DoubleHelix

May 10 - 11, 2016: Dream 3 of 3: I am on a beach which I initially think is on Long Island, but clearly it is not because I spy a sea turtle laying her eggs in a dug out hole just before I step on her. I conclude I am on vacation on a tropical island. I move backwards without looking to give the turtle room and privacy, and fall into yet another hole in the sand. Luckily, I fall onto the outer rim of the hole. I prop myself on my elbows and heels while still on my back and move away as if I were a crab. At my feet I see the first of many heads pop out of the sand. Baby turtles in large numbers appear from beneath the sand, blink their yellow mucus filled eyes as if the sun is too bright, and then begin to scramble off towards the water's edge. One of the babies momentarily flips onto its back, exposing his white belly in its haste to get to the water. Its tiny flippers are flapping furiously until it rights itself. All this activity comes to the attention of multiple people on the beach who have now gathered to watch. Unfortunately, seagulls have also noticed the turtles and several of the babies get snatched up and flown away. I say something aloud to the crowd about “that is how nature is.”

After a while when the activity has wound down, I go walking along the water's edge. I come across yet another turtle, but this one is fully submerged at the water's edge, head towards the sea. Her egg-laying tube is immensely long - about 2 1/2 feet. She remains fully underwater while laying her eggs in what appears to be a natural cave-like hole beneath my feet. An official uniformed conservation manager shows me what is really going on. There is a man made contraption buried into the sand for this very purpose in order to keep the turtle and her eggs safe. He opens the lid and leans it back so that I can see inside. There are 40 or so blue opalescent eggs with white streaks that look like they are made of ultra smooth, shiny, polished stone. They are magnificent. Almost jewel like. The turtle is dropping them into this "cave" at a slow steady pace.

I eventually move on and arrive at a sturdy wooden kiosk like structure at the top of the beach well away from the water. A woman and two men occupy the shady space about 6 feet off of the ground. I call up a question to the woman employee. "How is it possible for the eggs to survive underwater in the absence of oxygen?" I ask her if there is some type of metabolic process going on inside the egg that produces oxygen for the embryos. I give her an example of a carbohydrate breaking down into a simple sugar plus a water molecule and ask her if the oxygen atom from two molecules of water can disassociate then come together inside the egg to produce a molecule of oxygen? She says to me "That's a great question!" She picks up a rectangular shaped microphone from her desktop and speaks into it. "Attention.... Attention.... Attention Google." She then repeats my question into the microphone as if she is querying Siri. I wake. 5:14am.