Brenton stood looking out off of the observation deck at the Taylor Institute. The deck was basically the only structure exposed. The rest of the Institute was either submerged or built into the rocks forming the coast of the island.
Off to the west he could just make out the change in color of the ocean water that marked the first of several blue holes that were hosting the ongoing studies of the Institute's scientists. Beyond those he knew from the bathymetric maps he'd seen the continental shelf plummeted almost 3000 feet over the next half mile turning to abyssal plain. The blue holes ringed the island continent, giving it the impression of being a tube of Swiss cheese set in the middle of a bowl of mustard. There had been no formal attempt at an explanation for the type of geologic process that could produce a feature not found on Earth. What had scientists puzzled is that beyond the initial contact between the two ocean water wasn't to be found filling the blue holes. They were full of freshwater.
"Dad, what's this word?" Nick asked handing Brenton the PADD he was reading.
"Hmmmmm.... that word is remedial. It means... easier."
"Like 2+2? Insteada 2x2?"
"Yeah, exactly like that," Brenton replied rubbing the top of his youngest son's head.
"Where's Mike?" Brent asked glancing around.
"He's in his room playing with the dolphins."
"The what? Let's go see." With that Brent walked to the turbo lift. Nicholas in tow Brent descended the twelve levels to the bottom floor of the Institute, which housed all the residential suites. He and his two sons were three of the 27 full-time human residents of the Institute.
"Hey man, what's up?" Brent asked entering Mike's room and seeing him stretched out on the floor, in front of the observation bubble with a keyboard in front of him and a set of headphones on.
"Dad, watch this!" Mike said typing on the keyboard.
"Who's that?" Brent asked in reference to the message being typed out on the HUD incorporated into the Plexiglas observation bubble.
"It's him," Mike said nodding his head toward the dolphin that could be seen swimming outside the bubble.
'Who that?'
'That's my dad,' Mike typed.
'Dadd?'
'He made me.'
'Yes, lifegiver. He different color.'
'Color?'
'Shiny lite difrent.'
"Dad?"
"There have been folks that say all living beings give off energy. An aura. I guess he/it can see ours. Ask him what the colors are for us three," Brent asked sitting down next to his oldest son Mike.
'How difrent?' Mike typed.
'One lite like deep place, difrent water color.'
"The blue holes," Brent muttered.
'One lite like fire ball sinking into water.'
"The sunset," Brent again muttered fascinated by the dolphin's language.
'Other like all lite.'
'All light?,' Mike typed.
Suddenly the room and the water outside were filled with a kaleidoscopic burst of rainbow coloration that dimmed and left behind the normal lighting for that time of day.
"That was cool," Mike said as he took off his headphones and notice for the first time that his dad was holding a limp Nick in his arms.
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