In July, Ukraine demanded Russia return its combat dolphins, trained to detect underwater mines. They were being held near Sevastopol, watched by Russian guards. Novelist Ned Beauman imagines what might have happened
- Online from Saturday, five more stories in our Stranger Than Fiction series, in which writers reimagine the weirdest events of 2014
On the second day, there was an uncomfortable moment when Boris accidentally referred to them as “the prisoners”. Right away, he tried to laugh it off as a joke, but it had obviously been a slip. Technically they aren’t prisoners, they are equipment, like the armoured vehicles and artillery guns we’ve been seizing. But we all know they aren’t just equipment. To be honest, I’m not sure I’d even call them prisoners. A prisoner must on some level acknowledge his imprisonment. These sea pigs acknowledge no such thing. And I think Boris is as afraid of them as I am.
Most of the aquarists at the Institute are Russians like us, so they still come into work despite all the turmoil. But the men in charge of the combat dolphin programme were Ukrainians who took their orders directly from Kiev, so they’ve been refusing to cooperate. We’ve warned them that without their help we can’t vouch for the wellbeing of their trainees. But maybe they don’t care. Maybe we should be grateful they didn’t poison the dolphin pens before they went home. At the beginning of the first world war, the head of the Belgian Pigeon Service burned 2,000 pigeons alive rather than let them fall into German hands. Imagine the smell.
Normally prisoners of war are ordered to keep silent until they’re processed. But we can’t do that with the dolphins. What are they planning? These dolphins have been drilled in warfare. God help us’
Continue reading...
0 comments:
Post a Comment