Lewis continued on screen. “So tell me about this IMIS system.”
“Well it’s a distributed computing system which means we divvy up the load to a lot of smaller individual computers, over a hundred in this case. This gives us processing power much greater than what we could achieve even with a super computer, and at a fraction of the cost.”
“And what does IMIS mean?
“IMIS is short for InterMammal Interpretive System.”
“And this IMIS translates the language?” asked Lewis.
Frank smiled. “Well not yet. But basically, yes IMIS works by recording all of the recognizable sounds from our dolphins; all of their clicks, whistles, even postures. Once all of those have been captured in multiple scenarios we then start the translation process using an advanced artificial intelligence program.” He smiled again. “Or at least we attempt a translation.”
Lewis frowned. “So is this going to work, I mean how long will it take to make this kind of breakthrough?”
“Well the recording phase, or what we call phase one, has been completed. Now we’ve begun phase two which is Translation, and that’s all computer. Unfortunately since this has never been done before we really don’t have an estimate on how long it will take. But the intelligence program is designed to learn as it goes, so every day it should get a little bit smarter.”
Lewis shook his head incredulously. “How on earth do you write a program that talks to dolphins?”
“You get IBM’s help.” They both laughed. “IBM is actually one of our sponsors. They have donated most of the hardware and a lot of programming brainpower. The software is really quite impressive.”
“I bet it is,” Lewis continued, looking down at his notes. “It says here that NASA is also one of your sponsors.”
“That’s right.”
Lewis shook his head. “Okay IBM I understand, but why NASA? What interest would they have in something like this?”
“That’s a common question. NASA is more interested in the technology that we’re using than us actually making contact. They are hoping to build on the technology and one day use it to communicate with an alien intelligence. If they find one that is.”
“Really?” Lewis was genuinely surprised.
Frank took a sip of water and nodded. “Yes. Their thinking is that our hopes of communicating with aliens are pretty remote if we haven’t even learned to communicate with another species on the same planet.” He shrugged. “The fundamental approaches should be very similar.”
“And here you are on the verge of doing just that.”
Frank smiled again and raised his hand in a cautionary gesture. “Well, I don’t know if I would say on the verge. We’re closer, a lot closer than say we were six years ago, but there is still a lot of work to do. In all honesty we may still be in for a very long wait. Like I said it’s up to the computers now.”
“So if you are able to translate what will you say? Obviously you’re not going to ask them what it’s like to be a fish.” The audience laughed.
“Well, we might still ask them that,” Frank said with a smile. “But no, it’s going to depend on what we can translate, if anything. Dolphins are the second smartest animal on the planet and they are the only species besides humans that are self-aware. For example, when you put a mirror in the tank, dolphins will actually look at themselves and even examine their bodies. They understand the connection and the fact that there is a world around them, so the depth of exchange possible here is staggering.”
Lewis scooted forward slightly with genuine interest. “Let me ask you this, without knowing what level of translation might be possible, what at this stage are you hoping for? In other words what are you hoping to learn if all goes well, even if it takes years?”
Frank tilted his head momentarily considering the question. “Well, first and foremost we would want to know who they are as a species. And by we, I mean us humans, would want to know, as one sentient being to another, as one civilization to another.”
“Civilization?”
“Yes,” he continued. “We define a civilization as an advanced state of society. Obviously they have no technology or industry but government and culture are huge components of what we consider a civilization. Like humans, dolphins are social creatures. We know they live and operate in large groups, sometimes in the tens of thousands. But what is really exciting is the idea of culture. Again dolphins are extremely intelligent, compared to the rest of the animal kingdom. They even have a sense of humor.”
Alison watched the salesman emerge in Frank. This was how he got their funding year over year. He was a god.
“We know dolphins have a complex language. But imagine…if they have the ability to pass information, not just to each other, but from generation to generation. We could be talking about a lineage, about a progressive cognition. That is culture!”
The idea had not been lost on Lewis. He sat motionless for a moment before speaking. “Wow. That is really exciting.” He reached out his hand. “We wish you the best of luck and can’t wait to have you back.”
“Thank you.” Frank smiled and shook.
“Dr. Frank Dubois,” Lewis said closing, “Director at the Miami City Aquarium.”
“Alright!” Ken reached forward and turned the volume back down. “Maybe now we’ll get some real funding.”
Alison smiled, her fingernail still between her teeth. Not bad, she thought, not bad at all.
6
The Pathfinder was an oceanic research and survey ship. At just under three thousand tons she was capable of an impressive sixteen knots fully loaded. Commissioned in 1994, the Pathfinder, was one of the Navy’s most modern and capable science vessels, performing experiments throughout the Atlantic Ocean. Clay could see the ship’s unmistakable white hull from the window of the Sikorsky Seahawk helicopter, even at altitude, and at two hundred feet long the Pathfinder was large, though still one of the smaller ships in the research fleet. He knew landing a helicopter of this size was going to be tight.
The helicopter banked slightly and began a gradual descent. Clay relaxed and laid his head against the headrest. Next to him Steve Caesare slept soundly, almost in a catatonic state. A trick many learned in their early days of service was “sleep when you can”, and Caesare had taken the lesson to heart. Clay often joked that had he been there; Caesare would have slept through the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Clay watched through the window as the helicopter dropped closer to sea level. After a few minutes, the pilot leveled off and skimmed the last mile at just under a hundred feet, low enough to see schools of colorful fish below the clear blue water. He slapped Caesare awake and fastened his seat belt.
The helicopter slowed and hovered as it positioned itself over the ship’s black landing pad. It floated close to the deck until the pilot could match the rising and falling of the ship on the ocean swells. Reaching the last few feet, the craft dropped suddenly and bounced onto the pad. An ensign trotted out beneath the slowing blades and pulled the door open. With a quick salute, he unfolded the small set of stairs outward and motioned for Clay and Caesare to follow him.
They grabbed their bags and made their way off the pad and across the deck. After climbing two flights of stairs, they opened a white steel door and stepped onto the bridge.
Captain Emerson looked up as the two men stepped inside and saluted.
Emerson flashed a salute and extended his hand to Clay. “Clay, how the hell are you?”
“Good Rudy, how are things in paradise?”
“Not bad. I don’t think I’ve worn long sleeves in two years,” he said smiling. He turned to Caesare. “And, who do we have here?”