Chapter 8: All Answers Lead to More Questions
“Maaa! Maaa!” a little goat screamed at me. It jumped up on my shell bleating incessantly. It seemed to be mocking me jumping all around me. I could feel my blood begin to boil. (which is a lot for a cold-blooded reptile). Just as it leaped to the ground, ready to frolic some more, I reached out my neck and snapped my mouth right on his little waggly tail. As the kid bleated in pain I let go and laughed like I hadn’t laughed in a long time. Then I saw Eldey looking at me with a solemn, disappointed look. He said nothing, but I instantly felt a wave of guilt.
I opened my eyes and squinted through the blinding afternoon sunlight. I looked around and at once realized exactly where I was. I was home on Pinta Island under my favorite prickly pear cactus that I hadn’t seen since the afternoon I was taken from Pinta Island to the Charles Darwin Research Station. The trunk of the cactus was brown and round and there were a plethora of spiky cactus pads and some prickly pears scattered throughout the spreading branches. I took a long deep breath, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of home. Something was missing; the goats. I guess I had been dreaming about the little goat because Pinta Island appeared goatless now. I remembered them talking at the research station about eradicating all of the goats from Pinta Island in the early 1990s, but I never knew if that came to fruition.
Even though the attack on the small goat had only been a dream, I still felt guilty about what I had wanted to do to that kid. Then my mind caught up with my present circumstances. I had almost forgotten I was part of a mission. Although I knew that I could somehow contact the rest of the group, I wasn’t sure how to do it. My leadership role didn’t come with an instruction manual.
I knew that in the Garden, animals could if they wanted, listen to the thoughts of other animals. I wondered if they could hear my thoughts right now and might be laughing at my angry outbursts toward the goats in my dream.
I waited a few seconds to try to see if I could hear anyone, but all I heard was the crash of waves against the rocky shore down at the end of the valley below and a few distant sea birds screaming at one another. I wondered how I was supposed to call the others. I figured it’d be easy, and that it would just happen since I hadn’t been instructed differently.
“Hello? Can anyone hear me?” I stammered.
All at once I heard a cacophony of voices simultaneously asking questions, talking about their locations, and saying they could, in fact, hear me. I couldn’t make out anyone’s voice in particular, but I assumed the voice that kept talking at such a rapid rate was probably Martha.
I decided to try again and make it more specific, “Eldey can you hear me?”
The chaotic voices were replaced by utter silence. The silence seemed to linger forever, but was broken by Eldey’s lone voice, “Yes, George I can hear you.”
“Why did everyone start talking at the same time? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do as the communication hub. You never really explained it to me,” I said honestly.
“Yes, I am sorry about that George. Astuto and I thought it would be best if we got everyone started on their portion of the mission, and we would fill you in on things as we went. I guess we should have at least told you how to contact us. Sorry for the miscommunication about communication,” Eldey joked.
“Can you explain it to me now then?” I asked, wanting to clarify what I was supposed to do around Pinta Island for the next forty days.
“Just a second George,” Eldey panted.
“Eldey are you okay?” I asked, wondering if he was already in trouble. I felt a wave of guilt that the others might be in serious peril, while I was here waiting in my favorite place in the world under my old cactus.
“George. I am here now and can talk. I have been swimming the past day trying to reach Martha and Boomer. I know that the most dangerous part of our journey will be crossing a whole continent overland without rousing the people’s suspicions,” Eldey said, still trying to catch his breath. “I figure that I should be able to catch up with the other two in another day or so. I was only about 900 miles to the north, so reaching them in New York should not take too much longer. I calculated 3 days for my solo part of this trip since I am swimming against the current to go south.”
“So Eldey, can the other animals hear me talking to you right now?” I asked.
“No. Not at this moment since you only called to me. But the first time you spoke, we all heard you at the same time. I am sure that is why you did not respond to our combined answers. I know it can be a little overwhelming,” Eldey said, trying to reassure me.
“Is there a way to talk to two of you at the same time? I mean, can I speak with you and Astuto, or should I try to talk to one creature at a time?” I asked, trying to mask my ignorance.
“George, I know that things may seem overwhelming to you right now, and I think you are doing a great job. To answer your question; yes you can speak to two of us, a whole triad, or all of us at the same time as long as you call us by name. Only those you call will be able to respond,” Eldey explained calmly. “Who to contact and when is something that you must discern on your own. One of the hardest parts about leading is the fact that sometimes keeping some of the details from those you lead is the best thing for them. They might not always understand what you are trying to accomplish, but that is part of the burden of leading.”
“Like how you and Astuto had to lead me during my first night you called me to the Garden?” I inquired.
“Yes. You see George; you needed to make the choice to risk your very existence on your own free will. We could not make that choice for you and we could not lie to you about what we knew. We gave you the details we thought were pertinent to your decision, but we did want to overwhelm you with all the details,” Eldey explained.
“Would now be a good time to have you and Astuto answer some of my questions or would it benefit you to travel a little more first?” I asked, not wanting to hold up Eldey’s long swim through the Atlantic.
Eldey told me to wait a few minutes until he reached a secluded piece of rock to rest and chat. He said it was too difficult to swim and talk at the same time. Eldey explained that we were communicating by talking, so it was more than just me reading his thoughts. To properly give my questions the attention they deserved, he would spend the next day answering all of the questions I had been waiting to ask.
Eldey told me to contact Astuto while he headed to a place of rest. He directed me to call him again in an hour. Astuto wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about stopping his part of the journey to talk so soon, because he also had a long difficult journey. I wondered how an iconic fifty-pound flightless bird would be able to cross over 6,000 miles of Open Ocean to reach the Falkland Islands without being spotted.
Astuto told me he planned to try to stow away on a plane to cut his travel time down a bit. He also added in an almost giddy, well giddy for him, fashion that it would be nice to cross ‘flying’ off of his bucket list.
Astuto also told me that I needed to be careful when doing an all-call like I did the first time I tried to contact the team because other animals not on the team might be able to hear those communications. Even Astuto wasn’t sure about this, but he warned me to be selective because we didn’t want to give Lusadé any idea about what we were planning.
So I figured that I’d begin with what I thought were the most important questions first, and then move onto some of the more trivial ones if I had time.
“Back in the Garden before we dispersed, you were talking about the Ark and what happened. Were you saying not all animals made it into the Ark two-by-two as the story says?” I asked. “So many of us here would have already gone extinct in the past, especially us island-dwelling animals? I’m assuming no Pinta Island Tortoises were able to swim across the Pacific Ocean to make it into the Ark in the Middle East either.”
With a great sigh the old dodo explained, “You see Tortoise, there have been times when the people have been punished because of their disobedience in the Garden, but other than the serpent and the ground, none of the rest of us were ever directly cursed. Were we affected by people’s bad choices? Definitely. We wouldn’t have gone extinct if everything was hunky-dory for us. Many creatures didn’t want to go back there after making it to the Garden during the Great Flood.”
For the first time, Astuto seemed almost as nurturing and considerate as Eldey. I had not expected to hear such compassion or patience from the old dodo, so I listened intently as he continued, “You see when we left the Garden, we were charged to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The people were directed to do the same but it was added that they should, “fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” In other words, people were always given leadership over us.”
“Well, that is not fair at all. I mean the people were responsible for cursing the earth and passing along the negative consequences of their actions onto us. Why should they be given dominion over us or over anything for that matter? I honestly think you or Eldey would do a much better job,” I blurted.
“Haha. Tortoise, it isn’t for us to decide what’s ‘fair’ or not. You haven’t been in the Garden long enough to understand that this command was a good one for us and the people. You see they were called to have dominion over us, but before the Great Flood, there was always a sense of peace and harmony between us and the people. The people were the ones having problems amongst themselves which is why the earth needed ‘cleansed’ in the first place,” Astuto said seemingly air quoting. “You see we were there, but it wasn’t until after the Great Flood that the people’s disobedience truly hurt us, creatures.”
“Really, because I think getting kicked out of the Garden was a pretty big negative effect,” I retorted.
“Leaving the Garden was a terrible thing, but we interacted peacefully overall with the people. It wasn’t until after the Great Flood that a new command was given to the people, which would change our existence with them on earth forever. Noah and his surviving family members were told to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. This mirrored the first command but with a caveat; “the fear of you and dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand, they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.” This additional directive changed our relationship with the people. Now we needed to fear them, and those who didn’t take this seriously were some of the first creatures to go extinct at the hands of the people,” Astuto explained.
“You see George, before the Great Flood the animals had no real reason to fear the people because the people only ate the plants they grew. After the flood animals had a choice; go back and live with the people in fear or stay forever in the Garden,” Eldey clarified.
“I’m sorry. I’m still not following. Are you saying that the animals on the Ark had a choice about whether to go back with the people or not? Why wouldn’t everyone simply stay in the Garden?” I asked.
“Those are two difficult questions to explain. Let me start with the first question. Put simply; the animals on the Ark did not have a choice about whether to come back to fill the earth with the people. They were commanded to be fruitful and multiply. So the animals like the great auk that made the trip and stayed on the Ark were destined to fear the people and couldn’t stay in the Garden because they never returned to the Garden,” Astuto explained in a way that made a little more sense.
“I can field the second question. You see George, the animals that did not or could not make it to the Ark because of distance or being trapped on various islands like the dodos or the Pinties, were wiped off the face of the earth in the Great Flood. In a way, those animals went extinct but were given a choice to return to the earth if they wanted to. Remember George that we, animals, still were not the ones who were cursed. But we were affected by the curses on the people. The animals in the Garden were aware of the new command given to Noah and his family. Many animals chose to stay in the Garden instead of living in fear with the people,” Eldey explained.
This was a curious idea to consider; animals going extinct and then going back after the flood. I guess it wasn’t as simple as entering the Ark two-by-two, wait 40 days, send out a dove, and multiply. There were other things I needed to understand, but I wanted to ask one more question about the Great Flood.
“What about the dinosaurs, Eldey? I mean as a nearly extinct animal myself, I heard all the time about the extinction of the dinosaurs. If you are saying that all animals after the flood had the option of coming back, why wouldn’t the dinosaurs come back? I mean two flightless birds and a slow 200-pound tortoise have something to fear, but an eighty-foot dinosaur, why didn’t they return?” I asked, waiting for a clear answer.
“I know you asked Eldey to explain, but let me,” the dodo interjected, “The people tend to fear larger animals, especially carnivores. Larger animals that people fear tend to be hunted. That’s the main reason animals like Strong and Benjamin were hunted to extinction. So although being a terrifying thirty foot T-rex would seem to be an advantage, it was not. The people hunted the few dinosaur species who decided to return after the flood back to extinction very quickly.”
“Some species did better than others. The people referred to these returning dinosaurs by many names including sea serpents or dragons. Of course, the remaining dinosaur species went into hiding very soon after returning, but the harder they tried to avoid the people, the harder the people pursued them. Legend of dragon hunts shows up in people groups all around the world. The land-based ‘dragons’ soon regretted choosing to stay with the people and were the first species to find extinction at the hands of the people. Being creatures of deep water, plesiosaurs were one of the species who fared the best, which is why Nessie lasted so long before I called upon her to try to reset things by herself,” Eldey said with a twinge of emotion in his voice.
“Okay, well that explains why the people and animals can’t live in peace anymore. I’m sorry I have so many questions,” I said frustrated at myself for not paying better attention to things I learned over the past three days in the Garden or things from the stories Fausto had read to me at the research station.
“That is okay George,” Eldey said, “Of course you are going to have questions. You have only been in the Garden for a night and a day. Plus since you went extinct early, you did not get the knowledge that we seemed to have acquired once we entered the Garden after our own extinctions. You see, you think we know a lot, but we always feel as if we only know a small portion of things. We are just like you George. There is a certain design to everything and certain rules which we have come to understand. There is a ‘rhyme and reason’ to the world around us, which we only ever have a small glimpse of. We have time for one more question before I must get some sleep. I have a long swim tomorrow and hope to join up with Martha and Boomer in a few days.”
“I agree Tortoise. We want to explain more things to you, but we are finite creatures who need sleep and food and water. Like you said, or thought, it will be hard for an iconic fifty-pound bird to travel 6,000 miles undetected. I will need to plot out my journey. Mauritius is a world away from Pinta Island,” Astuto stated in an almost joking way.
Rather than asking some deep philosophical questions, I decided to ask a more personal, extinctional question.
“The quagga?” I asked. “Where was the quagga in the Garden?”
“Really? That’s the last thing you need to know tonight? You want to know why the quagga wasn’t in the Garden?” Astuto said returning to his usual gruff self. “I was starting to expect better of you Tortoise”
“What do you mean George? I would love to understand your question, but the quagga is not extinct,” Eldey said in a perplexed tone.
“The quagga isn’t extinct? I’m sorry Eldey, but you must be mistaken. Maybe you just never saw one in the Garden. I mean there must be an unfathomable number of animals there. Next to the dodo, the thylacine, and the great auk; the quagga is one of the most iconic extinct animals I know. I’ve seen them in many of the extinction books that Fausto read to me back at the research station,” I explained with certainty.
“I am sorry George but there was no quagga in the Garden. Yes, there is an unfathomable number of animals in the Garden, but there is also an unfathomable amount of time to meet other species. What is a quagga exactly?” Eldey inquired, trying to appease me.
“A quagga looked similar to a zebra, except that it was brownish and white rather than having the bold black and white striping pattern of a zebra,” I explained.
“I think I might have an idea of where the confusion is on this question. You see, the quagga isn’t a real animal species,” Astuto said before I cut him off.
“What do you mean it’s not a real animal? I’m not talking about a unicorn or a griffin here. I’ve seen the pictures and heard about them for the past 40 years at the research station,” I objected.
“George, I think you should give Astuto a chance to fully explain his thoughts before jumping to judgments about his intentions,” Eldey said calmly but firmly.
Eldey’s statement sent a quick powerful wave of conviction through me over my lack of self-control. I didn’t think that I’d ever been able to truly relate to others with joy or patience the way the other Garden animals seem to be able to do.
“I’m sorry Astuto. I do want to hear your thoughts on the matter,” I said like a scorned dog.
“I know my tone can seem harsh or overly direct, but this time I was simply trying to explain a simple fact to you which you may not have considered. I know you wanted to end tonight’s conversation with an ‘easy’ topic. And yes I did just air quote that,” Astuto said laughing to himself. “You see Tortoise; many easy questions have very complex answers. I believe the quagga was a variation of the plains zebra. You see, just because an animal looks a little different from others of its species, does not mean it is its own species,” Astuto explained.
“Variations?” I asked.
“You see George, after the Great Flood, to survive the new parameters of the post-flood command, we animals were given the ability to adapt to our surroundings in new ways. Things you might think of as camouflage or mimicry were the results. I believe this quagga of yours is, in fact, a ghost of sorts. The quagga is simply a brownish variation of the plains zebras; not its own species. They no longer need that particular variation to survive. Species and adaptations can get quite confusing. You see it is not an easy question to answer,” Eldey clarified.
“I guess that makes sense. It’s just a little disappointing,” I said sadly.
“It’s disappointing to you, but not to the plains zebras which number close to a million. You see what’s good for one creature isn’t always good for another,” Astuto said frankly.
“To clarify this for you, George, think about dogs. There are many variations or breeds of dogs but they all came from the same species of wolf. People bred dogs to emphasize certain traits or variations they found most helpful. The quagga was a simple variation of the common plains zebra. Variations can be a tricky topic. For instance Boomer, the heath hen looks similar to the prairie chickens which still range around the prairies of North America, but he went extinct, so he was, in fact, his own distinct species. As much as they do know, the people do not always get these connections right themselves,” Eldey stated.
“I mean they’ve been trying to find you a mate from a different species back at the CDRS for how long? Tortoise, you know firsthand that a species can’t simply be determined by similar traits, but you can’t determine a species because things look different either,” Astuto explained, “Honestly we only know which animals are their own species for sure when they show up in the Garden.”
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