SOLAR & The Specialists
Marine Biologist
THE MARINA HIGHBAY BOAT
Theo moved restlessly on the bed. The bed was just a swing net installed on the ceiling of the deck of the ship. The base is covered in a gray bedcover that he carries away from home. The bed is enough for one person. A normal size bed will only meet its already narrow deck due to work equipment.
Theo's body was sweating. Several times he kicked his blanket with a riled motion. Theo is having a nightmare. He was in a sea whirlpool, trying to fight the current so as not to drown, but a second later he forgot that he was drowning. Then he was already on top of the cliff, looking at the expanse of black sea under the bright full moon that was perfectly round. The moon seems bigger over time.
Is the moon approaching?, he thought astonished.
The moon is indeed approaching, along with the increasing height of sea waves that seem to want to pounce into the ocean. Someone called. His voice was not unfamiliar, but his figure was invisible. His voice belonged to a woman. His name was already at the tip of Theo's tongue when he knew he was in the depths of the sea again, out of breath due to drowning. The water does not allow it to swim up to the surface. He was trapped in the darkness. Then there was a voice that shook his heart. This voice was even more familiar to him.
'The 'Blue Whale Song' is Adam's name for the sounds caused by infrasound waves from Billie's flock. The voice is getting louder. The whole sense of Theo focuses on the screeching of the tone alone, searching for it. A whale suddenly swam under him, opening its mouth wide, sucking it out. Both of Theo's hands flailed upwards.
He woke up with his heart racing, and his body drenched in sweat. It took him a few minutes to realize where he is now. When he saw the deck of the Marina Highbay ship that was like home to him, Theo breathed a sigh of relief.
Theo's bare feet came down from the bed, stepping into the refrigerator not far from his messy desk. He picked up a can of cold beer, opened it, then sipped a lot. He felt very thirsty. His throat was dry and his tongue felt like sand. He was still feeling a little uneasy from the nightmare just now. Theo did not remember all the details, but he could feel the sensation of horror under the dark sea. All this time, he loved the sea. Usually he spends hours diving, at least until the oxygen supply in the tube runs out.
It was just a nightmare, as he thought he was trying to convince himself.
It was only natural that he had nightmares occasionally, especially after the recent unusual events. The carcass of Billie, the discovery of a female corpse in Billie's stomach, as well as the mystery of the identity of the corpse that accompanies it. Since then, Theo has been restless. His concentration was disturbed, so he decided to stay in the middle of the sea for a few more days to calm down. The professor suggested taking leave immediately. Theo did not agree to it. He felt that if he returned home with a disturbed state of mind would make his return home feel futile.
Carrying a small beer can, Theo walked out of the deck to enjoy the night. One of the reasons why Theo likes to stay on the boat is the skyline. If it is far enough from the mainland, as far as the fuel available in the tank allows, then the night feels like heaven. Every time he looked up, constellations filled the sky. Sometimes meteors fall through the sky, only if they are lucky to see them. Sometimes he can also see galaxies, rings of Saturn, or man-made satellites whose shape resembles a small point of motionless. Theo always carried star binoculars to help him take a closer look. Being a marine biologist allows him to enjoy things like this. At night, the dark sea did not interest him at all.
His attention was distracted by something shining above sea level not far from the ship. Theo hurriedly took his binoculars to take a look. Phytoplankton are one of the species that can create the phenomenon of bioluminescence, where they can produce bright blue light in the sea. The bright light will only be visible at night or in the depths of the sea, where there is no sunlight at all. The more the number, the brighter and more beautiful the light, so it can be captured by NASA satellites. Usually the light produced is rainbow colors. From red to greenish blue.
The one Theo saw at this moment was silvery in color. The color is so bright that it can illuminate tuna fish found swimming around Theo ship. The bioluminescence was moving along the ocean currents, approaching the ship. Theo swiftly took out a long stick from his toolbox. The wand is usually used as an underwater camera to allow him to record marine animals that are too sensitive to the presence of humans. This time he did not attach the camera at the end, but a net that was not too big with a diameter of five inches. He immediately put the net into the water to find out what animals make the light so bright. Once caught, Theo moved him into an empty box that he had filled with seawater.
This is not the first time Theo has seen the phenomenon of bioluminescence. During his career at sea, he has seen this phenomenon twice. The first is in Australian waters, while the second is in waters near Lampung. Everything is greenish blue. This silver-colored bioluminescence phenomenon was the first he encountered. He observed what animals carried that unique light well. But what he found was not the animal or marine species he memorized.
The creature is a transparent membrane. The shape and texture are not similar to the characteristics of any type of jellyfish. Theo was silent for a long time. The creature was clearly dead, but its body still shimmered as if it did not run out of energy. Gaining new research material, Theo was suddenly excited. The nightmare he had just experienced vanished, changing with his curiosity about the creature he had just brought aboard. He spent the entire night researching the silvery-colored species floating in a box. The creature remained motionless even though Theo scratched its transparent surface with a scalpel or scalpel. The creature's journey across the ocean is over.
***
Ding
Theo is awakened by the sound of a notification from his laptop. Sign an incoming email. Holding back the sleepiness of having only slept for two hours, Theo got off his bed and sat down at the desk. There was an email from Adam that just came in. The email contained a link that led him to a news article.
A body was found without identity on Thursday (21/08/19) early morning. The body was found in the stomach of a blue whale stranded on the beach. The marine biology research group stated that the stranded whale carcass named 'Billie' was one of the herds of blue whales being examined by them. The whale is thought to have accidentally swallowed the body while hunting for food. The body is currently being autopsied at the University Hospital Dwisakti. Police are investigating the case while collecting missing persons information that has been received by the local police.
Theo shut down his laptop. He pulled out a business card from his wallet. The business card belonged to Voni, the forensic doctor responsible for the autopsy. He weighed the business card before finally deciding to contact him via satellite phone.
"Hello?" Voni's voice sounded after the third waiting tone.
"This is Theodore from the Marine Research Center."
"ah! Of course I remember. What's up?"
"Umm.. Do you have time today? I have something to talk about."
"Sorry, I'm going to be busy today. What if tomorrow night after my work is done?"
"Tomorrow's okay, too."
"Where do we meet?"
"I'll send you the address later."
The two ended the conversation after the next short stale base. It took Theo an entire night to decide whether he should tell someone about his discovery or not, and to whom he would tell about this discovery.
He still had plenty of time before his appointment with Voni. He decided to visit his lab. Professor and Adam should be the first people he tells. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he hurriedly gasped towards the land.
***
Marine Central Laboratory is not in the building, but in two portable containers arranged facing each other because of its temporary nature. The first container served entirely as a laboratory, while the other container was used as a resting place for Adam and Professor. They are the only inhabitants in the arid plains near the coast.
Although both are researchers who dabble in marine science, Adam and Professor are both seasick. They can't sail for too long. Unlike Theo who chose Marina Highbay as his residence. For Theo, the farther into the middle of the ocean, the more ideal to be a temporary place to live.
Theo found neither Adam nor Professor in the lab. He suspects that the two must be in the other container that is at once their private room. Sure enough, as soon as Theo came in, he saw the Professor was trying to calm down the hysterically crying Adam. Theo thinks that Adam is still in a phase of mourning the loss of Billie forever.
"You should see something." Answer Theo without further ado. His attitude showed that he actually wanted to drag them to his ship immediately.
"Go! Let me drown in sorrow." Adam with a hoarse voice. Her face was swollen and red because she did not stop crying. Their professor was just shaking his head at it.
"What did you find, Theo?" The professor got up from his seat on the side of Adam's narrow bed.
"You won't believe me if you don't see it for yourself." Answer Theo. Adam wiped the snot with a blanket, inflicting a thin squeak on Theo's forehead. "I think I just found an alien." Further.
Professor and Adam looked at each other.
"I think he's been at sea too long. I've heard of people who lose their minds and hallucinate because they see seaweed too often." Adam tried to explain Theo's situation to Professor. The situation itself is not good.
"I told you you wouldn't believe me if you didn't see it for yourself. Comeon!" Theo came out of the room/container followed by Professor and Adam who looked very reluctant.
Theo had a big icebox that he usually filled with beer and mineral water. Only two drinks are available at Marina Highbay. But this time, Professor and Adam did not find a bottle in Theo's icebox. Instead of a drink, the filling box contained a flat jellyfish-like creature with no tentacles that continuously glowed silvery. Professor and Adam both frowned. They noticed the creature Theo brought closer.
"Are you sure this isn't Deepstaria?" The professor lifted his glasses over his forehead while squinting one eye, really trying to see.
"I thought so at first. But Indonesian waters are not a common habitat for Deepstaria. And they don't 'spread' like this." Deepstaria they mean an unusually shaped jellyfish species with no tentacles. One type that has been captured by the researchers is Deepstaria Enigmata, a thin jellyfish that is invisible shaped like plastic waste that is dragged by the current.
Adam touched the surface of the creature with his fingertips. "Cold and.." he sniffed the fingertips he used to touch the alien. "-it doesn't smell at all. I didn't smell anything." He seemed so surprised that he forgot Billie for a moment. "It's really weird." Mumbled.
"I learned it all night. The body-building cells of these creatures are not at all similar or close to any marine animal we have ever studied."
"Maybe he's not a marine animal." Professor picks up the scalpel lying on Theo's messy desk. Carefully, he took a sample of the body of the nameless creature, then placed it in the preparation so that it could be seen through a microscope. It took a few minutes for Professor to determine whether he would trust Theo or offer any other more plausible answers. Adam used those few minutes to study the shape of the alien. Eventually, they both came to a conclusion.
"During my career I've never seen cells as strangely shaped as I just saw them." Said the Professor while twitching his forehead.
"This thing is too strange for my already weird head." Keep Adam.
"The structure of the cell does not resemble that of any living thing on earth. He's got a core inside his body." Theo took out a small, sealed jar containing a pearl-like stone less than 10 millimeters in diameter.
"You dissected it? Why is there no trace??" Ask Adam.
"After a few hours all the incisions I made disappeared. He regenerated himself quickly."
"And you think this thing is dead?"
Theo nodded. "This thing is dead, I'm sure. If he's alive, he should have reacted when I was exposed."
"Isn't it strange that he regenerates himself while in a dead state?" Adam was silent for a moment, "Okay, how many times have I mentioned the word 'strange'?" Wonder further. Everyone ignored him.
"If this is really an alien, then science fiction fanatics would love to hear it. But, if these creatures are just one of many numbers we don't know how many, what they're here for, and whether they're colonized or not, then national security may be under threat. What did I say makes sense?" Theo said it quickly, starting to hysteria with his own way of thinking.
The professor breathed a heavy sigh. He put one hand on his waist, while the other hand rubbed his wrinkled chin. "I think you're right. We need to research it further in a larger laboratory. I was thinking of going back to Brisbane and bringing this sample all over. What say?"
"I'm thinking of handing it over to the Indonesian government." Theo answered with confidence, making Adam grunt.
"Let's be honest, Indonesians won't care about this kind of thing. Maybe they'll make it viral, that's all. When it's too late, everyone will blame each other. We better take it to AMCA. Besides, we have more advanced technology to research these creatures." Adam's Sahut.
"We found it in Indonesian waters. They need to know what they're gonna face." Sergey Theo. "The plan is I'll ask the forensic doctor we met yesterday." Further.
"Come, Theo! You don't think that this creature will only exist in Indonesia, do you? Didn't you say he was an alien? Aliens are creatures that come from outside the earth. The Earth is not just made up of Indonesia. Many other countries need to know about this. Australia is a great choice to start."
"Already, already!" The professor broke up the debate between his two students. "I think what Theo said is true." The professor raised one hand as Adam began to protest. "Let the Indonesian government handle this secretly. We can't risk making a global fuss before this thing really proves to be an 'alien'." Now it was Theo's turn to open his mouth to argue, but again the Professor held him. "We're going to be together researching this creature. We will also help determine whether these creatures harm our planet or not. If so, we will be the first to warn the world. I hope it doesn't happen." The professor patted both Theo and Adam's shoulders, leaving them speechless. "When do you plan to meet the forensic doctor?"
"Tomorrow nights. I think you need to come with me." Answer Theo.
"At least we can get to town. Finally!" Adam Excited.
"We'll stay at my parents' house. There's only my sister there."
The three of them agreed with the idea.
***