Ins And Outs Of Evolution

The tourist is staring at Rusty, instead of the seals.

Is he an otter? asks Rusty.

Might be, says Terence. They wear long black coats.

He's looking at me, says Rusty.

Go up to him, says Terence.

And say what? asks Rusty.

Greetings, says Terence. And if he says oraya, you'll know.

Know what? asks Rusty.

That he's an otter, says Terence. And if you still don't believe it, ask him a question. And he'll say kawai.

No way, says Rusty. Let's go and look at the polar bears.

Okay, says Terence. 

But to see the polar bears you must follow an arrow.

The arrow points left.

Left is where the tourist in the long black coat is standing.

Come on! says Terence.

They boldly brush past the tourist.

Where are those two going? asks Mathilde.

Polar bears, says Bertille.

Go with them, says Mathilde. Dad and I will join you in a minute. I do love watching these seals.

Bertille follows the arrow, and the black-coated tourist, who now has an interest in polar bears.

Terence, Rusty and Bertille stand together, regarding the bears.

They've got ears, says Terence.

It was the seals that didn't, says Bertille. Earless seals, remember?

The black-coated tourist slides up to Terence.

Do you like seals? asks the black-coated tourist. 

No, says Terence. Only penguins.

But the seals were interesting, yes? asks the black-coated tourist. Did you know that they are thought to have evolved from otters?

Did you read the information board? asks Bertille.

Kawai, says the tourist. I mean no, I didn't.

If you had, you would have learned that seals evolved from bears, says Bertille. At least that's what they think nowadays.

Bears would think that, scoffs the black-coated tourist. 

Not the bears, the paleontologists, says Bertille. 

Big word, says the black-coated tourist. You are all clever children. Would you like me to buy you ice creams?

No thank you, says Bertille.

Yuck! says Terence.

I would! says Rusty. I've never had one.

The black-coated tourist's eyes gleam. This is the cherub he wants! Gold all over, but for one or two scratches.

Come little cherub, says the black-coated tourist. And choose your flavour.

Before Bertille can warn Rusty not to go off with a stranger, Rusty has gone off, with the stranger.

Tourist-Otter

We're going to the Polar pavilion, says Bertille. Want to come with us?

Okay, says Terence. 

I'll catch up later, says Gaius. I want to speak to an official.

Wouldn't they admit the elysia? asks Mathilde.

No, says Gaius. It's understandable. But I'm certain they will have an interest.

Where did you leave it? asks Rusty.

In the ticket box, says Terence. The ticket lady took it.

Did it understand what was happening? asks Bertille.

Terence explained what was happening, says Gaius.

Not about the tickets, says Terence.

Come ON! says Bertille I want to see polar bears and penguins.

Will there be otters? asks Terence.

I don't think so, says Jean-Claude.  They have their own otter trail.

They could be anywhere, says Mathilde. Keep your eyes open, everyone.

What do otters look like? asks Rusty

Like anything, says Terence. 

Gaius has left to look for an official to talk to, so he's not there to explain that Terence is mistaken.

Not all otters are shape shifters.

Most of them remain otters and do nothing wrong.

But Terence has sewn seeds of suspicion.

They are now in the polar pavilion, in front of the polar seal tank.

The polar seals lark about in the very cold water.

Fleowooshflah!

The tourists watch them though the glass windows .

Most of the tourists are in pairs, or family groups, but one or two could be otters.

There's one! whispers Terence loudly.

A tourist-otter turns and fixes Terence with an unfriendly stare.

O I Was Lovely!

It's looking at my lizards, says Rusty.

Yes, it is, says Bertille. It's got its face right up to the side of the container.

That means it thinks my shorts are the coolest, says Rusty.

Yours are closer, says Terence. 

Yours are faded, says Rusty.

I could fix that if you like, says Bertille. I could do outlines round the geckoes.

No time! says Mathilde. We're almost there.

Almost there, says Terence to the elysia. Have you started your body yet?

The elysia performs an upside down turn. 

No, says Terence. You haven't.

Maybe it's confused, says Bertille. Maybe it doesn't know what it's meant to look like.

You could draw it a picture, says Terence. 

Okay, says Bertille. Has anyone got any paper?

No need, says Gaius. I have a rough sketch in my notebook.

He opens his notebook at the page on which he roughly sketched the elysia, before its decapitaion.

Of course this is only in pencil, says Gaius. The body was green, with red spots.

He holds it up to the side of the container.

The elysia remembers. 

O I was lovely! I could enfold my own body! 

It feels something tingle, in the neck region. 

Here we are! says Jean-Claude, pulling up in the Oceanopolis car park, at Port de Plaisance.

Everyone gets out.

They join the queue to buy tickets.

It's 22.50 euro for adults and 13.50 for children.

Jean-Claude pays for his family, and Rusty. 

They go in.

Gaius pays for himself and Terence. 

What's in the container? asks the ticket seller. 

The living head of an elysia, says Gaius. 

Desolé, says the ticket seller. You can't take an unauthorised sea creature into Oceanopolis.

That is a pity, says Gaius. But I don't want to stand on anyone's toes. I shall leave it with you, and return for it when I find someone with the proper authority.

D'accord, says the ticket seller. Et bonne chance avec ça.

She takes the container, places it on a low shelf behind her, and continues selling tickets.

The elysia is happy. It now has a mental picture of its lateral parapodia. And an idea of the colour.

Lizards Were Rainbows

Is that a question? asks Terence.

Did it ask you a question? asks Bertille.

It said foo, says Terence.

I didn't hear it, says Bertille.

It's under water, says Terence. Its mouth made a word that looked like foo.

It's probably eating, says Bertille.

No, says Terence. It was eating before. Foo looked different.

Foo doesn't mean anything, says Bertille. And anyway, weren't you explaining his life?

I am, says Terence. But I thought I'd start off with a question.

How do my lizards look? asks Rusty.

Great! says Bertille. They've all got legs. Now for the faces. Do you want them to have different expressions?

No, says Rusty. Terence's geckoes all look the same.

Smiling, says Terence.

I don't want them smiling, says Rusty.

Don't worry, says Bertille. They'll all look the same, but they won't be smiling.

Terence turns back to the elysia.

Right, says Terence. Do you know how you got here?

The elysia makes a foo-mouth.

You got here because your body came off, says Terence. And do you know how that happened?

Foo-mouth.

Gaius had you in his hand, says Terence. That's him, looking out of the window.

Gaius continues to look out of the window.

Then he had to save Rusty, says Terence. And he forgot about you. And your body got smeared on Rusty, but your head was okay. And that was a good thing.

Foo-mouth.

Because you can grow a new body, says Terence. Can you feel it happening?

No, the elysia cannot feel it happening. And it does have a question.

Are we there yet? asks Terence.

Nearly there, says Jean-Claude. How's it going in the back there?

Rusty's got the coolest shorts ever, says Bertille.

Except for mine, says Terence.

The elysia can see the shorts through the sides of the container.

It thinks Rusty's shorts are the coolest. 

Because the lizards were rainbows. And now they have legs.

The word FOO

These might be a bit big, says Bertille. But there's a drawstring.

Rusty looks at the shorts she has brought him.

They are patterned with rainbows.

Rusty looks at Terence.

Terence looks at the shorts.

The rainbows could be lizards, says Terence. If they had legs.

And faces, says Rusty. 

But they don't, says Terence.

They're old shorts, says Bertille. I don't mind if the rainbows are turned into lizards.

There's no time for that, says Jean-Paul. It's rainbow shorts or nothing.

I'll bring my black marking pen, says Bertille. I'll turn the rainbows to lizards while we're going along.

Have you got two marking pens? asks Terence.

No, says Bertille. And anyway you're in charge of the elysia.

Yes, says Terence. I'm going to explain his life to him.

Keep it simple, says Gaius.

Rusty tries on the shorts. 

Bertille tightens the drawstring. 

He dances about. They do not fall down.

Mathilde appears, with a back pack.

Picnic lunch, says Mathilde. I heard that the café food was pretty ordinary.

Everyone gets in the car.

Jean-Claude and Mathilde in the front, Bertille, Gaius, Terence and Rusty in the back.

Not enough seat belts, says Bertille. 

I'll sit on your lap, says Rusty. That way you can work on my lizards.

That's okay, says Mathilde. Rusty doesn't need a seat belt.

That means I don't, says Terence,

You do, says Gaius. Because of the elysia.

Yay! says Terence. Can I start talking to him now?

Go ahead, says Gaius.

Jean-Claude turns on the car radio.

Thump thump thump.

Bertille starts drawing lizard legs on the rainbows

Gaius looks through the window at the Breton scenery. (Cliffs, rocks, fishing boats, sea).

Terence lowers his head as close as he can to the surface of the water, in which the elysia is bobbing, opening and closing its mouth.

Good work, says Terence. Keep eating. Any questions?

The elysia bobs faster. It does have a few questions.

Its mouth seems to form the word FOO.

Dancing About Like Anything

Come on, says Bertille. Let's go!

I might come with you, says Gaius. Is there room in the car?

I'll ask dad, says Bertille.

She runs up the stone steps.

A minute passes.

Yes! she calls down. There's room in the car.

Off we go then, says Gaius. Where did I put the elysia?

Here, says Saint Ténénan. Are you taking it with you?

Indeed, says Gaius. There are bound to be people at Oceanopolis who will be interested in its progress.

And what is its progress? asks Saint Arnoc. He peers into the container.

Dear me, it looks anxious!

Anxious? says Gaius.

It's scared of the otter, says Terence.

Nonsense, says Gaius. It's probably confused by what's happening. Imagine if you suddenly became just a head. 

I'd dance about like anything! says Terence.

What with? asks Gaius. All you could do is eat and hope for the best.

Let me tell it, says Terence.

You can hold the container when we get in the car, says Gaius. 

Do I have to come? asks Rusty.

Don't you want to? asks Gaius.

I do, says Rusty, but it won't be like the museum. I'll be a normal kid, like Terence.

I'm not a normal kid, says Terence. 

But you wear shorts, says Rusty. I've got a bare bottom.

You can wear my shorts, says Terence.

Then you'll have a bare bottom, says Rusty.

Neither one of you needs to have a bare bottom, says Saint Arnoc. I'll rustle up something.

Do we have anything that small? asks Saint Ténénan.

What's holding everyone up? asks Bertille, coming half way down the steps.

Shorts for Rusty, says Gaius.  He's reluctant to come with a bare bottom.

That's fair, says Bertille, It was okay on Napoleon's barge, when he was a cherub.

Yes! says Rusty. On a sea horse.

I'll find him some of mine, says Bertille. What's your favourite colour, Rusty?

I don't care, says Rusty. But I'd like one's like Terence, with lizards.

These are geckoes, says Terence.

I'll see what I've got, says Bertille. Come on up.

Enjoy yourselves, says Saint Arnoc.

Ditto, says Saint Ténénan. 

Gaius, Terence and Rusty go up the stone steps. 

A few drops of water slop out of the plastic container in which the elysia is dancing about like anything....

Just One Otter

This potato soup tastes different, says Gaius.

It's the usual recipe, says Saint Ténénan. Water and potato.

And a pinch of salt, says Saint Arnoc. Perhaps we overdid it.

It's not a salt taste, says Gaius. More like disinfectant.

Surely not, says Saint Arnoc. 

Can I try it? asks Terence.

Should I add some food colour? asks Saint Arnoc.

No thanks, says Terence. I'll stick my finger in Gaius's.

You will not, says Gaius. 

Terence sticks his finger in anyway. Licks it. Offers his finger to Rusty.

I'm not licking that, says Rusty.

Go on, says Terence. Then guess what happened.

Rusty licks Terence's finger.

He guesses what happened.

What happened? asks Saint Arnoc.

We washed the coverlet in the washing up bowl, says Terence. And we used the stuff from the bottle.

Eau Ecarlate! says Saint Arnoc. Were the soup plates still in it?

Yes, says Terence. It was quicker.

And you didn't rinse the soup plates, says Saint Ténénan.

Rinse? says Terence.

That explains that, says Gaius. Not a bad, taste, really.

Bertille comes down the steps.

We're going to the Oceanopolis. Can Terence and Rusty come with us?

Yes! say the adults.

Yay! cries Terence. What's the Oceanopolis?

Lots of aquariums, says Bertille. They have tropical fish, and sharks, and earless seals, and even an otter trail.

Otters! says Terence. Otters are scary.

That was just one otter, says Gaius. They are not all like that.

Like what? asks Rusty.

A shape shifter, says Gaius. We met one once. Where were we...? Edinburgh. It swallowed a coin.

And vomited, says Terence. And if you asked it a question, it said KAWAI.

This is not the type of behaviour most people expect from an otter, but Gaius nods sagely, as if to say, oh yes, these things happened.