Revelations

Outside the small white room that he had occupied for an undisclosed amount of time, Dr. Grant found himself in the hull of a large ship.  The halls were well lit, very much like a hospital or institution, and not at all musty like you would expect from the inside of a barge.
At first, he was unaware of the size of the ship, as the first corridor he travelled was bereft of any windows.  It wasn't until they manoeuvred through a maze of hallways that led to the fresh outside air that he got his first glimpse of the layout.
They walked along a railed path that overlooked a garden, surrounded by a track populated by joggers dressed in the same white uniform as Jane.  To the left of the garden lay tennis and basketball courts, a venerable recreational centre.  Behind this, towards the stern of the ship, looked to be a sort of laboratory.
As Jane and the doctor walked towards the bow, they came upon a glass elevator, where Jane stopped.
"This is you, doctor."  The contempt in her voice replaced by a cold sincerity, "Mr. Smith will see you now.  Don't bother lying, it will only waste your time and ours."
Without a word to his unpleasant host, the doctor pushed the only button beside the door, waited only a moment, and stepped in.

He found himself in a bright room, with a sweet scent of ginger and jasmine.  Above him was a glass ceiling, currently open to let in the ocean air.  There were no computers or electronics of any kind, not so much as a clock.
On the floor, sitting in a semi-circle, were three men all around his age in appearance, sitting cross legged, amidst conversation.
He gingerly strolled towards the group and stood in the opening of the semi-circle.
They continued their discussion for a moment before reverting to silence.
He stood in awkward stillness for a moment.
The elderly gentleman who seemed to be leading the talk picked up a an unusual shaped cup with a slight steam coming from it, delicately took a sip, and with out looking up, began "Please Dr. Grant.  Sit down.  We're all very anxious to meet you.  Would you care for some tea?"
"Indeed.  The last drink I remember having tasted overwhelmingly of salt water."  Even in such a circumstance, he was unable to resist a quip.
"Hmmm." considered the elder.  "Charles mentioned you were an affable gentleman.   But please, doctor, try to keep the wise cracks to a minimum.  We have important business to discuss."
He paused to indulge his tea once more, as the man to his left handed Dr. Grant one of the oddly shaped cups, made to not warm the hand, but to sit quite comfortably and securely in the palm, and proceeded to fill it with the warm, smooth decoction.  Here was the source of the ginger and jasmine aroma.
"To my right is our head of aquatic activity and marine life, Mr. Jones, and to my left, our head of religion and theology, Mr. Ryan.  To the crew I'm known only as Mr. Smith, but please, forego the designation.  Smith is fine, and I'm sure these gentlemen won't mind if you take the same liberty with their appellations.
"Welcome doctor." piped Jones, followed by a nod and a raise of the glass from Ryan.
Smith continued, "To get right down to it, we're concerned with protecting the life of the child.  As you must already have concluded, there's more than a few threats towards his survival.  Some that you may have some trouble believing, but I assure you.  Here, we do NOT jest."
Ryan picked up the conversation, "Our organization is dedicated to the survival not just of the human race, but of the planet as well.  We've devoted our lives to knowledge, science and philosophy.  As a result, the signs of the apocalypse are finally becoming palpable."
"The apocalypse?  One kid with gills and you expect me to swallow the end of the world speech?"
"Please doctor," beckoned Smith, "don't let the term deter you.  Apocalypse means nothing more than revelation.  A new understanding is dawning upon the world.  Begin with that.  It will ease the acceptance of what we've been working towards for centuries."
"Centuries..."he considered.
"Yes," continued Ryan, "We've been learning to understand our bodies and souls for quite some time.  Ever heard of the biblical character Methusala?"
Dr. Grant looked up from his reverie, "Go on." he prompted.
"Have you never considered it possible that a man could have lived so long?"
"With the power of a god behind him I'm sure a man could achieve many supernatural abilities."
"Not a god, doctor.  The God.  The great evolver."
"...You're serious?"  He replied more as a statement of disbelief than a question.
"Very much so.  Only by this revelation were we able to understand how Methusala maintained such prolonged life.  The creator gave us the ability to evolve.  As a doctor I'm sure you must agree with the theory of evolution, yes?"
"I accept it, yes."
"And how could you not?  It's evident in every thing.  The brain's ability to learn and grow, the way an idea manifests itself and turns into a plan, then to an action.  Age is the natural course of all things, deterioration is the science of all things physical to adapt to the world in which they are in.  Just as rock erodes from the sea, the body deteriorates.
However, its the understanding of this progression, and the ability of a creator far superior to any that we could imagine, to change his art, that allows us to adapt our bodies, minds, and souls to our surroundings.  And in turn, grow with the environment, as living contributors, not cancers."
The room fell silent for a moment as the three gave Dr. Grant a moment to chew this over.
"So, what you're saying, is that no one has to die?"
"No! No!  People have to die.  That is the natural order.  We could fall into the sea and drown today!  It's careful planning and knowledge that allows us to participate in the will of the universe, not immortality my good man."
"Fair enough, for now.  You'll have to give me some time to digest that.  What I'm curious about is just how the birth of this fish child plays into your apocalypse theory."
Gracefully, and without taking offence at his slight, Ryan continued.
"Shark child, doctor, and we believe its up to him to unite the land and sea.  In a few years there's going to be a lot more ocean, and we're going to have to adapt to survive.  The real problem lays in the will of its inhabitants."
"The lords of the sea are just as aware of the great change coming upon us as we are."  Jones finally interjected.  "And before you raise a question, yes, I said the Lords of the Sea.  There are major players for the earth in the ocean just as on land.  Our biggest concern right now, is the Megalodon."
"The pre-historic shark?"
"The lord of them, yes.  There are several living out of the sight of sonar.  They too have evolved.  We have reason to believe that they became keenly aware of sonar, and have devised a way to deflect it, and render themselves invisible.  The birth of a man shark may be very threatening to them.  It is prudent that we monitor  the course of the young one's life.  We don't know the will of the sea towards the child, but we can only speculate that being of both worlds, he'll be unwelcome in both, to say the least."
"Where is the child being taken?" questioned Ryan.
"...The Okanagan."
A look of surprise and terror appeared on the old men's faces.
"Oh no...You're not gonna tell me..."
"Yes.  The Ogopogo."