Chapter No. 41 The Source of Error

Julius Stram looked over the shoulder of his new lab technician at images displayed on a monitor and sighed. "I don't know about this. We haven't had much luck with interrogations of late."

"Who is that?" Helen asked, pointing at the image of a young bikini-clad blond.

"Her name's Katherine Tuller. She's a Marineland trainer working on the Mermaid project."

"Why do they call these creatures mermaids?"

Julius guffawed. "A capitulation to the uneducated masses. These creatures are far from any concept of a mermaid. They're more related to lizards, despite their obvious dolphin characteristics."

"You seem to know quite a bit about them. Why do you need to interrogate this woman?"

"We need details about their strategic value. She has worked with them."

"You sound as if they're some sort of military weapon. What possible strategic value could they have?"

"If I knew the precise answer to that question, I wouldn't need to interrogate the woman."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to interrogate the woman that's in charge of . . . what's her name?"

"Dr. Margaret Hauptman. Yes, we tried her. She's too intractable." He gestured at the monitor image. "This one. This one will be more pliable."

Helen looked up at him. "I hope you don't expect me to do any interrogations. I would never measure up to your wife's abilities."

That's an understatement.

He laughed. "No Doctor. Your job is to continue your transgenic work. I will take care of interrogations."

"Good." She stood up. "The less I know about it, the better."

He intently observed her rather provocative exit, enjoying how her shapely caboose swayed with each step.

He rubbed a sweaty hand down over his sweaty face.

I've got to keep my mind on business. I don't have time for diversions.

###

"What's the matter, Kathy?" Margaret asked, placing her hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "You seem out of sorts today."

"I'm Ok," she said, exhaling a deep breath. "It's just that I . . ."

"She'd like to get her hands on one of the creatures," Karen said as she approached.

Both Margaret and Kathy looked at her with confused expressions.

"I don't understand," Margaret said.

Karen smiled. "She told me about the feel job they gave her. She'd love to return the favor."

Margaret laughed. "I don't blame her. I would have been embarrassed to tears."

Kathy shuddered. "I was scared out of my mind."

Karen held her hands to her face. "Jesus, I get goose bumps just thinking about it."

"Well," Margaret said, standing up. "Which one would you like to feel?"

Kathy stood up. "How about the two juveniles, Zephaniah and Raphael."

"You want both?"

"Yeah, like you'll see why."

Margaret gave her a half smile. "Actually, those two could be considered adolescents."

Kathy returned a smirk. "Like, I've noticed."

Margaret let out a loud whistle and within seconds four alien heads popped out of the water.

"Hi Mar-ga-reet!" they intoned in melodious tones that reverberated around the training tank.

"Hi! And, how are you today?"

"We are fine."

Margaret smiled briefly. "We would like to have the two females, Zephaniah and Raphael, for a while. We want to touch them. Is this permissible?"

The four alien head engaged in a brief screeching contest, before Michael turned to Margaret. "Sure, Mar-ga-reet. Where do you want them to go?"

Margaret turned to Kathy and Karen. "What do you think?"

Kathy pointed at the trainer station. "Why not at the ramp. It'll make it easier for them to lie down."

"Have them go to the trainers station," Margaret told Michael.

"Yes, Mar-ga-reet."

###

Julius slumped into his desk chair and buried his face in his hands.

What should I do? Without my wife's services, I find it difficult to do anything. I'm ineffective without her, despite her unconventional approach.

Dr. Stazynski is quite different. She's more conventional, but . . . but, quite curiously, she never married. Despite her obvious physical attributes, she seems to have no interests in heterosexual liaisons. I wonder why. Is she gay? Curious.

He punched an intercom button.

"Franklin."

A few moments passed.

"Yes?"

"Come to my office."

"Yes, sir."

Franklin arrived within a few minutes and silently moved to a position in front of his boss' desk. His face reflected no emotion.

Julius looked up at him. "I want you to contact our bag operatives. I have another job for them."

"The specifics?"

Julius handed him a sheet of paper. "This is the subject's dossier. I want this to be a clean nab. No undue attention. Understand?"

"I understand, but will they?"

"As I was once told: you must use what resources are available. They're supposed to be professionals."

Franklin gave him a incredulous smirk, whirled around, and marched to the door.
"Franklin."

He turned. "Yes?"

Julius squinted and furrowed his brow. "What does Dr. Strazynski do on her time off?"

Franklin rewarded him with a confused expression before he answered. "She likes to read."

"What does she read?"

"Journals. Sometimes novels."

"Does she do anything physical?"

"Specify?"

"You know: does she work out or go swimming or does . . ."

"Yes. She likes to swim and sun herself in the solarium."

"Just like my wife."

Franklin nodded. He had a sly smile on his lips, a mocking expression that annoyed his boss.

"Thank you." He said it gruffly.

Then, he watched Franklin turn and leave the room.

"Interesting."

###

The two adolescents slithered up a long ramp leading to the Trainers Station. Designed to allow dolphins and Orcas access to ground-based humans, the ramp is completely unnecessary for mermaids. Mermaids are capable of climbing up ladders.

The three women hunched down near the two chosen creatures while the unchosen creatures gathered to watch.

"I'm not a biologist," Kathy said, gesturing at the two adolescents, "but there's something weird about these so called mermaids."

"What's that, Kathy?" Margaret said with a confused frown.

"They're supposed to be the same species, but there are some very confusing differences. The obvious thing is the hair. The Micronesian mermaids have flaming red hair and the ones from the Galapagos Islands are blond. But, if you look carefully at their hair, you will see that the red hair is wavy and the blond hair is straight."

She placed her hand on Zephaniah's face. "And, look at the eyes. The blond haired mermaids have pink eyes. The red haired ones have gold eyes."

"Wow! I never noticed that," Karen said, wide-eyed.

"How about these wrist fins?" Kathy said, grasping Raphael's arm. "The Micronesian mermaids have larger fins with patterns that resemble Monarch butterfly wings, while the Galapagos mermaids have smaller, undecorated fins." 

Margaret and Karen looked at her with confused expressions.

"All species show variations in minor characteristics," Margaret said. "Look at the differences among humans."

"Yeah, but there are billions of humans. These creatures are near extinction."

"Why fins?" Karen asked.

Margaret stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"Why wrist fins? They certainly don't need them. It seems more of a decoration."

Margaret gave her cautious grin. "Maybe they are."

"Speaking of decorations," Kathy said, holding her finger up. "Check this out." She traced her finger around the perimeter of Zephaniah's breast. "The Galapagos mermaids have perfect circle breasts." She ran her finger under Raphael's breast. "The Micronesian mermaids have larger breasts shaped more like crescents."

Margaret grinned. "I'm surprised my husband hasn't noticed that. He loves big boobs."

The two young women's faces reflected both curiosity and amusement.

"Sorry. It's an inside joke." Margaret cleared her throat. "I'm sure there's a good reason for these differences. I just don't know what it is as yet."  

When Kathy pried Raphael's mouth open, she was rewarded with a tongue swipe across her arm. "What's with these teeth? Dolphins have conical teeth designed to grasp their prey. They simply swallow their meal. Most carnivores have canine teeth designed to spear flesh, and they have molars to grind through bones. Sharks have curved teeth for biting and holding. These creatures have sharp incisors. No molars. No canines. They're not right for mashing or grasping. My guess is that they simply chew with them."

"That's right," Margaret said. "They use tools to catch their prey."

"What other species does that?" Kathy asked.

"Humans," Karen said.

"Yeah, but humans have canines, incisors, and molars. Human teeth reflect our evolution from land-based carnivores. If these creatures came from dolphins or reptiles, why don't they have teeth like them?"

Margaret looked at her for several seconds before saying, "You should have been a biologist. You certainly have the powers of observation for it."

"You got that right," Karen added. "To me, they all look alike. Hell, when I look at these creatures, all I see are dangerous beasts."

"All animals present some element of danger to us humans," Margaret said with a concerned frown. "I don't think you have anything to fear."

Karen wasn't so sure. Wild animals, no matter how well trained, are unpredictable.

###

Julius Stram hesitated before flicking a switch that activated the camera system in the solarium. The three strategically placed cameras allowed a complete full-color view of the swimming pool and surrounding areas, and each camera could easily be adjusted to provide very sharp close-ups, if desired.

But, is that what is desired? Why do you desire so? What is this thing called desire?

Julius felt his heart skip a beat when he flicked the switch. His wide eyes gathered in the forbidden fruit, eye candy for a soul suffering from a long hunger.

He watched her swim just below the surface, a beautiful naked female form twirling and glistening in a suspension of crystal blue. When she reached the end of the pool, her head popped from the water but the undulating image of her body titillated his hungry eyes.

When she propelled herself from the pool and alighted on the tiled ledge, he adsorbed every animated moment of her stroll, each quiver of her thighs, every bounce of her glutei, before she dove back into the fluid cloak. He drank in the pleasure of female pulchritude, and it felt good.

###

Kathy's eyes gleamed with pride. "The really cool thing about these creatures is something I found by accident."

She ran her finger down the center axis of Zephaniah's lower Dolphin-like body. "If you look real carefully at the lower part here, you'll see a slight indentation."

Margaret bent down and examined the location at which Kathy was pointing. She felt along the axis. "Yes, you're right. I don't understand."

"Here, I'll show you," Kathy said, placing her hand behind Zephaniah's back. "Roll over on your tummy, honey."

The creature did as she asked.

"Now, do just like I showed you."

Kathy helped the creature pull itself up so that it was in a kneeling position. The sight of the kneeling creature caused Margaret to gasp and Karen to stare with mouth agape.

"Oh, my Lord," Margaret screeched. "I didn't know they could do that."

Karen had a different reaction. "Man, this is spooky."

Margaret began wagging her finger. "Do you know what this means?"

All she got was blank expressions.

"These creatures must have evolved from some ancient hominid species." Her eyes twittered. "But, how could that be? Hominids didn't exist much more than three million years ago and these creatures have been around at least six million. I don't get it."

"Why?" Kathy said with a frown. "What's the big deal with the fact that they can kneel?"

"Don't you see? It means that they originally had legs and not just hind legs like a lizard." She looked at Karen. "Do you have a camera?"

"Yes, one of those single-use jobbies."

"It'll do. Get some shots of this. Otherwise, They'll never believe me."

"Who?" Kathy asked.

"My husband for one. Men are so stubborn when it comes to believing a woman."

Both younger women giggled.

"Like, I know what you mean," Kathy said.

###

Helen Strazynski smiled when she saw Julius Stram enter the lab. She was bent over a microscope busily studying phocoenoide egg cells.

"Did you enjoy the show, Doctor?" she asked without looking up.

Julius felt a flush of embarrassment invade his pudgy cheeks. "What show? What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you find me sufficiently entertaining?"

"You are not here to entertain me, Doctor." He sounded flustered.

She looked up with a teasing grin. "You have a very efficient surveillance system. The cameras are the new Sigma models, aren't they?"

Julius smiled back. "You are quite observant, Doctor." He changed to a frown. "I apologize for any embarrassment I may have caused you."

"I don't mind. I'm not a prude. However, I would prefer that you practice your voyeurism in person."

He nodded, but he had no intention of honoring her request.

She returned to her microscope. "What did you think of me?"

"What do . . . in what respect?"

"Do my feminine attributes meet your male standards?"

"It is irrelevant what I think, but I will tell you that you are exceptionally beautiful."

"Thank you."

Now why would she need me to convince her that she's beautiful? Could she be suffering from a distorted body sense? I find that hard to imagine.

Interesting.