Part 46 (1/2)
”Doing werre wwe whhat Samm hadd asked us to, had requested of ourr timme and abilities. We watched the waters frromm farr out in the Deeep, frromm distant lookking-places.
”Thhe Mad Ones whho kill swwam in silence. In grreaterr silence than thhat of any podd everr havve I known, everr has any whale known. Knew thhey exactly whhat they werre about, she-frriend Corra.
Knnew thhey beforehand whhat thhey would do. It wwas . . .” and he sounded terribly confused, as well he had a right to be, ”. . . it wwas not a thhing to bee beelived. I would not beelieve so, hadd not I witnessed it myselffff.
”Nothing thhey said, but camme thhey silent frrom all directions at onceee.”
”A coordinated attack. But coordinated by whom?”
Merced muttered from nearby.
”Neverr did wwe hearr thhem,” Wenkoseemansa continued, ”but instead felt at la.s.st the prressurre of thhem in the waterr, of manny comming frrom all
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dirrections. Could it thhus mean only one thing, could it therreby signify only one evvent forrthcoming.
Chose wwe the seconds rremmaining to us to flee beforre wwe could bee encirrcled, forr in madness such as thhis even the Covenant could hawe been brroken, and wwe would then do neitherr ourrselves norr you
any gooodddd.”
”I didn't think orcas were afraid of anything that
lived in the sea,” she replied.
”Fearr wwe nothing wwe can underrstand, but
thhis was a thhing not to be underrstood. It is not wrrong orr cowarrdly to fearr and flee insanityyy.
”Fast as wwe did rrace, ourr pa.s.sage was not un- noticed. Severral Mad Ones turrned frromm theirr courrse to chase us! Thhey werre Rights and thhink wwe one Humpback. And thhey chased us!” Aston- ishment filled his voice.
”Twwo to ona, and wwe would hawe turmed and fought, sizze notwithstanding. But therre werre sixx, and thhey did not act at all as thhe baleeen should.
Faced werre wwe with suchh a horrrrible perrverrsion of naturral law, with events beyond ourr comprrehen- sion, and with hundrreds of otherr Mad Ones nearrby, we deterrmined it best to find help for any thhat might surrvive. So gladddened arre wwe to find you well! Kneww wwe thhat if any would liwe, thhey
would bee underr Samm's guidance.
”Chhased us forr many leagues did the baleen, forr a grreat distance and timme thrrough the waterr.
Neverr hawe I seeen such perrsistence of purrpose in a baleeen, let alone in severral acting togetherr.
Outrran wwe thhem eventually. I believe had wwe turmed to the depths thhey would have followed and died behind uss. Had therre beeen among thhem Fins, wwe might hawe beeen caught, forr is therre in the sea little that can outrrun a Fin whale. But therre werre none nearr us and had wwe a good stanttttt.”
He paused and Cora could almost hear him thinking.
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”Sommething thhis is forr all the Cetacea to discuss, sommething thhis is thhat must be sent arround the worrld-ocean. Forr hawe I no doubt thhat had those Rights caught uss, thherre would hawe beeen a death- fight. A death-fight among Cetacea!” Mutters of disbe- lief swelled in Cora's earphones from the a.s.sembled orcas gathered around the suprafoil.
”Has upset sommething all of cetacean society. Has perrverrted ourr peaceful meditations sommething of grreat evil. Sommething thrreatens the peace wwe hawe had forr morre than eight centurriessss.”
Cora recalled a theory first propounded by her col- league Merced. ”Could the catodons be controlling the baleens, directing these attacks for reasons of their own?” She expected a quick denial, but hardly the thunderous outcry that arose.
”No-neverr-it is not a thhing to be considerred!”