***** Vol.3 Chap.18 Conference reception *****
The Annual Conference of the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) was held at the downtown Marriot Hotel in Miami, and the ballroom was crowded with conference attendees.
The pre-conference reception with free hors d’oeuvre and drinks was always a welcomed event. Besides, no one passed up free food and drinks. To Frank, while he enjoyed the food, it was the chance to be reacquainted with old friends and the opportunity to meet with new friends.
He spotted the line leading to the table laden with all kinds of finger food. Lots of goodies laid on the long buffet table. An enormous platter of specialty cheese arranged nicely around the cheese dip was placed in the middle. The cheese dip itself was shaped like a fish, though much of the tail and part of the fin had already disappeared.
Another platter filled with all kinds of nuts caught his eye. He filled his plate with pecans and macadamia nuts.
Next was the fruit platter with apples and orange edges, little balls of watermelons and cantaloupe, and of course red and green seedless grapes. He skipped the fruit section altogether, promising himself that he would come back again.
Then came the pastries section. He took a mini quiche and loaded the rest of his plate with chocolate éclair and a peach puff pastry; he was hungry after the plane ride. Suddenly, he realized he had made a crucial mistake, his plate was quite full already, and he still had not sampled the hot hors d’oeuvres. He sighed and decided to work on what he had selected first.
Frank moved a few steps from the buffet to make room for the newcomers. Quickly finishing his first plate, he got another full plate from the hot selections this time.
His second plate was loaded with mini spring rolls, buffalo wings, and hot links. The sauce was kind of messy, so he hunted for a table to sit down. As he passed the open bar, he got himself a screwdriver.
Spotted a table at the far end when the people there stood up to leave, with a full plate in one hand and a drink in the other, he carefully made his way to the table, but a few seconds short. A small, slender woman, apparently not seeing him coming, stepped in front of him and got to the table first.
Frank kept his composure.
“May I join you?”
“Sure, help yourself.”
“Hi, my name is Frank Abdulcizi.” He put his plate down and held out his hand.
“I’m Kristin Sobinowski. Excuse me if I am not shaking your hand. These wings are messy and my hands are greasy.”
“Thank you for your kind considerations. Mine are greasy as well.”
Frank took a bite of the wings. They were seasoned and fried to perfection.
“So, Kristin, where are you from?”
“Miami. I am with NOAA.”
“Are you a marine biologist then?”
“Good guess.”
“What is your field of specialty?”
“I study marine mammals, dolphins in particular.”
“Dolphins? They are an interesting species.”
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“Are you a dolphin expert?”
“No, no. I am a computer scientist. I only remember what I read about dolphins from freshman biology.”
“They are more than interesting; they are intelligent and live in perfect social harmony.”
“Social harmony?”
“They are gregarious, playful, and sociable.”
“Surely they fight among themselves sometimes?”
“Nope.”
“Not even during mating season?”
“No, they never fight and they don’t display any aggressive behavior at all.”
Clearly, Kristin was very proud of and fond of her dolphins.
“Wow. Imagine an entire school of dolphins with no fights. That is hard to imagine. May be there is something we can learn from the dolphins.”
“There is a lot we can learn from the dolphins.”
“Tell me more.”
“Come to my session tomorrow.”
“OK, you piqued my interest now. When is your session?”
“Right after lunch.” Kristin said as she stood up.
“I’ll be there.”
“Enjoy your food.”
And in a split second, she was gone.
He wondered if that was the same Kristin mentioned in the news flash a few days ago, something about Mayflower research vessel.
With a spring roll in hand, his mind was still wondering about the dolphins, imagining an entire school of dolphins playing, swimming, and working together in the open ocean. What kind of social structure did they have and why were there no violent behavior among the dolphins?
He struggled to imagine that violent behavior was absent among the dolphins while the human species was so fraught with violence. The idea that there were other living things on this earth that could be morally superior to human beings was hard to accept. He rationalized that perhaps the violent behavior was not expressed or displayed as frequently as other species.
For a few unmolested minutes left alone to finish his food, he returned to the open bar for a glass of Chardonnay. Looking around for his mentor and seeing that he was chatting with a few friends near the door, he sauntered to join them.
The evening was winding down. Strolling back to his room and still cogitating on the conversations from the reception, he had been haunted by the implications of his research results since the beginning of the project. Though these philosophical and moral questions had not hampered his effectiveness in carrying out the project, now and then, these questions surfaced in his mind and he found it hard to put them away.
When he got back to his room, he was tired from the whole day of traveling with a bad itinerary and lots of wasted time at the airport in layovers.
Quickly unpacked the few things in his luggage, he relaxed on the recliner and caught a news bulletin from CNN.
Breaking news. This is Joseph Berterop reporting. I am a CNN correspondent in Qetidghe in South Africa.
Today, we heard that another village in the eastern tip of Qetidghe was completely demolished this morning by a marauding gang of attackers. It appeared that the attackers were all from a nearby tribe that had excellent trading relationships. This was terrible to see that another entire village was demolished in a matter of hours.
We have obtained an eyewitness story from a little boy who had wandered off into the woods at the time of the attack. When the boy heard the shouts, he ran back to the village but was too late. He witnessed the aftermath of the attack. This little boy was so traumatized that he could not tell us what had happened.
After the attack, some nearby villagers went to inspect the carnage. They found that the entire tribe was summarily slaughtered brutally. The attack was a complete surprise.
One person found these words scribbled in the elders’ tent: Hail to the Global Liberators!
Another villager found an empty drinking leather pouch on the ground. According to what little we have pieced together from the broken speech of the little boy, the attackers all had a victory drink from the leather pouch. Then they marched as one man calmly and quietly back into the forest and disappeared.
Right after the news broke, there was a terse statement issued by the Global Liberators. At CNN, we have obtained a copy of the statement that said, “This is only a small demonstration of the power of the Global Liberators. Consider this as a warning to all the governments of this earth.”
What a tragedy that had occurred. We are all in shock, grieving for losing this tribe, its people, and its culture.
Stay tuned for the latest reports. This is Joseph Berterop reporting live from Qetidghe in South Africa.
A follow-up bulletin:
This is CNN Washington correspondent Jon Harpereno speaking from the nation’s capital.
Efforts to contact the Pentagon were unsuccessful. The White House had issued a terse statement. The President vowed to get to the bottom of this gang of attackers and to bring every one of these attackers to justice.
This is Jon Harpereno speaking on the White House grounds.”
Frank was visibly shaken after hearing this news report. His naïve view of a gentle humanity was shattered. He thought and thought and thought, but with no comprehension.
In the end, his conclusion was that the behavior of the attackers was illogical. They must have been manipulated. But how? Then, after the attack, how could a whole band of wild attackers become calm and march away without being rowdy and unruly? There must be something in that drink to calm them down.