This page was first created on the 31st of March, 2016 and last updated on the 31st of March, 2016 by Patrick Carpen.
My Silfian friend Bluehorn took me for walk in the countryside, an environment resembling the wetlands of Australia. The birds chirped and the monkeys chattered overhead.
I admired the beautiful natural scenery that was unlike anything I had ever scene back home on Earth. But my wonderment was quickly distracted as I heard a sharp sound coming from the nearby bushes. I stopped and turned around. Something was moving in the bush. It reared its head and I leaped back with a sudden scream. It was a crocodile! Just as ugly and frightening as those on earth. I summoned all the energy I could and ran as fast as legs could carry me.
I was half a mile away and out of breath when I stopped and turned around. I looked for my friend, Bluehorn. He was no where around me. Did he perhaps run in the opposite direction? Or did he disappear in front of me?
I raised my head slowly. There, just at the spot where I had left him, Bluehorn squatted on the ground. He was playing with something. He appeared to be caressing and talking to it. I walked back slowly. There in his hands was the crocodile. It was playing fondly with him. It was licking him. I was speechless; but he broke the silence.
“Crocodiles on the planet SILF are not the same as crocodiles on Earth”, he said. “Well, they use to be, but no more. About 3000 years ago, us Silfians eradicated all alligators, crocodiles and other other dangerous amphibians which threatened human life on the planet Silf. We left just a few dozen of them back. We altered their DNA and left them to breed. This new breed of Crocodiles and alligators had different instincts. They regarded humans as their masters; and regarded themselves as their masters’ pets. Come on, let’s go a ride.”
Just them, I saw a wide array of crocs by the waterside wagging their tails in a friendly manner. Bluehorn jumped onto the back of one of them. “Come on!” he shouted.
I felt I had no choice but to follow suit. The crocs lowered themselves slowly under the water and turned around, giving us enough space for our heads to be out of the water. Then they rose a little higher. They picked up speed, turned around, went under for brief seconds and returned to the surface. It was a ride like no other. It was as though these crocs were trained to satisfy humans with water rides.
“And it’s not only that,” Bluehorn said. “These crocs rescue people if they are in trouble in the water.”
