Ghuba ya Napoli

Polly aliwasili kwenye Ghuba ya Napoli asubuhi ya kuchelewa. Maji yalikuwa na rangi ya kioo cha kijani. Mlima Vesuvius ulikuwa upande wa mbali wa ghuba, nusu umefunikwa na ukungu, mlima wenye umbo la koni kamili ambao ulizika Pompeii mwaka wa 79 BK na haujalipuka tangu 1944. Hewa ilijaa harufu ya chumvi na misonobari na dizeli ya boti ndogo za uvuvi.

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.

Alifuata mwinuko wa ufukwe kuelekea magharibi. Kupitia mitaa ya Mergellina aliweza kuona nguo zikining'inia kutoka kwenye mabalkoni, pikipiki zikijipenyeza kati ya magari, na mtu mmoja na mkokoteni wa mbao akiuza limau kubwa kama kichwa chake.

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.

Lengo lake lilikuwa jengo lililoko moja kwa moja kwenye maji katika bustani ya Villa Comunale: jengo refu la mtindo wa neoclassical wa Italia lenye rangi ya ochre na madirisha marefu yenye umbo la upinde. Kibao kidogo cha shaba kiliandikwa STAZIONE ZOOLOGICA ANTON DOHRN. Chini yake, kwa herufi ndogo, 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 alijua kuhusu mahali hapa. Ilianzishwa na mtaalamu wa wanyama wa Kijerumani aliyeitwa Anton Dohrn, ambaye alikuja Napoli akiwa na miaka ishirini kwa sababu ghuba ilikuwa na mfumo wa ikolojia wa baharini tajiri zaidi Ulaya na alitaka kuusoma. Alijenga taasisi hiyo kwa pesa za familia yake na msaada wa wanasayansi wenzake. Ilikuwa taasisi ya zamani zaidi ya utafiti wa biolojia ya baharini inayofanya kazi duniani. Ilikuwa ikichunguza pweza tangu 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.

Aliketi kwenye reli ya chuma iliyochongwa karibu na mlango. Mtafiti kijana aliyevaa viatu vyeupe na koti la maabara la buluu alikuwa akifungua mlango wa nyuma. Mwanamke huyo alimwona Polly. Hakuonekana kushangaa. "Sei in ritardo," alisema, akitabasamu. "Au labda mapema. Karibu ndani."

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."

Ndivyo Polly alivyoingia kupitia mlango wa nyuma wa Stazione Zoologica.

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

Jengo lilinukia maji ya bahari, yenye chumvi na safi. Korido ndefu zilipita kati ya vyumba vilivyojaa matanki. Kupitia kuta za kioo aliweza kuona samaki aina ya sardini wakigeuka pamoja, pweza mdogo amebanwa kwenye kona ya tanki lake, na kobe wa baharini akitembea polepole juu ya jani la kelp.

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.

Jina la mtafiti lilikuwa Chiara Bianchi. Alikuwa akichunguza utambuzi wa wanyama wa baharini katika taasisi hii kwa miaka tisa. Alitembea haraka. "Mkurugenzi yuko Stockholm wiki hii," alisema. "Utaniona mimi na wanyama zaidi. Pweza ni wanyama wetu wenye akili zaidi. Au angalau wenye akili zaidi kati ya wale ambao tuna uhakika wana ufahamu. Bado hatujajua kuhusu kobe wa baharini."

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."

Walifika kwenye tanki refu la mviringo katika chumba cha nyuma tulivu. Kadi iliyoandikwa kwa mkono kando ilisomeka PASTA, 2.3KG, GPO. Ndani ya tanki, kwenye kona, nusu imekunjwa kwenye bomba la plastiki, kulikuwa na pweza mkubwa wa Pasifiki. Sehemu kubwa ya mwili wake ilikuwa na rangi ya bomba. Mikono minane ilijizungusha vizuri. Jicho moja, la dhahabu na lenye mboni ya mstatili, liliwatizama kupitia kioo.

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 aliweka kahawa yake kwenye kaunta. "Pasta," alisema, "kutana na Polly."

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

Pweza hakusogea. Ngozi yake ilibadilika polepole kuwa rangi ya waridi laini kwenye kingo za mahali ilipogusa bomba. Polly alitikisa kichwa chake chekundu. Pweza hakutikisa chochote, lakini jicho lake moja lililokuwa linaonekana lilibaki likimtazama.

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.

"Unaweza kuketi kwenye ukingo," Chiara alisema. "Hatakumwagia maji. Yuko tulivu asubuhi. Anakuwa mwerevu alasiri."

"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."