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.
H Trope: Human
animal Chimeras
Current Event: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/3-human-chimeras-that-already-exist/,
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170104-the-birth-of-the-human-animal-chimeras
Kaimana took a
deep breath before he managed to say, “If we were the only ones they made…”
Rawiri swung her
tail through a riptide, opening her mouth to show the serrated edges of tiny
shark teeth, and disrupting the chaotic swirl with concentrated sonar. The
water calmed instantly. “I wouldn’t start a race of urgizon [Basque for “merman”]
with you if you had the last…”
“Hey! I’m right
here!”
She cast him in
sonic shadow and said, “I know. Now shut up and listen. Their voices are hard enough
to stand above water; salt water’s wreaking havoc with their tones!”
They drifted three
meters below the trawler, easily avoiding the nets the boat had dropped. Kaimana
said, “They aren’t fishing much…”
“That’s because
they’re smugglers, stupid!” She pitched her voice so high, he winced.
“Of course they’re
smugglers – and they have a static tube filled with embryos of our clade.”
Rawiri shot a
querying drab of sonar. “I didn’t think you’d noticed.”
“Hard not to. The
suspension fluid’s so dense it even shows up in the air.”
“How did you…”
He gnashed his
teeth, every bit as sharp and hard as hers, then said, “I may be two
generations behind you, but they were well on their way in breeding for smarts
even before they got to me. It’s expression my generation struggles with.” He
sent an obscene blast of sonar at her, deliberately clipping her tail so all
she caught was a taste of dirty water. He added, “I hear your generation’s
genechanics slipped up a bit on temperament.”
She spun, using
her sonar to vibrate his intestines – and had the forceful blast ricochet back
at her, albeit at a greatly reduced volume. “We have some secrets, too, daughter.”
She opened her mouth just as the Humans in the boat started up their engine,
flooding the area with so much noise, she could barely hear herself think. As
the boat roared away, Kaimana added, “Our only choice is to kill and eat them,
daughter. Would you like that?”
She spiraled to
the surface, gulped air, then dove back, barely missing him in pursuit of the
ship. As he watched her go, Kaimana wondered if the genchanics had gone too far
in the other direction – eschewing the philosopher and psychologist for the
warrior. He followed her, muttering, “Only time will tell…”
Names: ♀ Maori
; ♂ Hawaiian
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