Ocean: The Sea Warriors by Brian Herbert, Jan Herbert Page B

spectacular colors and ocean creatures they might see as they descended into the deep, and what it would be like to be in the presence of Moanna herself.
    He also said that, depending on the availability of the fish required to form a bubble tube, another deep-diving system might need to be used—something he called the “seavator,” which he described as a huge clam shell lowered by giant squids of the genus Architeuthis . If that mode became necessary, he said the underwater views for the passengers would not be as good, because the colossal clams only had small viewing ports on their tops and bottoms. The clam-squid system surprised Alicia, because she had not heard of it previously, but she remembered Kimo telling her how vast the seas were, and how even he only knew a small portion of what there was to know about them.
    Now Kimo reminded his audience that the Sea Goddess might not accept all of them, in which case they would not become hybrids. “If that happens, you might still be able to contribute in some other way to the Sea Warriors, as associates, if you wish to do so. Or, we will transport you back to the same place we picked you up.”
    “Like a money-back guarantee?” a mustachioed man asked, eliciting laughter from those around him.
    “Sort of like that,” Kimo said, with a smile.
    He answered more questions, then spoke of the gills behind his and Alicia’s ears, which they had already shown to most of the volunteers. This time he took a few moments to describe how the respiratory organs enabled him to obtain oxygen from seawater and breathe while immersed, and how it felt when he did that, and during transitional times when he was entering the water and leaving it. He also spoke of the amazing ability of his body (and Alicia’s) to withstand deep-sea pressures, without the necessity of diving equipment, and the way they could find food in the water.
    “I am not a scientist,” he said, “so my comments are more personal than technical—my attempt to let you know what it might be like if you are successfully transformed—as Alicia and I have been.”
    Alicia added a few observations of her own. Then Kimo grinned and asked, “For those of you who might be transformed into hybrids, are you ready to snatch small fish out of the water and eat them whole, or swallow fat lugworms, or suck plankton into your new body’s filter system? Do you want to know how I eat crustaceans in the wild? Or how I avoid eating animals such as moray eels, because they might be carrying toxins from poisonous fish they eat, and which did not harm them?” Without waiting for anyone to answer, he said, “If you are transformed I will teach you how to live on the bounty of the sea, and—very important!—how to avoid harming endangered species. We are in the ocean to live in harmony with it and contribute to its welfare, not to commit detrimental acts.”
    The most outspoken oceanographer onboard, Vinson Chi’ang, said, “Many species of animal life—including crabs, lobsters, and fish—begin as microscopic larval organisms in zooplankton, and then grow larger, eventually leaving the plankton colonies and swimming freely in the sea, where they continue to grow until they are adults. How can we make certain that the plankton we consume does not contain anything that is endangered, and in an embryonic form?”
    When Kimo hesitated, Alicia said, “That is why we need you, Mr. Chi’ang, to come up with a way for us to behave with complete propriety.”
    Laughter spread through the passenger cabin, and Chi’ang reddened. “I asked a serious question, and it deserves a serious answer.”
    “We are a new organization,” Alicia countered, “trying to figure out the proper ways of doing things.” She glared at him. “I gave you a serious answer, sir, and we shall look for your contribution.”
    Now Kimo said, “One of your first duties, Chi’ang, if you are accepted as a Sea Warrior, will be to analyze the animal