Dolphin Way: Rise of the Guardians (30 page)

The Narrator then gestured towards the Sea Urchin. Dusk noticed that the spiny black ball was edging itself around the rock now, apparently uncomfortable with the presence of so much attention. The Narrator continued:

‘
Ned-Lah were very different then too. At that time they had no spines at all, their bodies were quite smooth and white. But stranger still was Eightarms. Now you all know what he looks like today, his supple body and his clever eyes, hiding in the rocks except when he comes out to hunt at night. In those days he never hid. That’s right — in those days, Eightarms lived in a most beautiful shell and he floated gracefully about Ocean’s waters in it, swimming free.

Now although Una-Pi had a shell in those times, it was a fairly dull brown sort of crab shell. She would often say to her good friend Ned-Lah, “Look at the beautiful shell that Eightarms has, floating so high above us as though he is better than us. We deserve more than this.” In truth, Ned-Lah did not much care; he was quite happy with his smooth white body. But Una-Pi coveted Eightarms’ wonderful shell. It was so light and so delicate, with many exquisitely formed chambers. More, all of the colours of the rainbow could be seen in it as Eightarms drifted past.

One day Una-Pi called to Eightarms and said, “You are so beautiful and full of grace, I have composed a song for you.”

Of course he was flattered and drew close to her. She began to sing very well, a soft, soothing song that gently rose and fell like a lazy wave on the sea. She sang softer still and he drew nearer to hear. She reached up with her claws and rocked his shell in time with her music and soon his eyes closed. Una-Pi sang and rocked and rocked and sang and soon Eightarms was in the deepest of sleeps. Then that devious crab carefully lifted his sleeping body out of the shell and gently laid him on the ground. Then she cast aside her drab crab armour and slipped her naked body inside that lovely shell. She felt so proud! And off she stalked in her new shell, leaving the poor Eightarms asleep on the sand.

The next day Una-Pi was strutting about in her new shell, when the great, terrible voice of Senx came to her through the waters, calling her name. High above her she could see the bright face of Senx looking down to find her. She guessed at once what Senx must want and desperately sought to hide the lovely shell. She found a hole under a large rock. It was just large enough that she could back the shell into that hole and there she stayed, her head and legs out of the hole, with the shell stuck well inside.

Then Senx spoke directly to her. ‘Una-Pi, do you have Eightarms’ shell?’

‘
No, I do not, O Great Senx. Most certainly not.’

‘
Come out of that hole so I can see you better.’

‘
I would prefer to stay here if I may.’

‘
Why do you not come out of that hole, Una-Pi?’

‘
I merely seek shelter from the great warmth of your face, O Senx.’

‘
Indeed. And you do not have Eightarms’ shell?’

‘
No, no, but I know who does. It was that Ned-Lah. He took it because he is ashamed of his smooth white skin. He wanted to hide from the world.’

‘
Are you quite certain of this, Una-Pi?’

‘
Absolutely certain, O Senx. Now may I be left in peace in my hole?’

‘
You may stay in that hole as long as you wish, Una-Pi.’

At that, Senx turned his gaze elsewhere. Una-Pi felt so pleased with herself that she had fooled Senx. Pleased that is, until she tried to move. To her horror she found that the great rock had somehow shifted slightly and now it rested heavily on the lovely shell. Try as she might she could not move it. She finally realised the only way she could go to find food would be to come out with her naked soft body exposed into the dangerous world.

Of course that was Senx’s punishment for her. And that was not all. Una-Pi never found her old crab armour again. From that day forth she had to always find the empty shells of other creatures to live in. On the very same day Senx made another change. In case Una-Pi might feel spiteful towards Ned-Lah, Senx gave him a fine covering of black spines so that he would never have trouble from the likes of that crab again.’

Bellatrix interrupted with a hushed voice: ‘And what about Eightarms?’

‘
I’m glad you asked me that. Well he was very angry at first that his shell had been stolen. But instead Senx gave him great intelligence and cunning, and a means to squirt out a black disguise if he were threatened. More than that though, he gave him the greatest appetite for Una-Pi and her kind, and from that day onwards he hunted her whenever he could.’

The Narrator swung his rostrum in a curve to the seabed in the traditional gesture indicating the end of a performance. Dusk smiled at him as the children clamoured about him with questions about what happened to various other creatures, but he pulled away.

‘
No more, no more. I have other clans to visit, other children to tell stories. Be good now and remember what happened to that naughty Una-Pi.’

With a nod to Dusk he was gone, swimming away from the bay alone.

Lost in Moonlight came over to Dusk.

‘
Fades Into Dusk-Jeii, did you know that story?’

‘
No, I did not, but it was a good one, wasn’t it?’

‘
That Una-Pi was horrible to her friend Ned-Lah. Why would someone do that?’

‘
Perhaps she didn’t think out what would happen properly.’

‘
No, Jeii, I think she was just mean. You wouldn’t let someone else take the blame for something you’d done wrong would you?’

Dusk looked into the trusting eyes of the young dolphin and wondered what to say. She looked past her into the distance for a moment then answered carefully.

‘
It would be wrong to do that of course, Moonlight. Only a really selfish zeta would do such a thing.’

Chapter 40

“
Should I give you knowledge or show you how to find it?”

- Snow On Blue Mountains to the assembled Novices at the 11,617 Gathering

Sky soon caught up with “One Eye” as he had now named the old dolphin to himself. One Eye was hanging vertically, head down, next to a protruding ledge that jutted from one of the larger coral outcrops. Sky was impressed at the way he was able to stay suspended like that with no apparent movement.

Sky drew closer to him, then realised that once again he had approached him from his blind side. He resolved to make an effort not to do that again, it was like sneaking up on someone. In any case, there was little he could do about it this time as the old dolphin had his good eye directed under the ledge, so he would not see him whichever direction he approached from. Perhaps next time he should also make a point of using echolocation as he approached as well.

‘
What do you want now, boy?’

Sky tried not to show his surprise. The old dolphin had not moved and could not have possibly seen him; he had made no sound and he had not heard One Eye using sonar. How had he known Sky was there?

Sky drew closer. ‘I was wondering if you would mind me staying around this island for a day or two?’

‘
Thank you for asking. Yes, i would.’

‘
Oh.’ Sky peered under the ledge. ‘Can I ask what you are looking at?’

‘
Them.’ One Eye did not move but Sky followed his gaze. A brown moray eel, covered in bright yellow spots was under the ledge. Its jaws were held open, revealing rows of sharp, translucent, white teeth. Its gills moved gently back and forth as it breathed. Sky was looking for the rest of “them” when he realised that there was another creature: a tiny, spindly shrimp; white, with orange bands on its legs and body. The shrimp was in the mouth of the moray, stepping neatly between the rows of vicious looking teeth, brushing everything with delicate, long, white antennae. From time to time it would detect some morsel between the teeth and would then deftly remove it with one of its pincers and pass it into its own mouth.

‘
Now,’ One Eye observed, ‘that little fellow should taste pretty delicious if he resembles some of his cousins. So why doesn’t the big chap eat him?’

‘
It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement of course; they’ve been doing it for millions of years. The larger creatures get cleaned of debris and parasites; the shrimp gets a meal.’

‘
So everybody wins.’

‘
Well, yes. It’s a bit like the relationship zetii have with their prey: we take what we need, maintaining the fitness of the shoals, always leaving enough of them so that they can prosper and find enough food.’

‘
I see. So what happens if one day the morays find that there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of these shrimps?’

‘
Well, there’d be competition between the morays to get to the remaining shrimps’ cleaning stations I suppose. Many of them wouldn’t get cleaned, so they’d be more prone to disease. The morays would certainly suffer as a result.’

‘
Indeed. Perhaps some of the morays might be inclined to band together and give themselves some fine title. Proclaim that they had the right to have first choice to be cleaned say?’

Sky could not imagine creatures as apparently dim-witted as moray eels being so well organised but he went along with it. ‘Alright, suppose they did: what would happen to that group of morays?’

One Eye’s body fell gently through the water; his head remaining at the same level, his tail swinging gracefully downwards in an arc until he was once again vertical in the water, but this time with his tail flukes just off the sand. It was done effortlessly: Sky did not see how he had initiated the manoeuvre. He noticed that every movement One Eye made had a complete economy of effort and a careless grace. Throughout the turn, his view of the industrious shrimp had been constant, as though he had tilted around an invisible pivot point in the centre of his eye.

‘
I should imagine that they would do rather well. As an organised group like that, they could easily ensure that they dominated the cleaning stations, excluding the other, individual morays.’

‘
But that would be wrong, one group forcing the individuals to suffer just because they did not belong.’

Sky saw One Eye turn slightly to look at him, his gaze quizzical, and, Sky thought, perhaps slightly amused. ‘Wrong? What does that mean?’

‘
It would not be right…it would be…against the Way.’

‘
So you need the Way to tell you what is “right” and “wrong” then?’

Sky shook his head; swam quickly to the surface to take a breath and to think for a moment. What did make something wrong? He rolled his head downwards, tilting his tail into the air; letting the weight of it drive him gently back downwards to join the old dolphin. ‘Isn’t that what the Way is for; to show us what is right and wrong, the correct way to behave?’

‘
Why not let everyone just decide for themselves? i decide for myself.’

‘
It would be too hard for most zetii, they don’t want to have to work out if each thing is right or wrong. And anyway, some might decide a particular thing is right, others that it was wrong.’

‘
Would that be a problem?’

‘
Well yes…I don’t know. Why do we have the Way then, if everyone could just decide for themselves?’

‘
Ah,’ One Eye tilted his head slightly, looking at Sky through his half closed eye, ‘Well, you just said that most zetii would not want the bother of working everything out; they like their philosophy ready made. And it would be chaos if everyone had different interpretations of a particular situation; society couldn’t function.’

‘
So you’re saying that’s all the Way is: a means of making society work?’

‘
Essentially, yes. There is no special magic to the doctrines of the Way. Perhaps some time in the past a few zetii like you and i were out for a little hunt amongst the seagrass. Then they had a good idea, and over a snack they came up with some guidelines that would work for most clans in most situations.’

Sky screwed up his eyes. Everything he had learned since he could remember said that the Way had been compiled by the wisest of the ancients and that it had almost mystical powers; that its teachings were absolute and all-knowing. The idea that it was thrown together by a few ordinary zetii over their midday meal was impossible. ‘No,’ he protested, ‘it couldn’t be that simple.’

‘
What else then? Do you prefer those stories that in the distant past, creatures came from another star and gave the zetii all their knowledge? Couldn’t our ancestors have just worked it out for themselves?’

‘
But zetii society is based on everyone following the Way; we say that someone is a “good” zeta if they follow it. And yet you’re saying anyone could make it up themselves.’

‘
I did not actually say that at all. But let’s say there are two zetii. They both are separately faced with identical difficult moral decisions in their lives. One follows the Way absolutely, he makes each choice based on its teachings. The other one has somehow never heard of the Way. She makes each choice based on her own evaluation of each situation. It so happens they both make the same decisions in every case. Which is the better zeta?’

‘
Most would say the one that followed the teachings of the Way.’