"Is there no end to the oddities of the worlds?" he asked no one in particular.
To her, his supposed niece, he asked "Was my mother one of your kind? The mer? She told me stories of you. We built boats... boats she never set foot on, come to think of it."
The mermaid swam around the top of the dome, where there was glass, eyeing him from every angle. :You are wounded.: she said, at length. :And younger than anticipated.:
He laughed. "I am sixty-two, young one. My mother was... older, when she birthed me."
:Your voice. It is nothing like hers. Deeper. Do we assume that you inherited it from the one who stole Mona from us?:
"Us?" He looked around, and more shapes were appearing from the depths. "Stole? No, they loved each other!"
Faces pressed against the glass; intent, but not yet malevolent.
"They had twelve strong children together. Many, many are their grandchildren. I am the youngest of Mona Curran. The last to have shared her blood. Do you intend us harm?"
Some of the mer were startled to have him ask. Others were surprised at her extensive lineage. His niece softened to hear that her uncle was the youngest. Perhaps she was, too.
:She always wanted a large family,: a massive, hulking shape rumbled. :We could not give it to her. I see that she courted a land man.:
"Not quite, sir." The sea creature who spoke was nearly twice the size of the lab! He was afraid to anger it--him?--but he would not lie to these mer.
:Continue,: he said, rattling the bones in even Ibrahim's skull.
He stood, legs shaking more than he liked. "My father was possibly the last of his kind, killed off by another race. He... is not of this world. But he is, as I am... quite able to provide offspring."
Mirth colored the gargantuan voice. :A space man? Yes, that is quite like my Mona.:
Ibrahim dropped into the chair again. "Do..." He cleared his throat. "Do I take it that I am addressing my grandfather?"
It took him a moment to realize that the object that was the size of a small car was, in fact, a head nodding affirmative. He paled.
"I would bow, sir, but I have not the strength. This is... much, to process."
:I would not have you endanger my great-grandchild,: he purred. :You say that I have many?: The eye, as large as Edison was tall, sparkled with mirth.
"More than I can count, sir. And I can count very high."
:So this facility would seem to say. How, then, can you not number them?:
"I am a scientist, sir. My... biology has been... extensively explored. And yet, somehow, I did not discover this... deepest of secrets, within my cells."
The mer laughed around him. The sound, outside one's skull, was of a school of fish swirling around a diver. He wouldn't realize, until much later, that no one would hear any of what was said, except him. Maybe Hal.
:We have been walking among the landed for millennia. It is how we retain some humanoid features, from one generation to the next. One of my daughters likened it to a tradition observed by conservative peoples on land.:
"Yes, I have heard of it. Does this mean that my mother was supposed to return? When? After Marcus was born, or... after me?"
:If Marcus was her firstborn, then yes.:
"Then I wouldn't have my ten other siblings, nor would I stand here. You said she wanted a large family, and she had one. Uncountable grandchildren, dozens of great-grandchildren, and even a few great great grandchildren."
:Name them,: the voice demanded. The lab vibrated with the force of his command.
"There are too many!" he protested. "It would take me one full day, to speak of her line."
:Then tomorrow, you shall sing her line.:
"Sir, if I include my own children and grandchildren--had I access to the information--it would take a week to name them."
Every mer shrank back in surprise. In a small voice, for a Curran, he said "They were... very thorough, in their studies. Both myself, and my children were... farmed." Stronger, standing once more, he said "This was to be our sanctuary from such things. Do you intend to leave us in peace, as far as that is concerned?"
The ancient creature thought for a time. He slowly sank back into his chair. :We shall see how many of your children return to us. Then, we will decide the answer to that.:
His immense disquiet roused Emmett. He had to rush to his work station, and stabilize the tiny babe. It did nothing to steady his hands, when no few of his new-found kin hovered around the dome to watch.
:What happened to your chest, Uncle Ibrahim?: Nora asked.
"Hubris and sentiment happened. I swore to avoid the first, and temper the second."
:My friend wishes to hear more, but only your blood can speak with you. Your wound is deep. We have concerns.:
She hovered in front of the holographic projection of the outside of the lab. He looked up briefly, sighed. "I used terrible science to make myself a new body, to replace the one I had damaged so foolishly, with my experiments. My entire family bade me do it. This," he said, touching the melted gem on a shelf above him, "was an unexpected side effect. It was vulnerable to one specific substance, and I, in my pride, thought myself immune. One miscalculation, a slip of a hand, and it was burned away. Now I am as you see me, forever marked with my hubris."
:If you can make a new body, why--:
He spun toward the projection. "Because I forbade it!" More quietly, he said that it was against the Creator to meddle in matters of mortality.
"If I have learned nothing else, that lesson is etched into my very bones. The sternum, to be specific."
YOU ARE READING
The Curran Sea
Science FictionBOOK TWO: The Curran Saga Ibrahim has been dead for fifteen years. Most of his children are adults, his grandchildren teenagers. They have all branched off into their own fields of interest, and the Curran C has grown to match. The three islands are...
