Aquarium Talk

Small herds of people walk huddled together with the friends and family they’re traveling with. I’m in the middle of a comforting darkness, being blessed by the faint blue glowing from the water around me.

Inside the glass, the whale sharks swim around freely, soaking up the free freedom within their environment. All the smaller schools of fish swim around, eager to explore more of what’s around them. It’s fascinating to see life coexist like this.

I know nature has its brutality, but there’s cohesion in it as well. So many different species of animal can swim together in one large tank, and not bring it upon themselves to devour each other. Most people would expect them to, but animals aren’t as barbaric as people make them out to be, especially when it comes to sharks.

Of course, everything is calculated in an aquarium though. It wouldn’t make sense to put predators with prey. It’d be horrifying for people to see animals eating one another. Even though we all know that’s what animals do. They wouldn’t survive if they never ate anything. Maybe people get scared because they imagine themselves getting swallowed whole by a whale shark. It is an awful way to go… but there’s such a small chance of that happening.

What sense is there in fearing the probable, instead of focusing on the possible? I know people that stay away from beaches because they fear sharks so much, even though their state is not known for having sharks at their beaches. To me, that’s the same as staying inside during a full moon because you’re scared of werewolves.

Now that I think about it, I don’t understand why people fear the ocean so much, to begin with. It’s so vast and beautiful, an entire world full of its own life and secrets. It’s no different from looking up at the stars, wondering what could be out there. Besides a few technicities, I don’t see how the ocean is any different from space. Astronauts even train in water before going out into space.

I know that space doesn’t have random animals swimming inside it, but the sense of curiosity comes from the same source. The unknown. So, I’m only able to wonder why the ocean draws fear out of some people, as the idea of space brings out a whimsical curiosity.

While my train of thought takes a pause, I notice myself within the reflection of the glass. I’m thinking so hard that my forehead is pushing my eyebrows down. Is thinking about this really making me upset?

The idle chit-chat of the visitors starts to flood into my ears, a calm feeling washing over me. Despite the number of people, I’m seeing huddled together, it’s quiet around me. To be fair, this area feels like it’s as big as a football field. They needed to make space for the people, and the animals to live comfortably in their environment.

The animals swim inside of their habit without a care in the world. While I watch, I try to put my previous questions to rest, but as I watch the animals swim, a strange feeling starts to flare up in my chest.

I just don’t understand…

The idle chatter starts to grow louder around me, and I can’t help but overhear some of the conversations going on.

“It’s hard to believe something like this exists…”

“Yeah, it’s only underwater though…”

“How much do they eat…”

“Do people keep these as pets…”

I’m able to hear full words from the small talk around me, and most of what I’m hearing is related to the sea life in front of them.

Interesting…

I notice a couple that is deep in conversation in my prereferral. Without making it obvious, I sidle closer to them, trying to hear more of what they’re saying.

“It seems a little too convenient if you ask me,” I hear a woman’s voice say.

“What do you mean that it’s convenient,” I hear the voice of a man respond.

“Look at all the fish in this tank. Don’t you find it a little weird that they all have very distinct colors and patterns to them?”

“Not really. They’ve just got colors and spots on them. A lot of animals do.”

“I know animals do, but it almost feels like the colors make too much sense when I look at them. When I see a clownfish, a whale shark, or even a tuna, all the colors on the animal feel like it was put together by a person, and not a result of the animal’s evolution. I know it’s not a big deal but it’s just weird to me…”

“Tiana, what’re you talking about? Animals aren’t born with no color and then painted over.”

“I know they aren’t you idiot! I wasn’t saying they were. What I’m saying is that some animals have such a distinct color to them. It doesn’t make you think about why some of them are bright, spotted, or stripped?”

“Not really, I never saw the point in caring about animals that much, especially fish. I wouldn’t be caught dead in the water with them, so why’d I worry about their color?”

“Because their color is the most defining part about them. It lets some animals blend into their environment and hide from predators. What’s really interesting is how animals become aware of the advantages and disadvantages when it comes to their color and capabilities.”

“Uh huh…”

“Just look at the octopus for example—”

“Okay, okay I get it, you can stop now. I don’t want to hear about octopuses. It makes me sick just looking at them.”

“Why?”

“Yeah, why,” I ask aloud. That wasn’t supposed to come out of my mouth, but I’ve been eavesdropping so long that I felt obligated to ask with her.

I keep my focus on the whale sharks as the couple turns to me. I can make out the confusion on their face by their faint reflection in the glass.

“Well… if you must know, it’s cause they’re all slimy and weird, and I’ve heard horror stories about them.” The man answers as if I never said anything at all. I would leave but I’ve stayed too long not to hear the end of his reasoning.

“Yeah, they’re octopuses,” Tiana responds. “Being slimy is their thing. And there’s no need to call them weird just because you don’t understand them.”

“She’s right… I doubt you’ve ever tried to learn about them either,” I whisper, my emotions getting the best of me.

“Tiana, it’s not like I can hurt an octopus’s feelings. It just weirds me out seeing them stretch and crawl everywhere.”

“But why?”

“Because when I see one, I imagine it crawling all over me. They’re like roaches that’ve been melted together to form one big blob. It makes me sick just thinking about it… Can we please go back to focusing on the whale—”

“What!? How does that make any sense to you?” I refuse to hold back anymore. The nonsense this man is spewing needs to be put in check by someone.

“I’m sorry, do we know you,” Tiana asks, raising her voice.

With my heart beating in my chest, I turn to the couple, greeted with agitated looks on their face.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense at all. How could octopuses be the roaches of the sea? Shrimp have already claimed that title. Octopuses are extremely intelligent creatures and are much more than an insignificant blob. What would make you think something like that?”

“Um… I’m sorry but who are you?”

“That’s not important, just answer my question.”

“What the hell is your—”

“Tiana, it’s fine. If this stranger needs to know then it’s whatever,” the man responds, scratching the back of his head. “I get that they’re smart or whatever, but don’t they look kind of… I don’t know, gross?”

“Nature looks gross to you?”

“Well not all of nature is gross, but it’s weird knowing that there are things like octopuses that exist on this planet. It feels a bit scary too.”

“Scary you say? What makes you feel scared of octopuses? It’s not like they live on land with us, so what’s the sense of fearing them?”

“Um… when you put it that way…”

“I don’t know why you’re so inclined to get answers out of him,” Tiana interrupts. “But if you thought about it for two seconds then his fear of them would make sense to you. Derek doesn’t understand much about octopuses, so that lack of knowledge is where that fear stems from.”

“Then why doesn’t he learn about them? Instead of letting his fear form his judgments?”

“Because he suffers from a rare condition that few people know about. Doctors all over the world struggle to identify it.”

“Really? Oh… well, I’m sorry—”

“It’s called having better things to do. It's just a general fear he has, but he doesn’t have to worry about it cause, as you said, octopuses don’t live on land. Everyone has a dumb fear for something on this planet, so why does it matter so much to you, random stranger person?”

“Because, a lot of people seem to have this fear of the ocean, whether it be what lives in it or the water itself. I’ve never been able to understand it. I apologize for intruding; my curiosity got the best of me.”

“Um, not to be disrespectful but it doesn’t sound like you’ve given it much thought. The ocean is unfathomably huge. There are terrible stories of people getting lost at sea, awful shipwrecks happening, and the infinite possibility of drowning. Taking these few examples into account, why wouldn’t people fear the ocean?”

“Of course, you’d think of those reasons if you were going on a cruise or something, but I’m talking about the admiration of the ocean. What’s the point of thinking about all the horrible things that can happen, when you can focus on the beauty that lies within?”

“And by the beauty you mean?”

“There are over two hundred thousand different species living in the ocean, every single one of them contributing to the ecosystem in their own way. Without any human input, there’s an entire world flourishing beneath us. Even with all the exploration and surveillance that’s been done in the ocean, only about five percent of the ocean has been explored. It’s absolutely teeming with life! Sure, there’s been awful shipwrecks and people drowning here and there, but you can’t focus on the negative like that.”

“Don’t get me wrong, the ocean is beautiful, but not everyone is going to think that way. It's amazing that so many animals are underwater, but that’s two hundred thousand species you’ll have to worry about eating you if you go overboard.”

“What!? Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Do you really think that every species in the ocean is capable of eating a person? Not even a child would think of something like that.”

“No, but not everyone is some ocean expert. Plus, only five percent of the ocean has been explored. What’s in that other ninety-five percent? There could be deep sea dragons that are lurking in the depths, and we’ll never know. That’s where any fear comes from really. The unknown.”

“Huh, interesting deduction. It’s true that people typically fear the unknown, but some are drawn to it from their curiosity, but let me ask you this, Tiana. Do you fear outer space? Have you ever shivered at the thought of otherworldly beings existing light years away from us?”

“No… not really.”

“And why’s that? It’s the unknown is it not? The Earth’s oceans are a pebble compared to the vast world of space. So much more could be existing out there you know. Something no human has ever laid their eyes on, yet you’re not scared of it?”

“No. I’ve got bills to worry about. Not scary space people. If I’m gonna worry about what could be in space, I might as well worry about zombies.”

“Another interesting deduction from you, Tiana. Let me ask you one final question. Which do you fear more, the ocean or outer space?”

“I think I fear dry land the most. It’s where you can run into people that don’t know how to mind their own business. Come on, Derek. Let’s go look at some other fish.”

“Can we please steer clear of any octopuses? I think I’m gonna be sick…”

Without a second thought, the couple turns away and walks off. I was hoping to talk to them more, but Derek looked like he was going to throw up, so I think it’s for the best.

What Tiana said makes a lot of sense though. Not everyone cares about the ocean enough to try and learn what’s really going on with its creatures. People have better things to fear than worlds they’ll never be a part of. Perhaps this is more about the nature of human fear, rather than a debate between the sea and the stars. It’d also be a big help to talk to people that I’m not eavesdropping on.

Man… maybe I really don’t have anything better to do with myself.