Survivor

The magnificent creature breached and came crashing back into the ocean, violently throwing up waves and creating surges that rocked the tour boat, giving some of the passengers a slight pale green pallor. Sea sick or no, not one of the whale watching tourists would rather be any place but here, along the railing of the Quest, an ocean-going catamaran dedicated to the exploration and conservation of the oceans through peaceful and non-destructive means. While the Quest was an awe inspiring vessel, outfitted with an incredible array of instrumentation and equipment and yet still roomy enough on board to make eco-tourism truly enjoyable, the behemoth before them stole the show.

This was always such a bittersweet moment whenever a successful encounter was made with Trident, the last survivor of his species, in fact the last surviving whale on the planet. What was done was done and could not be undone and railing against “the machine” - in this case the pro-whaling governments and other governments that did not do enough to end whaling - was futile at this point. Still, Trent could not help but slam his fist against the bulwark of his ship in silent grief at the thought of the last whale swimming the vast oceans alone, constantly sounding his beautiful whale song in the hope of finding a friend somewhere. Trent knew that if he were able to hear that song right now, he would break down.

Trident was tagged with a radio tracking device so those aboard the Quest could monitor his movements and know exactly where he was at all times. The Quest had a display dedicated to Trident and the entire crew took an interest in watching Trident’s movements, especially when they were on an assignment that took them far from his location. Whenever the Quest was nearby, they would seek out Trident, just to check up on him. Usually Trident came to them. Whales had been intelligent creatures and of course Trident was no exception. It was only natural that he would seek them out for companionship. The fact that Trident recognized the Quest as a friend made encounters with him even more difficult to endure. Why should Trident accept any human being? If situations were reversed, it is doubtful a human being could be so forgiving.

There was some hope for the future. Plentiful DNA samples had fortunately been gathered and saved from every whale species that had once roamed freely and plentifully around the world. The technology to create and actual whale from such samples though would not be perfected until far in the future, if indeed it ever could be perfected. But there was hope. And hope was what kept the Quest and its crew in fighting shape for defending what was left of the ocean’s treasures. If whales were ever to ply the oceans again, the Quest would do all it could to prepare for their return.