Messages from the Deep by Theo Marais

sailor’s jig. To show my understanding, I
repeated the notes and then added another ‘verse’ off the top of my
head. The dolphin seemed delighted and repeated my verse, ending
with what sounded remarkably like cheering and laughing, while
‘clapping’ its flippers on the surface a few times.
    Alex and I continued to go to the bay at the
same time each day, where we saw the dolphins again, each time
finding them more trusting and more eloquent. But still, we did not
understand most of their apparent speech, and Alex said that he
found the more natural dolphin sounds they make to be different
from those he has studied and used on Earth. But we did not have
the sophisticated technical equipment like the receivers used to
record and programmes to analyse dolphin sounds. So he decided to
record their sounds for a few days, playing some of it back to
them, first to their consternation, then to their delight as they
appeared to understand what was happening.
    After about a week of daily contact, we went
to the bay one day and realised that they had gone.
    So Alex sent the recordings back to Earth for
analysis, even though it would take many months for a response.
    Alex and I know each other well from many
years of seeing each other on and off during my holidays at Plett,
but we discovered that we have a very special bond now and, for the
first time in my life, I feel that I could settle down and just
enjoy being with this very special man every day.”

CHAPTER 5
     
     
    Alex is reporting to ‘Life on Earth 2’ about
what they do all day.
    “Well, we have pretty much only what we could
bring with us, very limited to the essentials, of course.
    Other than in the Communications and Data
centre, each person only has like an iPod, linked to the C.D.
centre, so there is access to anything you want. There is also a
large screen in each building, mostly used for watching news, sport
and films. But most of our day is taken by doing routine manual
labour, like weeding the fields and laying down pipes and so on, so
by the end of the day, most of us like to get together and chat
about how the day has been and just chill out a bit. We have tested
our first new home-brew here and all agree that it’s the best we
have ever tasted on the planet ! The cabins, or rondavels or
bungalows, mostly made from wood and thatch, form a large circle,
with some facing in- and some outwards. The area in the middle is a
garden and play area, and in the centre is a meeting place with
seats around a fire-place, where you can cook or just enjoy the
warmth. Sometimes we have special evenings of music, singing or
dancing, or poetry readings or telling stories, or all of these,
non-stop for 12 hours. We have filmed some of these and you may
have seen them on late-night TV, so keep watching.”
     
    A small group of the settlers is lounging
around the fire. Alex has the gift of the gab or has kissed the
Blarney stone tonight.
    “I have always been intrigued by the
interface of understanding between species of animals and with
humans.
    A legend that has always felt important to me
is that of Androcles and the Lion. The runaway slave showed
understanding and love to the injured lion and so it trusted him to
remove the thorn in its paw. Later, when they were captured and put
together in the arena to fight to the death, it spared his life as
they recognised each other, and it came up to him to lick his hand.
Allegedly, they were both freed, or so I like to remember.
    As a young boy, sometimes I had a dream where
I was being chased by a lion and my legs never ran fast enough and
I knew it was going to catch up to me, so I woke up terrified.
After waking my parents a few times in the middle of the night, my
dad suggested that, next time, instead of running, I could try
standing still, facing the lion and see what happened. After all, I
would have nothing left to lose (ha! ha!). So, I’m not sure if I
actually had the dream again or if I just thought about it