Part 21 (1/2)

At that the two orcas commenced to spiral about a common axis as they continued to parallel the Caribe, as if rifling an unseen gun barrel.

”Ah, she sees wisdomm, this she!” Wenkoseemansa said.

”The wisdom she sees,” Latehoht added. ”In manyy ways are orca and man truly closerr to each other than orca and porpoise.”

Twenty-five minutes went by before the enormous herd of flas.h.i.+ng, silver-sided animals pa.s.sed from view to the northeast of the cruising suprafoil.

”I thought porpoises were supposed to be as smart

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as orcas.” Rachael was still composing a silent song to

the departed herd.

”They are,” her mother told her. ”Almost. They

didn't try to talk to us, though.”

”Too busy having fun,” Sam told her. ”You can ar- gue with that kind of lotus-eating existence, as do the orcas, but there's much to be said for it. They love to perform tricks on us poor air-bound humans. Heredi- tary delight of theirs, I'm told. Handed-or finned-

down from their domesticated ancestors.

”I was called outside Mou'anui one day by a har- ried local guide. Seems a small herd of porps had joined his tourist party and wouldn't let any of them out of the water. They were pus.h.i.+ng them around like toys, but the tourists didn't know what was going on,

and some of them were panicking.

”Then there's the story of a couple of males who encountered some visiting teachers from . . . from Horseye, I think it was. They put on a display that the helpless guide-he was afraid” to interfere-later de- scribed as 'elegantly obscene.' The porps were just having fun, but the young ladies were a little worried about just what their intent was. Scared them some,

I'm afraid.

”The porps apologized when they learned their

antics weren't taken in the spirit of casual friendliness.

They made amends with a voluntary display of aquatic

acrobatics few visitors ever see.”

”Lazy, good-for-nothings!” Latehoht bawled over

the earphones. ”Unrepentent calves!”

Cora switched her speaker back on. ”Tell me, Latehoht, why shouldn't they spend all their lives play- ing? What purpose is there other than to eat and live and enjoy oneself? Since you don't desire to explore other worlds as mankind does, what do you do with your time when you aren't at play?” She held her breath, remembering what she had been told about cetacean sensitivity to interference in their lives.

But Latehoht replied immediately, without rancor.

”We do explorre the universe. The ends we seekk are closerr to uss than yours to you, yet no less reall to us for thatt. You said we 'don't desirre to explore other worlds as mankind does.' Why should we have to ex- plorre 'as mankind does'? We leavve it to man to look upwardd. We wishh to spend many thousands of years looking inwardd.”