Neapolský záliv

Polly priletela nad Neapolský záliv neskoro ráno. Voda mala farbu zeleného skla. Na druhej strane zálivu sa týčil Vezuv, napoly zahalený v opare, dokonale kužeľovitá hora, ktorá v roku 79 nášho letopočtu pochovala Pompeje a od roku 1944 nevybuchla. Vzduch voňal po soli, boroviciach a dieseli z malých rybárskych člnov.

Polly came in over the Bay of Naples in late morning. The water was the colour of green glass. Mount Vesuvius sat on the far side of the bay, half-veiled in haze, a perfectly cone-shaped mountain that had buried Pompeii in 79 AD and had not erupted since 1944. The air smelled of salt and pine and the diesel of small fishing boats.

Sledovala krivku pobrežia smerom na západ. Cez ulice Mergelliny videla prádlo visiace z balkónov, skútre prepletajúce sa medzi autami a muža s dreveným vozíkom, ktorý predával citróny veľké ako jej vlastná hlava.

She followed the curve of the shoreline westward. Through the streets of Mergellina she could see laundry hanging from balconies, scooters threading between cars, and a man with a wooden cart selling lemons the size of her own head.

Jej cieľom bola budova priamo pri vode v parku Villa Comunale: dlhá talianska neoklasicistická stavba natretá okrovou farbou s vysokými oblúkovými oknami. Malá mosadzná tabuľka niesla nápis STAZIONE ZOOLOGICA ANTON DOHRN. Pod tým, menšími písmenami, FONDATA 1872.

Her destination was a building right on the water in the Villa Comunale park: a long ochre-painted Italian neoclassical structure with tall arched windows. A small brass plaque read STAZIONE ZOOLOGICA ANTON DOHRN. Below that, in smaller letters, FONDATA 1872.

Polly o tomto mieste vedela. Založil ho nemecký zoológ menom Anton Dohrn, ktorý prišiel do Neapola vo svojich dvadsiatich rokoch, pretože záliv bol najbohatším morským ekosystémom v Európe a on ho chcel študovať. Inštitút postavil z vlastných rodinných peňazí a s pomocou kolegov vedcov. Bol to najstarší stále fungujúci ústav morskej biológie na svete. Chobotnice študovali už od roku 1873.

Polly knew about this place. It had been founded by a German zoologist named Anton Dohrn, who had come to Naples in his twenties because the bay was the richest marine ecosystem in Europe and he wanted to study it. He had built the institute with his own family money and the help of fellow scientists. It was the oldest still-operating marine biology institute in the world. It had been studying octopuses since 1873.

Usadila sa na kovanom železnom zábradlí pri vchode. Mladá výskumníčka v bielych topánkach a námorníckom laboratórnom plášti odomykala zadné dvere. Žena videla Polly. Nevyzerala prekvapene. "Sei in ritardo," povedala s úsmevom. "Alebo možno skoro. Poď ďalej."

She perched on a wrought-iron railing near the entrance. A young researcher in white shoes and a navy lab coat was unlocking the back door. The woman saw Polly. She did not look surprised. "Sei in ritardo," she said, smiling. "Or maybe early. Come on in."

Takto Polly prešla zadnými dverami Stazione Zoologica.

That is how Polly walked through the back door of the Stazione Zoologica.

Budova voňala po morskej vode, slanej a čistej. Dlhé chodby sa tiahli medzi miestnosťami plnými nádrží. Cez sklenené steny videla stužky sardiniek, ktoré sa točili spolu, malú chobotnicu pritlačenú v jednom rohu svojej nádrže, morského zajaca pomaly sa pohybujúceho po listoch chaluhy.

The building smelled of seawater, briny and clean. Long corridors ran between rooms full of tanks. Through the glass walls she could see ribbons of sardines turning together, a small octopus pressed against one corner of its tank, a sea hare moving slowly over a kelp blade.

Výskumníčka sa volala Chiara Bianchi. Už deväť rokov študovala kogníciu hlavonožcov v tomto ústave. Kráčala rýchlo. "Riaditeľ je tento týždeň v Štokholme," povedala. "Väčšinou uvidíš mňa a zvieratá. Chobotnice sú najinteligentnejšie z našich zvierat. Alebo aspoň najinteligentnejšie z tých, o ktorých sme si istí, že sú vedomé. O morských zajacoch sa ešte stále rozhoduje."

The researcher's name was Chiara Bianchi. She had been studying cephalopod cognition at this institute for nine years. She walked quickly. "The director is in Stockholm this week," she said. "You will mostly see me and the animals. The octopuses are the smartest of our animals. Or at least the smartest of the ones we are sure are conscious. The jury is still out on the sea hares."

Prišli k vysokej okrúhlej nádrži v tichej zadnej miestnosti. Na boku bola ručne napísaná kartička s nápisom PASTA, 2.3KG, GPO. Vo vnútri nádrže, v rohu, napoly zložená do špirály plastovej rúrky, bola obrovská tichomorská chobotnica. Väčšina jej tela mala farbu rúrky. Osem ramien sa úhľadne obopínalo okolo seba. Jedno oko, zlaté s obdĺžnikovou zrenicou, ich sledovalo cez sklo.

They came to a tall round tank in a quiet back room. A handwritten card on the side read PASTA, 2.3KG, GPO. Inside the tank, in the corner, half-folded into a coil of plastic pipe, was a giant Pacific octopus. Most of its body was the colour of the pipe. Eight arms wrapped tidily around itself. One eye, golden and rectangular-pupiled, watched them through the glass.

Chiara položila svoju kávu na pult. "Pasta," povedala, "zoznám sa s Polly."

Chiara set her coffee on a counter. "Pasta," she said, "meet Polly."

Chobotnica sa nepohla. Jej koža sa pomaly sfarbila do jemnej ružovej na okrajoch, kde sa dotýkala rúrky. Polly naklonila svoju červenú hlavu. Chobotnica nenaklonila nič, ale jej jediné viditeľné oko zostalo na nej.

The octopus did not move. Its skin slowly turned a soft pink at the edges of where it touched the pipe. Polly tilted her red head. The octopus tilted nothing, but its single visible eye stayed on her.

"Môžeš sa usadiť na okraji," povedala Chiara. "Nešpliecha ťa. Ráno je pokojná. Popoludní sa stáva bystrejšou."

"You can perch on the rim," Chiara said. "She will not splash you. She is calm in the mornings. She gets clever in the afternoons."