(The Yeerks injected us with something,) Cassie said, sounding as if she didnt know what to make of the situation. (Right into out brains. But I)
Just then, pain like nothing six of the eight Animorphs had ever felt, stabbed into their heads like so many invisible knives. Shara and Slade were the only ones not to scream during the whole process; Slade because he had a higher pain threshold than the transformed humans and Andalite, and Shara because she had clear memories of much worse pain.
Nothing could really come close to matching what the Radam had done to her; not in her eyes, at least.
Just as the pain was starting to become annoying to the two transformed Teknomen, a siren began to reverberate through the water. It was an oddly soothing sound, particularly for being so loud. The results were even more odd, and even more soothing for all that: the taste of warm blood the ultimate pleasure for a shark in the mouths of every shark that heard it.
(What is happening now?) Ax demanded.
(I dont know, but its kinda nice,) Marco said, relieved to have gotten past the pain.
The next sensation to fill the heads of the Animorphs in their identical shark morphs was a strange one. All the more for the fact that it was so very human. The shark, with its simple, single-minded desire for hunting an killing and feeding, began to notice things that had nothing to do with its base desires.
The shark noted the patterns of corrugated steel that formed the underwater portions of the dock they were all sitting in. The shark scented the water, and noticed the smells of oil, rust, and seaweed. Things that couldnt be killed and eaten, but things that had been there all the same.
(This might sound insane, but I think my shark is getting smarter,) Marco said, with an undertone of mild disbelief in his silent voice.
(Just like the sharks that attacked us that first time,) Rachel said.
(My shark brain just wondered,) Cassie said, sounding awed. (It wondered whether there would be prey for it later.)
(Now that sounds sharklike,) Jake said, with a weary sort of humor.
(No!) Cassie exclaimed. (Sharks dont wonder. A shark cant even form the concept of a future, let alone wonder about it. Its completely impossible.)
(So, what does that mean for us now?) Shara asked, feeling as if there was some vital information that she was still missing.
(Its the Yeerks,) Cassie said, stating the obvious but not seeming to care. (Theyve altered these brains. Thats why those sharks were able to work together the last time. The Yeerks are mutating these shark brains; we just had the first treatment.)
(Why would they be doing something like that?) Rachel wondered aloud.
(There is only one real reason that the Yeerks would bother altering the physiology of these brains,) Ax stated calmly. (To make it possible for a Yeerk to enter them. The shark brain in its natural state is too small, too simplistic, for the Yeerks to control. They are, therefore, mutating the sharks to make them suitable for infestation. They will need to add ear canals as well, so that the Yeerks will be able to enter and leave the brain as necessary.)
(A new version of Hork-Bajir,) Marco summarized. (Thats what theyre after. They want tough, deadly shock-troops that can be sent underwater, and they want them able to fight things that would rip a Taxxon to shreds. What better soldier could you ask for than a shark-Controller? Its perfect.)
(Yeah,) Tobias agreed, his voice grim. (The perfect nightmare to unleash on any peaceful species.)
(I have to agree,) Shara said. (With both of you; this plan of theirs is deviously cruel.)