((CLOSED for StarWhisperer))
Jean L. Fontaine III knew that people called him the Bug Man. Once it had even bothered him, not so much that he found the name insulting, but the word bug made his skin crawl. It was just so imprecise, that it meant nothing. Jean's fascination was with flying insects, and to have them lumped together with crawling insects and even arachnids and other things had once infuriated him. As an entomologist, he had devoted most of his life to the study of bees, butterflies, beetles and especially dragonflies and damselflies. To him, they were treasures, and his private collection filled dozens of cases. He only displayed the very best, behind glass, but even so, the living room and bedroom of his cottage resembled a museum more than a residence.
Five years ago, Jean's wife had died. His children were out in the world, busy with their own lives, and while they called often enough, they were creatures of the cities and suburbs. After Caroline's death, there had been an incident on campus. Jean's temper had got the best of him, and while he had not struck anyone, the poor girl was apparently traumatized by the vehemence of his language. All she had done was point out a wierd-looking bug, she insisted.
The University had acted swiftly to protect itself. Jean accepted a partial retirement, relieved of all teaching duties and removed from his office on campus, he was retained on partial salary in a research capacity, with an unspoken agreement that he would not appear on campus unescorted. It was ideal, for it allowed him to sell the four bedroom Victorian he had lived in while he had a family, and retire to the cottage where he did most of his field work.
The cottage was on a quarter of an acre, but was surrounded by thousands of acres of State and National Preserve, with a wide range of bio-zones within a short walk, from grassy meadows to open marshlands, pine forests to cypress swamps, and access via an old canal to the web of lakes and bayous that spread across hundreds of miles.
The day he had his surprise was like any other, he had been walking through the swamps, netting specimens where he could and taking notes for his paper on the Recovery of Dragonfly Populations After Hurricane Zoey. As dusk was falling, he began to head back, when he saw what appeared to be an unusually large firefly. He tracked it through the swamp carefully, moving silently through the muddy water in his high boots.
When he saw it coming his way, he froze. It was definitely not behaving like any other species of bioluminescent insect that he knew of, and he had to force himself not to hope. The discovery of a new species would be a triumph, but he needed a perfect specimen. He waited until it was close, and then his arm shot out. The net swooped over the thing, and snapped shut, trapping it. He let out a sigh of relief, and hurried back to the cottage to examine his catch in the light.
Jean L. Fontaine III knew that people called him the Bug Man. Once it had even bothered him, not so much that he found the name insulting, but the word bug made his skin crawl. It was just so imprecise, that it meant nothing. Jean's fascination was with flying insects, and to have them lumped together with crawling insects and even arachnids and other things had once infuriated him. As an entomologist, he had devoted most of his life to the study of bees, butterflies, beetles and especially dragonflies and damselflies. To him, they were treasures, and his private collection filled dozens of cases. He only displayed the very best, behind glass, but even so, the living room and bedroom of his cottage resembled a museum more than a residence.
Five years ago, Jean's wife had died. His children were out in the world, busy with their own lives, and while they called often enough, they were creatures of the cities and suburbs. After Caroline's death, there had been an incident on campus. Jean's temper had got the best of him, and while he had not struck anyone, the poor girl was apparently traumatized by the vehemence of his language. All she had done was point out a wierd-looking bug, she insisted.
The University had acted swiftly to protect itself. Jean accepted a partial retirement, relieved of all teaching duties and removed from his office on campus, he was retained on partial salary in a research capacity, with an unspoken agreement that he would not appear on campus unescorted. It was ideal, for it allowed him to sell the four bedroom Victorian he had lived in while he had a family, and retire to the cottage where he did most of his field work.
The cottage was on a quarter of an acre, but was surrounded by thousands of acres of State and National Preserve, with a wide range of bio-zones within a short walk, from grassy meadows to open marshlands, pine forests to cypress swamps, and access via an old canal to the web of lakes and bayous that spread across hundreds of miles.
The day he had his surprise was like any other, he had been walking through the swamps, netting specimens where he could and taking notes for his paper on the Recovery of Dragonfly Populations After Hurricane Zoey. As dusk was falling, he began to head back, when he saw what appeared to be an unusually large firefly. He tracked it through the swamp carefully, moving silently through the muddy water in his high boots.
When he saw it coming his way, he froze. It was definitely not behaving like any other species of bioluminescent insect that he knew of, and he had to force himself not to hope. The discovery of a new species would be a triumph, but he needed a perfect specimen. He waited until it was close, and then his arm shot out. The net swooped over the thing, and snapped shut, trapping it. He let out a sigh of relief, and hurried back to the cottage to examine his catch in the light.
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