Just Like Us

Orcus the Orca awoke from its dream. "Wow, that was intense, it thought. Gotta cut down on those spotted seals."

​"Orcus?"

Orcus recognized the sonic uttering and turned its large body to face the other Orca, named Orcie. "Hi Orcie, you wouldn't believe the dream I had. Some crazy stuff involving humans." ​

"What's that on your head?" Orcie echoed.

​"What do you mean?" ​

"There's something attached to your head."

​Orcus thought for a moment. "Yeah, that was part of the dream. Some human was putting something on my head."

​"I don't think that was a dream. There's definitely something on your head, right now." ​

"Try to knock it off."

​Orcie nudged it with its nose. "It's not moving."

"That hurt, by the way."

​"I'll try my tail." Orcie turned around and gave Orcus a swap.

​"OW! Knock it off!"

​"I'm trying to." ​

"No, I meant that hurts. I gotta think about this. See you later." ​

Orus swam in a large circle for a long while, trying to recall the series of events that led to the thing on his head. As he focused, something strange was happening. He swam back to find Orcie.

​"Orcie, I'm seeing strange things in my head."

​"I'm sorry, I must have really whacked you hard." ​

"No, I think it's this thing on my head. I can see human-made things in my mind."

***

Back at the lab, the scientists were gathered in a conference room looking at the wide screen on the wall. ​"This is one of the videos we recently got from the Orca's BrainLink."

​"Cool. Why is that other Orca hitting our Orca on the head?" ​

"We don't know. Maybe some greeting ritual we've never seen before? These are the kinds of things we're going to learn from one of the most intelligent creatures on earth."

​"Did I just see a picture of Miami Beach flash by?"

"It's probably one of the things it's searching for on the internet."

​"It can go online?"

​"Yes, we gave the Orca the ability to surf the internet." ​

"Why?"

​"We wanted to see if it was smart enough to do so."

​The chief scientist said, "Gentleman, this calls for a celebration. I say Finnegan's after work."

***

As the weeks went by, the scientists noticed the Orca accessing the internet a little more each day. After two months, it spent several hours a day on YouTube and eventually discovered social media sites. To the scientists, the project had become a huge success.

***

After one year, the scientists were discussing the next phase. ​

"Before we install a BrainLink in another Orca, I've asked Dr. Peters to share the latest findings." ​

"Thank you." Dr. Peters looked around the conference table. "After almost a year, I've observed some extraordinary human-like behaviors from our Orca. The Orca mind is a lot more curious than we originally thought. It almost rivals ours. Of course, let's not forget who gave whom a BrainLink." ​

Some in the room chuckled.

​"Dr. Peters, I heard rumors that the Orca may have developed some behavioral issues?" ​

"Yes, I'll defer to Dr. Harris for that." ​

Dr Harris glanced at her notes. "About three months ago, the Orca started withdrawing from its pod; less face-to-face interaction. It also experienced changes in its sleep pattern, a decrease in self-cleaning, neglecting of pod-related responsibilities, a decrease in attention span, and its ability to focus. There was also a decrease in physical activities."

​"Wow, it almost sounds like my teenagers," someone joked.

​The room burst into laughter. ​"Oh, one more thing," Harris continued, "and we're not totally sure yet, but there are signs of changes in its self-image." ​

"You can detect that?"

​"Oh yeah. It seems to have become a bit more depressed; less confident in its abilities, compared to other Orcas."

​Another scientist jumped in, "Should we be concerned?"

​"Not really, I mean there's a lot about Orcas we still don't understand. It could be normal behavior. That's why we need to install BrainLinks into more Orcas and see if this kind of mental decline occurs more often, and why."

​The chief scientist was beaming. "Dr. Harris, tell them about the real breakthrough."

​"Yes. As amazing as this may sound, yesterday it figured out how to create a TikTok account. There's nothing stopping it from becoming as smart as us, with its ability to log onto sites."

​"Amazon is going to need some ships," another scientist added.

​The room exploded into a combination of laughter and applause.

​The chief scientist stood up. "I say we proceed with giving another Orca this great gift. Who's up for Finnegan's?"