This is the public log of DeeDee 'dzyjak' Jackson, a fictional character. DeeDee lives and works aboard a space station which orbits Saturn, and sometimes he writes about it.

2006-05-13

Gone Fishing

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked Curious, putting Rat Bane's carrier down next to the small fish pond.

Curious shrugged and released the latch on the cat carrier. When I say "latch" and "carrier", I am most definitely not trying to describe a giant watermelon with feet and an exposed rib-cage.

Rat Bane didn't want to come out.

"Why do we have to use Rat Bane for these eco-tests?" I whined. "It takes him a week to become civilized again."

Curious laughed at me and knocked on top of the cage. To be fair, Rat Bane gets into the cage voluntarily. He expected rats though, and he couldn't smell any. Curious knocked on the cage again.

"That's not going to work," I said. "Look, he's never seen a fish before. The hatcheries don't like cats hanging around the open tanks. I don't know why. Sane cats won't get wet when rats are more convenient."

Curious reached out to shake something onto the water. Thumb-sized fish started leaping into the air. Rat Bane had one on the shore and was watching it flop before I was certain he had left the cage.

I should have known. Haven't I said we are all insane?

"You always have to be right," I muttered. Curious patted me on the back and grinned wider--chimpanzees can grin really wide.

Rat Bane tossed the fish experimentally twice, then he crunched happily into it's head. I could hear him purring from my position of relative safety ten feet away.

"Paula," I called across the park. "What kind of fish are these?"

I heard a muffled reply and a data-unit came sailing through the air. She's a bit cranky from the new symbiote, but I have to admit, she's a really good shot.

"Thank you," I shouted, rubbing the back of my head.

I'll spare you all from my attempt to explain the genetics and call them giant guppies. Judging from Bane's reaction, the station cats are going to love them.

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