'What are you?’
‘What are you?’
The creature mimics my voice perfectly. A strange looking thing, somewhere between a cuttlefish and a gecko, we keep it contained in the BioHaz unit, behind thick plate glass. It’s voice - my voice - comes back scratchy through a speaker.
‘Do you only copy? Or do you speak with your own words?’
‘Do you only copy? Or do you speak with your own words?’
My colleague shrugs. ‘This is all it seems to do. I wouldn’t say it's particularly intelligent, just like one of those birds from New Zealand. What’re they called?’
‘A Tui,’ I say.
‘A Tui,’ it says.
I push the mic away. ‘I’m not convinced, there’s something in those eyes that suggests it knows what’s going on.’
‘If you say so.’
I glance at the mic, and move it within range. ‘Do you think it’s hungry?’
‘I bet it is,’ says my colleague's voice, through the speaker.
Paddy Dobson
29th December 2022