Aris ran the translation algorithm—a crude thing, mapping dolphin phonemes to human concepts. The output was a single, repeating phrase:

"Go," Maya said.

It was about unlocking a latent mirror in human perception .

It wasn't sound. It was a direct upload. Aris saw numbers. He saw a seven-dimensional geometry fold into a dolphin's social matrix. He saw the truth: Dolphins had always been a sentient, self-modifying code. Their famous playfulness was just idle loops. Every few centuries, they upgraded.

The mirror was perception. Once activated, humans would no longer see dolphins as animals. They would see peers . And once you see a peer, you cannot cage it, net it, or turn it into entertainment.