Novo Cetus

Chapter Five

Several miles from the explosion site, the Leader stopped and logged at the surface. He spouted noisily, trying to drown out the unnatural hum that shrouded him. Swinging and slapping his tail on the water, he lob-tailed anxiously; warning others to stay away. The danger he warned others of was himself.

The Leader considered his past. Memories of his life before the storm were strong. His relationship to his mother and the others, and the stories and lessons he'd learned were cogent memories. He remembered his return to the pod – greeted at first with suspicion – and the moment of his acceptance. The matriarch. She'd remained silent when the pod spun his tale of victory over the whaling ship. Additionally, she had never celebrated his resiliency or his hunting skills. He had so many questions: had she agreed when the others announced he was resourceful just like his mother, Hope? Had she boasted to other swimmers, like the white-sided dolphin, that he was the pod's deepest diver? Never.

She knew he was different, and now he knew he was different. The bachelor pod looked to him for leadership, protection and provisions. Despite his size, he still needed a clan. He contemplated what to do next.

The nanos' primary program: to assess problems and adapt.

Perception and experience served as a convincing influence in biological data processing. In contrast, the nano process of systematic enquiry to come to a conclusion, proved ineffective in problem solving.

In an effort to modify the negative effect of emotion on managing the flow of information through the CPU, the nanos created a link between perception and the computer. This adaptation viewed information as intelligence and introduced intuition into the processor. This kickstarted the assimilation of nanos into the whale's culture and traditions' and began the mental process of using perception, reasoning and judgment.

Nanos pinpointed the obstructions: cognitive incongruity; or trouble integrating an event, for example, the loss of a loved one. Attempts at thought suppression proved difficult because ironic processes (the practice of monitoring whether information has been successfully suppressed) defeats suppression of an idea, by keeping the matter in mind.

Nanos worked to regulate anxiety. However, research showed anxiety to be ambiguous and anxiety was central to the misfiring of organic material.

The Leader heard his bachelor pod approach. Excited chatter, filled with wavy boings and staccato clicks, reverberated through the ocean as stories of the collapse echoed through the group. The boisterous band of males arrived en masse, nudging and bumping their greeting while boasting the tale; hadn't it been lucky that no one was injured? None of them had ever seen a collapse. Excitement, triggered by the near-deadly encounter with the crumbling chimney, prompted a large male to breach the top-water several times and belly flop back to the surface. A smaller male, his head encrusted in barnacles like a crop of curly white hair, circled the group and slapped his fluke against the surface with bravado. This magical tale would enhance the growing story of the clan.

They arrived in warmer waters of the Galapagos Islands and mixed with young females and bull males. Hunting parties comprised of whales from different pods formed and shared expertise as they stalked the giant squid. Large bulls near the Islands were aggressive, more than willing to prove their supremacy to any contender. Unwilling to provoke a challenge, the Leader stayed in deep water, far from the social circle surrounding the Islands.

The nanos swept their system for errors. Structure scans reported mechanical systems within a satisfactory working range, while repair nanos searched for and deleted erratic emotional responses embedded in fear structures.

The nanos sifted through the biological mainframe, sorting and filing information to integrate into their new collaborative system; migration patterns, hunting grounds and safety protocol were merged into the system. Nanos analyzed and rejected experiential knowledge – data gained through the whale's firsthand experiences. They found this information fluctuated and deemed it unreliable. This exclusion ultimately limited the Leader's capacity for insight.

The clan left the Galapagos Islands and headed towards the coast of the United States. The Leader anticipated several days of peace as he and his clan mates cruised through the crystal blue water along the Pacific Rim. He felt content after his time in the waters of the Galapagos.

Tales of the charmed pod resonated throughout the Cetacean communities from the Tropic of Cancer to the Aleutian Islands. The Leader's troop of ten strong males doubled as bold and brash adolescent sperm whales left their family pods and joined the bachelor pod.

Most clans urged their young to stay far away from the mythical clan. The wise were wary of anything different. The dangerous, false creatures of the surface are drawn to large whales. Some stories are shared as a warning, they cautioned.

Fishermen were superstitious. Stories circulated of a pod of fat male sperm whales. Like the pod leaders, whalers steered clear of this pod. Most cultures possess a tale of a giant whale, and too many of these yarns end tragically – especially when they start with a giant whale.