The Marine Lab – Part 1: Bioluminescence

"It's a squid," said Alice.

"It's a cuttlefish."

"It has ten arms."

"It has eight arms and two tentacles."

"That's ten."

"That is different."

They glared at each other across the glass tank, in the cool blue light of a Cape Cod marine laboratory. Waves boomed on the rocks outside. The windows rattled in the sea wind. A pump hummed, and the water in the tank gurgled and glowed.

Alice was thirty-three, a squid researcher, tall and angular, with a ponytail, a lab coat and an enormous mug of tea. Nora was thirty, a plankton specialist from Dublin, small and quick, in a wool jumper and rubber boots, with a bright red scarf and a laugh like a gull. They shared a bench because the lab was short of space.

"It's a Loligo," said Alice.

"It's a Sepia."

"It's not even the right ocean."

"It's the right tank."

A power cut hit at six, plunging the laboratory into darkness. The pumps died. The lights went out. A short, startled silence fell. Then, in the black, the tank began to glow.

Pale blue sparks swirled through the water, a million tiny lights, shimmering. Nora's plankton. Each bump of the glass set off a ripple of blue fire. The two women stood transfixed.

"Oh," breathed Alice.

"Yes."

"I've never seen it do that."

"It only does it in the dark."

"It's the most beautiful thing in the lab."

"Better than your squid?"

"It's close."

Nora laughed, softly, and in the glow, her face was lit electric blue. She held out a hand, palm down, and passed it over the tank. The plankton flared up in a swirl. Alice reached out beside her. Their fingers touched in the water of the glass.

"Can I ask you something?" said Nora.

"Yes."

"Do you want to go for a walk on the beach? The sea does this too."

"Green?" said Alice, a tide, a spark.

"Green," said Nora, smiling. "Very green. Bring a torch. Don't use it."

Continue the story: Part 2 – Glow Tide.