I'll go even further: this story was EXTREMELY evocative of Star Trek -- not just the whales, but also the super-powerful alien telling humans not to leave earth or else (as Q threatened in the pilot of ST:TNG). Since that was forefront in my mind, it kept me from really enjoying the story. The beginning confused me a bit, and it seems as though none of these stories that jump around in time and location and characters really keep my interest. Doing that, I think, makes it hard to make the stories about people. I mean, what is it that Frank was doing that was so illegal? What had he done since his dissertation failed? All I know is that he was apparently the only expert on this phenomenon on the entire planet.
The last sentence was kind of clunky, too.
I don't know that Frank Key was the best choice for narrator, either. He's better with stories that have humor, and this one really didn't.
Overall: meh.