Poseidon's Wake Read Free

to be a reliable test subject.
    Ru was standing up in her own buggy, back ramrod straight, a cap jammed down over her eyes. With a notebook wedged into the angle of her right arm and a stylus in the other hand, she was recording observations.
    Goma slowed so as not to disturb the experiment. She stopped the buggy, grabbed her things and walked the rest of the way.
    The herd comprised thirty members, give or take, led by the matriarch Bellatrix. There were older females under the matriarch, but the only males were infants and juveniles.
    In a clearing, Ru had set up the day’s sequence of cognitive puzzles, and one by one the elephants were encouraged to try their luck. There were mirrors, to test recognition-of-self. There were pots with food under them that could be moved around, or blinds that served a similar purpose. There were sturdy upright boards set with movable symbols – simple problems of logic and association and memory, with clear rewards for a correct answer. There were piles of objects and tools that could be combined to solve a problem, such as extracting fruit from a container. With her usual diligence, Ru had been working through combinations of these tests all day. The elephants were generally obliging, but only up to a point. Goma knew how frustrating it became when the rewards stopped being sufficiently attractive.
    ‘I could use some good news,’ Goma said when she was within earshot.
    ‘How about you go first. Did you batter those idiots into a pulp?’
    ‘Metaphorically.’
    ‘So we get our brand-new fence?’
    ‘It’s pending, but I think I made a good case.’
    ‘I wouldn’t expect anything less of you. Still, arseholes, the lot of them.’
    ‘I wouldn’t go quite that far.’
    ‘Oh, I would.’ Ru hopped down from the buggy. ‘They’re just playing with us. They could give us ten times the amount we’ve asked for and it wouldn’t make a dent in their funding budget. We’re just down in the noise.’
    They walked towards each other.
    ‘Speaking of noise,’ Goma said, ‘Tomas tells me the numbers aren’t looking great.’
    ‘Dismal, more like. But why are we surprised? Three years ago I could draw a chequer-board in the dirt and play a passable game of Go with Bellatrix. Now she just scuffs her trunk through the squares – it’s as if she almost remembers, but not enough to understand the point. That’s not an intergenerational decline – that’s a single elephant losing intelligence almost as we speak.’
    ‘We should expect some age-related cognitive deterioration. It affects people, so why not pachyderms?’
    ‘We never used to see such a sharp tail-off.’
    ‘I know – just trying to find a slightly less depressing way of looking at it. Have you been out here all day?’
    ‘Got caught up. You know how it goes.’
    They met, embraced, kissed. They held each other for a few seconds, Goma straightening Ru’s cap. Then Goma stepped back and appraised the other woman, noticing the stiffness in her posture and the slight tremble in her hand, the one still holding her notebook. Ru was bigger and taller than Goma, but for all that she was also frailer.
    ‘You’re done for the day. Let’s pack up and drive home.’
    ‘I need to finish this batch of tests.’
    ‘No, you’re done.’ Goma spoke with all the firm authority she could muster, knowing full well that her wife would not take well to being pressured.
    ‘It’s just been a long one. I’ll be fine after a night’s rest.’
    They packed the study items into the rear hoppers of their two buggies. Goma slaved her buggy to follow Ru’s, then joined her in the forward vehicle. Goma opened the storage compartment by the passenger seat, unsurprised to see that it was empty.
    ‘Did you even bring your medicines?’
    ‘I meant to go back for them.’
    ‘You never miss a detail with elephants – why is it so hard to extend the same care to yourself?’
    ‘I’m fine,’ Ru said. But after a moment, she added,