had also explored the ocean. They did this periodically, as marine animals were also part of their enormous pack. Nefertiti loved the ocean, even though her spinosaurus nature made it easier for her to move in the fresh water of lakes and rivers; when she swam, she moved in a graceful and sinuous way, in a completely different way to the rough and violent one of her father, as many had pointed out, especially Mazu.
It was Mazu herself that Sobek and Nefertiti were going to meet that day.
"I'll never understand why you like the sea so much" Sobek grumbled as he watched his daughter somersault in the water. "Why do you prefer it to rivers and lakes?". He too didn't mind the sea, but he preferred softer waters: the salinity bothered him quite a bit.
"I just like it. There is no explanation" was his daughter's answer. Sobek shook his head, knowing too well by now that when his little girl said 'it's just like that', she didn't admit replies even from her father.
Nefertiti was now eight years old, but she looked as mature as a sixteen-year-old human counterpart. Sobek was starting to have a lot of trouble managing her. Those who said that a parent's hardest time was their child's adolescence were absolutely right.
Nefertiti had started doing a lot of crazy things all on herself. She walked away without warning him and often intervened in disputes between members of the pack without telling him anything. Sometimes when they argued she would disappear for days causing him to worry the hell out of him since he couldn't track her with the the [Contract]'s mindsharing ability.
At least, it didn't look like Nefertiti was becoming a 'rebellious teenager'. Sobek was finding her difficult to handle now, he had no idea how he would behave if she started to openly disobey him.
As they swam, Sobek noticed Nefertiti moving slightly away from him. He squinted and saw that she was walking close to a group of squid that was swimming placidly nearby. "What are you doing?" he asked her. "Do you want to eat something? I thought you'd already had breakfast..."
That was supposed to be just a joke, but Nefertiti looked at him in amazement. "But you always told me that we don't eat creatures that talk!"
Sobek was mystified. "Precisely. They do not…"
"They talk too! Don't you hear them?"
Sobek's eyes widened, looking at the squid. "You… can you talk to them?"
"You can't?"
"Of course not! Since when?"
"Since you first took me to the beach four years ago… when we saw that blue-ringed octopus, I waved to him and he waved to me. I thought you noticed"
Sobek didn't understand what was happening. How was this possible? He couldn't talk to invertebrates, and cephalopods were invertebrates. They had a brain completely unlike his. Nefertiti was supposed to inherit all of his features, so why that change? Wait… "Are you telling that even skills can be improved when creating a new individual with [Parthenogenesis]!?" he thought. "Possible? Could my daughter have evolved [Linguistics (4)] to [Linguistics (5)]?"
"Does it only happen with these squids and blue-ringed octopuses?" he asked her.
"Oh, no! It happened to me with giant squids, with octopuses, with cuttlefish of various species…"
All cephalopods, then. "Not with other animals? For example insects or molluscs?"
"No, only with them"
Apparently, Nefertiti had indeed evolved [Linguistics] to a higher level, allowing her to speak with all cephalopods. It wasn't so strange: of all invertebrates, cephalopods were the ones with the most complex and vertebrate-like brain. "If skills can improve with each generation, then in the future my descendants will also be able to talk to arthropods, molluscs, echinoderms, maybe even jellyfish…" Sobek thought. "The pack would grow to include the entirety of the animal world. That would be amazing…"
To keep the ecosystem active and avoid the extinction of invertebrates, the animals of the herd had to constantly supply them with food since fish, amphibians, reptiles and others were now out of their menu. The giant squids could no longer feed on the baby sperm whales and the pterygotus could no longer devour the unfortunate fish that ended up in their claws. If they hadn't been bottle-fed, they would have gone extinct.
But now, maybe there was a chance to introduce them to the pack. By doing so, they would no longer have to worry about these species' survival.
"Apparently it's true. The daughter is better than the father…"
Sobek wanted to discuss it further, but he knew now was not the time. "We'll talk about it later" he said. "Let's go. Mazu is waiting for us"
Nefertiti nodded and followed him without much complain. She too knew the urgency of the situation well.
After a short swim they arrived at the agreed point. A coastal area where the water was no deeper than a few meters. Sobek could easily hit rock bottom and walk and Nefertiti only narrowly didn't reach it.
They found Mazu lying on a large rock, her head slightly above the water. The mosasaur was surrounded by thousands of small fish and on the other rocks an infinite number of marine reptiles, fish and cetaceans were watching their commander.
She had been thirty-five when Sobek had recruited Mazu. She was now over fifty. Her body showed the signs of old age and her scales were now pale; the vivid colors that distinguished her were now extinguished. The mosasaur seemed to be breathing heavily and had milky eyes. "You have come" she greeted them.
"Did you expect the opposite?" Sobek asked her rhetorically. "A pack leader does not abandon a subordinate. Never, not even in their last hour"
Nefertiti approached and touched the muzzle of the mosasaur. "How are you, Aunt Ma?" she asked her.
Mazu let out a chuckle, which was drowned out by a cough. "I've had better times" she replied. "But do not worry. My spirit will soon be fine. The transition is the hardest part, after that… everything is simpler"
Nefertiti lay down next to her, using her hind legs to stay afloat. "I will miss you, Auntie"
"We will all miss you" Sobek added.
Mazu smiled. "Pack leader, you are raising your daughter masterfully. The more I look at her, the more I see her improve. One day, she will be a very good pack leader". She was silent for a second, then she added: "Forgive these words, but I think she will be an even better pack leader than you"
"Aunt Ma! What are you saying?" Nefertiti exclaimed.
"The truth" Sobek said. "That's what everyone thinks... and what I think too"
"Father, what…?"
"We'll talk about it later, Nefertiti. Don't waste what little time your aunt has left on such frivolities"
The young spinosaurus looked disappointed, but she didn't contradict her father and looked back at the dying mosasaur. "Are not you scared?" she asked her.
"Scared? Are you kidding me, girl?" Mazu laughed. "I have faced challenges that you cannot even imagine. I even fought your father the first time we met. If you think death scares me, you're way off"
The mosasaur let out several gasps similar to coughing, then she continued: "Let me tell you something, girl... death does not frighten those who have to face it. It scares when it comes close to you, because you know you will never be able to see your loved ones again. But in the end, death is just another way. We all have to take it sooner or later" she said, then she looked up at the sky. "I have so many memories and weights on my heart that I can't even swim anymore. I'll be happy to get rid of it. When death comes, I'll greet it like an old friend. I have no regrets and I know the world will be in safe hands with you"
Nefertiti pressed even closer to her. "Aunt Ma, I don't think I'm..."
"… worthy? And who do think they are? You should have seen what your father was like when he had to make an important decision. He almost looked constipated" Mazu laughed again. "Don't wait to feel yourself ready to it, baby. If I tell you you're good enough, then you're good enough. It doesn't matter if you feel that way or not. Always remember this and don't let anyone belittle you. You are the reason why I leave this world with a good heart, not your father"
A tear fell from Nefertiti's eyes. "Thank you, Aunt Ma" she stammered, pulling herself closer to the mosasaur.
"Forget about it. But that's enough talking about bad things now. Tell me something nice" Mazu said. "Let's see… I heard that a few weeks ago you ditched your father and went to see Uncle Al to attend an important session of the Eden Union"
"Yeah… it wasn't exactly a nice thing…"
"Are you joking? I would have done the same. Who wants to spend their days with your grouchy father? In fact, you should leave him in the lurch more often"
"Do you really have to encourage her?" Sobek growled, albeit sarcastically. "I am trying to raise a daughter, not a delinquent"
"You have to give her more freedom! You're too apprehensive" Mazu replied. "Come on, tell me! And don't leave out the details, I want to know everything"
Nefertiti smiled and began to tell. She and Mazu talked for a long time. Well, mostly Nefertiti talked and Mazu listened, and she only intervened a few times to cheer on the young spinosaur or to criticize Sobek. She looked like a grandmother spending time with her granddaughter and she intended to spoil her as much as possible. Then, after a few hours, Mazu said she was tired and wanted to take a nap. Nefertiti and Sobek respected her wish and left her alone. Mazu rested her head on the rock and fell asleep.
She never wakes up again.
Sobek and Nefertiti sensed her death the instant it happened thanks to the [Contract]. As soon as they felt it, they came close and pushed the body back into the sea. The thousands of sea animals crowded around the carcass to pay their respects to their commander.
"It's because it's cruel" Nefertiti said suddenly.
Sobek looked at her confused. "What?"
"You asked me why I prefer the sea to rivers. It's because the sea is cruel. It does everything to eliminate you" his daughter answered with a sad voice. "You almost never see the bottom and you don't know what awaits you down there. At any moment it can change and unleash a storm. It can kill you in any way. The sea, unlike rivers and lakes which are forced to follow a pre-established path, is a free spirit. That's why I like it so much... and that's why my aunt too liked it so much"
Sobek remained silent for a moment, and then he nooded. "Yeah... she truly liked it" he said, while he watched the sea creatures moving continuously around the lifeless body of Mazu.