Chapter 7 Section VII

The "Flying Fish" hydrofoil boat set off waves and headed towards the island from the west at a speed of 50 knots per hour.From the Australian mainland to the island, it only takes two hours.When approaching the reef outside Dolphin Island, the longboat retracted its huge hydrofoil, turned into an ordinary airboat, and ended the last section of the voyage at a speed of 10 knots per hour. Johnny knew that when the hydrofoil appeared the whole island would flock to the pier.Out of curiosity, he also followed and stood on the beach to watch.I saw the white hydrofoil sailing slowly and cautiously between the coral reefs and docked at the pier.

Professor Kazan went ashore in a crisp white tropical suit and a wide-brimmed hat.He was warmly welcomed by everyone.The people who came to welcome him included technicians, fishermen, staff and children, and almost everyone on the island came anyway.This small society on the island is very democratic and everyone is equal.But Johnny soon discovers that Professor Kazan is different.The people on the island respect him, like him, and are proud of him. Johnny also discovers that if you come to the pier to watch the Flying Fish, you have to help carry the cargo as well.It took them a full hour to transport countless boxes and bags from the boat to the warehouse.Just after the moving work was over, Johnny was drinking a cold drink when a voice called him from the loudspeaker, asking him to go to the science and technology building immediately.

Once Johnny arrived at the building, he was ushered into a large room filled with various electronic devices.Professor Kazan and Dr. Keith were sitting in front of an exquisite console, not noticing Johnny's arrival at all.Johnny didn't mind that.He took great interest in everything in the room. A series of strange sounds, repeated over and over again, came from the loudspeaker.It sounded like the dolphin call that Johnny had already heard, but with a slight difference.The speed of this sound is slowed down so that the less sensitive human ear can pick out various details in the sound.

But that's not all.Each time a series of sounds from the dolphin came out of the loudspeaker, it was simultaneously displayed on the TV screen with bright and dark lights, which looked like a map.Of course Johnny can't understand the meaning of this pattern, but scientists can obviously get a lot of information from it.Professor Kazan and Dr. Keith stared intently at the screen, occasionally turning the control knobs so that some parts of the screen became brighter and others darker. Professor Kazan suddenly found Johnny, turned off the sound, and turned the chair to Johnny.But he didn't turn off the TV image, the bright and dark light on the screen has been alternating regularly, making people drowsy.Johnny still turned his head to look at the screen from time to time.

At the same time, he carefully observed Professor Kazan.The professor is fat, with white hair, and looks about fifty or seven or eight years old.He was nice, but not very warm.He seemed to want to be friends with everyone, but he also wanted to be alone with his thoughts.Later, Johnny also found that when the professor was in a good mood, it was very pleasant to be with him.But sometimes, he seems to be absent-minded when talking to you.This is not to say that he is the "absent-minded professor" that everyone imagines.He seemed to be able to do two things at once: go about his day-to-day affairs and ponder complex scientific questions at the same time.As a result, he often seems to be listening to his own inner monologue, which is impossible for others to hear.

"Sit down, Johnny," said the professor. "Dr. Keith radioed me about you when I was in Australia. I think, you must know, you're a very lucky man!" "Yes, sir." Johnny's answer was full of emotion. "Dolphins have sometimes brought shipwrecked people ashore, and this has been known for centuries. In fact, legends about dolphins go back at least two thousand years. But people have never taken it seriously before. Until recently, they weren't valued by humans. It's different with you. Dolphins don't just push you ashore; they escort you hundreds of miles along the way.

"What's more, they escorted you directly to our island. But what the hell is going on? That's what we're trying to find out. I don't think you know anything about it yourself. !" Johnny was a little flattered that even the professor asked him such a question. "Yeah," he said slowly, "maybe they know you're working on them here. But I can't see how they know?" "The answer is simple," interjected Dr. Keith. "The dolphins we released must have told the other dolphins in the depths of the ocean. Remember, when Johnny first got here, he recognized a few dolphins in the pictures!"

Professor Kazan nodded. "Yes—this information is invaluable to us. It shows that the dolphins on the coast we are studying speak the same language as their cousins ​​living in the depths of the ocean. We Didn't know it before." "But we don't know anything about their motivations for doing this," Dr. Keith said. "The dolphins in the depths of the ocean have never had direct contact with humans. They must have a purpose in doing so. It seems to show that they need our help - and urgently need our help. Perhaps saving Johnny is to show : "We helped you—now it's time for you to help us. "

"It's quite possible," Professor Kazan agreed.But we will never find the answer by talking like this.The only way is to find Johnny's friends - ask them directly. " "If we can find it." "Yes. They won't travel far, though, if they really need our help. In this room, we might be able to get in touch with them." Professor Kazan turned on a knob, and the sound reappeared in the room.But Johnny noticed that what he heard this time was not the sound of a dolphin, but the sounds of the sea. It was a chaotic mixture of hisses, squeaks, and rumbles, mixed with what seemed to be chirping birds, muffled moans, and the rustle of innumerable waves.

They listened to this enchanting symphony of the sea.After a while, Professor Kazan turned another knob. "This is the hydrophone to the west," he explained to Johnny. "Let's listen to the east again. These hydrophones are placed very deep, outside the reefs." The sound coming from the loudspeaker changed: the rustle of the waves became weaker; the moans and creaks of the unknown creatures in the sea intensified.The professor listened for a few minutes, then turned to the north, and finally to the south. "Put the tape on the analyzer and analyze it?" he said to Dr. Keith. "But I'm pretty sure there's no major pods of dolphin activity within 20 miles at the moment."

"If I do that, my theory will go bankrupt!" "Not necessarily. Twenty miles is a very short distance for dolphins. You know, they are hunters in the sea. They drift with their food, and they can't stay in one place all the time. The group of dolphins that saved Johnny soon died. Eat up all the food around the reef." Professor Kazan stood up and continued: "You analyze the tape by yourself, I have to go to the pool. Come with me, Johnny. I'll introduce you to some of my best friends." On the way to the beach, the professor seemed lost in thought.Then he surprised Johnny with a sudden, skillful series of loud whistles. Seeing Johnny's surprised expression, the professor laughed. "No one is fluent in the language of dolphins," the professor said. "But I can speak a few common phrases, which is not bad. But I have to practice a lot. My accent must be terrible, and only the dolphins who know me well can understand me. Sometimes, I think, the dolphins understand only because Just being polite." The professor opened the door into the water, and locked it carefully after entering. “Everyone wants to play with Suzie and Sputnik, but I never let them,” the professor explained. “At least not when I teach them English.” Suzy is a smooth female dolphin weighing about 300 pounds.It is easily excited, and when it sees the professor and Johnny approaching, it jumps out of the water, high and high.Its son, Sputnik, is 9 months old and seems withdrawn and shy.Follow its mother. "Hello, Susie," the professor greeted her, pronouncing it very clearly, "Hello, Sputnik." Then he pursed his lips and let out a series of complicated whistles.There must have been a mistake in the middle, he cursed in a low voice, and started again. Susie probably thought the professor was ridiculous, so he barked a few times.This is the big laugh of a dolphin.It then spouted a jet of water at the two visitors, but it was polite enough not to spray them.Afterwards, it swam to the professor; the professor took out a plastic bag of goodies from his pocket. He took a piece and held it high in his hand.At this point, Suzie backed up a few yards, then jumped, snatched the piece cleanly from the professor's hand, and dived back underwater with barely any splash.Soon, it came out of the water again, and he said very clearly: "Thank you, Professor." It obviously wanted more, but Professor Kazan shook his head. "No, Suzie," he said, patting her on the back. "It's time to eat." Susie snorted in displeasure, and swam gracefully alongside him, as fast as a motorboat.It obviously wanted to show off. Sputnik swam with his mother.The professor said to Johnny: "Try and see if you can feed it—I'm afraid it won't trust me." Johnny also took a piece of food, which smelled like a mix of fish, oil, and compounds.He later learned that it was the equivalent of candy or chocolate that dolphins eat.It took Professor Kazan several years of painstaking research to create this food.Dolphins love this kind of food very much, and they will do whatever they want in order to eat it. Johnny knelt by the sink, holding aloft the Dolphin Chocolate. "Sputnik," he called out. "Come here, Sputnik." The calf stuck its head out of the water and looked at Johnny suspiciously.It looked at Mother, then at Professor Kazan, and then at Johnny.As much as he wanted to eat, he refused to go near Johnny.Then, with a snort, it dived into the water and drove away.But it didn't go far, just like people don't go far when they hesitate.It just hangs around aimlessly. Johnny thought that maybe the little dolphin was afraid of coming over because he was afraid of the professor.He walked 50 feet along the pool before pausing to call Sputnik. Johnny was right.The young dolphin took stock of the new situation, expressed satisfaction, and slowly swam towards Johnny, but still seemed uneasy.It sticks out its snout and opens its mouth, revealing a row of tiny, needle-like teeth.When it took the chocolate from Johnny's hand, it didn't even touch Johnny's fingers.This made Johnny drop a stone in his heart.After all, Sputnik is a carnivore after all.It was the equivalent of feeding a lion cub with both hands, and Johnny couldn't help worrying about getting hurt. The little dolphin returned to the pool, obviously wanting more. "No, Sputnik," Johnny remembered what Professor Kazan had said to Suzie. "No, Sputnik—it's time for dinner." The little dolphin was next to Johnny, so Johnny reached out to pet it.The baby dolphin flinched a little, but didn't move away, letting Johnny's hand stroke its back.Johnny discovered that the dolphin's skin was as soft as rubber and elastic.Fish skin has scales, but dolphin skin is nothing like fish skin.Anyone who has touched the skin of a dolphin will never forget that dolphins are warm-blooded mammals. Johnny really wanted to play with Sputnik for a while, but Professor Kazan was already greeting him.After they left the big pool, the professor said jokingly, "My feelings are hurt. I've never been able to get close to Sputnik - and you did it the first time you met him. It seems that you and the dolphins Destined. Did you have any pets when you were at home?" "No, sir," Johnny said. "However, I have raised centipedes, and that was a long time ago." "Ah," the professor giggled. "That's not a pet, is it?" After they walked for a while, Professor Kazan spoke again.This time, his tone of voice changed completely. He no longer regarded Johnny as a child 40 years younger than him, but as seriously as a colleague, he said: "I am a scientist, but I am also a superstitious Russian peasant. Although logic tells me that my ideas are unreasonable, I feel that fate has brought you here. First, the way you came It’s so weird, it’s like something out of Greek mythology and legend. And now, Sputnik eats the food in your hands. It could all be pure coincidence, but smart people take advantage of it.” What he meant by these words, Johnny couldn't figure out for a moment.But the professor didn't say anything more, until they were about to enter the science and technology building, the professor spoke again, and even smiled softly. "I suppose you're in no hurry to go home!" " Johnny's heart was pounding. "Yes, sir," he said hastily. "I'd like to stay here as long as possible. I want to know more about your dolphins." "Not my dolphin," corrected the professor earnestly. "Each dolphin is an individual human being, and they enjoy a much wider range of freedoms than our land-based counterparts. They belong to no one; nor, I hope, even in the future. I hope to help They. Not only for the sake of scientific research, but, for me, it is a special privilege. Never think of them as animals; in their own language they call themselves 'sea people'. That is the best way to call them. Henceforth we should use 'he, she, or them' when we speak of them." It was the first time Johnny had seen the professor so alive.Of course, he fully understands the professor's feelings, because he has linked his career and life with the 'sea people', so he hopes to repay them.