textfiles/stories/quarter.c13

THE MISSION
by Jon Lang

     "Hurry, Jenny, hurry," Eric yelled.  He was running as fast as he could but
the wailing sirens were gaining on him.  He was almost out of breath and could
not keep up his pace much longer.  The dark alley seemed to be closing in on him
but he kept running, all the time hearing Jenny right behind him.  This time
they had not gotten away with it, the cops were after them, and if the cops
caught them they would be taken to prison for life.  Eric turned a corner to a
pier blocked by a police car; he tumbled over the car, and landing on his feet,
he took off for the end of the pier.  He could not go back now, his way was
blocked.  His only hope was to hide in the water under the pier.  For a second
he could not hear anything, but in another second he could hear the voices of
the cops coming after them on foot.  His odds were better now; he had a better
chance of outrunning the cops if they were on foot.  He looked ahead and saw
that he was nearing the end of the pier.  Just a few dozen more feet and he
would be free.  The end of the pier loomed closer and closer until he was only
a matter of feet from its edge.  He closed his eyes and jumped into the murky
darkness of the water below.  He came up just in time to hear Jenny splashing
in after him.  They were safe in the water where the cops could not get them.
     Gradually the sounds of the cops died down and the air was quiet except for
the gentle sound of waves crashing against the shore not a hundred feet from
them.  "We made it, Jenny, we made it!"  But Jenny was not listening to him. 
Indeed she had not heard him at all.  Instead she was staring into the water
straight ahead of them where there was a fin gliding through the water.  For a
few seconds she froze, then she yelled "Shark!"  That was all she was able to
get out before she froze again in terror.  Eric heard her scream and looked for
the shark but at first he did not see it, then he too noticed the fin cutting
the water as it was heading directly for them.  At first he tried to swim away
but he realized that he could not outswim a shark.  The fin came closer to them
and started circling around them, as if looking them over.  Eric thought that
this was sure to be the end for he did not realize at the time that the animal
swimming around was not a shark.  Instead, it was a curious dolphin looking over
them to see what they were.
     71"What are you scared of?"00  The thought filled their heads like a rainbow
after it has rained.  The mere thought was filled with more colors than they
could imagine and yet it seemed so simple, so pure a thought that they were awed
by it.  Still they could not tell where it had come from.  They felt the thought
being repeated: 71"What is it that scares you"00
     "Who said that?" Jenny asked, for she had lost her fear of the shark at
this message.  "Are we so close to death that we are hearing you, God?"
     71"No, I am not `God,' I am a dolphin, yet you appear to think that I am a
71shark.  You humans do not realize that you were not the only intelligent
71creatures put on this planet by your `God.'  Your people treat this planet as
71if it was made just for them to trash.  Your people cause great problems for our
71people.  We will die soon if we are not helped.  Will you help us?"00
     "Yes, I will.  There is nothing for us among my people.  We are rejects. 
I would like to be able to help someone, but among my people I would not have
time to help.  I would be arrested for things that I have done wrong.  I want
to do something right for once.  What about you, Eric?"
     "I am also willing to help for I have been running for years now.  I wish
to be able to stop this running from my people.  We are outcasts and we are
treated that way.  I wish I had a better life, and now is my chance to get one."
     71"I am glad you will help us.  We are having a great many problems with
71pollutants and chemicals that end up in the ocean due to carelessness on the
71part of humans, but we have other problems to deal with, some of which are even
71worse.  Without your help we would die out, for we need the help of a land
71creature like you.  We had our Crystal of Life stolen from us by a human.  It
71is a special crystal that protects us and keeps us alive.  It is also how we get
71our magic.  The longer it is separated from us the weaker we grow.  Already we
71need to rely on outside help to reclaim that which is ours, and before long we
71would not even have been able to do that much.  I can only talk to yoiu because
71of the Magic of the Crystal.  That magic is slowly running out and within a week
71it will be gone unless the Crystal is back in our possession by then."00
     "I had never realized that what we were doing would harm other animals, or
that it was as bad as it is, but we are trying to correct the problems and we
are trying to cut down on the pollutants in the environment; it will not happen
overnight but it will happen."
     71"Yes, you are right.  It will not happen overnight, but there is something
71that you can do that can be done overnight.  Retrieving the Crystal of Life
71would help us even more for now.  Without it no matter how clean the waters are
71we would still die out.  The crystal gives us our very life and sustains it, but
71it must be in our hands, as you would say.  We must be in control of it.  I was
71sent to find someone to retrieve the Crystal for the animals of the sea, and now
71I have found you.  But enough with the talk, we need to get to the meeting of
71the Council of the Sea.  They will tell you what to do and describe in a little
71more detail what our problem is."00
     "But where is this `Council of the Sea'?  And how will we get there?"
     71"I was just about to get to that.  The Council of the Sea is a meeting of
71all the peoples of the sea, which is held once a year.  But this time we called
71an emergency meeting because of this crisis. The Council of the Sea will be held
71at the traditional meeting place, the Great Calm, an area in the middle of the
71ocean where the waters are the calmest and least cluttered with noise.  Heed my
71warning, all the peoples of the sea will be there and some of them do not take
71kindly to humans.  You would be wiser not to talk to anyone unless I tell you
71to, and when you do I suggest that you watch what you say, for the sharks are
71always quick to claim insult and twice as fast to claim revenge.  But if you do
71not say anything that could rouse someone against you then you will have nothing
71to fear for I will take you there myself.  The meeting will be held underwater
71because most of the creatures of the sea cannot breathe air.  Dolphins can stay
71under for extended periods of time because of the Magic of the Crystal.  I can
71use the little magic that is left in the sea to allow you to stay underwater for
71the meeting.  We must be off for it is already late, the sun has even started
71to rise.  We must be there by midday.  Grab my fin and I will take you there as
71fast as any dolphin can.  We can be there by midday if we leave now."00  Jenny and
Eric grabbed the dolphin's fin and before they knew what was happening they were
shooting through the water towards the "Great Calm" where the meeting was going
to take place.
     71"We are nearing the Great Calm, for I can already hear the voices of the
71others.  We are late, the meeting is almost over, but we will be there in time
71to hear the end of the meeting."00  Jenny was straining her ears to hear the
others but she could not, they were not close enough yet.  Just as she was about
to give up she heard a loud song echoing through the water and she realized that
she was hearing one of the whales, but she could not understand what it was
saying because it was singing, not talking in her head like the dolphin that she
now rode.
     "What is it saying?  I cannot understand whale-song."  She had
discovered that she could talk underwater as a side effect of the magic that
allowed her to breathe underwater.  
     71"She is saying that the problem needs to be corrected and that nothing can
71be done if we cannot find a land creature to help us, that my species has little
71chance of survival.  I think I shall tell her the good news."00  All of a sudden
the dolphin started chirping and squeaking in the manner of dophins when they
are talking to one another, and in a few seconds Jenny heard a reply that was
definitely directed in their direction.  71"She says that there is hope after all,
71and she is extremely thankful that I fulfilled my mission.  She hopes that you
71can be trusted to fulfill yours."00  When they came upon the Great Calm they could
see all the creatures of the sea imaginable.  When Eric noticed the sharks, he
did not point them out to Jenny, remembering when the dolphin came to them.  But
he did point out other creatures; many were multi-colored and looked like
rainbows from a prism.  71"We are here, but we will have to leave soon on your
71mission.  You will need me to take you back to the land so that you may complete
71your mission."00
     71"Welcome, Swift-Spirit-of-the-Sea, I am glad that you have completed your
71mission.  Who are your charges?"00
     71"They are Jenny and Eric, and they have freely consented to take on the
71mission for us,"00 the dolphin replied.
     "Is that your name, Swift-Spirit-of-the-Sea?" asked Jenny, just now
realizing that she had not found out the dolphin's name.
     71"Yes, it is my name, and I am proud of it."00
     71"Do your charges, Jenny and Eric, understand the mission?"00
     71"Yes, they understand it as much as I do.  but I need you to explain the
71technicalities of it to them.  They do not know what it requires of them."00
     71"The two of you need to go the the Oceanic Museum, where the Crystal of
71Life is being kept.  You must take it from its pedestal in the lobby and return
71it to me whereupon I shall return it to its proper place.  To help you on your
71way I shall give you this amulet."00  A dolphin came swimming up to them clasping,
in its mouth, a chain with an opalescent stone set in a golden circle.  71"Take
71this amulet.  It will help you to complete your mission, but be warned: it can
71only be used once.  All you have to do is to wish for it to take effect and
71every living thing in the area you are in will freeze for five minutes.  the
71amulet will glow when it comes near the Crystal of Life because both were made
71out of the same, very rare material.  When you return, I shall reward you for
71your kindness with a wish."00
     "Thank you, we shall not fail."
     71"We must go back now, we are running out of time."00  They grabbed the
dolphin's fin and were off back to the shore.  When they got there, Jenny and
Eric left Swift-Spirit-of-the-Sea and headed to the museum.  It was night
already and no one saw them until they arrived at the museum, which was open and
would remain so for a few hours more.  "There is the Crystal.  I think we can
get to it with very little trouble, but I think that we should use the amulet." 
Jenny activated the amulet and Eric grabbed the Crystal.  They left the building
running as fast as they could because the front guards had not been frozen and
had heard the alarm go off.  When they reached the water Swift-Spirit-of-the-Sea
was waiting for them to take them back to the Great Calm and the Council of the
Sea.  When they reached the Council of the Sea, the same whale that had talked
to them before came forward to thank them.
     71"Thank you for retrieving the Crystal of Life, we will be grateful to you
71for it.  As I promised, I will grant each of you one wish.  It can be anything
71you want, but I cannot change the past, only the future.  What will it be?"00
     "I have never gotten along with others of my race, I would like to go back
and have a fresh start, except that you said that you cannot change the past. 
So instead, I would like to be a dolphin so that I can make a new life for
myself and this time maybe I will make the right choices."
     71"That is a wise choice, and it is within my power to grant it.  You shall
71be admitted into the peoples of the sea.  I shall change your shape into that
71of the dolphin.  What about you, Eric?  What is your choice?"00
     "The same applies to me.  Among my people I am an outcast and I have
nothing, but among you I would be respected."
     71"Then you too will have your wish granted."00  She said something in
71Whale-song and in a few moments they had changed.  71"You are each one of us now,
71and you will always be respected."00