Carla
backed up so she could see the reef better. A tessellation of
almost-identical shells, each occupied by something vaguely
resembling an octopus, individually as intelligent as a cat, and
about half the size of a cryopod. As in a coral, the "animals"
were connected, forming one colonial organism. It sounded like the
cell right in front of her was the one that had spoken. Last time,
the colony had been much smaller, and it had not understood her next
question.
"Which
one of you spoke?"
I
am only one. There is no one else but you.
That
was interesting. The first few visits, she had not been sure it
recognized her as an independent entity. And the language lessons
she'd broadcast from the buoy seemed to have been assimilated. Was it
gaining intelligence as it grew? She went through the rest of the
questions, recording the answers.
"I'll
be back next year. Your health and prosperity."
As
on her previous visits, it only responded to direct questions.
--
You
have returned. Why?
The
reef was huge, extending several meters above sea level and for
kilometers along the sand ridge. The base was lost in darkness. She
hovered above the waves on the seaward side. As always, it seemed
that the polyp directly in front of her was the speaker, though she
never could see an organ moving or vibrating. She set up a slow
leftward drift of the skimmer, to see if the conversation stayed with
the original polyp or moved with her.
"You
are my research project," she said. "I study you, to find
out how you grow, how you think, what you do." The reef was
silent for a bit.
Again,
why? Small organisms that I eat don't visit me. Only you visit me,
and you are not like anything else I know.
The
voice moved with her, transferring seamlessly from one polyp to the
next.
"I
visit you because my people want to learn about others. Because we
are not alone."
Another
pause.
Do
you know others like me?
"I
don't," she said. She and her Thesis Committee had agreed to
say nothing about the fossil reefs stranded 100 meters above sea
level. The reef spoke again.
I
will create a motile form. It will transport my essence as you do for
your "people." There will be more like me. They will speak
with you.
Your
health and prosperity.
Publ. Daily Cabal, 2009
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