Novo Cetus

Chapter Three

Chapter 3

The pod allowed him to swim with the clan, but kept him at a distance. The integumentary system created by the nanos worked perfectly, creating nano-laced skin cells complete with thermo-regulation and sensation. The nanos moved closer to their goal: a biological submarine.

The strange calf swam deep, taking advantage of the extra pressure hundreds of feet of top water provided to compress his ever-changing body. He grew quickly and at times parts of him shifted, wagged or rolled as the nanos synchronized their efforts to build systems within the vessel.

The clan's curious kept company with him throughout the day. Young and old took their turn swimming with the unique calf.

The organic matter of the submarine required protein. Nanos dedicated to biological fueling used enhanced echolocation to find deep-sea squid. The pod grew fat from the abundant supply of giant squid he located. Security nanos lodged themselves in the hypothalamus, primed to alert the sympathetic nervous system. This provided a perfect framework for a defense system.

Nano security detected GPS sonar focused on the pod.

Locate origin of tracking device and identify: Seventeen meters off the starboard bow. Asian Whaling boat; a converted trawler designed to process ambergris; outfitted with a one-ton harpoon shooter and high caliber automatic weapons. International Whaling Commission (IWC) identifies this particular vessel as pirate.

The huge whaler coasted through the water, drifting without destination. Sunlight glinted off the metal harpoon turret that dominated the starboard side. Recent sanctions leveed by the IWC rendered this ship useless to the "research" fleet that harvested blue whale. The IWC discovered several dead whale calves aboard this ship during a surprise inspection. Encountering these sperm whales while off the grid was a boon for the crew. They prepared to hunt within the pod.

Assessment of the approaching whaling ship's arsenal: Rudimentary weapons system. Likelihood of damage/injury: low.

The nanos devised a counter defense and planted their biological sub between the whaler and the pod. The whaler fired an armed 30-gram penthrite grenade harpoon at the young male sperm whale in the direct sight of the cannon. It struck the altered whale's enhanced skin and exploded. A fireball flashed and the water agitated to a foamy white, snuffing out the fire as thousands of bubbles formed and roared to the surface.

The whales scattered as the reverberation from the shockwave roiled through the pod. Capillaries in the whales' lungs ruptured from the grenades concussion and mothers nudged disoriented calves to the surface to take a breath. Frothy water dissolved and the crimson bloom the pirates expected to see develop never did. A shimmering sperm whale hung in the water undamaged by the harpoon. His eye, emptiness highlighted by impenetrable blackness, stared back at them in defiance.

Chatter scuttled through the superstitious crew; what ill omen did this herald? The trawler fled the area with its terrified crew members, each with magical tale to tell.

The small explosion stimulated activity in the orbitofrontal cortex of the bio-ships organic computer. The nanos directed the surplus energy to different systems in their vessel.

The calf followed its pod's wake. When he reached them, they greeted him with unusual silence. The explosion impaired their ability to vocalize, however they bumped and nudged him in joyous reception.

It had not escaped the matriarch and the elders that their peculiar calf had placed himself between the pod and danger. Having been busy guiding her family to safety, she had not seen the explosion; but its effect still resonated through her melon. The calf seemed unharmed by the blast. She listened and watched as he greeted each family member by name. His eyes moved quickly, one eye greeting an old friend while the other moved on to acknowledge the next. He shimmered slightly as the sun reflected off his unblemished skin. Her pod had grown fat from the calf's ability to locate easy prey like large schools of Cownose rays that moved like surface birds with slowly beating wings.

In her life, this matriarch had experienced many seasons of too little to eat and too much danger. So she gestured welcome to the returning calf, and one by one, the elders acknowledged their glittering kinsman.

Nanos systematically modified the mixture of chemicals dumped by axons. Monitoring and modifying this cocktail that flooded dendrites and neurons should keep the computer on line. Power surges that sprung from emotional pathways needed constant observation. The nanos discovered some emotions so powerful they sent the system off line.