Why should you help?
Honestly, simply because it's a good book, all 100K words of it.
Don't take my word on it - judge for yourself.
Below are the first 2 chapters, note that I translated them myself and I don't doubt a professional translator will do a far better job.
Please read it, this will only take a few minutes. If you don't like it, fine - no harm done.
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Thanks for your time,
Cheers,
Gadi
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Chapter 1 - Replacement
The slave was dying.
Nola knew this as soon as she entered the big hall and smelled the stale odor. A smell different from the scent of flowers, which usually prevailed. The fragrance of birth and creativity was replaced by the stench of death and stagnation.
The slave had trouble moving her large body. Her color was darker than usual, and she did not touch the food the assistants gave her.
"When was the last dumping?" Nola turned to one of the assistants.
"More than seven hours ago, Your Honor," the assistant answered with obvious distress.
Nola felt the start of a panic attack, but immediately suppressed it. A good coordinator always controlled herself. She hesitated for a moment and then, for the first time in years, tried to contact the slave. "Madam, are you well? Can I assist you?"
As always, she got no response.
Without a word, Nola turned and walked out of the hall to the laying floor balcony. The cluster stretched far into the light above, its vast gardens disappearing out of sight.
She took a deep breath and ordered herself to relax. Aware of the millions of pairs of eyes watching her every action, Nola considered her steps. The slave was dying, she had no doubt about it. After her death, the cluster would undergo a tremendous jolt. Stabilizing the cluster was a top priority, and for that, a new slave was needed. She switched on her implant, and the nurse's dispatcher immediately contacted her. "Prepare another Sla... Egg Layer," Nola ordered, and hung up.
The situation affected her concentration. In ordinary times, the use of the word 'slave' to describe the egg layer was likely to cause confusion among the members of the cluster. But now it did not matter anymore. Nola's verdict was decided with the dying egg layer. The irony did not escape her — her last act as coordinator would be the coordination of her own death.
She went back to the hall and walked quickly toward the elevators. Workers, caretakers, guards, pollinators, pickers, gardeners, and assistants — all felt her mood and moved away, hurrying to disappear from her sight. Nola went into the elevator alone. No one came in with her. She ordered the elevator door to close but did not set the elevator to a destination floor. Alone in the quiet of the elevator, the silence wrapped her and her thoughts.
The law was clear. The death of an egg layer foreshadowed the death of her coordinator. The new egg layer will choose a new young coordinator, and the old coordinator will be killed. Strangely, she never thought of it as something that touched her personally. "Old?" Nola felt the rage rising in her suddenly. She was only thirty-four; the stupid slave girl was dying too young. "It's not fair," she shouted into the elevator space and stopped immediately. The elevator security cameras were monitored by the Deputies.
She straightened up and stared quietly at the elevator doors. There was no choice but to recognize the situation. The slave was supposed to live for at least another seven decades. The early death of the slave signified Nola's early death.
She forced herself to relax and ordered the elevator to go up to her office. She had much more to do before she could — before she must — finish her job. First, and most important, she must update the city council. As if from a distant dream, she broadcasted a concise update. "Egg layer for cluster thirty-seven is dying, prepare new candidates."
'It cannot be,' she thought. After all these years, they'd kill her without a trace of hesitation. She felt her self-control beginning to collapse. She was going to die in a few days.
One more coordination remained to be done. Never had she initiated contact with another coordinator. She leaned wearily on the elevator wall and broadcasted to the neighboring clusters, "Prepare males." All coordinators confirmed reception of the message. They all knew the meaning of it, but none of them expressed sorrow, worry, or words of encouragement for Nola.
The implant wheezed and woke her from her thoughts. One of the guards transmitted to her, "Your Honor, we have an emergency in the lower sunflower gardens."
"Describe situation," Nola ordered, immediately returning to the position of coordinator.
"Parasites in the fertilizer," the guard replied.
"On my way. Coordinator, out," Nola replied. She sent the elevator an order to go up to the gardens. Perhaps if she immersed herself in the work, she would be able to forget the slave's condition. It’s not as though she could influence the health of the slave, or, for that matter, her own future.
When the elevator doors opened into the huge garden, the yellow and green flooded her vision.
Sunflowers, as high as her, filled the huge hall with neat tidy rows.
Nola marched straight into the service entry. The guard had contacted her from there. Hundreds of confused workers, who at regular times pollinated, irrigated, watered, plowed, and picked, now stood idly. The declared emergency forced them to stop working.
The place was in chaos. Nola turned on her implant and ordered them all to stop.
The entire hall froze. No worker or farmer moved. They all waited for instructions from the coordinator.
Nola located the guard of service openings. "Show me the parasites," she demanded. The guard went over to the pile of fertilizer and pointed with her upper right hand to the bottom of the pile. Nola came closer and watched. The guard was right; the heap of fertilizer was filled with aphids.
She looked around and found the reason for the aphids’ boom. The piles of fertilizer were too high for this period of sunflower life. The compost fermented before the workers could load it into the wheelbarrows. It seemed that the dying of the slave caused instability among the fertilizer distributing workers on the lower floors, and they increased their activity.
Nola turned to several cluster members who were standing nearby. "Take all the fertilizer out of here and throw it into the garbage pile outside," she broadcasted. They turned around without a word and began to execute the order.
"Check all the plants and see that the infected plants and all the insects on them are destroyed," she ordered the rest of the crowd. The hall, which until now had been quiet, was filled with activity at once.
She thought about the situation for a moment. The sunflowers, like all other crops, fed the cluster. Crop damage would weaken the cluster at a time when it was already weak. Her augmented mind quickly worked out the possibilities. The sunflower growing technology was reliable. The thousands of colored bulbs in the growth chamber assured maximum growth rate. A sunflower garden yielded a full crop once a month and served as an important source of oil for feeding in the nursery. But technology was not enough to prevent insects and other pests from destroying the crop, so working hands were needed to clean and remove the pests before they moved to the neighboring gardens. Fortunately for Nola, she had countless hands at her disposal.
She did not hesitate before giving a sweeping order to all the farmers in the cluster. "Stop all your tasks and check all the crops for the presence of insects. If you identify insects or insect eggs, destroy them all. Report back on my command. Coordinator, out. "
Through 22 years of experience, she felt the giant supply chain that held the cluster stopping, as millions of farmers rushed to check their crops, leaf after leaf.
Nola created an automatic reminder to send all the farmers an answer request in exactly two hours. In the meantime, she had to check the production and distribution of the fertilizer. Her many years of experience told her that the problem lay in the transportation of the fertilizer rather than its production. She quickly checked it out and sent the same question to all the gardeners throughout the group. "When were the crops last fertilized? Report immediately. Coordinator, out.”
Nola sat on the floor and closed her eyes. She had, she knew, about ten seconds before she got answers. And then... a torrent of answers flowed into her head as hundreds of gardeners reported at once about the fertilization situation in their gardens. The implant absorbed the answers without being deterred by the flow of information and her skilled memory cataloged them in order. The flow of knowledge lasted over three minutes. At the end, Nola knew how all gardens fared. Now she had no doubt that the slave's imminent death had begun to make an impact. In almost all the lower gardens, there was an excess of fertilizer, and in almost all the upper gardens, there was not enough fertilizer.
Nola returned to the elevator and ordered it to go down to the fertilizer floors. The elevator stopped at the fertilizer level. When the doors opened, the smell of compost hit Nola. She took a deep breath, the scent of wet leaves, the smell of games. Pictures of bare feet running on fallen leaves passed through her head. Fragments of a distant childhood, long gone.
She shook her head. Over two decades had passed since the last time she thought of her childhood in the city, and she had more urgent things to do.
She looked around her. The activities of the dispatch hall looked normal, but Nola knew the truth.
She broadcast a stop order to the workers of the hall, and the entire room froze as it did in the sunflower garden. Nola sent a second order to the workers of the dispatch hall. "Transfer all the fertilizer you have here to the gardens on the upper floors. Also, go the apple orchards, the loquat, the oranges, the onions, the tomatoes, the beans, the papayas, and the pumpkins, in the lower floors, and take all the fertilizer pallets that had not yet been dismantled. Transfer them to the upper gardens and spread them among the gardens according to the instructions I will give you later. Notify me when done. Coordinator, out."
Nola turned back to the elevator as the dispatch hall exploded with activity. She considered her steps again. She was wrong; the amounts of fertilizer were too large. Apparently, there was a problem on the fertilizer production floor. She broadcasted to the production floor, "Slow production of fertilizer to half the current output, until a new order from me. Coordinator, out.” She created a reminder to check all gardens in the coming days, to make sure there were no more mistakes in the production and distribution of the fertilizer.
She went up to her bright quarters, which were placed, under her direction, close to the surface. Such errors in the production and transportation of fertilizer were exceptional, and there was no doubt that the reason for the errors was the approaching death of the slave.
Her approaching death.
The severity of her condition had returned to her, so many years of service to the cluster, and yet soon they would slaughter her mercilessly.
Nola closed her eyes. 'It is not really happening,' she thought. 'It's just a dream, I'll wake up soon.'
A sudden sense of suffocation and intense need for sunlight and clean air overwhelmed Nola. She took advantage of her authority and sent the elevator up to the top garden, ten floors above her quarters.
She got out of the elevator, the direct sun dazzled her, and Nola blinked. Then she closed her eyes and breathed slowly into the air, enjoying the heat of the sun on her cheeks. Slowly, she opened her eyes and allowed the sun to penetrate directly into them until they watered. Maybe the sun could fix everything and wake her from this bad dream.
"I envy you, my beauty. I wish I could take your place, my girl, you get to go to a magical place, and you'll be a very good coordinator. I love you, princess," she recalled an old voice.
"Memories from another life, Your Honor?" A familiar broadcast penetrated her thoughts, and she turned her head and saw General Bud.
How did she guess? "Just giving my body its daily vitamin D dose, General," Nola relayed in a forced calm tone and headed for the opening of the cluster.
The general gaped her jaws and made a strange noise. Nola stopped and stared at her. Was this laughter? If so, it was meant for her. The members of the cluster never used expressions or voices in communication.
"How may I help you, General?"
The general looked at her in silence. For a very long moment, no answer came. Is she hesitating? Nola glanced at her in surprise. She’d never seen any hesitation among the members of the cluster. They did not have that ability. They always followed clear orders and instructions. "Your Honor, I will be glad if you would join me for a short walk in the garden," the general finally broadcast.
You cannot easily refuse such a request, especially when it comes from the second most important figure in the cluster.
Nola joined her. They walked quietly along the paths of the well-tended upper garden. In the distance, the cluster’s rubble pile rose. And Nola quickly checked the evacuation of the fertilizer from the lower sunflower garden and confirmed that it had ended successfully.
"It's hard to disengage from work, even when you know the end is coming, is not it, Your Honor?"
"Only the cluster is important," Nola answered immediately. That was the first rule she learned when she came to the group 22 years ago.
The general again made her strange laugh. "Correct, Your Honor, and replacing an egg layer is an important event in the life of the cluster. It is important to make sure that no detail is forgotten, as we must ensure the safety of the cluster.
Nola forced herself to remain polite. "I am aware of this, General. I am sure I do not need to remind you that I am the coordinator of this cluster; I sent all the messages and made sure all the preparations were made. Do not worry — the continuity and security of the cluster will be preserved. After mating, the new egg layer will go to the city to choose a new coordinator from the candidates they will prepare for her, and then she will return here and replace the sick egg layer."
The general continued to walk beside Nola, and she answered without looking at her. "I have no intention of insulting Her Honor, and I know that you are familiar with the timetable, however there is another subject that I wanted to discuss with you."
"What subject, General?"
"The subject of your survival after the replacement, Your Honor."
"Survival, General? Do you think I'm going to try to escape, or try to sabotage the replacement?" Nola asked with pent-up anger.
"God forbid, Your Honor, on the contrary, I am afraid that you will not try to escape and that you will be killed by the excited cluster during the replacement."
Nola paused, stunned. To hear such treachery from the guard’s general was inconceivable. The members of the cluster lived only for the cluster. The very fact that the general could even think of an action that did not match the goals of the cluster was amazing in and of itself. "What?"
The general also stopped and stood in front of her. She stuck her two huge black eyes on Nola and waved her four hands in the air. "It is important for the Whole that you will stay alive."
The Whole? It was the word cluster girls called their kind. Why would a simple human be important to the Whole? Could it be that the General was trying to test her loyalty?
Nola felt a rage mixed with stinging insult. After all her years of faithful service?
"I thank you, General, but I am a coordinator from the city, and my fate is tied to my egg layer. When her day comes, I will die with her.”
"Your Honor, I do not doubt your loyalty and I am not examining it, but I will do everything in my power to save your life," the general replied calmly.
"Why?" Nola demanded aloud, and suddenly realized that she was shouting. "Why am I important? I'm just a small cluster coordinator," she transmitted with rage.
"I do not know, Your Honor, I just know it's necessary. Your survival was arranged with the city council."
Nola felt dizzy. She closed her eyes tightly.
Everything was moving too fast. What did the Council want from a coordinator of a small and marginal cluster? Was it because of the agricultural frenzy and loss of control over the cluster the year before? Or was it for another reason? Had she failed in her lack of connection with the slave? A frightening thought passed through her — could this be her fault?
A stab of guilt froze her. She remembered her arrival at the cluster. She remembered eagerly awaiting to work with the egg layer and longing for a mental connection with the leader of the cluster. She remembered her dreams of a soul mate to share with. She also remembered her disappointment when she discovered that the slave was not communicating with her and did not share herself with Nola.
The egg layer spent her time in the dumping chamber, laying down the generations to come. Nola ran the cluster alone, without speaking to the egg layer even once.
She was 14 years old when she learned to accept the lack of communication. The disappointment and loneliness made Nola concentrate on the work and not try to understand the egg layer. From that moment on, she began to think of her as the "slave".
Nola opened her eyes and looked at the general. "General, my life is locked with the life of the egg layer, my fate is linked to her fate. What reason do the city and the other clusters have to prevent me from my destiny? Can you answer this for me?” she demanded.
The general looked at her and looked hesitant again.
There was a beep in her head. Two hours had passed since she had ordered the inspection of the plants, the implant had broadcasted to all the farmers the reminder. "We'll continue the conversation another time, General, I have my tasks right now." She did not hear the General's reply, if any was given. Millions of farmers broadcasted their answers at the same time. Only a coordinator could manage this amount of information. Nola plunged into work, grateful for the routine and the possibility of avoiding thoughts about the cluster, the city, and the general.
The girl was 11 years old, thin and brunette. Her hair was long and curly. She looked excited and frightened. She walked slowly, surrounded by the enthusiastic group of cluster members. Waving her hand hesitantly.
Nola remembered the feeling. She would gladly embrace the girl and tell her everything would be all right, but that could not happen. Coordinators never met. That was the law.
The last week had been full of work. The general kept pressing her to accept the clusters and city’s demand, while her cluster itself threatened to disband. She’d held it, with great difficulty, against the confusion of the slave's dying. In the end, thanks to her skills and determination, she managed to stabilize the cluster. The gardens were treated. Production and distribution of fertilizer were arranged. The bodies of the males, who died after mating with the new egg layer, had already been evacuated to the compost pile on the lower floor.
The entire cluster was set for the replacement and an atmosphere of festive tension was evident in all the members of the cluster. The excitement of change.
There was a strange silence in Nola's head, one she had not experienced in two decades. She had not received a single report for more than two hours. All data was routed to the new coordinator. Nola still remembered the sense of astonishment that flooded her when she first felt the flood of inquiries and realized how much information she needed to process. She smiled to herself. The new coordinator would manage — they always got along.
The dying slave managed to pull herself into the big elevator and went out to greet the new egg layer, but her death was close.
It would all be over soon. She could see from afar the crowd beginning to slide in their direction, and she remembered the end of the previous coordinator and egg layer twenty-two years before. It would be fast and merciless.
For a moment, she wondered whether she had chosen correctly and whether she should not have given a different answer to the general, but now it was too late to change her mind.
With a sudden hope of change, she sent the old egg layer a greeting, apologizing if she had let her down. As always, the egg layer did not answer. Nola closed her eyes to avoid seeing the advancing crowd.
"It's over," the general informed her, and Nola opened her eyes. The egg layer and puppet were swallowed up by the crowd.
"Thank you, General." She tried to hide the shock in her voice as she broadcasted. She shivered; they did not show mercy for her. All her years in the cluster meant nothing to the cluster members who destroyed the puppet that looked like her.
General Bud did not bother to answer. She turned and walked down the makeshift hill where they stood. The general made sure to build the hill especially for this purpose. Nola knew that the hill would be dismantled within a few hours and there would be no trace of it. The large ring garden would be flat again. They were about half a kilometer from the entrance to the cluster. The hovercraft that would take her to the city was waiting downstairs, hidden by the hill from the eyes of the members of the cluster.
A young man leaned against the driver's door. Nola tried to guess if this was someone she had ever known. It was unlikely in a city of 450,000 people, and yet soon she would meet people she had known in her previous life, people she had never thought she would see again. She would meet human beings again.
Enthusiasm suddenly seeped into her. A new way and a new beginning.
Her heart pounded with excitement — she was not dead. The clusters and the city wanted her to stay alive. She smiled to herself. The city council might have unpleasant plans for her, but in the meantime, she was still alive. She lived and was about to return to the city. For the first time in 22 years, she would meet humans face to face. For the first time in 22 years, she would see her parents.
The general stopped at the bottom of the hill "Goodbye, Your Honor. Good luck." Then she turned and walked away without waiting for Nola's answer.
"Thank you, General. Good luck with the new egg layer," Nola relayed to her back. The general showed no signs of taking Nola's broadcast, or of interest in it.
She pulled uncomfortably at the collar of her overalls, which the general insisted that she wear before she met other humans. The logic of the dress was clear to Nola, but 20 years of life in the cluster had accustomed her to the comfort that came with the lack of clothes. She remembered very well that human beings did not walk without clothes.
Nola stood there hesitantly. She would have to talk to human beings sometime. Better not to postpone it more than necessary. She walked decisively toward the hovercraft. "Hello, my name is Nola. I believe you came to pick me up," she said to the young man, and her voice sounded strange and unnatural to her.
Chapter 2 - Teige
The suit got stuck over his head — again. Every time he wore it, it got stuck in the same place. Every time, he had to fight it to get inside. Teige wriggled angrily inside the suit. He was nervous and cursed in whispers, "Damn suit! I should throw you away.” He tried as best he could not to curse loudly. He knew that Elmer hated to hear him curse.
With one last powerful kick, Teige slipped into the suit. He felt the sensors clinging to his body as the suit recognized him. Moist, pleasant air moved around his head. He switched on the suit's motion controllers and entered the dome, where he walked straight into the sleeping area. as usual.
Elmer was asleep, also as usual. The sleeping machine hovered over him. Elmer almost always slept. He slept and dreamed.
Teige suppressed a sudden urge to kick the old man and spoke through the suit microphone. "Mr. Elmer, sorry to disturb you, Mr. Elmer, we have problems."
The machine hummed gently, and the old man's eyes opened with dreamy slowness. He looked at Teige with bloodshot eyes, which grew clearer as the machine cleaned his blood. After about thirty seconds, he was sound enough. "Hello, my little fish, I was in the middle of a wonderful dream. What was so urgent that you had to wake me up?"
Teige restrained the insult. "Mr. Elmer, the pumps do not work in the cages below. The lobsters are sick.”
Elmer's eyes cleared at once. He sat down and ordered, "Nelly, give me a status report on the functioning of the systems in the lower lobster cages."
Teige shuddered when the invisible voice answered, "Checking, Elmer." Elmer once explained to Teige that Nelly was a brain that was, in fact, an artificial intelligence. Teige didn't understand what it meant, but he knew that Nelly was very smart and knew many things.
Nelly's voice rose again in the room. "I found a concentration of algae particles in the secondary compound, which causes a 28 percent reduction in the efficiency of the pumps of all the lower cages. I recommend sending an octopus, as the cleaning robots cannot enter the narrow opening of the feeder.”
Teige quickly protested, "Mr. Elmer, I can send a little robot there, really, you do not need to bring an octopus."
Elmer smiled. "Sorry fish, you heard Nelly. Send an octopus to do the job, and don’t eat it — I know that dolphins think octopuses are a snack. Wake me up only if there are problems."
Teige stepped out of the dome to the metal plaza opposite the cages. He slid off the suit furiously and cursed loudly, not bothering to whisper, "Shit, damn it! Why? Why octopuses?"
Of all the options, why an octopus? A cute robot could surely handle it. He stroked his powerful tail fin hard against the water and swam to the octopuses quarters. The delicious mollusks swam between the rooms, wrapping their limbs on the pillars and changing colors quickly as they communicated with one another.
A little taste. That's all he wanted.
"Hey, this is Teige, Elmer's pet dolphin," Newman applauded when Teige came in.
Teige pictured his teeth closing on Newman's soft, delicious flesh, the tasty little arms twisting and sliding in his throat. He knew that Elmer would be angry and tried to push the thoughts out of his head. "Hello, Newman. Mr. Elmer says you're going to clean the connection feeder of the pumps in the cages below."
"And everything Elmer says, Teige is in a hurry to do, right, little fish?” asked the octopus leader, stressing the last word in a quick flicker of his body.
One swift movement with his head and no octopus would dare speak to him like this, ever.
No! Not good. It would disappoint Mr. Elmer very much, and he would tell Teige that he expected more from him.
Teige sighed. "Yes, Newman, Teige is doing what Mr. Elmer says. You need to, too."
"You need to, too," Newman imitated him mockingly. "And if not, what will happen?"
"Then Mr. Elmer will be angry."
“So what?” Newman laughed. "He sleeps all day. What can he do to me?"
A daring thought crossed Teige's mind. "So, Mr. Elmer told me that an octopus is a dolphin's snack." He grinned at Newman. "And if octopuses do not work, I'm allowed to eat them."
Newman gave a cry of terror and darted toward the brown wall behind him, changing his color to the color of the wall and trying to conceal himself in it.
Teige turned and swam out of the octopuses’ quarters. He left Newman stunned and frightened. Next to the brown wall. Teige was confused. Why did he say such wrong things? Elmer would not like it. Maybe Teige is broken? He thought. Maybe he should get more shots?
Newman and a few octopuses passed him quickly, carrying lanterns and tools. They moved straight toward the pump joints. Teige watched them in utter surprise. He could never get them to do anything without asking many times. What happened today?
Maybe Teige is not broken after all? Maybe Teige did something good? He went to the surface to breathe and think.
Something different happened today. What was that?
Teige came back downstairs and watched the recovering crabs in the cage, as the pumps had returned to full capacity and delivered clean water rich in oxygen.
Something strange happened today. The octopus did what Teige said. Everything worked fine. Elmer said to wake him up only if there were any problems. But Teige was not right. Elmer must hear this.
The suit was where he had left it, on the metal plaza in front of the air cap. Teige approached it tentatively. Elmer would be angry if Teige woke him. Elmer liked to sleep. He looked at the suit unhappily and tried to decide what to do. Something in the suit caught his attention. He looked at it carefully, and for the first time, noticed that its shape was the shape of his body with the addition of arms and legs. In fact, it looked like a big Teige with Elmer's legs. He had never thought of it before. There was a groove on the back of the suit, long and wide, which he had never noticed either.
interesting. The slot looked as if it was meant for his dorsal fin. Teige approached the suit and looked at it carefully. No wonder he got stuck every time he wore it. He must aim the dorsal fin into the slot.
Teige slid into the suit, this time flexing his body so that the dorsal fin would fit into the groove. The suit closed around him quietly and easily. It was so simple. Why had he not realized it before?
Teige stood in the suit in front of the dome and hesitated. Elmer really liked to sleep, he might get angry. Finally, he decided that if he had already put on his suit and had come this far, it would be foolish not to go inside. He stepped into the side of the nearest wall and entered. The rim of the dome closed behind him as soon as he passed. The force field sealed the sea outside, not a drop of water penetrating the dome.
Teige stood up and hesitated again. Elmer did not like being awakened for no reason. The dome lights came on suddenly. Teige raised his head in alarm and looked around at the house. There was no movement there; it seemed that Elmer was still asleep. The lights did not come on because of him. He let himself breathe and relax. Maybe it would be better if he went outside and talked to Elmer another time. It was not important enough.
"Teige, please go over to Mr. Elmer. He'll talk to you now." Nelly's voice alarmed him. A small shriek came out of his mouth. He stood still for a moment, confused, then walked toward the house.
Elmer sat upright in his bed. His eyes were perfectly clear, and a big smile lit up his face.
'He's not angry,' thought Teige happily.
"Teige!" Elmer smiled at him. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"
Teige looked at Elmer and suddenly realized. Newman told Elmer what Teige had done. Elmer was angry with him.
"Mr. Elmer, sorry, but a dirty octopus did not want to do what you said, so Teige tells him Teige's eating it and you let Teige eat it," he whimpered.
Elmer looked confused for a moment, then the smile widened on his face. "You lied to Newman and threatened him to do his job? That’s wonderful!” Teige looked at him suspiciously; complicated words confused him. But Elmer did not seem to be angry with him. As a matter of fact, he seemed happy.
"Teige, I've been looking forward to this moment for over half a year. I told Nelly to wake me up on the day you managed put on the suit without a hitch, and finally you made it. I guess the developmental stimulus effect has been delayed, but from now on, your capabilities should improve at a much faster rate. "
Teige looked at Elmer. He was not angry. Teige was sure of that. But he still could not figure out what Elmer was saying.
The sleeping machine gave Elmer something, and Teige shivered. He did not like injections. Elmer spun his legs over the side and got off the bed. Teige was surprised — Elmer almost never got out of bed. The old man stretched out and walked over to him.
He smiled at Teige. "Come on, little fish, I want to show you something."
Teige followed. Elmer walked straight into the lab, and Teige stopped in the doorway.
"It's okay, Teige. Starting today, you are allowed to enter this room," Elmer laughed.
Teige entered the room hesitantly. Elmer always said that no one should enter this room. Teige was very confused. Elmer laughed at the hesitancy of Teige, who stepped in apprehensively.
There was a large table in the middle of the room. Elmer went over to him and pressed a button. A large green ball suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. Teige yelled and leaped back in fear.
"It's fine, it's just a projection. It cannot hurt you.” Elmer ran his hand through the green ball. Teige approached uncertainly and held out the arm of the suit. The arm passed through the green ball as if it was not there. Teige chuckled. It was fun. Elmer laughed too and ran through the ball. Disappeared inside for a second and then came out of the other side. Elmer looked very happy and Teige was happy as well.
"Teige, do you know what that ball is?" asked Elmer.
Teige looked at the green ball. Strange shapes in blue and brown were painted on it.
"No, Mr. Elmer," he replied.
"It's a distant planet, where my parents were born — a planet called Neifar."
Teige looked at him suspiciously. "It cannot be, Mr. Elmer, that ball is too small."
Elmer laughed gently. "It's just a simulation, Teige, not the real planet."
Teige hesitated. "Which means your parents' planet was bigger?"
"Of course, much bigger, a beautiful green world where vegetables and fruit are grown."
Teige knew vegetables and fruit from Elmer's printer. He tasted them sometimes and some of them were tasty.
"You too have fruits and vegetables, Mr. Elmer," he observed.
Elmer laughed. "I have artificial imitations, but they do not come close to the taste, smell, or texture of Neifar. No, my dear dolphin, only Neifar has real fruits and vegetables, and you know how they get them?"
"From the printer, Mr. Elmer?" Teige guessed.
Elmer chuckled. "Printer? I never understood why this name was fixed for the molecular condensers. I suppose that it’s due to historical reasons, no one has printed anything for nearly two thousand years."
He noticed Teige was confused. "No, Teige, they're growing fruits and vegetables, just like you grow crabs and clams."
"Are they growing fruits and vegetables in cages?" Teige was surprised.
"Sort of," grinned Elmer. "They grow them in clusters, giant pits in the ground with a lot of creatures that look like insects."
"What are insects, Mr. Elmer?"
"Hmmm, hard to describe. A bit like crabs, but they live out of the water."
Teige stared at him in bewilderment. Crabs out of water? What was Mr. Elmer talking about?
Elmer sighed and smiled. "I'm rushing it; you're not quite ready yet." He thought for a moment and then went on, "Do you know how old I am, Teige?"
"No, Mr. Elmer," Teige replied. The conversation puzzled him very much, but Elmer seemed happy and that was all that mattered.
"I'm three hundred and ninety-six, Teige. I'm very old, dear fish." Teige heard the joy in Elmer's voice, and he was happy.
"By the way, you're seven years old, Teige, and you have many more years ahead of you. Anyway, Neapear is based on smart insects that grow all its crops — that's the source of its success and wealth — but the insects need human help to run the giant farm. Little girls are sent to the insect farm, to live with them and to manage them."
He smiled at Teige. "That's what gave me the idea of setting up a similar thing. Neifer is concentrating on land crops, so I'll concentrate on sea crops, grow them with working octopuses and a dolphin coordinator, and that's why I've created you."
Teige stared at him quietly. He did not understand what Elmer was saying. What was a coordinator?
Elmer smiled at him understandingly. "I've never talked to anyone about it, and even if you still do not really understand what I'm saying, it feels good to talk about it. It took me nearly three hundred years to get to the point I'm at today. You, Teige, are my biggest achievement."
Teige looked at him in silence. Achievement? Him? Was Elmer making fun of him?
Elmer laughed. “I probably would have made it faster, if I did not like sleeping so much. In any case, Teige, you are already the smartest improved animal in history and you will soon become a lot smarter. "
Him? Smart? If Newman heard about it, he would never stop laughing at him.
Elmer looked at Teige quietly. Had he expected Teige to say something? Teige moved uncomfortably in his suit. "Mr. Elmer, why are you telling Teige all this?" he asked.
Elmer leaned over and smiled at Teige. "Because I'm very old, Teige, I'm going to die soon, and this place will be yours. I've long since given up wanting to compete with Neifar, I just want to rest. You can do whatever you want in this place. There are precedents for improved animals inheriting humans’ property. Nelly knows all about it, and she will handle it. You'll study, grow up, and evolve. Soon, I’ll enter my last sleep, and while I'm dreaming, Teige, you'll take care of everything. "
Teige felt he had to ask, "Mr. Elmer, why do you want to sleep? Why not be awake?"
"Great," Elmer exclaimed. "You are improving very fast, Teige. A few hours ago, you would not have asked me such a question. In fact, you would not even have thought about that question at all."
He leaned back with a happy smile. "It's simple, Teige: when I sleep, everything feels real to me, and when I'm awake, everything feels like a dream."
"But you do not dream now, or do you?" Teige asked confused.
The old man chuckled. "Let's say that I sleep because, in my dreams, I can do anything."
Teige stared at Elmer without a word.
Elmer laughed again. Teige had never seen him laugh so much.
Elmer said, "That's enough for today, dear Teige. We'll talk again in the next few days, and I promise you that everything will become clear. But now, I think it’s time for your cages route.”
Teige stepped out of the dome, confused. He slipped effortlessly out of the suit and enjoyed the sensation of running water on his body. It was a very strange day. Teige wanted to breathe clean air. He swam up to the surface and took a deep breath. Only two moons shone tonight, and they painted the water in a golden shade. Around the moons, in the sections of darkness, stars shimmered. Teige turned on his back and watched them while he was swimming. There was something soothing in the stars and moons. There was a sudden curiosity in him. He wondered if he could reach them.
He hit his tail with all his might and darted from the water toward the stars, stretching himself forward and opening his mouth. The stars were too far away. Teige laughed and turned in the air before diving back into the water. Apparently, Elmer was making fun of him. Teige was not smart and never would be smart. Best thing to do would be to concentrate on work and not think about it. Maybe everything would be clear within a few days, and meanwhile, he should check the condition of the cages.
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