Chapter No. 25 Death in Life

Jesus, the Hauptman's expedition report reads like a disaster movie script. They came close to buying it several times. What's really wild is that despite all their crazy . . . adventures, they found time to discover five new species of cephalopod, obtained rare footage of a living giant squid, and found the creatures. And old George thought they were not fit to go on expeditions.

Anderson stared at his buzzing intercom with a weary eye. "Now what?"

He punched the talk button. "Yes?" His tone was stressed.

Janice tried a calm tone. "Dr. Conners is here to see you."

What's she doing here this late?

"Send her in."

When Conners walked into his office, Anderson stared at her with a suspicious eye. "What brings you to the inner sanctum so late, Doctor?"

Conners didn't plop into a chair like George. She stood back from the desk and nervously shifted her stance. Anxiety spilled from her squinty eyes like pus from a festering boil.

"I realize that it's late, but I don't want to have this conversation when Stevens is around."

Oh, no! She's finally going to file a sexual harassment case against George.

"Is George being obnoxious again?"

She didn't smile. A bad sign.

"No, no. I just don't want Stevens blabbing it all over."

Anderson smiled. "Yes, he does have a problem keeping a secret."

"He has a lot of problems." She added a smile punctuated with a frown.

"Sit down," Anderson said, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk.

She sat down but she didn't relax.

"What seems to be the problem, Doctor?"

Conners lowered her eyes for a moment as if gathering her wits. When she did look up, she stared unblinkingly into Anderson's eyes.

"I've examined the Hauptman's tape, the one they made in the volcanic shaft. I don't like what I'm seeing in it."

Anderson leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"It's quite obvious that these creatures consider humans a major entrée of their daily diet."

"I don't understand. The Hauptman's report states that their primary food source consists of seals and sea lions."

"I believe that the Hauptman's are not being objective. They filmed a large stack of bones in that cave. There must be nearly a hundred human skulls and every one of them has a large hole in the top. The holes are cut nice and neat, a clear sign that they were made with a tool of some sort."

"There's no doubt about these creatures' use of tools. They're obviously quite intelligent."

"Exactly. They're an intelligent species that considers humans a delicacy. Think about it."

Anderson rubbed a nervous hand across his lips. "I think you're jumping to conclusions. Maybe they like to collect bones. They may have a use for cranium bones. Who knows?" He lowered his eyes. "Besides, I would be more concerned with high cholesterol than these creatures' diets. I mean, how many of them can there be out there?"

Conners' eyes flashed briefly with pride. "I believe that there's at least three variants of this species and that they're more numerous than we think."

Anderson's eyes flashed briefly with doubt. "What do you base those wild conjectures on?"

"I've surveyed the UNESCO reports for missing persons who live near shores. Many of the reports assume that the missing persons were victims of shark attacks, but there's no evidence to back up that conclusion."

"What evidence do you have to back up your conclusion?"

"A lot of the police reports indicate that the victim was dragged into the sea. Sharks don't drag people off of beaches. They would need hands. Missing surfers are almost always attributed to sharks, but in many cases they find their surf boards and there's no evidence of bites or blood."

"Circumstantial evidence. Inaccurate data. I could easily refute a theory like that."

Conners smiled briefly. "I realize that my theories, as you put them, are not ready for the world. I'm just pointing out a possible danger, that's all."

Anderson smiled, but his lasted longer. "I see." He paused to recall something she said previously. "How did you come to the conclusion that there are three variants?"

"Mermaid Sightings on the Paranormal Society's web site. People report different hair colors: red, black, blond."

"The Paranormal Society? Oh, now that's a reliable source."

"Hey, where else can you go to find mermaid sightings?"

Anderson gave her a mocking grin. "I didn't realize that mermaids are in the forefront of paranormal interest."

"They aren't, but I also noticed that the breast sizes differ on some of the mermaid statues."

"So what? Human breast size varies."

"These creatures are not human."

"No they're not, and we have very little knowledge of them. There's nothing to base an anatomical conclusion on."

Conners' pouted. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."

Anderson raised his hand. "No, it's appropriate to come to me with your concerns. I just need more hard evidence, that's all."

She looked him square in the eyes. "It may be too late for that."

Then, she turned and walked out, but before she left, Anderson had one more question. "Did your studies indicate a possible location of the other variants?"

She paused at the door but didn't turn around. "The Micronesia archipelago."

"Good. We have an expedition scheduled for that area. Maybe we can substantiate your theory."

She didn't answer.

"Wait! Where in the Micronesia archipelago? That's a mighty big area."

Too late. She's gone.

###

"Interesting."

"What's interesting?" Marian asked her husband, turning on her lab stool like a curious child.

Julius glanced up at her but then continued staring at a paper. "It seems that people were interested in these creatures quite a few years ago."

She climbed off the stool and hurried to her husband's side. "What do you mean?"

"I found this archived article on the Web. It's entitled: The X-Species, a new safety concern. The author was a former marine biologist at Scripps by the name of Latham George."

"What's the X-Species?" she asked, her eyes blazing with excitement.

"That's the name he gave to a new species of Delphinidae." He looked up into her demonic eyes. "A species he claims had to have had arms and hands."

"How did he come to that conclusion?"

"He bases it on police reports from beachfront areas. The police reports indicate that victims were pulled off of beaches by what they claim were sharks or Orcas."

She gave him an incredulous look. "And this Latham George thought it was a dolphin with hands?"

He smiled. "Bingo."

She cackled. "That's ridiculous. How can he make such a ludicrous claim?"

"He says that the distances that the victims were dragged were too long to attribute to a shark or an Orca."

"Circumstantial evidence."

"Could be, but he shows copies of police photos that show hand prints along the length of the sand in which the victim was dragged. The hand prints show curious little circles, sort of reminiscent of squid suckers."

"Where the hell did you find this article, Julie?"

"It was in a September 1985 issue of True Science."

She laughed derisively. "True Science. That's a pseudo science journal, more science fiction than fact. What's the matter, Julie? Don't have anything else to do?"

He gave her a chiding glare. "You think we're going to find information about these creatures in a scientific journal?"

"She gave him a conciliatory frown. "How reliable can it be?"

"Well, I don't really know. It was too far back to be of value." He paused to rub his jaw. "But, I think it shows that people were thinking about such a creature back then."

"If this is true, then it would imply that these creatures prefer humans as food."
"Interesting, isn't it?"

"Ah, Julie, all you've done is make me more desirous of one of these creatures. I live for the day I can probe its secrets, see why it likes human flesh."

"We will, my Pet. We will. I promise you."

"Oh, I hope so, Julie. I hope so."

###

Margaret didn't care one bit for being summoned to the administrator's office. Was this to be a change in her status with the mermaids? She hated the idea of being relegated to some minor role in the investigation of this new and fascinating species. Then again, the Institute has a penchant for allowing bureaucratic indulgences to get in the way of good science.

Janice smiled at the summoned. "Dr. Anderson will see you now."

Margaret tried to return the smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

She proceeded to the office door, hesitating for a moment to calm her volcanic stomach before opening it.

"Come in, Dr. Hauptman," Anderson said as he stood up and gestured to a chair by his desk.

Why is he using my formal title? I hate this.

She hated it even more when she spotted Conners sitting in front of Anderson's desk.
Something's really wrong. Damn it anyway.

"Sit down . . . please." He gestured more emphatically at the chair.

She slowly did as he commanded, but she did not relax, sitting on the edge of the chair as if she were literally on edge. Her eyes swiveled back and forth between Anderson and Conners.

Anderson paced back and forth behind his desk a few times before he turned to Margaret. "Dr. Conners has some safety concerns about the creatures."

Margaret turned to stare at Conners, but it was obvious that her colleague was not going to do the talking.

"She believes that they prefer human flesh." His lip quivered on the last word. "That they consider us as a food source."

"Nobody's perfect."

The response surprised both Anderson and Conners. They stared at her in disbelief.

She wanted to laugh but smiled instead. "We'll just have to be careful, especially if we involve any other scientists." She swiveled her gaze between the two. "Look, we're supposed to be objective scientists. We can't allow our feelings to get in the way of our science. Granted, these creatures are potentially dangerous. We'll just have to make adjustments. It's the prudent thing to do."

Anderson looked at Conners with eyes that said: "There!"

But Conners was not finished. "I believe that these creatures represent a threat to the general public, especially those near shores. We have a responsibility to alert the public."

"I agree," Margaret said. "But, I think it's a little too early to form any scientific conclusions about this species. They've been around for a long time and probably don't represent any more of a threat than sharks." She smiled. "Besides, the public doesn't care what we say anyway. They'll still go out on the water as if they own it."

"Margaret is right," Anderson said. "We'll have to determine if there are more of these creatures in locations other than the Galapagos region. We can formulate a risk factor after that."

Conners stood up. "I hope that our bureaucratic fumbling doesn't result in a disaster." She stomped out of the office.

Anderson shook his head. "Sometimes she can be as obstinate as George."

Margaret suppressed a smile. She knew that Joyce and George were more alike than Alan realized. They were simply male and female versions of the same personality.