Temptation is a novella by David Brin which was published in 1999 in the anthology Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction, ed. by Robert Silverberg
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On the planet of Jijo, a small colony has been set up to house a group of uplifted dolphins from the starship Streaker who suffer from a disorder known as stress-atavism. Stress atavism is a condition in which the primal traits and instincts of recently uplifted beings begin to reemerge due to stress, and in this case the pressures of space travel and war. Among the dolphins in the colony, there are those reverting back into their primal state, and those left to monitor and care for the former. Since they have been abandoned on Jijo however, it is speculated that within a few generations, all of the uplifted traits will have been lost, leaving nothing but the primal nature dolphins had before being uplifted.
The story follows two main branches of events, both of which stem from the original colony overseen by a dolphin named Makanee. The first branch is the story of Peepoe; a young nurse who has been kidnapped by two of her male, former crew mates. The second is the story of Tkett; an eager archaeologist who is following the signs of what he hopes to be a space ship for several different reasons. Peepoe's story begins with her daring escape from her captors, whereas Tkett's story begins with his obsession for finding and studying the ancient and far advanced technology of “the Buyur,” a mysterious and elder alien race who had colonized, and abandoned Jijo prior to Streaker's arrival.
Peepoe spends most of her entrance thinking back on her kidnapping. Zhaki and Mapol (the two former crew mates now suffering from partial atavism) had abducted her on a special sled several days prior, and after riding beyond tracking distance, they settled down using Peepoe as their personal sex slave. With no idea of where to run, and no way to outrun their sled if she tried, Peepoe had resigned herself to the fact that she would have to kill her captors. It was soon after this contemplation that she noticed a low rumble far off in the deep, and thinking to use it as cover for her escape, she bought time until it was close enough to use as cover for her escape. When she tried to flee however, Zhaki and Mapol soon followed after her, and she decided that she would rather just swim as deep into the ocean as she could than be recaptured. As air grew scarce and she was about to lose consciousness, Peepoe comes face to face with the force that was causing her distraction; a giant centipede-like creature who proceeded to pull her in with tentacles.
She awoke in a strange fantasy world with miniature versions of all the sapient life-forms of Jijo, and as she approached a small human village to ask some questions, a tribal elder of sorts summoned a multitude of creatures to attack her. As she swam away she passed several different settlements until she came across one who's leader knew of dolphins from ancestral stories. The elder then proceeded to explain why there were tiny humans with magical powers all over the place.
Meanwhile, the archaeologist Tkett, along with Chissis (a former researcher who has regressed to an advanced primal dolphin state) takes the last remaining sled of the colony to investigate a deep water disturbance. He hopes to come across a left-over space ship rumbling around the ocean floor which he could then modify to explore this new world. If at all possible, he would be able to use said spaceship to search for remnants of Buyur technology. which is so far advanced beyond Earth technology that any specimen to study would be invaluable. What he finds however is not a left over abandoned decoy space ship; he finds a fully functional mobile complex structure with modifying internal environments and bubbles filled with miniature versions of all the sapient species of Jijo.
Tkett deduces eventually that each of these tiny people is actually in their own virtual world; a story soon corroborated by the Buyur emissary looking after the ship. The emissary explains to Tkett that the Buyur is experimenting with new and different kinds of realities, ranging from romantic fantasies to more gritty and realistic environments. The ultimate goal is to find a new kind of reality that the Buyur can create through their advanced technology to support a new breed of star faring people. He explains that they would love to have Dolphin specimens as well for this new universe, but they would require the majority of their colony's population to have a sufficient gene-pool to work with.
The emissary explains that as part of the process, anyone who decides not to become part of this experiment has their memory erased so that they can be approached again at a later date when the Buyur has a better proposal for them. To illustrate his progress with the current dolphin population, the emissary shows Tkett and Chissis an image of Mapol and Zhaki being assimilated into their own personal little matrix bubbles, and a live video stream of Peepoe, who seems very enthusiastic about conveying the Buyur's “wonderful” offer to the rest of the dolphins.
This is, of course, a ruse.
As Peepoe enthusiastically describes her excitement and infatuation with all of the possibilities of dolphin magic, Chissis alludes to the fact that Tkett was missing something. By focusing on the sonar clicks coming from Peepoe, Tkett realizes that she is conveying a secret message in an ancient dolphin language. She was instructing him to “sleep on it,” which in a practical sense meant that he should go into a different brain state like the one dolphins enter when they sleep to prevent them from drowning. In said dream state, Tkett would be technically awake, but not in a way that left him vulnerable to memory erasers.
Tkett wakes up swimming, so to speak, with Peepoe and Chissis at his sides and the three of them head back to the colony with a dismal air about them. They don't know how they can consistently keep themselves from becoming experimental prey for the Buyur, but all three feel it is their duty to fight. Chissis breaks the melancholy mood with a poem about the value of creating marvels through science and dreams, and the three swim off into the day with a new sense of hope.
The story temptation takes place in a planet called Jijo, which is mainly composed of water. This planet represents where all the unwanted things are placed. It is a quiet, privative and silky place. The story has several different themes that compose the plot. One of the main themes refers to technology and science vs. magic. Technology and science in the story refers mostly to a form of freedom, where the dolphins feel that through their work they can gain control of their lives. Freedom is represented as fallows, “Who would have thought that we dolphins, youngest registered sapient race in the civilization of five galaxies, would become patrons ourselves, just a few centuries after humans started uplifting us.” (P 215) Through technology and science they have been able to claim their freedom and stability. Temptation comes into the picture through magic as well. The dolphins are shown better ways of life, a utopian world offered by the sages. “Across all ages, visionaries have come up with countless utopian schemes. But this one could actually w-w-work!” (P 237) According to the previous quote it is not the first time a utopian life has been offered to the dolphins. It also suggests that these creatures that offer the “perfect” life seem to be instigators that through superstition want to submit the dolphins to rules making them their slaves. This idea suggests another possible theme in the story, truth vs. fantasy. The truth that to the dolphins is pure fantasy, to the sages is the perfect plot. They are blinded by the ideology of a utopian life preventing them of seeing the reality behind such scheme. A non-realistic world created in their heads by promises and the desire to have a better life.
There are various elements within the story which make up the atmosphere. The description of the setting, Jijo’s Ocean, portrays the atmosphere as full of wonder and eeriness because it is so different from what the dolphins are used to.
“Though it seemed a bit disloyal, Makanee felt this alien ocean had a silkier texture and finer taste than the waters of Earth, the homeworld she had not seen in years…. Unlike the clamorous sea of Earth, this fallow planet wasn’t supposed to have motor noises permeating its thermal—acoustic layers.”
The thoughts of escape that run through Peepoe’s mind bring forth an atmosphere of uneasiness. Peepoe constantly thinks about how to escape from her kidnappers, Zhaki and Mopol, and whether she has any chance of not being caught.
“With or without the sled, Zhaki and Mopol could rack her down if she just swam away.”
The language element is also vital to forming an atmosphere of wonder and inquisitiveness, particularly because there are various languages.
“I can’t help feeling guilty, she commented in Underwater Anglic, a language of clicks and squeals that was well suited to a liquid realm where sound ruled over light.”
The following quote also supports the importance of the language element in the story’s atmosphere.
“Brookida let out an expressive sigh. The elderly geophysicist switched languages, to one more suited for poignant irony.”
Intrigue is also part of the atmosphere, specifically when Peepoe
“detects signs of something drawing near.” “This time, however, the transition did more than spare her the sled’s noise for a brief time. It also brought forth a new sound. A distant rumble, channeled by the shilly stratum. With growing excitement, Peepoe recognized the murmur of an engine! Yet the rhythms struck her as unlike any she had heard on Earth or elsewhere.”
All the above are just short examples of parts in the story that bring out a description of atmosphere. Overall, the atmosphere is full of wonder, uneasiness, inquisitiveness and intrigue because of the various story details and elements which portray the atmosphere as such. The particular atmosphere portrayed assists in making everything smooth and more imaginable in the story.
Hartwell, David G. & Kathryn Cramer. The Space Opera Renaissance New York. 2000. pp. 209–242