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.
Current Event: https://phys.org/news/2018-04-genetic-humans.html
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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