Sea Changes

An Environmental Fantasy

By Liorah

Chapter Two — The Greatest Show on Earth

You sun-burnt sicklemen, of August weary,
Come hither from the furrow, and be merry;
Make holiday; your rye-straw hats put on,
And these fresh nymphs encounter every one
In country footing.

– Iris, The Tempest

“Come on, Allan! Yellah pronto! Now that I’m the ringleader in your fongluh-crazy getaway scheme, I get to set the pace!” Leana looked back at Allan, who was in turn staring intently at a team of jugglers who were tossing an amazing number of colored rings through the air. Some went straight up into the air in three fountains of a single color each while others flashed back and forth between the three of them. Allan’s eyes were flicking back and forth as the rings flashed this way and that, although he was otherwise perfectly still, seemingly as mesmerized as a cat by fluttering birds. If he’d had a tail, it might have been twitching. “Oh, Allan!” she sighed and worked her way back through the press of tourists, ignoring their sometimes nervous glances, until she was in range of his vision and then waving her hand.

Allan twitched back to reality. “Wei, Leana, too much sorry. The patterns were so intricate. I was just trying to figure out which rings took which paths to make the effect. Did you see? There were three separate patterns of circulating rings being handled by each juggler. The general horizontal flow of colored rings went between them all but the other pattern was the separate circulation of the three special colors taken by each of them for special handling, the vertical fountain of all one color. It only looked like they were all mixed up! The path of the three fountain colors was completely distinct!” Allan’s eyes had that special gleam in them that told Leana that he was very pleased with himself.

And if Leana could have rolled her eyes, she would have. “And you could tell all that from a few ticks of observation? Where’s your deerstalker hat and Inverness cape?” She knew that Allan was a huge admirer of the old Sherlock Holmes stories, and would be flattered. He was.

Blushing, he said, “It was just so bushra to see it, like the day’s going to turn out so perfect. This place is simply jing-tsai!” The two of them would never have been allowed to get away with slang or sloppy grammar at home, at least when their parents were within earshot, so they both felt delightfully footloose and fancy free, on their own in a strange place.

Leana laughed and took his arm. “Let’s get back on the slidewalk. Your Orca Circus is still aways down the road.”

They walked over toward the center of the path, where the broad slidewalk was indicated by its yellow color, and positioned themselves carefully before the piezoelectric fibers of the walk recognized the direction indicated by their feet and began accelerating them toward their destination, moving them toward the center of the walk as it did so, to minimize the disruptions in traffic flow caused by people entering or leaving the walk. The onboard AI would recognize any intrusion and either speed them up or slow them down to avoid a collision. It already had a good idea about where they were going because Allan had activated the path he’d entered into his BioLync on the subway, but could quickly adapt to changes of plan indicated by body language. He was enjoying himself as the walk undulated beneath his feet like an upside-down caterpillar, just slightly bigger than his shoes, imparting a fine vibration that made his toes tickle. He laughed.

Leana looked at him fondly, saying “Shako mako, Dee-Dee? Why the laugh?”

“This old slidewalk tickles,” he said, “and you know I hate it when you call me ‘Little Brother.’ ”

“And just who was it calling me ‘Sis’ this morning?”

Caught out, Allan subsided into silence. Leana had been an absolute genius in persuading their parents to let them go off by themselves, hinting delicately that they might appreciate spending some time alone, since it was their first real vacation, and presenting their unsupervised trip into the park as a favor, rather than a special request. That was a really nice touch, he thought, I’ll have to remember it. He opened his rucksack to get at his bottle of water and took a swig before returning it to the pack. Besides the water, it held only a light windbreaker, in case it turned cool during the evening. He wasn’t as well protected from cold weather as his sister, having no hair, so he’d succumbed to paranoia and brought it, despite the forecast of warm temperatures all night long. The idea of a weather forecast was weird, and disconcerting, although they’d sometimes hear them on the news about regions outside Campanella. He’d never had any reason to pay attention before.

He looked around as they were swept toward the Orca Circus structure. Most of what he could see on this side of the park was evenly divided between rides and performances, two huge waterslides that seemed scandalously wasteful, although he supposed that their location near the ocean offered a ready source of salt water, and another show featuring trained seals. He was surprised to see so relatively few Chimes around, since they were fairly common back home, but then thought that the regional polyversity might bring in more than the average number, since it was designed to accommodate the special needs of both the born-altered and the newly-transformed. He’d probably be going there himself, eventually, since his parents could take advantage of the discount provided for the children of faculty.

The slidewalk took them past a large open area where there were AI workbots piling up wood around a central pole for the effigy bonfires, still popular in this part of the country, although the annual commemoration of the brutal executions of the last Administration of the old USA had become slightly embarrassing in most areas of the re-formed, and smaller, successor nation. Of course, Florida had a special axe to grind.

He could see the entrance to the orca show just ahead, as the walk began moving them toward the edge and then shunted them onto the secondary slidewalk ramp that lifted them toward the arena and the seats. As they stepped off the walk he observed that they were still early, so there were only a few people sitting on the bleacher-style seats. The tank itself was huge, almost like a small lake, and they walked along the edge, peering into the depths, trying to catch a glimpse of the huge whales before the show began. They were nowhere to be seen, so Allan guessed that there was probably an underwater entrance to the tank somewhere, but had no clue where it might be.

He remembered that there was an aquarium nearby, and made a mental note to ask his sister if they could go there next, since the orca observation window had been advertised as one of its main attractions. He saw a platform or stage at one end of the tank, behind a low fence and gate, and figured that the human performers would be hanging around there, so the seats near the platform were probably the best places to sit. He calculated sightlines and the angle of the afternoon sun and made his choice, calling over to his sister as he ran toward his chosen section, flinging his small rucksack on the seat beside his as he found a seat right next to the rail.

“Leana! Let’s sit over here! We should be able to get some great vids of the show!”

Leana sighed as she got up from what seemed like a perfectly good seat to her, but knew that her brother would fidget and sulk if he sat anywhere but the perfect place. “Aiya, Dee-Dee!” she said, using the childish name that he disliked almost as much as she hated ‘Sis.’ “I’ll be right there.”

As soon as she got to where Allan was saving her spot, she realized that he’d probably been, as usual in these things, correct in his evaluation. They had a close-up view of the entire platform, with its scattered array of colorful hoops, balls, and what looked like plastic barbells, as well as a sort of ramp that extended down into the water. And they were very close. She was surprised that more people weren’t sitting there. She looked around and saw that new arrivals seemed to space themselves out into the largest empty spots, which were gradually being filled in as the start of the show drew closer. She could see a handful of technicians dressed in blue and green AquaWorld coveralls climbing up onto the lighting bridges, and another was rearranging the barbells and toys on the platform, so she guessed that the show was about to start.

“This does look good,” she conceded. “You’ve done it again, Holmes.”

Allan stuck out his tongue at her, so she knew she was forgiven.

Just then what looked like the head honcho stepped onto the platform as the crowd began to clap and cheer, “Ladies and Gentlemen, honored guests,” she began, and the audience cheered with even more enthusiasm, “AquaWorld welcomes you to the really, really big show, with the largest cast of the biggest performers on Earth, the spectacular Orca Circus!” As she spoke the last word, four huge orcas erupted from the quiet pool, arcing high into the air. The crowd went wild, and the general roar of excitement rose even higher as the whales plunged back into the water, raising a tremendous splash that drenched some spectators at the far end of the pool. They mostly seemed to have expected it, though, as many had raingear on, or held sheets of plastic over their heads.

Allan glanced away from the water and saw that some of those seated near them held plastic sheets, and one or two had raincoats. He’d seen them before, but had assumed that they were just cautious, since they didn’t live in a climate-controlled city like their own. He now realized that they might be in line for a similar soaking. He turned to his sister, who was still excited by the previous display, and spoke over the introductions being made by the pretty announcer, saying urgently, “Leana! We might get wet!”

That got her attention. She hated getting wet. She turned her head to look at him, “Aiya! Dee-Dee! The things I put up with for you! You owe me big time for this one, but it can’t be helped. Don’t worry about it.”

“Here, take my jacket, you can cover your head at least.” Allan fumbled under his seat for the rucksack and handed it over. “I’m really sorry I didn’t figure it out before. I’m such an idiot.”

“Shur-ah, little brother, that you can be sometimes, even though you’re mostly quite clever, but it’s OK, I probably won’t bite you.”

She was joking, of course, which reassured him, but he made a sour face. He hated to have missed an obvious thing like the raincoats and plastic.

She saw the face and elaborated, “We’re on an adventure, Allan, and it’s OK, really. We’re out of our cushy, climate-controlled cage for the first time in our lives, so of course we’ll get wet. That’s what people do in the wilderness!” She turned her head and looked him in the eyes. “Thank you, dearest brother. From my deepest heart, I thank you.”

Allan was confused and embarrassed by her words. She’d never talked like that before, to him at least, although the two women of the family often had quiet conversations in his parent’s bedroom, or in the kitchen when he was in another room. She doesn’t like living in Campanella? Why not? What could possibly be better? What does she mean by ‘cage?’

The show was still going on, although a little anticlimactic after the entrance of the orcas, and the announcer was explaining how smart the whales were to the accompaniment of hokey circus music that Allan recognized as being from the last century at least. The whales were balancing balls on their noses, carrying plastic barbells around in their teeth, playing a sort of aquatic leapfrog, and doing other trained dog tricks, when the announcer asked for a volunteer from the audience.

Hands flew up all around the stadium, including Allan’s, some clearly raised by people who were simultaneously urging the friends to go, not themselves, and one of the confederates picked out a couple where the man was loudly insisting that his conservatively-dressed female companion ‘volunteer,’ while she was visibly reluctant. He lowered his hand sheepishly. She had the act down pat, Allan decided, feigning humiliation and painful shyness while the ‘boyfriend’ and the unsuspecting crowd encouraged her. She arrived at the platform and the announcer tried to introduce her, painfully drawing out her answers while she covered her face with her hands and stammered.

So her eventual claim to be from New York City, and even her Big Apple accent, which didn’t seem sharp enough to have been that of a real tourist, told Allan that this was probably a setup and she was a shill. He was disappointed, since he’d been waving his hand around like a fool, trying to volunteer like everyone else, but now realized that the game had been rigged all along.

Sure enough, she was led out onto what looked like a diving board, where she was supposed to hold out a fish for the orcas to eat. She acted visibly frightened but the announcer encouraged her to lean out ‘just a little further’ and then the woman shrieked and fell forward into the pool as an orca rose out of the water behind her, startling her. Most of the audience gasped at the apparent danger and several employees ostentatiously ran to help her climb out of the water, while the audience started laughing when they saw that she was safe. Oh, please, Allan thought to himself. What’s next?

The announcer praised her courage and quick thinking, and continued, “Let’s all give the lady a hand, folks, for being such a good sport.” She held out her hands, clapping, as the woman was led to her side. “The staff will see that she gets a change of clothes later. As you know, orcas regularly eat fish and even seals, so we don’t actually taste good to them. Too much perfume.” This brought another laugh from the audience, since the woman looked just exactly like she may have been wearing too much of everything.

Allan whispered to his sister with a little nudge, “Here’s where we get wet. Look sharp….”

The announcer lowered his voice and almost whispered, as if he didn’t want the whales to hear, as he said, “The whales can actually hurl themselves onto ice floes, or even the beach, to grab a seal that looks particularly tasty.”

And right on cue, one of the whales did a tremendous belly flop out of the water and onto the ramp he’d noticed before, sending a torrent of water into the stands where they were sitting, while the woman somehow wound up in his open mouth as he slid back into the water, just as she’d supposedly been walking off the platform and back toward the stands.

Pandemonium broke out in the audience, with shouts and cries for help from many of the spectators, although Allan noticed that a few people in the crowd seemed to be enjoying the seeming disaster. Sure enough, not too long after the woman had been dragged into the water, disappearing beneath the surface without a trace, there was a sudden roil of water as first one, and then the rest of the orcas, leapt partially out of the water, and the woman from New York had somehow managed to climb on top of the last whale to appear, the one which had captured her, and was riding it like a bucking bronco, one hand waving in the air as she rode triumphantly around the arena and back toward the platform.

The audience quickly realized that they’d been duped, and started cheering as the troupe of players, human and non-human, began the rest of their act, which featured more performers riding the whales, with streamers on lightweight staffs and sparklers making quite a show.

Allan was soaked through, as was Leana when he glanced over, but she was smiling. She’d managed to keep most of the water off of her head, using his jacket, and seemed to be enjoying the show despite her soaking clothes. The grand finale was in progress, with all the whales balancing themselves partially out of the water with powerful strokes of their tails, while their riders stepped off the top of their heads and onto a high staging, a fireworks setpiece went off as the music rose to a crescendo, and the orcas slipped back under the water.

The announcer started thanking people for their enthusiasm just as the whales again appeared, in a fantastic reprise of their earlier leap from the water, but this time exploded into the air carrying special barbells with streamers and sparklers at the ends. And at that climactic moment, as the last and most spectacular ærial fireworks went off, as the whales plunged back into the pool, just on cue, Leana did something he’d never heard her do before. She roared.

He was astonished, and the reactions of the people sitting nearby were even more astonishing; one old man fainted, sagging into his seat like an half-empty sack of rice dropped onto a kitchen counter, and almost everyone drew away, appearing nervous and unsure of themselves, except for another chimed woman, a beautiful cat hybrid by the look of her, who grinned and pumped her fist in the air, evidently shouting “Yes!” except he couldn’t hear her over the cheers and whistles of the entire crowd, who were still reacting to the grand finale.

There was an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach and he felt tears begin to well from his eyes. Without willing it, his own fist pumped itself into the air and he started yelling, cheering, even as he wept, not for the end of the orca show, but because he suddenly felt connected with the cat woman, with his sister, with his parents, and with himself as a chimed human being. He’d never felt like this back home; he’d just poked along like an ordinary kid; but now he felt like he was part of something extraordinary, that he was deeply involved in the future of humanity, and something else he couldn’t explain to himself or understand yet, something about the orcas. His sister was looking at him with an odd expression on her face, but he didn’t feel ashamed of his tears, not at all. He felt opened, overwhelmed with love and pride, and free in a way he’d never felt before.

He reached out for his sister and she grabbed him in a hug, speaking loudly into his ear so he could hear her over the noise, “Wow! That was some show!”

He didn’t quite know whether she was talking about the whales or his own reaction, but he answered almost incoherently, smiling, crying, laughing, as the cheering subsided and people all around started gathering up their things, “I’m a Chimera!”

❦  ❦  ❦

Copyright © 2010 Liorah, All Rights Reserved Worldwide