Free Leviathans of Jupiter by Ben Bova Page A

around the youngster, chattering off a rapid-fire clatter of clicks. That’s their language, Deirdre said to herself.
    After a few more minutes, Andy kicked up to the surface and climbed out of the tank. Dripping wet, he came down the ladder to join them on the deck.
    Dorn pulled a big white terry cloth towel out of the capacious aluminum case and draped it over Andy’s shoulders as soon as he slipped his air tank off. Deirdre couldn’t help wondering if the puddles Andy was dripping onto the deck might be slippery.
    Yeager, looking even more ill at ease, had the same thought. “These puddles could be dangerous,” he half growled.
    â€œThere’s a mini vac in here someplace,” Corvus said, ducking his head into the case. He pulled the vacuum out and offered it to Yeager. “Here.”
    Yeager looked astonished, then almost angry. But he took the tool and sucked up the puddles without complaint. Deirdre was surprised at how loud the machine was; its buzzing noise seemed to echo off the walls of the tank.
    Corvus didn’t notice the noise at all. He was busy pulling a gray electronics box out of his carrying case. To Deirdre it looked almost like an old-fashioned notebook computer, perhaps slightly bigger. Sitting it on the lid of the big aluminum case, Corvus opened up the device, turned it on, nodded when its screen brightened.
    Then he pulled out a slim metallic circular band that glittered with optronic chips, lifted it in both hands like a royal crown, and settled it onto his matted, still-wet hair.
    â€œOkay,” he said, looking up at Deirdre and the others. “Now we see if it works.”
    Corvus seemed to go into a trance. His eyes half closed, his slightly uneven face relaxed into a sleeplike softness as he crouched on his knees by the electronics box. Like a sleepwalker he turned to the curving wall of the aquarium, then pressed his fingertips against the glassteel.
    Dorn was watching him intently. Yeager looked edgy. Deirdre stood over Corvus, not knowing what to do, or if she should even try to do anything. Unbidden, the memory of her visit to Dr. Pohan came back into the forefront of her mind. Rabies, she thought. If he can’t synthesize the antidote I could die.
    The baby dolphin glided up to Corvus, squeaking and chattering, its two parents hovering not far off. Corvus turned sluggishly and rested his back against the curving glassteel wall of the tank. His chin drooped to his chest, his eyes closed completely. But his fingers twitched slightly.
    â€œIs he all right?” Deirdre wondered.
    â€œHe seems to be breathing normally,” said Dorn.
    For several nerve-stretching minutes they watched Corvus. Nothing happened. The baby dolphin hovered near Andy, but silently now. The two adults swam smoothly, their powerful tails rhythmically surging up and down. The fish scurried around and around the circular tank endlessly. The adult dolphins had gone quiet, too, Deirdre noticed.
    She looked from Corvus’s semicomatose figure up to the circling fish and the silent dolphins, then back to Andy again. “Should we do something?”
    â€œDo what?” Dorn asked.
    Yeager gave a disgusted snort. “This is like watching paint dry.” He turned and punched the elevator button.
    â€œYou’re leaving?” Deirdre asked.
    â€œI’ve got better things to do with my time than watch him—”
    Corvus stirred. His entire body seemed to spasm once, then his eyes opened and he smiled lazily. “Made it,” he said. “How long was I out?”
    Reaching down to help Corvus to his feet, Dorn replied, “We didn’t time you.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” Corvus said easily as he lifted the circlet off his head. “It’s all in the computer log.”
    â€œYou were in contact with the dolphins?” Deirdre asked.
    â€œSort of,” he said. “It wasn’t really all that good. I couldn’t get much