From the Ocean from teh Stars by Arthur C. Clarke Read Free Book Online Page B

ray, which was lying on the bottom and took off with an agitated flapping of its wings as soon as they approached. As it flew away into the distance, it seemed an uncannily accurate replica of the big delta-winged aircraft which had ruled the air for a short while, sixty or seventy years ago. It was strange, thought Franklin, how Nature had anticipated so many of man's inventions— for example, the precise shape of the vehicle on which he was riding, and even the jet principle by which it was propelled.
    "I'm going to circle right around the reef," said Don. "It will take us about forty minutes to get home. Are you feeling O.K.?"
    "I'm fine."
    "No ear trouble?"
    "My left ear bothered me a bit at first, but it seems to have popped now."
    "Right—let's go. Follow just above and behind me, so I can see you in my rearview mirror. I was always afraid of running into you when you were on my right."
    In the new formation, they sped on toward the east at a steady ten knots, following the irregular line of the reef. Don was well satisfied with the trip; Franklin had seemed perfectly at home under water— though one could never be sure of this until one had seen how he faced an emergency. That would be part of the next lesson; Franklin did not know it yet, but an emergency had been arranged.
    ☆ CHAPTER FOUR
    t was hard to distinguish one day from another on the island. The weather had settled in for a period of prolonged calm, and the sun rose and set in a cloudless sky. But there was no danger of monotony, for there was far too much to learn and do.
    Slowly, as his mind absorbed new knowledge and skills, Franklin was escaping from whatever nightmare must have engulfed him in the past. He was, Don sometimes thought, like an overtightened spring that
    was now unwinding. It was true that he still showed occasional signs of nervousness and impatience when there was no obvious cause for them, and once or twice there had been flare-ups that had caused brief interrup tions in the training program. One of these had been partly Don's fault, and the memory of it still left him annoyed with himself.
    He had not been too bright that morning, owing to a late night with the boys who had just completed their course and were now full-fledged third wardens (probationary), very proud of the silver dolphins on their tunics. It would not be true to say that he had a hangover, but all his mental processes were extremely sluggish, and as bad luck would have it they were dealing with a subtle point in underwater acoustics. Even at the best of times, Don would have passed it by somewhat hastily, with a lame: "I've never been into the math, but it seems that if you take the compressibility and temperature curves this is what happens. . . ."
    This worked on most pupils, but it failed to work on Franklin, who had an annoying fondness for going into unnecessary details. He began to draw curves and to differentiate equations while Don, anxious to con ceal his ignorance, fumed in the background. It was soon obvious that Franklin had bitten off more than he could chew, and he appealed to his tutor for assistance. Don, both stupid and stubborn that morning, would not admit frankly that he didn't know, with the result that he gave the impression of refusing to co-operate. In no time at all, Franklin lost his temper and walked out in a huff, leaving Don to wander to the dispensary. He was not pleased to find that the entire stock of "morning- after" pills had already been consumed by the departing class.
    Fortunately, such incidents were rare, for the two men had grown to respect each other's abilities and to make those allowances that are essential in every partnership. With the rest of the staff, and with the trainees, however, Franklin was not popular. This was partly because he avoided close contacts, which in the little world of the island gave him a reputation for being standoffish. The trainees also resented his special privileges—particularly the fact