Page 36 - Demo

36Elaine looked around at what seemed to her to be a small swimming pool. She had followed him into the building, politely nodding and shaking hands as he introduced her to people on the way; people, she thought, that seemed to be enamoured and impressed by his presence. It was evident he held some kind of revered importance to them.%u201cThey%u2019ll bring out lightweight breathing equipment shortly,%u201d he said. %u201cWe need to take off our clothes, put on the gear, and jump into the pool. They will all see us naked. Are you okay with that?%u201d He asked her.She turned her head and said, %u201cWhat%u2019s in the pool?%u201dHe smiled and said, %u201cLet%u2019s focus on the naked bit. You can%u2019t go in wearing a swim suit. So far, no one else has dived into the pool. This is the first experiment to see, in a research program set of conditions, how an intelligent, very alien, creature will interact to us.%u201d%u201cCould it hurt us?%u201dHe kissed her. %u201cThe question you should be asking is will the creature in the pool be thinking the same? How do we and it tell each other that we don%u2019t wish to eat one-another.%u201d%u201cDavid,%u201d she said slowly and with an emotion of doubt and caution.%u201cYes?%u201d%u201cWhat%u2019s in the bloody pool?%u201dHe turned and smiled. %u201cA fully adult, large, octopus.%u201dShe was ready. The boffins had explained to her about the breathing tubes attached to her nose and mouth. There were no tanks, just a tiny box behind her shoulder blades. These were state-of-the-art, techno gills that diffused water and gave her and David oxygen. They explained that she should breath normally and not to exert herself as they were limited Spider