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The Cohen Loop Max & Carver copyright comidacomida 2014

Despite the number of times he'd heard it growing up, Max never considered himself a 'smart young man'. Throughout elementary school all of his teachers sang his praise; he was the most attentive, most timely, and most studious out of his class. The entire performance was repeated in high school. Therein, of course, lay his recipe for success. His parents believed strongly that failure was not an option. Even though school didn't come easy for him, Max worked twice as hard as all of the rest of the 'smart young people' to get his grades. Unfortunately, effort wasn't quite the powerful force at the Unity Centre as it was in 'normal school'.

As one of only three students from his state elected for the Unity Program, Max passed the entrance exams by looking ahead at the entry requirements and then diligent study and careful preparation. He was accepted to start the Program in what would be considered 'junior year' in high school, which meant he spent the summer preparing for the move; Max would be going while his parents and little brother would not. He had never been away from his family for such a long time and, after promising to take lots of pictures (when permitted) and send them emails (as allowed), he took his leave.

The actual travel was amazing, if short-- a jump ship took him from Seattle International Space Port to the Unity Centre itself. Since the Centre was an enormous ocean craft it was mobile, and during the summer, was just off the coast of Alaska. The trip was the first time for Max on a jump ship and he used the 23 minutes the ship spent at or near its apex to stare out at the curvature of the Earth; they weren't completely outside of the planet's atmosphere... or stratosphere... or whatever that really high layer was. The fact that he didn't know concerned him at the time, despite it not being relevant to the Unity Centre's studies. It really wasn't a good way to begin.

He had arrived with the rest of the new students and, like them, had four days to get used to his new surroundings. Fortunately, unlike the rest, he didn't have a very large time zone difference to overcome. All students under the age of 18 were provided with a surrogate family, and Max was no exception. As with the rest of the families, his consisted of two adults and two students. His 'mom' was an architectural engineer for the Unity Centre while his 'dad' worked as a chemist in one of the Centre's labs. While the 'parents' of each family weren't always married, in the case of Max's they were.

Max's 'little brother' turned out to be some kind of super genius, or so it seemed. The boy was almost ten years younger than Max himself, but turned out to be learning just one class year behind. Unlike the highly advanced savants Max had always heard about in rumors, Ethan turned out to be very down-to-earth and easy to get along with. The young boy was polite and outgoing and, surprisingly, not at all stuck up or conceited. The fact that the not-quite-nine-year-old spoke with an Australian accent made Max laugh for the first two days they lived together... which, sadly did not lend itself to the best first-impression.

Classes, Max came to realize, were brutal. The young man's work etiquette helped him JUST manage to keep up with the rest of the students, but it didn't take long before he realized that even with all the extra effort he put in, he'd had gone from a 'top-grade student' to 'just scraping by'. Still, failure was not an option, and he devoted himself to study nearly 18 hours of the day. It left him little time for socialization, even within his own surrogate family, but he wasn't about to give up or give in.

The class schedules were just as sadistic as the course content. School was 9 hours long and ran year round. There were five days of class, one 'activity day', and one day off. Class days were non-stop scholastics and lab work while the activity days ranged from what amounted to menial labor up to and including entire days of sports. In the end, that left most students exhausted both physically and mentally... but the full schedule left little time for rest and even less time for griping.

The four semesters were each twelve weeks long and were separated by only one week. During the week that substituted for fall vacation, his entire class was given free time to pursue the many leisure activities around the Centre, but that was also when they were informed that the following semester would be the last for the bottom third of the class. The rest of the students would then continue on in their studies for the rest of the year. Then, during the short, one week break for the summer time-off, another, bigger change was in store.

Out of the remaining students, ANOTHER third would be sent home... but the top third of the class would actually be traveling through the Immergent Gateway at Chimborazo. They would be the first among their peers to travel to Other-Earth, and spend the first half of the year among the Phins on their twin version of the Unity Centre. For the remaining students who were to stay behind, they would be meeting the top among the class of Phins, who would be coming through to Our-Earth through the Emmergent Gateway at B72.

During the spring time cut, Max had been just below mid-grade in the class, which was enough to avoid being dismissed by a fair amount, but, once the announcement was made about the summer time dismissal it made him even more concerned, thus his fall break was spent entirely on study... as was his week off during winter. By that time he and Ethan had overcome their initial lack of familiarity, and the young boy actually helped work with him on what he didn't know as well as was deemed necessary.

When summer finally came around and the final was set before him, Max almost blanked. He spent most of the four hours on the exam trying to stay calm and look at it as just another placement test... one that would set his standard of learning for the rest of his secondary education. Although he didn't feel comfortable with many of his answers, the young man pushed through and, to his great relief, finished before the time was up-- the same could not be said for several of the other students.

Scores were posted the following day-- Saturday, which was normally reserved as the Activity Day. Rather than have chores or sports or physical activity, the students instead had the day to pack, or help other pack, or, in Max's case, spend the entire morning worrying... and then helping Ethan pack for his trip to Other-Earth; the Elementary Class students had their scores posted first. While the wait was painful, Max was at least comforted in knowing that the University Students had to wait until evening for their scores while the High School was announced just after lunch. Ethan went that afternoon to join Max at the board as they waited for his scores.

Max was not surprised to find out that he was not going to Other-Earth. He continued from line to line and name to name; there were 300 names in all. Out of the initial class of 450, after summer term it would drop to a mere 200, and, after his eyes passed name after name, it became increasingly likely that he was not one of them, until Ethan spoke up, "There!"

Just as the young boy shouted Max noticed it for himself: the student list for those who were staying on the Our-Earth Unity Centre went from 101 through 200... and there was Max's name right at 198. They went back to their apartment and celebrated that afternoon. Both adults were involved in the well-wishing and, for perhaps the first time since arriving at the Unity Centre, Max felt as though there was a sense of family. It was bitter sweet, however, because Ethan would leave them the next day. Of course, just as much on Max's mind was the fact that he'd be getting a room mate... a Phin roommate.

The staggering of student exchanges, he'd heard, served two purposes. First, the students who were doing exceptionally well would get to visit Other-Earth and spend time among the Phins. Secondly, those students who needed more instruction would be able to get it from their new room mates, the top of THEIR class, who would serve as mentors for all-things Phin to the students such as Max, who needed that little extra help. The young man fervently hoped that he would not make a fool of himself and that, whichever Phin he ended up with wouldn't be disappointed that he got one of the lowest graded humans.

The following day started with walking Ethan to the skiff port. While the lowest decks of the Unity Centre were under water, deck five was at sea level, and spent most of its time filled equally with water and air. A walk way ran just above the water and hosted a large number of docks-- at the furthest docks, closest to the open bay doors, were the skiffs. Each vehicle was capable of carrying a driver, a navigator, and twelve passengers.

Since the Unity Centre had taken up its Summer time position for the departure and receipt of students in the Atlantic Ocean, Ethan was going to be transported from the Unity Center to Saint John, New Brunswick. From there he'd take a jump ship to... Max didn't remember the name of the jump port... but at that point it was straight on to Chimborazo.

The send-off was great for occupying Max's mind but, once Ethan departed, that left him with a completely open schedule and far too much with which to fill it. His surrogate 'parents' would be changing over the living quarters to accomodate the needs of his new Phin 'brother', and Max would need to get ready himself. The Phins were set to arrive at the skiff port one day later, and around the same time as Ethan had left; that did not give Max much time.

The day, and the following morning went by in a flash. It was day three of his too-short summer vacation, and it was the day he'd get to meet his first Phin face-to-face... he hoped he wouldn't make a fool of himself; at the very least, he realized, Phins didn't have Australian accents, so he'd be safer than he was with Ethan. It was going to be his job to show his assigned Phin around the Our-Earth Unity Centre, and it left him wondering just how different it was from the Other-Earth Unity Centre.

The teen spent that morning getting himself presentable. He thought back to what he knew about Phin society and what they considered proper in appearance. In the end, he was at a loss for preparation since there were just so many differences-- how was he supposed to know what to do with his hair when Phins didn't have any. He was just about to consider shaving it off when he realized how stupid he was being; the Phins were coming to Our-Earth to learn among humans... he should probably be doing things the HUMAN way.

Max's thoughts were all a jumble as he made his way down to room adjacent to the skiff port. The apartment he shared with his surrogate family was on the twelfth deck, which meant an elevator ride, followed by a long walk down one of the Centre's many corridors. When he finally did arrive, Max discovered that he was one of the first... and that there were assigned spots to stand. According to the pamphlet he picked up as he entered, the Phins weren't due in for nearly an hour... but, he reasoned, he'd rather be early than late.

Glancing at the assigned rows, Max's heart fell; he had been placed next to Andy Butler. Despite the fact that the two almost never ran into one another, Andy Butler had a way about him that grated on Max. While Max had to work for everything and apply himself and push to succeed, Andy was the kinda guy who made everything look easy and then, even with all of his immense gifts at learning, rarely applied himself. It wasn't really Andy's fault, so Max couldn't REALLY hold it against him but, if anything else, he had to reason with himself that it was jealousy; plain and simple, Max would not have squandered such a talent.

The young man moved to his assigned spot and went through a series of breathing exercises his high school councilor had taught him his freshman year. He closed his eyes and let his mind go blank-- he so rarely had a chance in the past six months to just stand somewhere and not do anything... and he found that it took a great amount of effort to just stop thinking. He repeated the same exercise over and over again until 'nothingness' became easier to achieve. By that time, people had already started filtering in.

"Hi, Max." Even if he wouldn't have recognized Angie Mae's voice he had seen that she was positioned to his left. In the scope of things, Angie Mae Kline was not the worst person to be put next to. She was friendly without being too over-the-top, outgoing without being in-your-face, and easy to talk to without being too gabby.

Max opened his eyes and glanced toward her, "Hi, Angie Mae. I really thought you'd have been on your way to Other Earth."

She pouted, just a little. The expression mixed with the fact that she always wore her roan-colored hair in pigtails gave off the impression that she was perhaps twelve while, in fact, she was his own age. The faintest hint of a resigned whine in her voice only accentuated it, "I know... but I lost out by three spaces."

The young man shrugged at her admission, "It's not the worst thing in the world, really... I won out by two."

"That's because you're working too hard, Snyder." Max didn't have to look to see that Andy had arrived; he had a thing about calling people by their last name, "Studies show that brains burn out if you don't give em time to rest."

Max thought of a hundred different things he could say to wipe the most-likely-present smirk off of Andy's face, but he elected to be a little less juvenile about it and counter with a slightly less scathing, "I figured you'd have been on the way to Other-Earth too, Andy. I'm surprised you're here."

Angie Mae broke the uncomfortable silence, "I'm so excited... I can't wait to meet a Phin in real life. Oh, I wish I could talk to one in his own language... we just can't make the sounds that they can, but it'd still be so cool to think of something that'd work."

Andy had already begun ignoring him, choosing Greg, a friend of his one line back to chat with. Max was able to focus his attention on the much more pleasant company of Angie Mae, "You can understand it... so at least that's a start. I'm sure whoever's paired up with you will be happy about that."

Angie Mae was about to respond, but just then an older man wearing the uniform of a Unity Centre professor marched into the assembly room; all conversations came to a complete stop, except for Andy, who finished a few sentences to his friend... something about showing his new room mate all about human sports and video games. It hardly seemed to be the proper use of time with a tutor but, then again, Max did have to admit that the Phins were on Our-Earth to learn just as much as the middle-third of his class was to learn from them.

Once everyone finally quieted down (Andy being the last of the talking), the Professor, who didn't bother to introduce himself, pressed the button on a controller he carried and the side wall opened up, revealing a screen. One more button press later and a video began playing. It seemed rather cheesy, and ran through everything so simply that it seemed like it was suited for eight year olds. The more Max thought about it, the more it made sense; they probably created a single video for all of the classes to share. The young man felt sorry for all of the university-level students who had to sit through it.

The video, as it turned out, documented the trip that the Phins took from B27 to the Unity Centre. Able to stand the deeper depths of the oceans better than Humans, the Phins passed through the Emmergent Gateway wearing only their usual swimming gear which, according to the narrator, everyone on board the Unity Center would be able to see in a matter of minutes. Humans, on the other hand, waited for the Phins in submersibles. Likewise, Humans passing through the Immergent Gateway would be able to do so under their own power (accomodating for high altitude, of course), while the Phins met them in terrestrial rovers on the Other-Earth side.

The narrator continued on to explain that the Phins would travel south from B27 on board skiffs, much like the ones that took the human students from the Unity Centre one day prior. The video indicated that once the Phins arrive, students from both Earths would be introduced to one another and given time to interact. From there, the students would be responsible for choosing their own room mate. Max fidgeted at that, hoping even more strongly that he didn't end up having his Phin partner start to regret being a team.

And, as the video came to an end with some cheesy music and showing a happy-looking announcer wearing the worker uniform for the Unity Center, Max could hear the faint sound of the hull doors opening in the adjoining room which, if he wasn't mistaken, was the skiff bay. Once the smiling announcer gave a farewell speech and a wink, the Professor in the assembly room with them turned off the monitor and closed the wall back up. He turned to the wall all of the students were facing (the one the room shared with the skiff bay), and pressed another button... and that wall likewise opened.

Angie Mae gasped, "They're here!"

Precisely as she noticed, Max watched as several of the enclosed skiffs pulled up to the docks. It took a moment for him to realize that the reason he couldn't HEAR the skiffs was because there was a sheet of glass that separated the assembly room and the docks. Andy's friend Greg spoke up from behind them, "It's a one-way mirror..."

The Professor didn't give the students long to ponder the scene, speaking up as the skiffs went through the docking procedure and were tied off by the dock workers, "There are two hundred of you, and two hundred Phins are now arriving. The groups will be one Human per Phin, and both parties will mutually agree. I do not expect any fighting for partners-- this is not some backwater high school dance, and I will not tolerate it."

The professor stowed his remote in a pocket, "You have a chance to observe the other students as they make their way across the docks and, in ten minutes, they will join us in this room. You are to wait here in your assigned spot until they arrive with their escort. That is all." without any further word and no sense of ceremony, the Professor exited the room, leaving the students to themselves.

Greg spoke up from behind them, "I bet a Longos comes out first... they're like, the nobility or something, right?"

Angie Mae glanced back, "No.. that's the Album. The Album are the highest social class, and the Longos are the second."

Andy scoffed at the discussion, "We're on OUR Earth, guys... whatever ranks are part of Other-Earth doesn't matter... people here are equal, and that includes Phins too... so don't worry about it."

Max heard Greg shift from foot to foot behind them, "I'm gonna try to get an Album then."

Andy groaned with a sigh, "Didn't you hear a thing I said, dude? When we're on Our-Earth we're all equal."

"Yea... but half way through the year we go to Other-Earth... and when we're there I'd kinda like to be on the good side of the tracks."

Angie Mae rolled her eyes, "The Phins live in the ocean. They don't have tracks."

Greg was defensive in an instant, "You know what I mean. And don't act like you're all better or anything or that you don't care. It's not like you're gonna go out of your way to find an Amplus just to show how 'equal rights' you are."

Andy groaned again, "Dude... that'd just be reverse discrimination. The point is to find someone you can get along with!"

Max glanced to Angie Mae, who hung her head for a moment, "Well... no... I don't want an Amplus for a room mate."

Despite himself, Max's eyes focused on her at the same time as the other two did. Andy scoffed, "God, Kline... I knew you came from money, but I didn't figure you'd be quite that status-hungry to avoid a whole group of people."

Angie Mae turned and glared, "It's not that, you... you... a hole--" Max had never heard Angie Mae come anywhere close to cursing, but he had to admit that she came pretty close at that point. "I don't care where they fit into Phin society!"

Max glanced at Andy and Greg, then back to Angie Mae, "What's wrong with the Amplus then? Why wouldn't you want one for a class partner?"

She lowered her head, her cheeks on fire in a fierce blush, "They're really big."

They had all been through the same classes together... or, at least, if not at the same time they had all attended the same classes at one point or another. Max did recall that the Amplus were the largest of the Phin, but he hardly figured that would be a problem, but Andy's expression suddenly softened, "That dog thing, huh?"

Recollection hit Max suddenly. He remembered a story Angie Mae told about getting attacked by her neighbor's huge dog when she was a little girl. She'd told it to her work group second semester when she asked to be excused from a whale watching trip involving a six person sub. Angie Mae had panic attacks around large creatures; suddenly her concern for a humanoid orca of some 8' in height made that much more sense. Max offered her a reassuring smile, "It's alright, Angie Mae... it's mutual agreement... you don't have to have an Amplus for a room mate."

It wasn't that she really needed anyone's permission as to who she could or couldn't take as a Phin classmate, but Max could tell that hearing it made all the difference. She stepped out of line and gave him a hug, then, quite blatantly, flipped Andy off. The action caught everyone by surprise and, moments later, all four dissolved into laughter... until several other students hushed them with a very distinct "SHHHH!"

Silence became undisturbed, not so much by the request for quiet, but because all eyes were suddenly upon the skiffs; the hatches were opening and the automated ramps lowered down to the dock. Everyone obediently returned to their place in line and Max, being one of the lucky ones at the front, had a perfect view through the one way mirror as the first of the Phins emerged. Everyone waited with baited breath, and he heard all lungs behind him inhale deeper as the Phin came into view.

Whether by design or coincidence, the first Phin off of the skiff was an Album. Max recognized the breed immediately because his bright white skin with mottled black and gray spots. The Phin was just under six foot tall, slender, with a sleek tail trailing out behind him. The underside of his mouth was a slightly purer white than the rest of him, with no spots. Although he looked naked at that range, the yellow lines that ran down either side of his wet suit gave away the fact that he was clothed.

The wet suit was, in fact, very much like the ones human divers wore. Based on what Max had read, Phins only moved about out of water when they had their water-retaining clothing. The first Phin's wet suit had colorations matching him, but with less spots. The Album had with him what looked like a backpack, although it was much more streamlined and, as he put it on, Max was surprised to see that the Phin wore it around his stomach rather than his back. That first Phin stepped aside, and then more emerged.

By that time, the rest of the skiffs were opening and scores of the Phins were stepping out onto the dock. Max watched several more Album come into view along with some Longos. The Longos were slightly larger, and had a fairly uniform gray skin which became only slightly lighter along their neck and abdomen. Like the Album, the Longos were roughly human sized, stood on two legs, and had a tail, though their 'beaks' were slightly longer than that of the Album. More and more of both variety of Phins emerged from the skiffs until their numbers began to trickle to a stop. Right before the doors closed, a mere two Amplus emerged.

The second of the two enormous Phins remained out of view, apparently having trouble gathering up his belongings while the other stepped right out into the open with the rest of the newcomers. Max was immediately in awe of the huge Phin, and he could tell why Angie Mae would be intimidated. The Amplus stood head and shoulders above the other Phins, somewhere about eight foot tall, and yet his casual stance suggested that he wasn't about to throw his weight around; he even went so far as to help adjust a few of his fellow Phins' bellypack straps for them.

The Amplus looked in all ways like a bipedal orca. His coloration was nigh perfect, and even his wetsuit was similarly marked, albeit with gray and light tan rather than black and white. Like the rest of the Phins, the large student had yellow lines along the arms and legs of his clothing. Max was just about to call everyone's attention to the markings, when a strange sensation began to flow through him; judging by everyone else's expressions they were probably feeling the same thing.

The vibrations picked up in intensity as the skiffs all closed their hatches and a student behind Angie May asked, "What's that vibration? Is it the transports doing that?"

Nobody bothered answering the question as Andy began discussion with his fellow students, pointing, "See that one? That's a Longos... you can tell because it looks a lot like a bottlenose dolphin. That one over there's an Album... they look more like spotted dolphins. And... well... it's pretty obvious what those two are."

Angie May interjected, "Andy... come on... you're seventeen... only little kids point like that. It's rude."

Andy rolled his eyes, "It's one way glass, Kline... give the whole 'Ms Manners' thing a break, okay?"

The two began having what Max often considered to be a 'lovers quarrel' but he'd long since tuned them out, "One way glass." he repeated quietly, watching the lone Amplus that stood among the rest of the Phins; the second one was still lingering back by the skiffs.

A human emerged from a side door and walked over to the assembled Phins. Max couldn't hear what was being said, but every last Phin eye was on the Professor. The man began speaking with them, making large gestures with his hands, and then motioned back toward what the Phins would see only as a mirror. Max's eyes remained on the lone Amplus while all of the Phins raised a hand and waved toward the glass. Several of the more surprised human students waved back.

The vibrations passed through the room again, and Max was surprised to see that the Amplus almost seemed to be staring right back at him. Did the Phin wave at him specifically, or was he only imagining things? "What ARE those vibrations?" he ultimately asked, "The skiffs aren't even on right now."

Angie leaned over toward him and spoke quietly, "Echolocation, Max... Phins can sense with sound pretty much like dolphins can."

Andy, who immediately stopped pointing, paused, "Oh."

The Professor on the other side of the glass continued talking for what felt like forever, but Max started to recognize some of the hand gestures he used-- the same ones he'd made with the students as he explained how the day was going to work. Max thought back to that introduction and realized that the Professor must have been finishing up. He worked on keeping his eyes off of the lone Amplus, fighting his urge to watch the gigantic Phin.

Ultimately he did take one quick glance, and saw that the Orca-like student was still looking at him... or, TOWARD him, anyway. It was disconcerting... and a little embarrassing. He sighed, rolling his eyes, "So much for that good first impression."

Finally, just as Max felt his hands starting to sweat, the Professor turned around and motioned toward the double doors off to one side. The doors opened, and provided a direct path for the Phins to enter the gathering room where the human students had been waiting. The room was immediately abuzz with discussion, both from the natives and the exchange students. A mix of human languages punctuated with comments from the Phins quickly filled every breath and Max was so turned around by the sudden press of bodies that he immediately made for a wall so he could keep his bearings.

"Hello." The warm greeting was simple and to-the-point and, as Max turned, he was forced to look up at the black-and-white face of the Amplus at whom he'd been staring for the better part of fifteen minutes.

"Uh... hi."

The orca-like Phin smiled, which seemed strangely human despite his otherwise alien appearance, "I would ask if you hadn't ever seen an Amplus before, but, considering the circumstances, I suppose that I already know the answer."

The comment was incredibly disarming, and the large Phin's demeanor was almost charming. In any other circumstance Max would have immediately felt at ease... if not for his own rudeness, which still troubled him, "I'm... uh... sorry for staring."

The Amplus let out a hearty laugh, which was a funny sound, half way between a cough and someone deflating a balloon. The alien nature of it immediately caught the attention of all of the Humans, and even a number of the Phins glanced his way; Max felt even more embarrassed, and slunk back further against the wall. Everything had seemed to start so well... where exactly had he gone so wrong?

The Amplus held out a hand; unlike what Max had expected, it was only partly webbed, just up to the first knuckle, "Hello from Water-Earth."

Max recognized the term, as it was used as a middle-ground between their two races. While both referred to their own Earth as 'Our-Earth', it would seem a little presumptuous to say such a thing in mixed company, and so the Phins called their world 'Water-Earth' and the humans spoke of theirs as 'Land-Earth'.

The discussion was amazing to take part in, partly because the Phin spoke English so well but also because most of the words were formed in the Phin's resonance chamber, and his mouth only moved a little. The human realized he'd been standing there dumb, and gingerly extended his own hand, which was engulfed by the orca's, "Hi... from... Land-Earth."

The enormous black and white Amplus glanced around, "Don't feel so bad... before today I've never met a human. Staring bothers humans, not Phins." As if to back up the comment, the Phin looked down at him, staring. While Max first thought that the Orca's eyes were wholly black, up close he realized that there was a distinct difference in color; the human saw that a ring of dark purple surrounded the Phin's pupil... and only then did he realize that he had been staring right back at the Amplus.

It made Max blush all the more, but he pushed the embarrassment aside and forced himself to be a little more welcoming, "My name's Max... Snyder." In normal circumstances Max would have left it at his first name, but, he remembered, Phins held great importance to names and, even though their own names were not pronounceable by humans, they considered it a major slight if someone refused to introduce themselves fully.

The Amplus gave his hand a gentle shake, and then opened up his digits, releasing it, "My name is--" at which point the huge Phin let out a series of squeaks, clicks, and a whistle, "And I come among you as Carver."

Max remembered that all Phins chose an occupation as a name to use with humans. If a second name was required they would add an adjective. Usually their name had to do with an occupation but, considering the fact that all of the ones still present were all students, that would have made things very confusing very quickly. It did, however, beg an important question, "Carver? How did you get that name?"

Carver gave Max another smile, and reached into his bellypack. Fumbling around for only a moment, the orca withdrew what looked like a small rock chess piece but, upon closer inspection, he saw that it was, in fact, a simple, stylized human, "I have been working on learning how to draw and sculpt humans... but I still need more practice." The Phin put it in his hand, "I wanted to have a gift for my chosen classmate."

Max looked down at the small carving; it was incredibly well made, especially considering that it looked to be carved out of stone. He hefted it in his hand, finding it surprisingly light, "Wow... well... I'm sure your class mate will really like it." The human held it back out to the Amplus.

Carver rotated his head slightly, a bemused expression on his face, "You caught my eye, Max Snyder. I was hoping that I could give it to you."

The embarrassment returned three-fold, and he felt a strong blush come unbidden. All along Max was relieved because there would be no worry about an Australian accent but he completely forgot the most obvious problem: he wasn't all that great with humans, so it certainly followed logic to suggest that he could make just as much of a fool of himself to a Phin. "Oh... I mean... yea... sure. Of course." he fidgeted, running his finger across the carving, then suddenly snapped out of his bubble of social epic-fail, "I... thank you! Thank you, a lot, I mean! It's... fantastic!"

The orca smiled patiently, "You are very welcome, Max Snyder. I can tell already that this is going to be a wonderful half year on Land Earth."

Max wasn't sure why, but he found himself blushing even more.