2014-12-21 02:38![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lux_mariko
lux_marikoStory: Aquarium
Year: 2962
Word Count: 355
Rating: G
Characters: Tsuna, Mariko
The aquarium was one of Tsuna's favorite places to take her daughter, when they had an afternoon out, just the two of them. Her favorite exhibit was structured to give the impression of being totally underwater, with schools of multicolored fish swirling around them and soothing--if a little eerie--light floating down. They always went there first, no matter how many new things there were to see.
"You know why I like fish, Mamma?" Mariko asked, after they'd wandered there quietly for about a quarter of an hour.
Tsuna looked down at her daughter. "Because they shimmer?"
She shook her head. "Nuh-uh. It's 'cause, back before Contact, people used to think that space was like the ocean. And it's still all oceany in our language, how we talk about it. Like, it's all ships and naval titles and weird stuff like that. I read a article about it. I don't get why we didn't make up new words for it. 'Cept the article said that people do that for mental bridging or context or something. I dunno, I had to look up a bunch of words. It got kinda confusing."
"Maybe when we get home, you can show me and I can help."
"Yeah, okay." Mariko paused, watching a school of tropical fish swirl past them in one of the overhead tanks. "...they do shimmer, though. And that's nice, too."
Tsuna smiled, and reached down for her daughter's hand. "Do you want to see the whales next?" The whales were Mariko's favorite. When they came here, she was content to spend hours watching them, skipping even the seals and otters that appealed more to her friends.
Sure enough, she perked up. "Yeah! You know, there's another article I read that said whales talk like people and Aliens do. Wouldn't it be cool if we could talk back?"
"Maybe you'll be the one to figure it out."
"Yeah! Come on, Mamma, let's go see the whales!" Without waiting for an answer, the fish and their linguistic ties to space forgotten for the moment, Mariko dragged Tsuna down the hall to unexplored sentience a little closer to home.
Year: 2962
Word Count: 355
Rating: G
Characters: Tsuna, Mariko
The aquarium was one of Tsuna's favorite places to take her daughter, when they had an afternoon out, just the two of them. Her favorite exhibit was structured to give the impression of being totally underwater, with schools of multicolored fish swirling around them and soothing--if a little eerie--light floating down. They always went there first, no matter how many new things there were to see.
"You know why I like fish, Mamma?" Mariko asked, after they'd wandered there quietly for about a quarter of an hour.
Tsuna looked down at her daughter. "Because they shimmer?"
She shook her head. "Nuh-uh. It's 'cause, back before Contact, people used to think that space was like the ocean. And it's still all oceany in our language, how we talk about it. Like, it's all ships and naval titles and weird stuff like that. I read a article about it. I don't get why we didn't make up new words for it. 'Cept the article said that people do that for mental bridging or context or something. I dunno, I had to look up a bunch of words. It got kinda confusing."
"Maybe when we get home, you can show me and I can help."
"Yeah, okay." Mariko paused, watching a school of tropical fish swirl past them in one of the overhead tanks. "...they do shimmer, though. And that's nice, too."
Tsuna smiled, and reached down for her daughter's hand. "Do you want to see the whales next?" The whales were Mariko's favorite. When they came here, she was content to spend hours watching them, skipping even the seals and otters that appealed more to her friends.
Sure enough, she perked up. "Yeah! You know, there's another article I read that said whales talk like people and Aliens do. Wouldn't it be cool if we could talk back?"
"Maybe you'll be the one to figure it out."
"Yeah! Come on, Mamma, let's go see the whales!" Without waiting for an answer, the fish and their linguistic ties to space forgotten for the moment, Mariko dragged Tsuna down the hall to unexplored sentience a little closer to home.
