Through the Canal…

We entered the Canal at about 2am. I guess the early morning slots are cheaper, or something.

Anyway, it turned out to be a bit anticlimactic. We really couldn’t see anything; there were spotlights on us the entire time and most of what we saw in the locks looked like any other dock.

Fortunately, it takes a while to transit the Canal–about 9 hours for us–and the sun came up while we were crossing Gatun Lake. I was fascinated by the operations and stayed up on deck after most everyone else had gotten bored, or tired from being up so early, and gone back to their cabins. I waited until we were in the Pacific and the Central American coast was falling away behind us. It would be the last land we saw for a while, so I wanted to watch.

When it had receded into the haze, I headed for the cafeteria. Lunch had been out for a while, but I was able to find what was supposedly a ham sandwich, then fished a semi-cold beer out of the water sloshing in the bottom of a cooler.

Looking around, I was surprised to see Reiko sitting at a table with Donnie; the two of them in deep conversation. I wouldn’t have thought either of them to be the other’s type but… hey, we were going to be on the ship for at least three months. You took what company you had.

I was about to head to an empty table when I saw Dr. Parimala waving to me. I walked over to where she was sitting who I took to be one of her students.

“Dr. Ferris! Come join us!” she said welcomingly, pointing to the chair opposite hers. I dropped into it and popped open my beer.

“To the Pacific!” I said, holding it up. She immediately responded by picking up her own and tapping it. Her companion nodded. “The Pacific!”

“So, when do you get to work?” I asked, unwrapping my sandwich and looking at it dubiously.

“We’ve already started!” she said excitedly. “Mitch and I dropped the first buoy as soon as we cleared Panamanian waters. Oh!” She gestured to her companion. “This is Mitch Jackson. Mitchell. He’s one of my top students.

“Good to meet you,” I said through a mouthful of the ham sandwich. “Dr. Kalen Ferris.”

“You’re the Marine Biologist, right?” He was a dark-skinned man with a pronounced southern accent.”

“Yep, that’s me.” I paused. “New Orleans?”

He shook his head. “Close. Biloxi.”

“Either way, probably better food than we have here.”

He let out a slight laugh. “Yeah… they didn’t mention that part on the sign-up.”

“Yeah, I’ve spent so much time doing fieldwork that I don’t even think about it anymore.”

“I suppose. It’s just that… I didn’t expect a lot of fieldwork in physics.”

“You can’t unlock the mysteries of the universe, or universes, if you spend all your time in the lab!” said Dr. Parimala. “You need to at least get time at an accelerator or two.”

“Well… there are hotels in Zürich.”

She laughed at that. “If you like German food, I suppose. Or cheese. The Swiss don’t borrow enough from their French neighbors.”

I shrugged. “Everything I do is field research. Genetic variation in an aquarium is pretty limited.”

“I’m sure,” she said, leaning forward and patting my hand. “You’re probably the one who will get the most out of this trip. Enough to get you a slot downtown, at least.”

I frowned. Was I the only one happy being at the Miskatonic campus? “Hey, I’m happy at the remote campus. Less stress and the faculty dinners are less champagne and more beer.”

She glanced around, then leaned forward. “Yes, but… You get your work taken a bit more seriously there too!”

“Miskatonic has a good reputation. We’re known in the community for our acceptance of more… non-standard studies. But that’s what science is about, isn’t it? Come up with an idea then see if it matches the real world?”

“Yes, and that is a plus. But we do have a… reputation.”

I sighed at that. “Yeah, for some reason a bunch of writers around a century ago though we were a good place to put all their ‘mad scientists.’ Then those stories got popular again about 30-40 years ago and a bunch of new writers started with the same thing. I don’t even think that most of them realized that we were a real school since we had already been absorbed by Boston University by then. We’re fine.”

“Well… I’ve had people ask me about us when they learn where I’m going,” said Mitch. “Asking me what weird things I’ve seen and that sort of stuff. They seem to be surprised when we don’t have time machines in the physics lab or alien monsters in the biology department.”

“Yeah, we all get some of that. But I guess it’s no different from people thinking that New York is constantly having shootouts and car chases, or that everyone in Los Angeles is a movie star.”

“Or that you can always find a parking place in front of your restaurant in downtown Boston,” said Dr. Parimala, rolling her eyes. “You don’t know how many reservations I’ve missed downtown.”

“And you wonder why I’m happy staying in Arkham?” We all laughed at that.

I looked at what was left of my sandwich and wadded it up. “Well, I was up way too early this morning to watch the canal transit, so I think I’m going back to my cabin for a nap. Mitchel, Dr. Parimala,” I nodded to both.

“Please, just Atiya,” she said, reaching out and patting my arm again. “We’re going to be stuck on this ship together for a while; there’s no need to be formal.”

“OK, sure… Atiya. And Kalen is fine too.”

“It’s going to be good working with you, Kalen.”

“You too.”