The scientist made a series of important observations over the years, including about their social structure and methods of communication. She realized each dolphin had a key signature, a unique whistle that a dolphin used in its songs, that others would use when nearby. This whistle potentially was what some people would call a name.

For her college thesis, Cora applied for a month-long internship with the scientist. On the application, she used her married name and did not describe her past experience. Even decades later, dolphin researchers still talked about the scandal.

Her internship was in June. The scientist and her researchers, as well as five interns including Cora, boarded the ship. On this trip, the researchers were excited because they’d created an underwater keyboard that could play back the key signatures of the twenty dolphins who visited most frequently. The researchers would try the keyboard with the dolphins for the first time to see how they reacted.

They anchored the boat at the normal spot. A team of four was assigned to each watch. As soon as any of them saw dolphins cutting through the water, the team would grab the keyboard and some scarves and jump into the sea.

The first time Cora dove in, she felt such joy seeing the dolphins approach, at least thirty of them. She thought of Mother and Kat and their children and grandchildren, imagined them moving through the water like this, so curious and strong.

The dolphins had no fear of the researchers. They circled the main scientist, squealing with pleasure.

The first day, the researchers couldn’t use the keyboard because the group of dolphins visiting did not include any of the twenty dolphins whose names were programmed into the keyboard. Each time a new group of dolphins came by, the team on watch dove in. It was eight days before one of the twenty dolphins visited, a male with a white-tipped dorsal fin. However, when they pressed the key to play his signature, no sound came from the device. Back on the boat, they took the keyboard apart and found it full of seawater. They installed new electronics but, a few days later, some of those circuits failed so they had to re-solder them. The device was clearly a prototype.

Each time she was given a turn in the water, Cora did not kick aggressively toward the dolphins like some of the interns did. Instead she simply played with a scarf. The dolphins would swim closer to her than the others, watching, would take the scarf from her when she held it out. The researchers noticed the dolphins’ preference. They selected her to be on the dive team more often.

Thus, the day the keyboard worked, she happened to be in the water.

The dolphin, Snowflake, had a speckled beak and a divot in her right fluke. She had taken the offered scarf from Cora and was swimming away with it, moving quickly. This was the moment when the researcher with the keyboard pressed a key, playing Snowflake’s name. The keyboard worked. They all heard it. A rising pitch with a trill.