The afternoon that we spend on Good Fortune is delightful—so much more restorative than it would have been to hear a bunch of prophecies I can use to manipulate people. Xiao has me and Cleve put on lifejackets and then reads through a set of safety protocols that include us not going too close to the railings. Xiao’s reasons for all of this? We’re guests on his boat and he doesn’t want something terrible to happen to us. I can imagine Cleve saying the same thing to Data Haven visitors, if there were any dangerous areas there.
Cleve is excited to get a firsthand look at what the mariners are capable of. Xiao explains that they were trying to do targeted exercises with Gale, both to enhance their fishing abilities and to prepare for combat. Part of that is having Gale act as a spotter to locate a school of fish. But also, Xiao would like her to use her harpoon tail for direct strikes, with the humans acting as spotters. “We’ve been running through the same drill again and again, but it’s just…” Xiao looks over at Gale, perched on the prow of the ship, wings pulled in close. “Xenodragons are very distractible,” he says, exasperated. “They can see a lot of things in the water with their keen vision. And there’s, you know, good smelling humans nearby.” I look at Xiao with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, from the xenodragon’s perspective,” he hastily adds.
I step over closer to Gale—though not too close to the railing—and ask, “How is what these humans are asking you to do different from how you would normally hunt? What is boring about it? Or is this boring because it is the same as hunting?”
“It’s boring because I’ve already eaten this kind of fish,” she lets me know. “I want something different. We’re in the shallows. The better fish are towards the deeps, where the sea bottom drops off.”
This all makes me wonder how she learned to fish to begin with. Some animals teach their young, but others emerge from the egg to live their lives on their own, already knowing how to find appropriate food. Which of those is she? Gale communicates to me that she’s learned from other xenodragons.
Cleve’s focus is on getting more direct communication between Gale and the mariners—having the humans learn how to understand her instead of just the other way around. “This whole thing seems to be about training her. How about a little bit of training you to understand what she’s communicating?” Cleve suggests. “When you train a dog, the owner has to learn just as much as the dog, like how to make certain movements and when to use a certain tone of voice. Or even just how to read body language.”
“I’ve never seen a dog, but okay,” Xiao replies, taking Cleve’s point even though the analogy falls a bit flat.
“It’s not just about training the animal. When you’ve got a working animal, it’s about working together, not just getting them to do tricks,” Cleve adds, summing up his position. “And you’ve got the direct communication right now,” he points out, indicating me, “so you might as well take advantage of it. Usually you have to learn this kind of thing the hard way.”
“Yeah, there’s a purpose, an importance, that’s not being conveyed to her,” I add. “From her perspective, you’re just having her go after boring fish. These aren’t even the tastier ones that are in the deeper water.”
“Hey, I know fish, okay?” Xiao protests. “Maybe they’re tastier to a xenodragon, but that’s not who I’m fishing for.”
“But you should be fishing for her and you,” I argue. “If she’s part of this team, that is.” Xiao sighs. “This is why she doesn’t like the snacks! You’re not taking her tastes into account.”
“All right, so we still have a lot to learn about xenodragon physiology, but we don’t have so much time. To get out to the deep water and then back… that’s more work for her, too.”
“Doesn’t this ship have sails?” I ask pointedly, looking at the cloth attached to the mast above.
“Yeah, but the winds don’t always blow the way you want them to,” Xiao counters. I clear my throat meaningfully and nod my head at Gale. “Yes, like I said, it would be more work for her,” Xiao protests. “But I suppose if we’re working together…”
“Hey, are you willing to help push the boat towards where the better fish are?” I ask Gale.
That perks her up. “If it means the tasty fish!”
“Yeah,” I say, and Gale launches suddenly, wings now fully outstretched. She snaps them in, blowing hard at the sails without any further consultation. The mariners hasten to their stations, acting quickly to stabilize the ship and reposition the sails to better catch the wind.
“Gah! Did you know she was going to do that?!” Xiao demands, pulling on a line.
“I didn’t know she was going to take immediate action,” I tell him. I’ve found something to hold onto and am staying out of the crew’s way. “I’m having a conversation with her—I’m not controlling her.”
“Could you control her?” Xiao’s tone is so neutral that it’s not clear to me whether he feels threatened by the idea or intrigued that I might do so on the mariners’ behalf.
That question makes me so uncomfortable. It feels like ages since I calmed down wolf beetles, getting them to be quiet and behave. Since then, I’ve seen what the Progenitors did to Checkerboard and gotten to know Bluebell, Shroomnuts, and yes, Gale, as living beings with their own distinctive personalities. Could I make them do something apart from asking them to, like I would any person? I don’t want to know the answer to that, and I don’t want anyone else to either.
So I deflect. “I was a salesman back on Earth,” I say with a self-satisfied grin. “I can make anybody do anything I want them to.” Let him think I’m cocky, I don’t care. Better than thinking that I can raise an army of Chiron creatures for him.
Xiao presses his lips together in annoyance. He looks me up and down and gives a swift shake of the head, dismissing me. He turns instead to Cleve, who he can better relate to, and asks him to assist with the revamped training exercise since he seems to have so much experience with animals.
And that’s how we pass the rest of the afternoon, far out to sea. I stay out of things as much as possible. Although I volunteered as translator, they need to learn to work together without me in the middle. So while I sometimes provide a quick explanation to one side or the other, I mostly just enjoy the sea breeze blowing through my hair and the sight of Gale soaring through the sky.
Rather than focus on fishing, Cleve has Gale and Xiao work on communication. That way, the direction the boat moves isn’t just a result of how the sails are set, but also helped by how Gale is specifically blowing. They try using elaborate arm gestures to communicate with her while she’s up aloft, or sharply scented materials from her environment, like kelp and various fish guts. Gale uses her voice, too, and the humans learn to interpret certain pitches. Maybe one of these days they can get some recordings together to play back at her. Most importantly, though, they take turns on who’s in charge. Sometimes Xiao picks a direction and points, sometimes Gale does. “See?” Cleve says after a successful exchange. “You don’t have to pull out the pheromones every time. And yeses are just as important as noes.”
By the time we turn back to port in the late afternoon, Xiao and Gale can understand each other on a rudimentary level. Not to the extent that Gale and I can, but equivalent to a horse and its rider, according to Cleve, the only person here who knows anything about that. And Gale has a fun time with Xiao, now that she knows how to redirect him when he gets too boring. I’m glad. That’s a good sign for the future when they’ll have to work together without me around. Xiao, it seems to me, often has a vague air of befuddlement about him, and perhaps that’s because I am a strange thing suddenly inserted into his orderly world. But maybe now that he’s formed a bond with Gale himself, he’ll have a new perspective.
Cleve looks at everyone with great satisfaction. “We just had to go back to fundamentals,” he says, giving a sharp nod of approval.