Sofia smiled and took the shirt with a, “Thank you.” She turned back to Dirk and Sally who were still floating in front of them. Her eyes opened wide when Dirk suddenly made a noise and bolted away. He quickly circled back and swam a tight corkscrew around Sally.
Alison laughed. “As you can see, Dirk likes to show off a little.”
Sofia watched excitedly from her chair as Dirk swam up and around the tank. All the while, Sally remained, floating gently in place and watching Sofia.
Alison looked to her father. “May I?”
Ricardo Santiago stepped out from behind the chair, allowing Alison to take his place. She leaned down over Sofia’s right shoulder and said, “We have something neat to show you. Are you ready?”
She grinned shyly and nodded. With that, Alison pushed the wheelchair forward and headed toward their observation room, the dolphins following alongside them in their long oval tank. As they moved along the wall, Sofia gingerly reached out and brushed her fingers against the cool glass. Sally, watching the girl closely from the other side, reached her fin out and brushed the same area of glass.
They reached the double metal doors and DeeAnn slid her card over the sensor. After she heard the loud click of the door unlocking, DeeAnn pulled one side open and held it for the others. One by one, they entered the larger room. There, Sofia and her family could see Chris, Lee, and Juan smiling and waiting for them near a large desk. The desk had been moved closer to the tank and had both a computer and large monitor sitting on top. Behind them the family noticed the high-definition cameras mounted at various points around the curvature of the tank. Thick but neatly tied cables ran from the apparatuses and converged into a larger bundle, which then ran the length of the room to the giant IMIS computer system against the far wall. The rest of the room was composed of more desks holding additional computers and equipment they didn’t recognize. To the right were two video cameras, side by side and pointed at the tank. Each at a different angle. Yet even with the extra desks and equipment, the room gave off an open, comfortable feel.
Chris bent down as they approached. “Welcome, Sofia. We’re very excited to have you here. My name is Chris. This is Lee and Juan. We all work together here at the center.” He glanced briefly at Alison before winking at her. “But Alison here is the boss.”
Sofia giggled.
Together, Chris and Alison eased her chair up to the desk. “Do you know what we do here that’s so special?”
“You talk to dolphins.”
“That’s right. Would you like to talk to them?”
“Yes!”
Alison locked one of the wheels in place and bent down on the other side of Sofia.
“They’re very excited to meet you.”
Lee stepped around Alison and slid a small vertical microphone closer to Sofia before hitting a few buttons on the keyboard. “Just speak right into here. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Are you ready, Sofia?”
She looked excitedly at her mother. “What should I say?”
Her mother laughed. “What happened to the million questions you had in the car?”
With one final keystroke, Lee nodded. “Okay. Go ahead.”
Sofia leaned forward. “Hello?” she asked. Unsure what to do, she turned back to Alison just as the whistles and clicks emanated through the tank’s underwater speakers.
Sally was still studying her and replied immediately. Hello. How you Sofia?
She gasped and looked at her mother again. “They know my name!”
Alison’s entire team smiled. There obviously was no translation equivalent for the name Sofia so they made one up. Similar to their own names, they created a manual translation in the database that was tied to a random set of clicks and whistles — sounds the dolphins could repeat and IMIS would then associate with “Sofia.” And now, having her so excited that the dolphins knew her name made it more than worth the effort.
Finished with his display, Dirk glided in smoothly and stopped next to Sally. We happy meet you.
Sofia listened to the mechanized voice of each dolphin and watched their words simultaneously appear on the screen in front of her. “I’m happy to meet you too. Do you live here?”
Dirk bobbed his head. We live ocean. We come here. Eat much.
Alison laughed and turned to her parents. “If you’ve heard teenage boys could eat a lot, you should see a teenage dolphin.”
“They’re teenagers?”
“Yes. They were mostly grown by the time they came to live with us. But now they can come and go whenever they like. One thing we’ve learned is that they definitely don’t like to be in captivity.”
“What’s captivity?”
“It’s when we keep them in the tank all the time.”
Sofia thought a moment, still turned toward Alison. “Do any animals like it?”
“Mmm…We’re not sure about all animals. But I doubt it.”
The young girl frowned, but let it go. She spoke into the microphone again. “How far can you swim?”
Dirk responded again and thrust his tail forcefully, making a tight circle. Very far.
Everyone laughed. Only Lee and Juan noticed the quick change on the computer screen before the sound was heard. The actual translation was closer to “much far” but IMIS quickly corrected the grammar. Alison was paying more attention to Sally, who seemed quieter than usual. She simply remained, floating and studying Sofia in her metal chair. The girl was now grinning from ear to ear. “I can’t believe I’m actually talking to dolphins!”
Her mother and father smiled. Sofia asked another question just as Alison stepped away and pulled her parents to the side. She lowered her voice.
“Is it possible she can get into the water?”
8
Sofia eyed the clear blue water with a sense of both excitement and nervousness. It had been a long time since she’d been swimming, and she had been much stronger then. Her delicate arms were wrapped tightly around her father’s neck as he picked her gently up out of the chair and carried her in his arms.
Inside he was in agony, knowing the number of times he would get to hold Sofia was numbered. Soon he would yearn to do it just once more.
He loved the feel of her arms around him, clinging as they approached the edge of the tank. He stepped down into the water and onto a wide, shallow ledge at which point he carefully lowered Sofia onto the concrete lip. She immediately dropped her hands to balance herself while her father sat next to her, keeping an arm around her tiny waist.
Alison and Chris were also standing on the ledge smiling. Once Sofia relaxed, Alison took a step forward in the water. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She nodded nervously.
“Good.” Alison softly patted one of Sofia’s hands. “We’re going to be right here next to you. Don’t worry.” Alison gave her another minute to relax before nodding to Lee and Juan, who brought some equipment forward and set it down.
Chris reached out and picked up the clear face mask. “Do you know what this is?”
“It’s a mask,” Sofia answered.
“That’s right. You said you used one before, right?”
“Yes.”
Chris turned it around so she could get a good look at it. The mask was a child-sized version of the one they normally used — Lee and Juan had worked through much of the night to finish it for her.
Sofia took the small mask from Chris and examined it.
“Go ahead and put it over your face. You’ll see that you can breathe just as good.”
She looked back at the mask and moved the black oxygen hose out of the way. She pressed it into place and took a deep breath. “Wow,” she smiled. Apprehension was turning to curiosity. She promptly looked up at her mother and giggled.