Curiosity Killed The Catfish R/rated

There was something pleasant about the Spire today. Usually, the currents were savage enough to push even the strongest fins away from the jagged spiral of underwater rock, but today, things seemed calm. The Spire, as it was known to the merfolk that resided there, was an underwater mountain, rich in nutrients and minerals that made this part of the deep ocean so fruitful and easy to live in. The summit of the Spire reached a good 1000ft above the ocean, or so it was said, but it was uninhabitable to the ground-dwellers, so that was yet another reason this place was considered so safe.

Not too many years previously, when Syrenne was barely a child, the ground-dwellers had all but destroyed the ocean they had once lived in. Heavy industry from above had been dumped on them and it had poisoned everything. The corals had died first, leaving the fish nowhere to feed and soon enough, the fish died too, leaving merfolk with little choice but to start hunting other predators just to survive. The entire reef had gone, her family were either starving, or slowly dying from the poisons dumped by the ground-dwellers. She was only a few months old when her father died, her mother a few months after him and her extended family not too many years after that. What had once been a thriving community had been dwindled down to a few hundred. And things didn't get any better. The dumping stopped, but then the machines came. Syrenne didn't remember them, but she had been told the stories. They were made of metal that had spinning props on the back of them. The sound alone was enough to drive fear into every living thing for miles in any direction. Some merfolk had been curious to what these things were at first, but those that went, never came back and other creatures started to go missing too. That was enough for the remaining elders to forbid any contact of any kind. The sound of the machines became an omen of death to merfolk and any sign of it meant staying as deep and as close to the Spire as possible.

But today was different. There had been no machines for a while, the currents around the Spire destroying many of them, and a sense of confidence in their home had been growing. It had grown so much in fact that a few now began to venture further and further from the jagged mountain. Syrenne, now an adult, was one of these. She enjoyed playing with the podwhales (orcas) as they made their yearly migrations and chasing squid. Today, she was quite a ways from home, playing hide and seek with an octopus she named Haggum on a rocky shoal. The shoal was a good fifty miles or so from the Spire. She heard no mechanical sounds so assumed it was safe. She didn't see the pointed oval shape of a keel moving almost silently above. She finally saw it as it cast a shadow and Haggum vanished again. She looked up. At first, she was frightened, but as it began to move away, she decided it was time she saw for herself what all the fear had been about. She had never actually seen a ground-dweller before, only what her imagination had made of them.

Cautiously, she made her way up until she felt the breakwaters above her head and then carefully peered up and out. All she saw was a dark wooden structure moving gently away, seeming to be pushed along by huge white curtains. She thought it actually looked quite pretty......

Merlin had been a baby when mankind had reached a point in their civilization that they had to dump their toxic waiste into the ocean. But that had been only the begining of their downfall. Those that depended on fishing for a living soon found that the live in the sea was dieing. A great outcry went out amoung mankind and soon enough there were laws passed against further dumping. Other means were found for getting rid of their waste. A scientist had found a way of converting all that waste into energy. Small energy plants were built and every bit of trash and toxic waste was used to produce electricity.

Then came the wars. There were many of them. Small but deadly that killed millions. Some were eithnic cleansing as they were called. Religious in nature, one religion wanting to eradicate another. Other wars were over resources, land, or just plain greed. But in the end millions had died and the population of mankind had dwindled from six billion to only one billion by the time Merlin had grown into manhood. Gone were the great metal ships that once plied the oceans. The meat used in them was needed for other things. Gone to were the great ships the flew through the skies. The fuel needed to keep them in the air was needed for people to survive.

A once proud and wonderous civilization had to take a few steps back to survive. Poluted air was now becoming cleaner and the land was begining to produce more food. But other resurces were almost gone as mining had stripped the world of them. The only place left was the oceans. Far below the surface of the water could lay vast amounts of minerals, metals and the like that was needed. But to go there and explore was almost impossible. Well almost.

Merlin's father was a scientist. He was one that worked in gentic manipulation. He had been working on a project for years, in which Merlin had become part of. His father had manipulated his genes and had been able to make Merlin into a hybrid. Merlin could breath air and under water as well. Behind his ears he had gills that stayed closed while out of water but once in it opened and he could get oxygen from the water. His eyes had developed a protective covering that was clear so he could see under water. Between his toes and fingers when in water, webing would form and he could swim efortlessly.

Merlin, his father and the crew of the Venture was sailing to an island some distance away from the mainland. Here Merlin was to have his first real test of his amphibious abilities. He would decend slowly from the island, down to the ocean floor and take readings to see if there were any chance that there was precious resources below the ocean floor. The Venture was a wooden ship with sails. No longer did mankind use metal ships and the great engines that used fuels to run them. The captain gave orders to drop anchor when they reached the island, a few miles from another that rose a thousand feet above the surface of the ocean.

Merlin in a wet suit eased his self over the side and into the water. He was handed down the equipment he would need to make his soundings of the ocean floor and then he dove down into the depths.

Something dropped from the vessel and Syrenne watched as it splashed into the water and disappeared. This was strange indeed. It had been months since anything had passed this way above the waves and that thing had never stopped. It was far too dangerous for them, or so it seemed. Ground-dwellers couldn't breathe through water, or so she was told, so when she saw one then drop into the water, she was shocked. A sense of panic suddenly had her scales on edge. Had the machines come back?! She dropped beneath the water again and quickly pumped her tail to get her as far away as possible as quickly as possible, but then she heard only bubbles behind her. She stopped again and turned. This was no machine. This was a creature! She moved back to the shoal and began creeping along the sea bed towards the shadow of the upper thing (the ship).

Slowly but surely, she began to sea the other creature more clearly. With her tail curled around a rock for camouflage, she moved her upper body around and kept tight to the great lump. Only her hair gave her away, but there was nothing she could do about that. The water was too shallow for the blue on blue effect to happen. Her eyes stared in wonder as she watched the ground-dweller walk along the ocean floor. One fantasy now quelled. They could breathe under water. However, that brought a new fear. If they could do that, they might go further and start hunting them again! This one though, seemed only interested in the various rocks and sand it was walking over. Her brow furrowed and she tilted her head to one side. Was this really a ground-dweller from the upper place? What was it looking for? Why was it looking here? This was Haggum's territory and he wouldn't be happy about oddities like this. She knew she should go home and warn the others, but this strange creature covered in black blubber had her ever more curious. So much so that she moved off the rock and started slithering through the sand towards it.

There was a large rock just to its left and she made for that, keeping as low and sand-like as she could. Not that it helped much. At this depth, she looked like a giant ray and shimmered bright blue! coming up to the rock, she curled around it and moved up so she could look down on the odd thing. What in the ocean is it doing? She thought.......

Merlin had been taught that once the ocean floor had been above water. But that was long ago, millions of years in the past. But if it had been above, then the possibilities of mineral, metals, natural gas and the like were quite possible. He examined rocks and the sand of the ocean floor and then set up his insturments and pushed in the sounding rod deep in to the sand. He turned the machine on and it gave a hum that he could hear through the water. Then the machine sent sound waves down deep under the surface and sent the results back up to the ship.

Merlin felt at home in the water. All his life he had been a part of it. His father had begun the genitic manipulation on him at an early age and he was very comfortable under water as he was above it. As he used the machine to make the soundings and move it here and there he looked about him. They had almost destroyed life in the oceans, but now it was returning to where it had once been. Fish now had returned in numbers and in the shallow waters off the island he could see a number of them and such a variety.

But then something caught his attention. Something man sized was in the area. He did not let on that he had seen something but continued to work the insturments on the machine. But he kept an eye on where he had seen movement. He had heard about sharks and other creatures of the sea that were dangerous and he didn't want to become a meal for some predator of the deep. Then he saw the eyes and face peering over a large rock. It was human looking. But it was impossible. He was the only one that he knew of that was a hybrid. Then the stories of Mer Folk came to mind.

It had been said that there was a race of them in the ocean. But it was never proved. But his father had told him that his research had been the result of his studies on one that he had found, dead and washed up on shore. Could it be that his father's story was true and that they did exist?

Syrenne watched for a good ten minutes as the thing walked around the sea floor with little sticks and boxes. The idea that it walked was odd enough. She wasn't completely naïve about creatures with legs, she'd seen fish walk on their fins and crabs of course. Bipeds like this however, she hadn't really seen before. If it could breathe under water, why didn't it have fins or a tail, or some form of propulsion like squid and Haggum did? She moved as it did, keeping her shadow away from it so keeping herself hidden, but then it started looking around. That spooked her and she ducked back behind the rock for a minute. Then, it started moving around again and she thought herself paranoid. Dumb fish-head, she thought to herself, you're getting skittish again, silly crab! Slowly, she peered back around and moved a little further as it had moved slightly further away.

The way she was acting, she thought her friends would laugh at her. Frightened little siren, they'd say, afraid of everything, they'd say. She could hear their taunts in her head, Fraidy fish, fraidy fish! Well, that did it for her. Letting go of the rock, she moved right around it up behind the creature. It was smaller than she had imagined, but then, ground-dwellers didn't have a tail. Maybe six feet at most? She had an easy three feet on it, maybe a little less from head to fin and by the look of it, it wouldn't be able to catch her if she swam off. Being careful to stay out of reach, she began looking over it's shoulder at the sticks and boxes it had. They gave off a strange humming sound that pinged back and forth in her ears. It reminded her of how dolphins spoke. Was that what this thing was trying to do? But then, why would it put the ping stick thing in the ground? Surely, if it wanted to talk to a dolphin or a whale, it would put the stick out and sway it around the carry the ping. The entire scene was weird. Then she saw how it was breathing.

The gills on the creature were tiny and oddly, they were stuck behind its ears. How odd! She thought as she quickly checked her own. Hers, much like any other fish, were situated around the back of her ribs and opened and closed as she wanted. The ones on this thing were permanently open. Did it breathe through the ears? Secondly, its hands and feet were only webbed. It reminded her of a bird's foot. When the fish got wise, merfolk would often take birds. The webbed feet made them easy targets. Ok, so perhaps the feet, but why the hands too? She looked at her own, noting the long slender fingers and tiny knuckles. The size on this reminded her of a male. Was this thing a male ground-dweller? The build of the upper torso also matched that of her own kind, well, almost. Most male merfolk were slightly larger around the waist with thicker ribs, but the general shape was about right. In fact, the only real difference seemed to happen below the waist. Syrenne stared on with wonder.......

Merlin had kept an eye on what was behind the large rock. He continued moving about taking readings. He noticed it move here and there but only catching glimpses of it. The light of the sun did not penetrate real deep under the ocean. But his eyes were accustomed to the dim light. What he saw made him smile. Indeed it had to be what his people called Mer folk. It seemed that this one was interested in what he was doing.

If there was one, then there had to be others. He wondered if there were more of them out there beyond his range of vision. That kind of worried him. He had no idea of how friendly they would be. He finally completed the soundings. Various tones for the various types of minerals and metals they were searching for. "Pull it up." he said. He had a radio of sorts connected to his ear and a throat mike. "Will be a bit more down here. Want to check something out."

He got a reply back but only he could hear it. "Don't be to long." came his father's voice. Merlin had noticed that the figure had moved from the large rock and he felt the vibrations in the water of something behind him. He sprang from the floor of the ocean and did a sharp turn as he twisted his body so he was swimming directly towards the figure. He was fast in the water. The webbing between his fingers and toes gave him the ability to catch the water and push it behind him to make swimming easier and faster.

Syrenne watched as the creature finished whatever it was doing and then seemed to speak in the water. It sounded a little weird, as though it wasn't really designed to speak that way, but then, ground-dwellers weren't supposed to be able to live under water anyways. The items it was carrying were then pulled up and she watched the tools go back up towards the surface again. She cocked her head to one side as it disappeared up top and then cast her eyes back down again. Now she wished she hadn't given in to her curiosity!

Not only had the thing turned around and seen her, it was swimming towards her at a great rate of knots! Syrenne turned tail and made for the shoal. It was the closest cover she knew of and she was sure Haggum wouldn't mind if she hid in his hole for a while. The ground-dweller was much faster than she thought it would be and for a time, it seemed as though it might actually catch up! Syrenne began using her arms to increase her speed as her tail powered through the water. From this angle, she would look much like a young whale in a panic to get away! Not so far from the truth, really. with her gills wide open, Syrenne sucked in the water and blew it back out again to gain even more speed and soon enough, the creature began to lag behind. At least she was sure now about her fist assumption. She was definitely faster, but it took some serious effort.

With the shoal in sight and Haggum close, she shut her gills so she could speak. "Haggum!" She called, "Haggum, I need you!" On cue, the huge octopus emerged from his hole and peered angrily at his friend. He must have thought she was playing again, but only a second later, he realised there really was something chasing the merfolk female and he shuffled to one side to let her in his hole. He then shuffled back and lifted all eight legs to fight off the creature should he need to.

Syrenne shot in the hole and whimpered. She really would have to tell the others now. It had spotted her and chased her. "Please Haggum, don't let him in?!" She cried to the octopus.....

Merlin seen the figure dart away and he used every thing he had to follow. But the figure that had looked like a girl, well from the waste up anyways, seemed to be able to swim a lot faster then he could. Though she could not swim fast enough to get out of his sight, she was able to make it to the shoals and then he heard her speak. It sounded strange in the water, much like him talking, but clearer. It sounded as if she was calling someone.

That someone emerged from a cave of sorts, a huge octopus. Merlin back peddled a bit and came to a stop. He saw the mermaid swim into the cave and the octopus take up a defensive stance outside it. Now this was certainly going to be a problem.

Above in the ship the sonar operator called Merlin's dad over. "Sir, looks like your son took off after something. Roughly the same size as your son and it took off very fast. " That did not set will with him.

"Raise anchor. Set sail on a course after him." Mr. Franks called out. Immediately the sails were raised by mechanical means and the anchor brouoght up. The ship moved and tacked in the wind after Merlin. Shortly the keel of the ship could be seen above. Merlin slowly began to accend, keeping an eye on the giant sea creature and the cave, till he broke the surface and was immediately hoisted out of the water to a platform that had been lowered from the deck of the ship to the water with a couple men on it.

Haggum gave a squirt of ink as the swimming thing came right up to him and stopped almost dead in the water and his tentacles curled up, ready to lash out, but instead of attacking, it looked up and slowly began to rise to the surface. In response, Haggum turned about and flicked out a tentacle. It coiled around Syrenne's tail and sharply pulled her out of the hole. She gave a slight yelp in fright, then rubbed what would be yet another bruise from the suckers. The octopus had had enough and wanted her gone now. With a nod of thanks, Syrenne swam away and Haggum returned to his home.

As she moved away from the hole, she made sure to note exactly where the floating thing was. It had moved near to where she had hidden and she wondered if it had seen her at all. The creature had, that was certain. Maybe when it swam away again, it told the ground-dwellers on the floating thing where she was? That frightened her badly. It might follow her home! But she had little choice, she had to tell the others. Carefully, she moved around the rocks, trying to keep in the sand until the shoal gave way to open ocean and she flapped her tail as hard as she could. Home was half an hour away at least, but today, she would make it in record time.

From deep in the blue/blackness, Syrenne finally spotted the Spire and she swam towards it for all she was worth. She carried on until the currents started to pull her and then went down. Others were moving around without a care until she barged past them in her panic. Some began to follow her as she reached about half way down the mountain and then turned into the crevices in which they generally lived.

The main hall took up most of the crevice within the mountain and it was guarded by two of the biggest merfolk their community had. They were well trained and deadly without weapons, let alone the heavy spears they both held. Spotting Syrenne coming in fast, they crossed the heads and held out their hands. "Slow down, before you kill someone!" The left one demanded. Syrenne flipped her tail forward and stopped dead. It was clear she was frightened badly. "What is wrong?" The right one asked.
"Please!" Syrenne begged, "I have to see Hector. It's important this time, I swear!"
The left one lifted a bushy eyebrow and cocked his head to one side. "Hector is busy, Syrenne." He said firmly, "Your games aren't important."
Syrenne whimpered and moved closer to him, "Please." She begged again, but quietly.
The left one saw just how scared she was and furrowed his brow, "What is wrong?"
"There's a ground-dweller floating thing out near the shoal." She told him, "And one was walking on the sea bed with sticks and boxes that pinged like a dolphin."
The right one began to laugh, "Ground-dwellers can't come under water." He chortled, "They can't breathe."
Syrenne snapped her eyes to the large male, "This one had gills." She said, "I saw it for myself, I swear. And webbed limbs and eyes that could see where it was going!"
At first, the guards weren't going to let her through, but the details she gave and the sheer panic in her face was enough. They let her in the main hall and she swam directly for Hector.

Hector was the elected leader of the community. Having served in the guards, he had been instrumental in finding their new home and ensuring their future. That was when she was still just a baby. He wasn't old, but he was older than most. His once brilliant white hair had turned more gravel coloured and his face wrinkled when he smiled. He was dealing with a small dispute over maid. Apparently, she was promised to the first male, but she wanted to be with the second as the first was a lot older than her. It was sorted quickly and as the pair of males swam away, Syrenne approached. Hector saw her and instantly groaned. "Now what, little siren?" He demanded, "Another round of Cry-Shark?" (cry-wolf)
Syrenne came up to him and shook her head, "I swear, Hector." She promised. "A shark wouldn't come close."
Hector lifted an eyebrow, "Oh?" He sat back and patted his scales. She looked truly terrified and needed comfort. "Come then, tell me all about it."
Syrenne swam up and perched herself lightly on his tail. She kept her eyes down, "I was playing with Haggum on the shoal and saw something." She began.
"Haggum?" Hector asked, "What were you doing with that old grouch?"
"We were playing." She replied, "And he suddenly shot in his hole, so I looked up and saw the floating thing in the water. It was long and oval shaped and it made waves behind it. I went up to look and it was a huge vessel of some kid with big white curtains. It was like the ones you used to talk about in your stories, but this wasn't metal, it was like wood."
Hector's scales were on edge now and he sat forward, "Syrenne, this isn't funny." he told her.
"I'm not lying, I promise you, Hector!" She said firmly, "It was a floating vessel with curtains and it had a ground-dweller on it!"
Hector's already pale face paled further, "A ground-dweller?" He asked. She nodded, "How do you know?"
"It came from up there, so it must be." She said, "And it came in the water."
Hector blinked dumbly, "Are you sure?"
Syrenne nodded again, "Absolutely." She told him, "It was breathing under water somehow. It had tiny gills behind its ears and webbed limbs." She showed him with her fingers, "It had sticks and boxes that spoke to dolphins, but it was sticking them in the ground and walking around like it was looking for something."
Hector moved her off his tail and began to swim back and forth in thought. He had seen ground-dwellers before, but never out of their machines or air bubbles. Had they evolved to breathe under water now? Surely that was impossible, that kind of change would take millions of years, not a few decades. Finally, he spoke again, "Did it see you?" He asked.
Syrenne whimpered again and nodded, "It chased me into Haggum's hole." She said honestly, "But he must have scared it off. He pulled me back out again and I came straight home." She showed him the growing bruises on her tail.
Hector nodded and swam back and forth again in thought. "Go back to your room and stay there for now." He said eventually, "And stay away from the shoal from now on."
"What about Haggum?" Syrenne asked.
"That old cephalopod will be fine." Hector said firmly, "You stay away from the shoal, is that clear?" Syrenne nodded, "Until this has been sorted out, the shoals and all surrounding areas are now off limits to the entire community. If the ground-dwellers have returned, then we need to protect ourselves. Send in my guards on your way out."
Syrenne nodded again and left, doing as he asked and swam around the Spire to her little crevice.

It wasn't much, but it was home. The walls were covered in various shells she had collected and her seaweed bed was comfortable. She made her way to it and curled into it, thinking of what she had seen. She remembered the face of the creature clearly. Were it merfolk, it would be considered incredibly handsome and if it was indeed male as she suspected, the females would be swimming in knots to be his choice. She remembered the clear brown(?) colour of his eyes and how they had stared at her. She remembered the line of its jaw, strong and square and the thick neck, broad shoulders and firm back. A merman like that would be a prized catch for anyone! But then she remembered how it had chased her and for a moment, almost caught her! She shuddered to think what it would have done had it actually gotten a hold on her. She'd heard the stories of what ground-dwellers did to other creatures of the sea, hunting them from floating things with long spears and loud noises to frighten, how they gutted the animals and threw all but the bare minimum back to rot and attract others in the hope of rescue. It was awful! Would this one have done that to her? Speared her and let her scream for others to come and save her and then gut her open and hunt her friends down too? The idea alone was enough to give her nightmares.

Back in the main hall, Hector gave his speeches and ordered that all merfolk were to stay close to the Spire. Only the hunters could leave under guard to bring food back. Any sign of a ground-dweller was to be reported immediately. He gave the description Syrenne had provided of the vessel and warned everyone to keep a close eye. The slightest shadow of it and they were to dive as deep as possible and return home. The orders were spread quickly..........

Once back up on the deck Merlin looked for his father and then made his way to him. He quickly took his father aside and then down to the Captain's quarters and closed the door. "What is it son? Why the urgency and the secrecy?"

"Remember the story you told me of the dead merman you studied to make me into what I am? How you thought that we killed them all with the polution of the oceans? Well I think that they still live and are close at hand." he told his father. "While I was making the soundings I spotted something watching me. It seemed to be intrested in what I was doing and kept itself hid until I was about done. It moved behind me and a bit above me and when I turned and swam towards it, I got a good look at it. It was one of them, a female." She had been quite lovely from what he had seen. Only the tail made her quite different.

"A mermaid?" his father asked very intrested. He had wondered if they still lived. The one he had studied had died from breathing the poluted water. Only a very few knew of their exsistance at that time and he had wanted to search for them but had no idea of where they were. Not till now. "So what happened?"

"She swam away at a very fast speed. I could barely keep her in sight. She approaced a cave of sorts and called out something, perhaps a name and a giant octopus came out and she went in to the cave. It stood guard at the entrance and I thought it better to leave then to tangle with such a creature."

"Well they have to be close. She probably has returned to her home by now and has told them of her encounter." he went to the desk and looked at the charts. "The only other land mass close here is this unihabitable island. The currents and reefs there a deadly. Many small ships that tried to land there years ago were smashed up on the reefs and sank. But if we got close perhaps you could go down and see."

"But would they be friendly towards us?" Merlin asked. "After all what we did to the oceans back in the day and all. Would they not consider us enemies and hostile."

"I don't know son. They have kept themselves hidden even before that. In some old books I read, it was said that they once were like us but their civilization was doomed to be covered with water and so they became as they are to survive. But of course that is myth but one never knows. " he chuckled, it is also said that they can come up on land and when they do they lose their tails and legs form, until they return to the sea once more. So lets find out."

He left the cabin and ordered the ship on a course to the isle. Within a few hours they were approaching it and the anchor was slowly lowered down. Well we will find out soon enough. If trouble begins, you high tail it back here. We will have spear guns ready just in case."

Merlin nodded and took one of the spearguns with him. Just in case he would need it. He dove into the water and swam down.

In the few hours since Syrenne had given her story, things had calmed down somewhat. All returning reports were negative and there were no more sightings, so Hector had the guards return and things were to be low key for a while. In her crevice, Syrenne had calmed enough to sleep a little. When she woke, she went hunting fish and was quietly gnawing through a tuna when something broke a light beam from the surface. She looked up, but at this depth, it could have been anything from a passing shark, to a shoal of fish, to another merfolk wandering. She passed it off as either or any of them and carried on eating. A little higher up, the shadow was more pronounced and from the quiet meal, chaos resumed.

"A vessel!" Was cried out among the community and suddenly, parents were gathering up their young and fleeing back to their crevices, guards were coming out heavily armed with torpedo spears tipped with shark teeth and seaweed lassos. Syrenne moved closer to the jagged rocks, but also up to see if it was the same thing from before. She managed to sneak between the tails of the guards as they made their way up. Two of them split from the main party and made for the chain coming down. They would sever the anchor and send the ship into the current if it didn't leave. The main party would stay a way back and see what came down. To their surprise, it was exactly as the young female had described! One of them turned to his left and leaned to his friend. "That's what the little one talked about?" He asked. The other nodded. "It can really breathe down here?" The other nodded again. "How deep do you think it could go?" Now there was a question!

Syrenne stayed between the fins for a while longer until she spotted the exact same thing she had seen before. In sudden fright and shock, she grabbed the tail of a guard, making him howl in fright and turn his spear down. "Syrenne!" He yelled at her, "What the hell are you doing?!"
Syrenne cowered back and folded her arms around her middle, "I wanted to see." She offered meekly.
"Get back now!" The large male ordered. "What if it attacks?"
"Well, there's all of you." She said, "And only one of that. Will you kill it?"
The male furrowed his brow and scowled at the young female. "where there's one, there's usually more." He told her, "And it looks like he's carrying a spear, so yes, we'll probably kill him."
"So it's a him then?" She asked, "Pity, he's kinda cute for a ground-dweller."
Without warning, the guard shot forward and slapped the side of her tail just below her hip. "Scat!" He ordered.
Syrenne backed off with a yelp and held the spot he had struck. Male hands hurt! She moved a little further back, but around so she could still see what was going on. Hector arrived shortly after wearing some light armour around his chest and shoulders. A guard handed him a spear and he began to move forward.

The party spread out a little as Hector took centre and made a beeline for the encroacher. He would give the intruder two choices, it could leave and never come back, or it could be taken prisoner and interrogated. He wanted to know how many they were and why they had come here. And also just as importantly, why they were searching the sea bed with sonar. The party, easily a dozen still, formed a semi-circle and held up their spears. Hector took point again and pointed his spear directly at the intruder. "You will stop!" He demanded, unsure whether the ground-dweller could understand or not. "Come no further! What do you want here?!".......

Merlin decended down and down. At first he saw nothing, then he saw several figures darting about further ahead. Above he could see the keel of the ship and knew that it probably was causing great alarm among the merfolk. He tread water for a while watching. It was not long before a group of them headed his way. All were armed with spears that looked deadly. Not wanting to cause alarm or give the wrong impression, he slung the spear gun onto his back and waited for them to arrive. When they reached him they encircled him and one spoke. It was a language that had not been spoken for centuries, but Merlin had studied it and it's written language. He smiled and gave a slight bow. "I am Merlin and I have come to see you."

On board the ship the sonar operator informed his father of the approaching mermen. "Divers, over the side. Make sure you have plenty of spears for your spear guns." Two dozen men entered the water and dove down. Each had a tank of air, rubber fins on their feet, full face masks with radios. The swam fast towards Merlin and the Mermen. Merlin saw them and pressed his hand against the throat mike. "Return to the Ship." he called out to them. "Return to the ship now. I am alright." The men stopped and looked at each other. "Tell my father it is alright." The men nodded and headed back to the surface. He then turned back to the large merman. "Now where were we."

Hector was put on edge as the creature simply raised his arms and spoke. He was expecting to hear the spoke language of the ground-dwellers, but instead, he spoke Hector's own language and he furrowed his brow. How could that be possible? Their cultures had been so far removed in every possible way and yet right in front of him, right before his very own ears, this ground-dweller was talking to him! The accent was a little off, so most of what this thing had learned must have come from their own scrolls. Hector would have been more surprised were it not that many of their texts had gone missing during the wars and the exodus of his people. They had been presumed destroyed. Now he knew they hadn't.

Slowly, Hector moved forward and lowered his spear. The others kept their up and when others entered the water but then turned around, Hector raised it back up again briefly. The creature had sent them away again. So, 13 of them so far, he thought and turned his cold white eyes back on the first one. "Merlin." He mused, "A male name, so I can assume you are such. Your presence here is upsetting my people, Merlin." He swam forward a little further, showing his strength and height over the creature. Including his tail, he had a good four feet on the man and the rest of his guard were equally as big, if not bigger than him. It made for an altogether intimidating scene.

Hector put his spear down completely and came face to face with Merlin. What Syrenne had described to him was most accurate indeed, right down to the tiny gills behind his ears. Hector circled him and studied him. "I would like to ask how this is possible." He mused, "But creatures like you have rarely been forthcoming with your advancements. All we see is the toxic junk you leave behind that kills our homes and our families. Because of your race, I've had to bury my entire family, Merlin, along with many others that have had to follow my lead. Your people left our children orphans, our parents childless and sick. We've suffered chemical burns and cancers that would give you godless cretins nightmares. Entire generations of good honest folk murdered just so your leaders could hide their toxic mess from the upper world." He circled the creature another time before coming back to face him. "And just when we're sure that we're finally rid of you, here you are. I know that you've been in the shoals with machines and rods, Ground-dweller. What are you looking for after all this time? Why now? How many of you are there?"........

Merlin's father was not pleased when the divers returned. "He seemed to be talking to them sir. With they way they looked and those deadly spears they had, I think he made the right call. One wrong move on our part and he would have been dead." He still did not like it and paced the deck of the ship. It was like one of the old schooners of a couple centuries before. Long and a bit wide at the beam and had comfortable cabins for the captain and officers and a nice large area for the crew.

Below Merlin listened to Hector. He nodded his head sadly. "Yes we did great harm back then and then we nearly wiped ourselves out. I am afraid our race is riddled with those with greed and the desire to do what every they wish to attain wealth. My grandfather was foremost in demanding the clean up of the ocean and no further dumping of waste. He was a scientist like my father and saw the destruction it was causing to the ocean. Him and others basicly forced the governments of the world to stop the dumping.

What is done is done and can not be changed. I am sorry for your losses and those of the others. It is another burden of guilt my people have to bear when they are told of it. As for how many like me there are, it is just me for now. My father helped change my DNA to become what I am." As to why they were there, he didn't really want to tell them. It was a test of sorts to see if there were indeed metals and minerals they needed under the floor of the oceans. Then need not have to mine there if there were, there would be other places they could begin mining. "We are testing to see what is under the ocean floor. None of my people know what is there and have always been courious about it."

He looked around at the mermen with the spears still raised. "Am I that dangerous." he asked Hector.

Hector listened to the admittance made by Merlin and almost smiled. At least they had owned up to what they had done. His apology meant little though, but that was how Hector was and it was unlikely to change anytime soon. Hector listened for a while longer and then turned his back to the creature. It was something of an insult, but not much. He'd just had enough for now. However, when Merlin finally answered the question to why he was there, he flicked his tail forward and turned sharply. The ground-dwellers were curious as to what lay beyond the ocean floor. "Pardon me?"

Instead of waiting for an answer, Hector swam right up to Merlin again, actually nose to nose with the creature this time. His gills flared out and back as he breathed in deeply. "Among my people, we have a saying, Merlin." He said sharply, "Curiosity killed the catfish. Ground-dwellers have done enough damage exploring up there already. What is under our fins has absolutely nothing to do with the upper world. Down here is our world and ours alone, understand?" The sonar rods and boxes that Syrenne had taken note of suddenly became rather dangerous. He knew some of the basics and having seen them in action during the wars, he knew what they did. "There is nothing down here for you, Merlin." He continued, "Only death and disappointment and you can tell that to the rest of your vessel up there." He pointed to the keel of the ship above their heads. He turned about again and made for the rest of his party. As a parting shot almost, his huge tail slapped against Merlin to show him the sheer power beneath those thick shiny scales.

"You have until dusk to leave." He said as the party began turning back to the Spire. It was a good few hours before that, but Hector felt it gave them time to get their ship to safety and he wanted to appear the merciful leader. "After that, I sever your anchors and leave you to the Spire currents." Just as the others disappeared, Hector half turned back and squared his jaw. "And keep in mind one thing, Ground-dweller." He lifted his head in pride, "Sharks are not the top predator in these oceans, we are.".......

Merlin listened and from the body language of Hector, he could see that the Merman had no love for his kind nor his admitting the wrongs his kind had done. More of an insult then anything else. His eyes narrowed. He had tried to be civil and polite but this leader of theirs seemed to be arrogant, and spiteful.

When he gave his ultimatium Merlin shook his head. So that was how he was wanting it to be. Merlin had hoped for a more friendly dialog, perhaps try to make friends with them. He began swimming up to the surface and called out. "You may be the top predator here now but remember there is always a bigger and more powerful one. As for cutting our anchor chain, go ahead and try, but you might not like what will happen." He then swam up to the surface and was hauled aboard the ship.

He told his father of what Hector had said and as expected his father gave commands to insure that the chain was secured and the emergency engine was readied. It was never used unless there was a dead calm where there was no wind to push the ship forward. Crew members were issued fire arms and a watch set.

Merlin didn't like it but Hector had threatened them. He had gone in peace but the insulting way Hector treated him and his words told him that even the Mermen were war like. He had told him of the destruction and death of merpeople. Why had they not shown themselves and presented their case to the leaders of the world, when they first began the dumping. They may have prevented many deaths that way. But they had not so Merlin felt that they leaders of the Merpeople were just as guilty as his people.

Hector returned with the party to a crowd of merfolk wanting to know what had happened. He told them his account of it and most went off to retell the tail. No doubt it would get distorted as time went by, but he didn't care. His hatred of the ground-dwellers was renowned so it would make sense that he sent them away even if they had indeed admitted their wrongs. Back towards the main hall, Hector found Syrenne waiting for news. Well, she had been the first contact after all, so it was expected she would want to know what happened.

"Did you kill it?" She asked.
Hector removed his armour and sat back on his throne of sorts. He shook his head, "No, I didn't kill him." He said, "But I made it clear if he came back, I would."
Syrenne nodded, "Will you?"
Hector chewed the inside of his cheek as a plate of dead squid was brought to him. He picked up a tentacle of one and began chewing on it. "I don't know yet." He said honestly. "This one seemed very different from the others I've met. Apart from the obvious physical changes, I sensed a change in attitude in this one. He wasn't arrogant or forceful. He actually seemed genuine."
"So why did you threaten him?" Syrenne asked.
Once again, Hector drifted into thought for a moment, "Pride, I suppose." He mused, "And long suffered hatred. What they did to us, little siren, it was genocide and they cared nothing for what they had done. They were arrogant and cruel. It never mattered what we did, or how we acted; even when we fought back, they just kept coming. They were like sardines. No matter how many you killed, there were a hundred more to take their place."
"What did you do, Hector?"

Syrenne's question brought back so many memories and before he knew it, he was recounting them to the young female. "At first, we just tried to contain the damage they were doing." He began, "But then your father and I began taking the barrels and drums back to the surface and dumping them on shore. That was the first time our races had ever truly crossed paths. They shot at us with metal darts, even killed a few that were helping us. The, when things got really bad and your father got sick, we took the offensive instead. We started tailing their ships and when they started dumping, we caught the barrels in slings and took them to the surface. We opened them and then slingshot them back. That act pretty much signed our death warrants. Soon after your parents died and your uncle was getting sick, we all thought it best we just leave. The reef had died and we were starving, and then they started sending the machines to catch us and kill us. I saw many taken; speared by the machines and I saw the ground-dwellers through their bubbles laughing and celebrating the catch. My hatred was deep seated then and I knew what I had to do. Every ship that came within a hundred miles of our new home was cast into the Spire and the contents destroyed before any rescue could be attempted." Hector sighed deeply and shook his head once more. "And now they have come again with their tools and technology to search the oceans. I think I know what they want."
Syrenne listened with a heavy heart and she cried softly as the tale grew darker and darker. Eventually, she curled around his tail and hugged it. "What do they want?" She asked tearfully.
Hector stroked her long blue hair tenderly, "They want the treasures from deep down." He told her, "When my father was still alive, he used to tell me of a bay that he frequented when he was a young boy. He used to go chasing young females in the hope of a little fun." he smiled at that, "But one day, when he got there, he found it destroyed. The sea floor had been drudged up by machines to the bedrock and they had been digging into it. Now, my father was a prominent scientist of his time and he knew what they had taken and how they had done it.."
"How?"
"They call it strip mining." Hector offered, "Rather than dig a small hole and then get it while it's still underground, they just take the entire top layers away and pick it up from the new surface. It leaves the landscape scarred and barren for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years, Syrenne. It's devastating to everything around it."
"So what happened to the bay?" She asked.
"It died, like everything else, little siren." He told her sadly, "And my father had to find a new place to be promiscuous."
"Is that what you think this ground-dweller will do?" She asked cautiously.
Hector gave a shrug of uncertainty. "I don't know." he said honestly, "But I can't take that risk with our home being so close. Not a second time, little siren."
Syrenne was the one in thought now as she cuddled his tail and curled her fins around his. The scene looked very much a father and daughter bonding moment to anyone passing, but neither minded. They all cared for each other with the same tenderness. "Hector?" She asked suddenly, though quietly, "What if they have changed?" She looked up as he looked down. "I heard some of what it said to you and it seemed really honest. What if they're ready to make amends with us? Wouldn't that be so much easier to deal with?"
Hector considered this carefully as he stared down at the young mermaid. For such a skittish and ditsy creature, she definitely had a deep streak of intelligence in her. Such a rare quality in the young, he thought. "Well." he replied, "If that is the case, the aquatic one might just come back and try to talk again, but without his weapons."
"Couldn't you make the first move?" She asked, "After all, it did come all the way down here on its own and from what I saw, it sent its companions back, so it did make an effort."
"True." Hector said, "But wasn't he the same one that tried to catch you in Haggum's territory?"
Syrenne nodded, "Well, yes." She admitted, "But I might have startled it as much as it did me."
Hector offered a small smile, "It's a him, by the way." He said, "And his name is Merlin. The creature is male, little siren."
Syrenne grinned, "I knew it!" She chirped, "I knew it."
Hector smiled again and relaxed his massive shoulders. Once again, the young maid had proven to soothe him. After a few moments in thought again, he stared down at her. "Do you really believe this ground-dweller was telling me the truth?" Syrenne simply nodded and so he nodded in return, "Very well." He said, "I will go to the surface and offer parley with him."
Syrenne lifted up her head quickly, "Can I come?" She asked.
Hector shook his head, "No, little siren, you will stay here, but if he decides to come back and start negotiations, I will allow him to make the proper introductions."
Syrenne shot up and gave the leader a warm cuddle.

An hour before sunset, Hector, with his first guard, made their way up to the surface. The ship had not left and he noticed they had reinforced their anchor line. It didn't surprise him. After a few deep breaths, Hector broke the surface just off the port side of the ship and lifted out of the water to his shoulders. The others came up around him and stood guard so to speak as hector approached. "Merlin!" He called, "I wish to speak to the one named Merlin!" As one could imagine, the panic on deck was rather comical. A true to life merman had come up and started yelling to them. It made the scene so much more amusing that they couldn't understand a single word he'd said to them.......

"There is more to all of this." Merlin told his father. "I can see it in your eyes and the way you are acting." he knew his father all to well. A scientist, one that had an analitical mind. The way he was acting did not fit him. He knew more then he was telling. So he pressed him for the truth. When Merlin had brought up the subject of why the merpeople had not revealed themselves when the toxic dumping began he had become evasive.

Finally his father sat down and told him. "We had no idea that there had been such a race of people. Oh there were the myths of merpeople and stories of how they might have come to be. But no one really believed that they existed. Not until the dumping began. They were found to be bringing the barrels of waste ashore and dumping it. They had made friends with some humans, enviornmentalists that preached against the dumping of toxix waste in the oceans. They were ignored and thought to be trouble makers. The corporations doing the dumping hired mercenaries to deal with the merpeople and those helping them. That was during your grandfather's time. The general public was not told of the merpeople. The corporations tried to keep it all secret and even away from the governments.

But people like your grandfather found out and went to the government to have the dumping stopped. Not only to try and save the merpeople but to save our oceans. If they died the world would die. The governments finally listened and stopped the dumping, but it was thought that the merpeople had been wiped out. When a dead one was found when I was your age I thought that they had all died as well. It had died of the posions we had released into the oceans. But from that merman I gained the knowledge to make you in to a hybrid."

"So it was the corporations?" he asked for confirmation.

"Yes. And there are a few of them left, but not as powerful as they once were. Many had been caught selling weapons, fuel, and the like to the enemy to make huge profits. Now only a very few remain, but are closely watched and regulated now."

The men began running about the deck of the ship as the mermen broke the surface and the one yelled out in some strange language. The only word they understood was Merlin's name. Many brought their guns to bear on the mermen but they did not fire. They had not made a hostile move so they just prepared.

The First Mate entered the cabin and said, "Sir they are on the port side of the ship. I think they are calling for Merlin. It is the only word we can understand."

Merlin rose and left the cabin and walked up the wooden stairs to the deck and to the port side. He looked down at the water and raised a brow. He saw Hector there. "What do you want?" he called down in their language.

Some of Hector's guard began laughing as they all watched the ground-dwellers run around in a panic. Many of them remember the stories of their fathers and grandfathers that had met similar actions from the upper folk. How silly they looked, falling over themselves without a clue what to do. Then they started pointing weapons at them and the laughter died as quickly as it came. Spears and loaded bows were pointed back. The bows would be considered odd as they didn't look quite as one would expect. Instead of carved wood, they were made of whale bone and strung with sifting hair from the whale's mouth, rather than twine or spun hair. The arrows also were made of bone. One of the ground-dwellers disappeared and moments later, the one named Merlin appeared and called down to Hector.

After a moment and a meandering pace towards the ship, Hector lifted out of the water slightly. "I could give you some witty remark to answer that." He said, "For example, I could tell you that I've decided to invade your world like you have done mine." He shrugged, "But that wouldn't be entirely true and something tells me you would rather not be lied to." He came up a little closer and two of his guards ducked down to lift him clear of the waves. His shoulders came just above the guardrail of the ship and he put his elbows on the wood to hoist himself up more comfortably. The two guards lifting him dropped away again and took up their positions. Should anything happen, they could give Hector covering fire while he simply let go.

"You see." He said with a grunt as his tail dangled and flapped aimlessly over the side of the ship, "And I can't fathom for the life of me why I would be doing this, but I'm not here of my own volition." He cocked his head at Merlin. "Her name is Syrenne and well, she has given me pause for thought." He stared around the deck at the stunned faces staring back at him and his guard. "And reminded me what a cantankerous old squid I can be." He hoisted himself up just a little more and flipped his tail up with a half cocked grin to the stunned onlookers and settled it between the deck and the guardrail. "Ahh, that's better." He sighed, "I forget how much weight we carry out of the water. Anyway, to get back on point." He folded his arms and stared directly at Merlin. "If what you say is true and you wish only for good relations, then I shall invite you and your people here to our home." He looked around again, "Well, those that can anyway and perhaps begin putting right the wrings done in the past. What say you?".........

Merlin's father, Dr. Connor had come up with his son. he stood at the railing of the ship with him as Hector rose from the water and assisted by two of his fellow mermen gain the railing and hang there. He was a magnificent specimen of the race and he looked him over with a scientist's mind. Merlin watched and listened to him. At the mention of the mermaid he smiled. So That was her name. Syrenne. He liked the sound of it.

As Hector talked, Merlin translated so his father and the others could understand what was going on. When Hector offered to accept him and any others that could go down below to talk he raised a brow. "I am the only one that is able to breath on my own below, though I am sure others are being changed to do the same. The oceans are vast and deep. I am sure we can talk things out and come to some accord."

He turned to his father and said. "I will go below with him and see what I can do." he put a hand on his father's arm. His father was about to protest but Merlin held up a hand, and said. "This is a chance to right some wrongs. Besides we need their help and we need to try and prevent any blood shed." he turned to Hector and nodded as he climbed up onto the railing. "Shall we go?" He dove into the water and began swimming down.

Hector gave a nod of approval and watched as Merlin dove into the water and disappeared. Most of the guard followed suit, but Hector hesitated on the railing for just a moment. The others still looked stunned, but he wasn't looking at them. He was looking at Merlin's father, or the man he assumed to be from watching the contact and talking between them. His eyes bore into him with a look that said, "I know you somehow, but I can't quite place you." The words were not spoken, but the thought was clear. After a few more seconds, he let go of the railing and with a deep splash, he disappeared beneath the waves.

The party made progress quickly and soon enough, Merlin was treated to a sight reserved only for myth and dreams. As they approached the Spire, hundreds of merfolk came out to see the spectacle and what a reaction he got too! While some went on the defensive, grabbing their children and pulling them behind with their bodies protected by the vast tails of their parents, others stared in wonder and came closer to look. As Hector made his way through the growing crowd, they parted to get a good look at the living, breathing ground-dweller. Some thought it a trick, that he was wearing some kind of breather, but when they saw the gills, they were amazed. That was how close they all got. Some shouted jeers at him, calling him names that he couldn't possibly understand yet, while others wanted to know who he was and why he was there.

Off to the left of the crowd, a group of juveniles were playing tag, or a variant of it. They danced and swirled with great agility, turning on a pinhead to avoid being tagged. To them, this was a simple child's game, but it would prove vital in adulthood when they had to catch their own food and protect their young. To the right, there was a small crowd of females being kept at a distance by a few large males. One or two had young clinging to them, but others had not yet birthed, showing a large protrusion that clearly hindered their movement. Hector did his best to keep them all back, but it was inevitable that the party would collide with more than a few.

To the front of the crowd, the Spire loomed over them and the currents began to drag. It was here that the second reason Merlin had been surrounded came into effect. Merfolk were adapted perfectly to live in these environments and handled the currents as though they were not there, but Hector knew Merlin could be dragged onto the rocks and harmed. Having invited the ground-dweller here, the last thing he wanted was to have him hurt.

Toward the main hall of the Spire, Merlin was treated to a more brutal account of the past. Hector had escaped much of the damage caused, but many by the main opening had not. All of these merfolk were getting into old age. Of the dozen, none had any hair to speak of and most had damaged scales and gills that were badly scarred and quite frightening to look at. Many of the scars had come from chemical burns and cancerous lumps that had been cut out. Two of them were missing an arm while another was missing her entire left fin. She was not much longer for this life, none of them were. This was the legacy that Merlin's ancestors had left them and it was no wonder really that they turned their crooked and scarred backs on him as Hector brought him into the main hall. He tried to explain their behaviour as best he could.

"These unfortunates are the last of the generation that fought in the wars and during the dumping." He told Merlin quietly, "As survivors, they are greatly respected and honoured, and they are very proud. Do not take offense at their manner. For them, the past will never be forgotten, Merlin and what they have suffered will never be allowed to happen again. That is why they still persist in life, to remind us." He moved into the main hall, a vast expanse of volcanic glass that had formed probably billions of years ago. Various pieces had been chipped away to adapt it for purpose, but those pieces were still dotted around as ornamental statues or furniture. It was also slightly warmer, giving the glass a reason for being there. Along the floor were veins of gold and platinum that gave everything a glorious shine and lustre. "Come." He offered, waving his hand to a long table covered in anemones of all colours and fish darting in and out. It was a living buffet. "Sit. And we shall talk some."........

Merlin looked around as he was lead down to the home of the Merpeople. He could see that the majority did not like his presence there, but they to were curious about him. One of the people from above, able to breath underwater like they did. He swam alongside Hector looking them over. He tried to see if the one female that had spied on him was among all those that had come out to see him. But he didn't see her.

When he saw the old ones that had been ravaged by the toxic waste, his heart ached. So much suffering, such damage. He did not blame them for turning their backs to him. He looked the place over as they entered. He saw the large veins of gold and platinum. This was something that he knew people on the mainland would want. But he decided he would not tell them of it. He knew all to well that they would want to mine it and that would destroy their home. No that was not going to happen.

Merlin swam over to what looked to be a chair. It was not made to support a human form but he made do with it. He was unarmed and in the middle of their home. He felt a little nervous about it all. But he was there to hopefully arrange some kind of accord with them. "So what shall we talk about?" he asked. "One thing for sure is the need for you as the leader of your people to talk with the leaders of the various nations of my people. They need to know you are still alive and what your desires are. I think that was the biggest problem long ago. Most that knew about you were those that dumped the toxins. Those that could have stopped them early on knew nothing of your presence. The greed and ambitions of those few kept your people's presence a secret until it was to late."

Hector took a seat and began to listen to Merlin. As the other male spoke, he quickly grabbed a young clownfish darting among the anemones and bit the head off. Swallowing it whole and then downing the rest of it, he look back at Merlin and nodded, "That sounds true enough." He replied after some time, "There were some ground-dwellers that wanted only to help, but their efforts were futile, as you can see well enough." He pointed towards the main door where a few of the elderly were hovering around for snippets of the conversation. "It always mystified me why, after everything we tried to do, we were never acknowledged. Now I know. So, according to you, it was these few that forced the continuing of the dumping even after our efforts. I can imagine they held great power and influence over the rest of your people. If these folk held so much sway, why would I entrust my people to the your leaders? Your race has proven, if nothing else, that they turn to those with the greatest power." He snatched another fish from the anemone and slid it down his throat whole. Then he seemed to drift into thought for a while before finally meeting merlin's eye again. "As much as I would like to believe in your people again, Merlin, I have serious doubts about how effective any talks with them would be. Being extinct to the upper world has been the best thing ever to happen if I were to be brutally honest here. As folklore and myth to your kind, we are safe. If they were to discover that the tales were indeed true, I fear they would come looking and our entire way of life will be destroyed all over again. I've heard of what you do to strange creatures you find. You dissect them, study them, usually at the demise of that entire species, and then you adorn your own bodies with the results. If I may be rude, Merlin, are you not a living result of such protocols? Any material from an ordinary fish wouldn't have been half as effective as from a species not that far removed?" It was a valid question and without Hector knowing it, very close to the truth.........

"Yes they were powerful people and held sway over many of our government officials. But they were finally taken down by our leaders, seeing how much damage they were doing and finally finding out about your people. But to them it was to late. It seemed that you had been wiped out, as no one, not even those that had helped you could ever find you." Merlin told him.

"We have learned a few things from our mistakes. We almost did what we did to your people with our own. But we cleaned up our mess on land and as you can see have tried to do the same with the oceans. We have even went as far as sinking several of the metal ships we once had to form new coral reefs. We have found a way to turn our waste materials into energy. We have learned, the hard way. Again with the greed of a few, we almost wiped ourselves out in wars. From six billion people that inhabited the surface world, there is but one billion left."

He paused a moment to let that sink in and then continued. "We only did that to dead animals, and we use to use the skins along time ago but we have developed syncetic materials now. Like this I am wearing." he pulled on the wet suit. It helps keep the body warm when under water. As for my change......." he nodded. "It came about because my father found a dead merman that had been washed up on shore. But he did not disect him but used machines to look inside and took tissue samples. He told me there were those that wanted to cut the body up and examine everything. But when my father got done with what he needed. He removed the body from the lab and placed it in a clear plastic box and sealed it. Then he took it out onto the ocean and lowered it to the ocean floor, where it belonged." he shook his head. "Those that had wanted the body were really pissed off, but my father turned it on them wanting to know why they had stolen the body and demanded that it be returned."

Hector had one question to ask merlin about the so called 'dead' merman that his father had experimented on to Merlin the way he was, but he debated with himself whether or not to ask such a question. And could he really live with the idea he might put a rift between father and son? After some serious thought, he decided not to ask the question and in truth, he really did want to believe the other male. So many years, so many hardships and so much suffering had left him weary to start yet another fight. Besides, he had enough on his plate with the coming migration of sharks in a few months.

While chewing on another fish from the living buffet on the table, Hector pondered the strange customs of Merlin and his people. Why would the ground-dweller put a carcass in a plastic box and then drop it to the ocean floor, for example? Wouldn't it be better to simply leave the body to rot away? The carcass would draw in fish and would be of benefit to the ocean, surely. He'd seen other boxes being dropped in over the years and when opened, had been revealed to contain ground-dwellers that had obviously died of some injury or illness. The wood was taken for building materials and the bodies were fed to fish and other minor predators. Such a cleaner and easier way of dealing with the dead and more respectful too as he believed the soul would smile upon their carcass being used to preserve other life. But then, ground-dwellers had been known for their strangeness since the beginning of time.

At this point, Hector realised he had been quiet for far too long and quickly exited his seat. "I will believe you, Merlin." He offered, "And will take your promises in good faith." He motioned for them both to leave the hall, "But I doubt I will be meeting with your leaders. I find it unlikely they would be willing nor able to come down here and I have as much hope of walking on land as you would growing feathers and flying. Besides, as I said before, being extinct has been our saving grace and many of us, myself included would prefer it to stay that way. It is not an insult to you, but our home and our way of life are far too fragile still to be introduced to a world that destroyed us once already." He took Merlin our of the hall and began to wander around the Spire somewhat. In a round about way, the old merman was giving him a tour........