“It was on the water, and space was available:’ Martsen said. “ And a group of scientists in the Life Sciences Department of the Naval Missile Center was also in the process of studying underwater life. Including porpoises.”
Dane wanted to ask why, but he decided to hold back.
“Starting in 1963, the two groups of scientists began investigating and testing dolphins. In the beginning, their research was two pronged — to study how dolphin’s inherent systems and capabilities, such as sonar and deep diving, worked, and to see if dolphins could be used for various underwater tasks, especially ones that were dangerous for humans, such as detecting mines and planting explosives.
“Their first major success came in 1965 when a bottle-nosed dolphin named Tuffy operated untethered near Sea Lab II, carrying tools and messages between the year the lab moved from Mugu to San Diego and study intensified.
“That was when they began to try to figure out how the dolphin brain functioned, with the startling realization that as a mammal, its brain was not that much different from a human’s.”
That caught everyone’s attention.
“Neurophysiologic studies, using behavioral and noninvasive techniques were the first steps in this process. Bram-wave activity was charted, along with hearing tests and investigation into how dolphins made noise” — she tapped the computer — “That was when we first began to realize how they used sonar. A project originally called Quick Find, and later renamed under top-secret classification the Mark 5 Marine Mammal System, used dolphins to locate and attach hardware to inert ordnance.
“They also continued research on dolphin hydrodynamics with the same goaclass="underline" to determine if the dolphin possesses drag-reducing characteristics that can be applied to underwater hardware. The capabilities for undertaking this work are now greatly improved and include instrumentation for measurements that previously were impossible. Among the possible drag-reducing mechanisms being studied are skin compliance, biopolymer secretions, and boundary layer heating, which may work synergistically and in combination with other drag-reducing processes.
“Other research used sophisticated psychophysical experiments to determine how dolphins process target echoes to make difficult detections and fine discriminations. This information was modeled to aid human sonar operators in identifying targets from clutter. When I came on board, my focus was on trying to understand their language, which most scientists in the field said they didn’t have. I’ve proven they do communicate.”
“And what classified work is being done there’?” Dane asked.
Martsen paused. “1 have a Q clearance, but — ”
“No ‘buts,’’’ Foreman stepped forward. He looked at · Dane. “What are you looking for?”
“If the Ones Before are using dolphin high-frequency sonar to send the visions,” Dane said, “then we need to · know what else dolphins can be used for.” He looked at Martsen. “What are the space guys using dolphins for? You said the facility was called the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center. I don’t see the connection.”
Martsen pressed the tip of her fingers together. “Dolphins are capable of diving to depths of over six hundred meters for over fifteen minutes. Think of the pressure they can withstand and how long they can go without breathing.”
“And they can do tasks,” Dane added.
“Right,” Martsen affirmed.
“And they can communicate,” Dane continued.
Martsen simply nodded.
“What are you getting at?” Foreman demanded.
“They’re evaluating dolphins for space travel,” Dane made it a statement, not a question.
‘’They’re beyond that,” Martsen said, drawing everyone’s eyes to her. “Last year a dolphin went up on one of the shuttles in the cargo bay, inside a specially built water tank. It was a highly classified experiment.”
“So they can function in space?” Dane asked.
“It — the dolphin’s name is Proteus. And he’s still up there. In the International Space Station.”
“Doing what?” Dane asked.
“Being evaluated.”
“For?”
“Further missions.”
Dane was getting irritated with Martsen’s brevity. “What’s planned?”
“I’m not privy to that,” Martsen said.
Vane stood. “We’re going to California.”
“Why?” Foreman demanded.
“To find out what the future holds,” Dane said.
Lincoln stared at the map spread over the desk in the Oval Office with mounting frustration while Secretary of War Stanton stood in front of the desk, shifting his feet nervously and with some degree of anger. The secretary of war did not like answering to a civilian, but even worse, he did not like having to accept that his generals had been failing quite miserably for quite a while now.
The North and South had been at war for over two years, with no end to the horrible conflict in sight. Initially, the South had won several victories, including the two battles at Bull Run. Lincoln has claimed the bloody battle at Antietam as a victory, when in reality it had been a stalemate. However, Lincoln had been forced to seize on even a whiff of good news to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which served the purpose of elevating the conflict to a higher moral level and kept the European powers, which had been leaning toward helping the South, on the sidelines, hamstrung by the moral issue of helping the side in favor of slavery.
Despite this ethical and political victory, the Union de· feat at Fredericksburg followed shortly afterward. A battle report on top of the map revealed the most recent disaster, at Chancellorsville; just west of Fredericksburg where newly appointed General Hooker had tried to take the fight to Lee.
“Fighting Joe,” Lincoln said.
“Excuse me?” Secretary of War Stanton asked.
“’Fighting Joe’ Hooker. That’s what you called him.” Lincoln slammed a fist on the desktop. “Where’s the fight? Where’s the attack? This” — he picked up the telegram — “says he’s retreating.”
“He’s reconstituting — ” Stanton began, but Lincoln cut him off.
“I don’t care what word you use, General Lee of Virginia holds the field, does he not?” Lincoln read further and raised an eyebrow. “Stonewall Jackson’s dead?”
Stanton nodded. “Yes, sir. By his own men. An accident.”
“If only Lee would do us the same favor and get himself killed,” Lincoln mused. He leaned back in his high-backed chair. He’d offered Lee command of all Federal forces at the beginning of the war. Lee had politely declined, feeling his call of duty was stronger to Virginia than the United States. It made Lincoln question the effectiveness of the Military Academy at West Point given that so many of its graduates had chosen to · side with the Rebels. So much for duty, honor, and country.
Secretly, Lincoln also often wondered if the war was dragging on because the vast majority of senior officers on both sides were graduates of the academy. Not only did they know each other but they had been taught the same things. Sometimes Lincoln thought of the war as a man fighting his own image in a mirror.
He was the sixteenth president of the United States and many thought he would be the last. He was also an example of the uniqueness of America. There was no country in Europe where a man born in a log cabin could rise to such a high position. Sometimes Lincoln himself was amazed at the path he had taken to arrive in the White House.
Lincoln’s childhood had been hard as he’d spent most of his time working. He had less than a year of formal education. He’d seen his father lose his farm in Kentucky due to confusion over land titles, and the family had been forced to move to Indiana with only what they could carry with them. They’d spent the winter of 1816 in a crude, three-sided shelter with a fire at the open end, giving meager warmth as they waited for spring when they could build another cabin. Two years later his mother died. The casualty lists from the battlefields appalled Lincoln but not as much as it did many from the East. He’d seen much death and suffering on the frontier, losing several siblings in childhood to various diseases that swept the frontier.