Alien Encounters: Dolphins and a Magician

Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

MICHELE NORRIS, host:

Every so often we come across a story about an encounter between two life forms, alien to each other but sharing the same space. In this case, one of the life forms is a commentator, the magician Teller of the famed duo Penn & Teller; he's the quiet one. The space is a lagoon in the Bahamas, where Penn & Teller were shooting a television show.

ARTHUR TELLER:

I'm 25 feet under water, standing on the floor of the lagoon on a tiny tropical island. I'm wearing a dive mask, a scuba tank and lead weights over my designer business suit and polished dress shoes. I'm waiting for the cameraman. The water is warm and a little cloudy, like summer fog. A fossil on the sea floor comes to life. It's a stingray peeling itself off the sand. Oblivious, it glides past my face and vanishes like a ghost.

Suddenly, a dolphin rockets by me, almost knocking me over. It's huge, the size of a torpedo. Before I can catch my breath, it's gone. I turn and look straight into the face of the dolphin hovering horizontal, dead still, nose to nose with me. Forget Flipper; this is an alien life form, a huge hunk of ice-colored muscle. The dolphin's mouth curves in a calm, eerie smile. The dolphin is happy to see me. No, that's not a smile. That's just the way its jaw is shaped. That hard, sharp beak is strong enough to snip off my head.

I am not in my element. I am the guest; my host is floating in front of my face. What is the polite thing to do? What is the etiquette for meeting a dolphin? Look it forthrightly in the eye? That's impossible. The dolphin's eyes are so far around on the sides of the head, there's nothing to stare straight into. I try waving in a, `Hi. How are you?' kind of way. Hmm, no. I try humming. (Hums) No. The dolphin is still and silent as an iceberg. Finally, I reach out and pat its side. My warm hand taps cool leather taunt as a drumhead. But the dolphin remains unmoved, its cartoon smile fixed.

Suddenly, I like this moment very much. It's uncomfortable and honest. I'm not pretending to understand the dolphin, as humans claim to do with pets and other humans. I'm just sharing the same sea, trying to be polite. There's no empathy, just etiquette. And that's enough for me.

NORRIS: Commentator Teller is the smaller, quieter half of Penn & Teller. Their television special, "Penn & Teller: Off the Deep End," will be broadcast on NBC this Sunday night.

You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.

Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.