"Hm... Well, I don't know any merpeople games... What games do you like to play?"
Secretly, Nobuyuki knew that if he could keep Hali happy enough, he could conduct his own behavioral observations, and one of the best ways to observe any being was during play, as it shows the learning process...
Nobuyuki was surprised at the reaction, but did his best to hide it.
"That's quite alright. We can do something else if you'd rather... Do you like games?"
"It's a pretty nice peice of technology. Say, would you like to try something interesting, like a little experiment? I'd like to see how you'd react to different situations..."
The device came up to only a couple of feet from the merman before it began scanning him as well. A picture slowly formed on the screan, showing Hali's intricate scales and webbed digits, amoungst many other details. Once the diagrams were completed, Nobuyuki printed out the one of the...
"Would you like to try it out? I'll show you the picture afterwards if you want me to." Nobuyuki offered. He also had some ideas for experimental studies, but they would be useless without a decent scanning of how Hali's body looked when he was still.
"Well Hali, you don't need to be afraid. This is just how I'm going to take your picture." He turned a small knob on the remote control and then stood still as a geometric plane of red light began slowly scanning him. As it did, his image appeared on a screan, with some dimensions alongside...
"My name? My name is Dr. Nobuyuki Tashinamu. What's yours?" He went over to a small cabinet and took out a high definition camera and a remote.
Pressing a button on said remote caused a large scanning eye to decend from the ceiling, away from the tank. He walked over to the scanner and...
Nobuyuki used his own, unwebbed hand to examine the mermans'. He found himself truly fascinated by the differences in anatomy, and yet the vast similarities that were present between the two.
"Um...if you don't mind my doing so, I'd like to take some anatomical photos... It won't hurt, it...
"OH! Oh, of course, I'm so sorry... I'm afraid I got a bit carried away..." He walked quickly back over to the box and unlocked it, opened it, and retrieved the necklace, bringing it back to the tank.
After handing the necklace over to the merman, he held out his hand. "May I please see...
"The quality of this piece is amazing..." Nobuyuki was too entranced to notice the merman's hand at first. "Your people must have delicate tools to be able to make such intricate peices...and these shells! You did make this, didn't you?" He looked up at the being and tilted his head when he...
"Well, we humans have changed since long ago. Things are done differently now..." He sighed and climbed down the ladder by the tank, figuring he ought to change the subject. "So, I have to ask...Did you make this...this necklace that was with you?" He walked over to the box, which was a good...
"Oh, well, I didn't capture you. This is the first time I've ever seen you to be honest... You got caught up in some netting from a boat, and when they saw you, they realized what a huge discovery you were. See, us humans didn't have any scientific proof that merpeople, that's what us...
"Wow... Can you breathe air then? I suppose so, you had those bubbles in your mouth..." Nobuyuki reached his hand out towards the merman, hoping he might come closer.