Breakthrough(23)

They knew beyond a doubt that if the program was extended, it would allow them to study not just the routes but eventually their tortoise’s entire life span from birth to death. They were finishing their papers, some, including Alison were finishing their doctorates when the hammer fell. In one coordinated effort, the Navy confiscated the majority of their work. Anything that was deemed in the interest of national security was permanently moved to government research teams in various fields. She and the team were stunned, unable to imagine how on earth a population of tortoises qualified as a security threat. It never made any sense and they were all sure it was just some monumental misunderstanding. Through a friend she had found out that the Navy had another agenda from the start. Their intention was to learn how they could use the tortoises affixed with small but powerful transmitters to obstruct communications to and from enemy vessels based on proximity of an agent tortoise. Agent tortoise. It still sounded as absurd today as it did then. Absurd or not, it was a shock to find out that the Navy’s support was a sham from the beginning. They never cared about the biology, they simply wanted to deem whether it had a viable military application.

Of course it didn’t. The migration routes were helpful but the logistical complications around the geographic management, speed of migration, and power needs to adequately block a signal were simply insurmountable. In the end the Navy dropped the idea and after two full years of legal arguments, relented and made the whole of the data available to the scientific community. But by then the idea of a longer, more comprehensive study was too difficult to fund and was as good as dead. The results were well received eventually, but a complete behavioral understanding from birth to death would have blown the doors off of anything that was known about the species. By the time they could have picked up the pieces, the excitement was gone and most of the researchers had found other projects. It was less than a year after giving up that she met Frank and his crazy idea about the science of language translation.

She turned from the window and stared at him.

He shrugged. “Besides, these guys could just be genuinely interested in helping.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “The Navy has money and resources that we could only dream about. Why on earth would they come to us? I mean really, how hard could it be for them to find a little submarine?”

“Fine.” With a look of dejection, she unfolded her arms and walked toward the door. Before opening it, she turned back to Frank. “Do you realize, Frank, that we never sent out another press release when we made contact?”

He shrugged. “I know. Remember we were going to schedule another press release when we were ready to show the translation in action?”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. If we haven’t formally announced the translation yet, how did the Navy know about it?”



Clay and Caesare followed Alison down the hall toward the stairs. The conversation in Dubois’ office appeared to be a significant one as Alison emerged with slightly less disdain for them, and at Dubois’ request, offered to show them their lab and a demonstration of the technology used.

Silently, as they walked behind her, Clay acknowledged that Caesare was right. She was cute. She was also extremely intelligent and clearly not someone to be trifled with. At least not if you worked for the government. He didn’t know what it was that had soured her, but he’d seen enough firsthand to feel sympathetic.

At the bottom of the stairs, they followed Alison through the new wing which Clay guessed had doubled the size of the aquarium since his boyhood trip. The structural design was more modern but was cleverly decorated to match the original building, making the extension almost indiscernible to the casual visitor. They passed a horde of children all peering and waving at the dolphins through the enormous glass tank. The hall stopped abruptly at a large secured door where they found the tank continued on the other side, forming one of the walls of their lab. As they entered Clay noticed another smaller set of stairs and realized that Alison had taken them along the scenic route. Maybe she didn’t entirely hate them.

The lab was much larger than he had expected, with the far wall almost ten feet tall and largely covered with racks of servers. In the center of the room were three tables and four large desks, along with by two young men who appeared to be in the middle of eating lunch.

Chris and Lee both turned when the door slammed shut and quickly wiped their mouths as Alison approached with the two visitors.

“Guys,” she said, crossing the room. “These gentlemen are from the Navy, they’ve come to learn about our project.”