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Dave sat at the console looking at the computer. His mind was suddenly filled with doubt. Here he was out in the middle of the Atlantic, with the woman he loved, prepared to confront an enraged 60-ton whale. What made him think he was prepared to face this challenge? Him, Dave Richardson, a nobody marine biologist was going to save the world. Huh, what crap, he thought to himself. As he sat there in silence, the Professor started snoring. Dave turned to look in his direction. He saw Claire stirring in her sleeping bag. She slowly stuck her head out from under the cover and looked at Dave. In the light of the lantern, he smiled. She returned his smile and slowly got up. She sat next to him and said, "I can't sleep."

Dave looked into her eyes and whispered, so as not to disturb the Professor, "I love you, Claire."

"And I love you Dave," whispered Claire in return. They kissed.

Dave continued whispering as he spoke, "I'm sorry I got you involved in all this. We are fools to think that we can save the world with my stupid scheme. Tomorrow morning we're going back to St. John's. We will let the Navy take care of this problem. People who get paid to risk their lives can go stop this leviathan."

Looking back at him, Claire said, "You don't mean that and you know it. You're making yourself feel guilty because you think you made me come here. Remember, I'm here because I want to be here. This is now my dream, too!"

They were both silent. Dave looked around at the blackness of their world, while the Professor snored on. Turning again to Claire, "How long do you think it will take the computer to learn new meanings of the sounds?"

"I'm not sure," she replied, "But remember now that we have the basics, the rest should come easier and much faster."

Dave glanced over to assure they weren't disturbing the Professor, then said, "Let's go over what we know, okay?"

"Sure," and Claire placed her hands on the keyboard. Soon the screen lit up and displayed:

Summary of communication sounds confirmed-

broach dive feed

swim sleep pain

surface hungry peaceful

friendly anger challenge

tail slap separate close/bunch

harmony 1(like) harmony 2 (like+)

identification of individual ID signals

Together they studied the screen. Claire pressed the keyboard again and the message changed:

Summary of communications still to be confirmed-

fight reprimand/bad

group identity pleasure

food circle command hurt

danger shark Orca

After they both had sufficient time to study this screen, Claire again pressed the keyboard and a new display appeared:

the following communications characteristics affect/modifies the meaning of signal produced,

fast.......routine slow.......danger/intense

low volume........routine

loud volume.......danger/intense

order of carrier signals have affect, but not verified

"Well, what do you think?" Claire asked.

"I think if we were off the coast of Cape Cod experimenting with these sounds, I believe we would be well prepared. But to take on a vengeful whale, well I think we're a little stupid or naive."

"Don't worry Dave, it will work, I know it will." With that she leaned over and kissed him again.

Professor Edwards was on watch, he had glanced at his watch only a few moments ago, it was about 6:45 AM. The computer beeped. Dave and Claire had no trouble hearing it in the total silence of the boat. Quickly removing themselves from their sleeping bags, the three scientists were soon staring at the screen. It read:

four whales are beginning to move

lead whale is telling others to swim

A still groggy Dave looked at the Professor and said, "I think we should begin sending out our ID signal and then attempt to communicate."

"Either that or we chance their getting away, for we'll never see them in this fog," he answered.

Claire needed no instructions, she immediately typed in "sound ID, Ctrl Rtn," and they heard and felt through their feet, the transducer transmitting the signal. They waited. The computer beeped:

lead whale has heard signal, and told others to stop swimming,.......

the four have stopped

lead whale is attempting to locate signal

The Professor was amazed. If what he was seeing was correct, he was truly watching humans understanding the communication of whales. Unable to contain his excitement, he slapped Dave on the back and said, "This is great." Dave and Claire could see the excitement on his face.

Looking at the excited Professor, Dave remarked, "remember that, particularly after he locates us, figures out were not another Humpback ........and tries to kill us."

The Professor's mouth dropped open and he replied, "Oh, yeah,.......I forgot about that."

Beep:

lead whale has signaled to swim to him

Reply...?

"Signal no, but continually signal the harmony sound we used off the Cape," Dave told Claire.

As she was typing the Professor asked, "Harmony sound?"

"It's a signal that appears to mean non-aggression, peace, whatever. We found that it appears to tell the whales that we mean them no harm," replied Dave. "As a matter of fact, we have identified two signals we have classified as harmony. Harmony 1 in our interpretation means like or peace, while the more intense harmony 2 signal, we have classified to mean like+, or even love wouldn’t be an exaggeration."

Claire added, "I believe these two signals played a major role in our befriending the whales off the Cape." She continued her typing. As soon as she finished, the new sound resonated through the hull. After only a few seconds, the familiar beep:

lead whale has signaled to swim to him

signal is slower and stronger

whale has located us, with echo location

Claire was the first to speak "Slow and louder means danger," she reminded them.

"Since I doubt he has any reason to believe he's in danger, it may also mean he's annoyed at his instructions not being followed," replied Dave. They all agreed.

Beep:

lead whale has signaled again to swim to him

signal is slower and stronger

suggest repeat harmony, ... louder and faster,

type (y) yes....... (n) no

Dave concurred, Claire typed "y Rtn," and the signal sounded.

There was a considerable period of silence. The three of them waited for a response. Dave noticed a significant change in the lighting. Although it was still foggy and there was a slight drizzle, he estimated he could see as far as 500 feet in all directions, thus expanding their world to 1000 feet around the small boat. He looked at his watch, it was a little after 7:00 AM. He sure hoped it would continue to improve. He suspected they would shortly need all the visibility they could get.

Beep:

lead whale has again told the others to swim

strong echo location signals

suggest repeat harmony

type (y) yes....... (n) no

Again Dave told Claire to type yes. The signal sounded.

The Professor asked, "How far away do you suspect they are?"

Claire answered, "We are unable to determine that, simply because of all the variables of signal strength, depth, etc. However, when using the system at the Cape, we believe we were communicating with animals as far as 10 miles away." She was interrupted by the familiar beep:

echo location getting stronger, lead whale appears to be closer

suggest repeat harmony

type (y) yes....... (n) no

Again Claire typed "y Rtn." They waited for the next message. Not knowing which direction the whale was approaching from, they scanned the water around the boat. Dave thought to himself........lift fog lift.

As if reading his mind the Professor said, "Shit, if only we could see him!"

Never having heard the Professor curse, Dave looked at him surprised and remarked, "Shit.....is that a new scientific term? I can't wait to see that in your next paper."

Claire laughed and the Professor responded, "That's what I get for hanging around you."

Beep:

echo location was very strong then stopped

lead whale has signaled the others to stop swimming

suspect lead whale has identified us as non

suggest repeat harmony, ... louder and faster,

type (y) yes....... (n) no

Again Claire typed "y Rtn," and again they waited. There were no additional inputs. It was as if the ocean was void of life. They scanned the water around the boat. Then the screen. Nothing!

Dave said to Claire, "Ask for an update." Claire was just about to type when the computer beeped. All eyes strained to read the message:

echo location has restarted, ........ very strong signal

suggest repeat harmony, .…… louder and faster

type (y) yes....... (n) no

Not needing Dave's direction, Claire typed "y Rtn," and the sound echoed through the hull of the boat. Dave looked around and saw the life preservers which everyone had used for pillows lying on the floor of the inflatable. He instructed, "Get into your life preservers now, and handed Claire's to her. As they were getting into their preservers, they scanned the water. Suddenly Claire saw the whale. He was off the port side, heading at full speed straight for the boat just below the surface. His massive head pushed a wave in front of him about five feet high. She didn't have to say anything. Dave saw the terror in her eyes, turned and saw the wave. "Oh shit........ hold on!"

Just before hitting the boat, the whale dived. The 5 foot wave made by the whale hit the inflatable broadside, throwing it sideways at about a 45 degree angle. The three scientists were thrown to the floor. The boat spun around and was left pointing in the opposite direction. Dave couldn't believe the boat didn't capsize. As they got back to their feet and looked around, there was no sign of the whale. The sea, within their limited view, was again calm.

"Sound harmony," shouted Dave. Claire sat back on the bench seat and typed, "transmit harmony, Rtn." The message was transmitted.

The sea remained calm and there was no sign of the whale.

Beep:

echo location has started again

suggest repeat harmony

type (y) yes....... (n) no

As Claire was going to type yes, Dave stopped her. She turned to look at him.

"Tell the computer to transmit the lead whales ID and have him swim here."

"Jesus Christ, Dave, are you crazy? He almost killed us," shouted the Professor.

Again taken back by the Professor's language, Dave looked at him paused for a second and said, "Exactly. He almost killed us, but he didn't. He is not sure what we are, let's call him over and show him." Looking at Claire, he said, "Go ahead."

Claire typed, "sound lead whale ID, call to swim here." Without asking Dave she added, "then sound harmony Rtn." Looking at Dave after she finished she said, "It can't hurt." Standing behind her looking at the screen, he squeezed her shoulder and scanned the horizon as the sound was transmitted.

Visibility was improving and it was remarkably lighter. Dave glanced at his watch, it was nearly 7:15. As he was about to say something about the light, "Mother of Christ," yelled the Professor as more than 40 feet of the mammoth whale erupted within feet of the boat.

The energy released into the water by the whale exiting and returning to the sea created a spray that saturated the boat and its occupants. The wave rocked and spun the boat around so violently that Dave and Claire were thrown to the deck. Getting up Dave looked around the boat, it was full of water. Everything not tied down was floating at his feet or in the water around the boat. Helping Claire, he looked for the Professor. He was not in the boat. He turned, yelling for the Professor. Suddenly he saw two hands grasping the rope that ran along the port side of the inflatable. Reaching over he saw Professor Edwards, and with Claire's help, dragged him over the side, back into the boat.

The Professor was laying on the deck of the inflatable, as Dave looked at him he said, "Mother of Christ?"

As he started to get up, he realized Dave was staring at him and he said, "I'm suddenly a religious man." As he was getting to his feet, the animal broached again just off the bow. Again, totally unprepared, the three of them were once again thrown across the boat. Claire struck her head on the outboard motor and momentarily lost consciousness. The two men rushed back to pull her forward. The boat was now a shambles with 6 to 8 inches of water covering the entire floor of the cockpit.

With a stunned Claire recovering up forward, Dave rushed to the back of the boat and cleared debris from the self-draining holes so the water could flow out. He then went to the console and sat on the bench in front of what he hoped was still a waterproof, functioning computer. He typed in, "harmony, Rtn." The signal sounded.

He and the Professor scanned the surface of the water around the boat. There was no sign of the whale. Dave again typed, "harmony Rtn." Yelling to the Professor he said, "Try to bring her around, I can't operate this as well as she can."

Claire had already started to regain her senses. The Professor helped her sit up. Dave saw she was still in a semi-conscious state, walked toward her. She looked at the two of them, then turned to Dave and said, "Why don't you invite him into the boat next time."

Dave replied, "He didn't kill us, that's a good sign. He's confused."

Getting up, Claire asked the Professor, "Who got hit on the head him or me?"

Beep:

lead whale is issuing a challenge

lead whale is very close to boat

They spun around but there was no sign of him. Dave typed, "signal whale harmony Rtn." The sound was transmitted. Suddenly Dave realized by the darkness of the water, the whale was alongside the port side of the boat, just below the surface. They stared over the side, looking at the black bulk of the mammoth head and the enormous deep, black eye, which, in the water, looked to be the size of a basketball. The animal was about eight feet from the boat. Clearly visible were fresh wounds on his body apparently from his attack on the Peder ARRSETT. Seeing them looking at him, the whale began to swim and with a flip of his massive tail sent a cascade of water over the boat, spinning it completely around, again filling it with water.

Dave helped Claire to the bench behind the console. "Type in harmony then his ID and our ID," Dave told her. Realizing she was still somewhat groggy, Dave repeated. "Transmit our ID signal, harmony 1, the lead whale's ID signal and harmony 1."

Claire did as told, and the transducer sounded.

"What are you up to, Dave?," asked the Professor.

"The whale has repeatedly challenged us with signals and actions. If we don't respond in a threatening manner and continue to try to befriend him, he will come around, I'm sure of it." Just then the whale charged again. As the first time, he came directly towards the boat, pushing a wall of water 5 to 6 feet tall.

"Holy shit," yelled the Professor, and they all grabbed on to the boat.

Again, when he got within a few feet of the boat, the whale sounded. The wall of water hit the boat on the starboard side, pushing it sideways again at an angle of almost 45 degrees. As the boat rode to the crest of the wave it reversed its angular heel direction and what little loose equipment still remained in the boat, was tossed to the other side. As the boat came to rest, Dave was dangling, half out of the boat. He quickly pulled himself back into the inflatable.

Beep. They rushed to the console. Dave couldn't believe the computer was still working:

the whale is issuing a challenge

he is sounding the same signal as after the Peder ARRSETT incident

also two new signals, insufficient data to interpret, followed by 2 new ID signals

suggest return harmony 1

press (y) for yes (n) for no

Claire looked at Dave. Seeing her stare, he said, "Tell the computer to wait." He looked to the Professor. "What do you make of that?" he asked.

Before the Professor could answer, the computer beeped:

whale is repeating signal

he is sounding the same signal as after the Peder ARRSETT incident

also two new signals, insufficient data to interpret, followed by 2 new ID signals

suggest return harmony 1

press (y) for yes (n) for no

Claire, reading the repeated message typed into the computer, "Analysis summary of new signal Ctrl T, Rtn:"

part of new signal similar to sounds for hurt & pain but appears more intense

They stared in silence, then Dave yelled, "What if the two identity signals are those for the two whales killed by the whalers?".........."That's the tie in to the Peder ARRSETT signal!"

"Exactly," replied the Professor, "And the other signal, similar but more intensive than pain or hurt is a sound for kill." He paused, "And the sound we don't know could be the signal meaning us or man?"

Then it clicked with Dave. "He's telling us we killed the other two whales!" he yelled.

There was a momentary pause, he looked at the Professor, then Claire, without waiting for concurrence with his last statement, he ordered, "Tell the computer that the new sound similar to pain and hurt is the word kill, while the unknown sound is the word for us."

Claire looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"No, but I don't have any better idea, so go ahead. Hurry."

Claire typed:

new sound like bad and pain = kill,

other unknown sound = man,

the two ID signals other whales killed in Peder ARRSETT incident

enter in library, Ctrl Rtn

The computer repeated the input:

new sound like bad and pain = kill, other

unknown sound = man, the two ID signals

other whales killed in Peder ARRSETT incident

confirm by depressing y key

Claire depressed the "y" key

Then she typed, "analysis summary, Rtn."

The computer took about ten seconds, which, under the circumstances, seemed like ten minutes. The screen lit:

analysis concurs with input, new information put in sound library

Claire smiled. The artificial intelligence module concurred with their conclusions. Just then they saw the whale heading for them again.

Dave yelled, "Claire, tell the computer to sound our signal, the signal for no, the signal for kill, the ID of the two whales killed by the whaler, then our signal and harmony 2, hurry, hurry."

Realizing what Dave was up to, Claire typed as fast as she could. When finished she hit "Ctrl Rtn."

This time it appeared the whale was coming with a vengeance. There was no wall of water just a massive head along the surface, the scars on his back clearly visible. He surely was planning to ram them.

The computer sounded the signals…..

As Dave felt the sound resonate through the hull he muttered, "This had better fuckin' work. He saw the whale approaching, Dave yelled, "Hold on!"......... just as the signal was transmitted a second time.

Micro seconds seemed like hours as the whale continued. Suddenly it slowed, veered, and dove out of sight. A small wave, the result of the whale's dive hit the boat. But in comparison to the prior waves, the inflatable easily rode over it.

The whale continued to sound.

The three of them looked at each other. Each wondered, had he stopped the attack? The ocean remained calm. The situation lent new meaning to the old cliché "the silence was deafening."

Suddenly, the now all too familiar beep:

the whale is challenging again he is sending the same signal as after the Peder ARRESTT incident

suggest repeat last message

press (y) for yes (n) for no

Dave reached over Claire's shoulders to type "y Rtn." The signal sounded again.

Beep:

the whale is challenging again he is sounding the same signal as after the Peder ARRSETT incident

suggest repeat signal

press (y) for yes (n) for no

Again Claire typed "y Rtn.," and again the signal was transmitted. They waited. Beep. This time the message on the screen read:

the whale has repeated our signal

Beep:

the whale has repeated our signal

Dave said, "Send the harmony 2 signal." Claire typed, "harmony 2 Rtn." and the sound was transmitted. Beep.

As they looked at the screen they couldn't believe their eyes:

man kill, the ID of the two whales killed in the Peder ARRSETT incident , KT ID no kill

Claire looked at Dave and yelled, "He understands us, he actually understands us!"

The computer beeped again:

confirmed other signals, currently updating sound library

Dave looked at Claire, "What's going on?" he asked

"With that last response the artificial intelligence module has expanded the signal vocabulary. It probably has sufficient data now to confirm some or all of the signals we had in the probable list," she replied.

Dave looked at the Professor, who simply replied, "If I wasn't seeing this, I wouldn't believe it!"

Beep:

man kill whale

kill man

Dave looked at Claire, then his eyes turned to the Professor, "What do we tell him?"

The Professor said, "We must remember this animal does not know anything about us. Sure he expects Killer Whales or sharks to try to eat him, he was probably taught that by his parents. But man? What are we to him? He has probably grown up during the whaling moratorium and until the incident last week had no fear of man." He paused, "We must assure him it won't happen again," he concluded.

"But how?" asked Dave. "How can we assure him that some asshole whaler is not going to attack his family next week or next year?"

Claire looked at the two of them.

Beep:

man kill whale

kill man

"I'm not sure, but we have to answer that signal," urged Claire.

Type in "KT ID, stop, man, kill, whales," then "KT ID and Harmony 2," directed Dave.

Claire looked at him. Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, he ordered, "Go ahead do it now, please!"

She did as he requested, then before hitting Ctrl Rtn, which would send the signal to the now waiting whale, she glanced at him again. Seeing her look, Dave turned to the Professor and asked, "Am I wrong?"

"No, you're not wrong, but if we tell him we are going to stop this killing and are unable to convince the UN to force compliance, we're setting him, his family and the rest of the whales up for slaughter. If we send that signal, we are making a significant commitment for mankind."

Beep:

man kill whale

kill man

Dave was torn as to what to do. They were on the verge of stopping this insanity that was occurring in the ocean, yet to do it they were going to have to make a commitment for mankind. They were going to have to tell this whale that the whaling would stop. How could they, no, how could he do that? He thought about it.

The Professor knew what Dave was going through. He was going through the same emotional trauma. Here they were actually talking to a whale. What a fantastic scientific breakthrough. Yet at a time that should be one of exhalation they were faced with the guilt of centuries of mankind killing these up to recently, gentle giants of the sea. And we would still be killing them if we hadn't come across a mutant. An intellectual mutant. He turned to Dave. "If we don't send the message and put a stop to this situation, the navies of the world will start annihilating the whales in a couple of days. We have no choice."

Dave looked directly into his eyes. He saw the sincerity, he saw the tears. Turning to Claire, he said, "Send the message."

She depressed "Ctrl Rtn." The signal was transmitted. They waited. Claire didn't know why, but she sent the message a second time. Time passed slowly. The whale did not respond.

Claire asked, "What do you think he's doing?"

Dave turned to the Professor, who could only shake his head, while trying to hide the tear running down his right cheek.

They waited. All eyes scanning the screen and then ocean.

Beep:

Their eyes jumped to the screen:

the whale is signaling man kill followed by numerous IDs

he is repeating signal

They looked at each other in awe. The whale was listing the IDs or more precisely, the names of other whales killed by man. Clearly the whale was aware that man had killed many whales.

It was the Professor who spoke, "I think he's confused, he doesn't understand why these killings have started again. Apparently he may have experienced the killings earlier in his life as confirmed by the list of ID's he giving us." He hesitated. "But probably after the twenty year moratorium doesn't understand what's happening now."

Dave asked, "Do you really think that's what's happening?"

It was Claire that responded, "Of course. It makes sense. If we believe that these animals have some level of intelligence, some reasoning power, even if it's only minor, then we're faced with an animal that's trying to figure out why man has suddenly resumed killing whales. If it makes no sense to us, with our supposedly superior reasoning ability, why the hell should it make sense to him!"

"Exactly," confirmed the Professor.

Dave was now confused. It all made sense, but he wasn't ready for this level of understanding or reasoning. All he wanted to do was communicate with whales, not hold an in-depth philosophical discussion.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the Professor, "Well what are we going to do?" he asked.

"Huh?" replied Dave.

"I said, what do you want to tell our new friend?" asked the Professor.

Dave looked at Claire, who was gazing at him. She knew the conflict he was going through, but she couldn't help him. This was a situation for which none of them were prepared. They were talking to a whale and trying to reason why man was killing whales.

Dave pulled himself together, turned to the Professor and said, "let's send the following; KT ID, stop, man, kill whales, KT ID Harmony 2."

The Professor replied, "Then were going to take on the UN." He paused. The trio kept looking at each other, the laptop and the ocean. No one spoke. Then the Professor said "Shit why not? Let's go for it, let’s do it for Leonardo."

Both Claire and Dave together responded, "Leonardo?"

"Sure, I think it's an appropriate name for our new friend, don't you?"

They smiled, Claire turned to the keyboard and typed in, "KT ID, stop, man, killing, whales, KT ID followed by harmony 2."

The Professor and Dave nodded, and she pressed "Ctrl Rtn." The signal sounded. She waited a few seconds and sent the signal again.

This time there was only a short wait, then the familiar beep:

Whale is signaling its ID, KT ID harmony 2 and the similar signal that was sounded after

the

The whale repeated this message three times

The whale is still repeating message

Then there was a long silence. They waited…………minutes passed with no signal.

Beep, the computer sounded. They looked at the screen again.

Whale ID, harmony 2, KT ID

Dave looked at Claire he couldn’t believe what just happened. He waited a moment to gather his thoughts then looking at the Professor, then again at Claire, said, "It's over." Tears were flowing down his cheeks.

"Are you sure," she asked.

Dave turned and just stared into the water.

It was the Professor who answered her question, nodding his head in concurrence, "Dave’s right it's over," he exclaimed.

When the helicopters arrived at 8:30, the fog was almost gone, having dissipated as quickly as it had developed. The pilots scanning the ocean couldn't believe their eyes.

Under them were four whales and an orange inflatable. The three occupants of the inflatable were leaning over the boat petting the smaller of the whales. The other whale was so massive it did look like a island, reported the pilot to the ship approaching from just over the horizon. It was just floating there watching, the report continued.

Hearing the helicopter approaching, Dave opened the sealed compartment, turned on the radio, withdrew the microphone, and said:

"Helo this is intercept team 1, do you read me?"

The pilot responded;

"That's affirmative intercept team 1. Over."

Dave pressing the transmit button, looked at Claire, and then the professor,..... then replied;

"Would you please report that the mission has been accomplished. Over."

The pilot answered;

"Roger, will do," exclaimed the excited pilot.

Depressing the switch again Dave added:

"By the way helo, please keep all boats and aircraft out of here until," he

at his watch it was 8:30,......... "until noon. Over."

The pilot replied;

"Will do," replied the pilot.

As the pilot started to pull away, he turned on the intercom and told to the crew chief in the back, "Make sure you get plenty of pictures."

"I've got a whole roll of stills, and the video is running" came the reply as the helicopter slowly turned away.

Dave sat on the edge of the inflatable watching Claire and the Professor petting the small whale. She slid over next to him and asked, "What’s next?"

He looked into her eyes and said, "We have a big responsibility now. We have to convince the world, once and for all, to cease whale hunting. Now that man can talk to these animals, we cannot break the first commitment mankind makes to them."

Looking into his eyes, it took a minute for the true meaning of his comment to sink in. She put her arms around him and they kissed.

The Professor turned for a second, saw their embrace, and looking at the small whale he had been petting, winked. He was committed to keeping his word. Continuing to pet his docile friend, he whispered to it as if the whale could understand, "I can't wait to debrief Jack Webster on this field trip!"

The End of the Beginning

After reading "DRIZZLE," I hope you might feel that sometimes, like the air we breathe, the best things in life are free. Please tell your friends about "DRIZZLE," so they to might enjoy the story. Also, I urge you to get involved in the conservation and protection of this magnificent planet and all the forms of life it supports.

Capt. John