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The Tillek's title was Speaker of Dolphins. The name was historically given to the oldest and wisest dolphin, who was the repository of all marine knowledge. After the Second Crossing, Speaker of Dolphins took on the title in honor of Jim Tillek.
Pod leaders had been taught, as had other dolphin instructors, why dolphins had followed humans to this world, far from the waters of Earth, where they had evolved: the chance to inhabit clean waters of an unpolluted world and live as dolphins had before technology had spoiled the Old Oceans of humankind. The pod leader knew, and taught this despite the astonishment it caused, that dolphins had once walked on land. That was why they were air breathers and were required by Nature to surface to inhale oxygen. The pod leader listened to tales so old not even those who had taught the Tillek knew their origins: that dolphins had been special messengers of the gods, escorting those buried at sea to their special “underworld” place. As dolphins considered the seas to be underworld, this caused some confusion. The humankind underworld was where “souls” went—whatever “souls” were.
There were some matters taught by the Tillek that had to be learned simply because they mattered as details to the whole story. They must take this on faith, for each Tillek had to learn these facts from the Tillek who had taught her. This was fact as well as faith and must be believed, though never experienced. It was History.
The Tillek said the humans who sailed in the ships would not learn of the latest hazards the dolphins had dutifully come to report. Even the waters of Pern changed the land of Pern, but that was the natural way of things. The dolphins would keep to their patrols of the coastline, and when, if ever, a human listened to them, at least they could tell him what had changed, and save his ship from being broken on unexpected reefs or rocks; or warn him of where the Currents had altered and might be a hazard to the ships and the humans who sailed on them.