July 17, 2018

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 364


Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them.


Eske Astergaard stared at the subject. She shook her head hard. He wasn’t a subject – he was a person. She said, “How are you today?”

Azwan Marjan floated in the tank of lagoon water. Around his neck was a frill which pulled oxygen from the water. Glaring at her, she had no need for mythical telepathic powers supposedly belonging to merfolk.

Pursing her lips, she snorted softly then said, “Being rude isn’t going to help your case.”

Azwan opened his mouth and even though she heard nothing, mesh in the tank picked up his ultrasonic pulses and translated them into English. He said, “What kind of case do I have? I’m it. When the science team looks at the endless failures of every embryo but mine, they’re gonna pull the plug on the whole project and this will be it for me.”

She bit her lip to keep from replying. Holding her breath, she counted to ten then said, “At least they’re not talking about euthanizing you anymore.” Wrong thing to say, even though it was true. The Supreme Court had decided that he was both intelligent and protected by the Endangered Species Act. She was pretty sure he’d been following the case. He had access to the internet through a specially designed computer.

Instead of talking, he flipped her off, spread his foot and hand webs, bent at the waist in that weird, snaky way of his and dove back into the lagoon. She sighed. She had no idea what he was going through – not in any real way. She waited to see if he’d get over his snit, then left the lab, yawning. She had a sunset date with one of the lab assistants. It was just what she needed to get the image of him peeling out of his Speedo as he’d dived into the lagoon.

The date had flopped pretty badly when the assistant appeared to expect a return on his meal investment that she didn’t think was commensurate with its quality. He’d probably get over his sprained wrist. He’d also get over his mild threat if she ran into him again. Not only had she competed in the Mixed Martial Arts tournaments during her stint in the Army, she’d also taken up fencing and had gotten a bit of notice on the mainland before she set off for the Black Lagoon Project and Commander Fitzwilliam had been begging her to do some workout time with him and his own rapier.

Allowing a faint smile, she was almost back to her barracks apartment when a masculine scream echoed off the cinderblock labs and quarters of the Project. Security would react, she was pretty sure. There wasn’t a huge amount of crime on the island. They were mostly bored or studying for their undergrad exams.

A second scream, entirely different from the first rang through the site. She’d winced. Scowling, she turned back to the town. She’d winced because most of what she’d heard had been pitched beyond normal Human hearing. She’d clinched her spot on the research team because her hearing extended a bit more into he ultrasonic than average. The third scream made her stagger.

Only one creature on the island could produce a sound like that – and he should have only done it underwater. Cursing, she ran. Azwan must have stumbled on his carefully guarded ability. Letting the vulgarities, curses, and various blasphemies blur together, she sprinted toward the screams…

Names: ♀ Indonesia; Denmark

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