The Rosetta Mind by Claire McCague

Author:Claire McCague
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, alien invasion, telepathic powers, alien translator, alien landing, first contact, action Adventure, extraterrestrial communication, multinational politics, thriller, humorous scifi, suspense, speculative fiction, abduction
Publisher: EDGE-Lite
Published: 2022-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Bernie brought Ambassador Huo to the workspace he had eked out, a semi-private pocket behind a pile of empty equipment crates in a tent linked to the staging area. Ulz was already there, occupying the only chair, which was centered between the monitors.

“There’s a pattern here,” Ulz said.

“Have you met Ambassador Huo?” Bernie asked.

“Yes,” Ulz said. “Serese has me greeting people at the gate.”

Although Serese had invited many of them to use her first name, Bernie felt Ulz’s tone was disrespectful.

Ulz adjusted the magnification of the footage he was reviewing. “There are distinct cluster sizes and movements. I’m hoping the tracking software will help visualize it.”

“We have a meeting in an hour,” Bernie said. “Which is soon considering the checkpoints.”

“I set an alarm,” Ulz said. “We have time.”

“What are you looking at?” Huo asked.

“It’s like a murmuration of starlings,” Bernie said. “Whirling flocks were studied by the Romans to divine the moods of the gods. Now, they are studied to understand distributed decision-making processes, so we can try to recreate them in drone swarms.”

“I do not understand,” Huo said.

“This is enhanced satellite footage from yesterday,” Ulz said. “These are cuttlefish shadows.”

“The cuttlefish spend a lot of time settled on or near structures within the tank,” Bernie added. “But yesterday, they all went swimming, all at once.”

Ulz split the images on his screen, showing a series of frozen frames. “Little clusters and bigger clusters, almost always odd numbers. Multiple clusters whirling around in synch with each other. Individuals moving from cluster to cluster. More cuttlefish engaged. The whole formation was expanding and contracting, and then they suddenly dispersed.”

“Was there movement of the water in the tank,” Huo asked. “An artificial current?”

“I don’t think so,” Ulz said. “But we don’t know.”

“We think they were having an argument,” Bernie said. “Estlin said the cuttlefish had an argument, so we decided to look for it.”

“I have access to good tracking software,” Ulz said.

“For inanimate objects,” Bernie countered. “We should be looking at the methods used for schools of fish.”

“Cuttlefish aren’t fish,” Ulz said. “And, as far as I know, no one has observed or interpreted the movements of herring having an argument.”

“What if it is simply in their nature to swim together?” Huo asked.

“All of them,” Ulz said. “All at once?”

“Yes,” Huo said. “Like the starlings or a swarm of bees.”

“But there are patterns,” Bernie said.

“There are patterns in the movement of leaves on a tree,” Huo said. “They move with the wind. They move with the sun.”

“Exactly,” Bernie said. “The movement is driven. It’s purposeful. It’s meaningful.”

“It’s natural,” Huo said. “When a river smooths a stone, it’s erosion, not an argument.”

“But the pattern—” Bernie pointed at the screens, thinking that they should show Huo the moving images that Ulz had frozen.

“I believe you will find patterns everywhere,” Huo said. “Meaningful patterns that are worthy of attention. But an argument is an exchange of words. Arguments are built on constructs of language. Humans argue. Cuttlefish don’t have words to argue with. Cuttlefish swim together because they swim together.

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