The Prophesy: Book 4 - Armageddon

 

After playing with Spare Ribs for a little bit, Harp looked at Ian and Colibri.

"I think it is time to see what we can learn. Colibri, you have learned to adjust your frequency for telepathy so you can talk to just about every species. This one is slightly lower than the Canines, and a narrower bandwidth. Follow us but do not talk for a bit. I want you to feel comfortable at that range, and, well, Felines are not Canines."

"I know. Okay. I will listen."

"Ian, stay in Feline form as security backup. I am not worried about Spare Ribs but about his mate."

A growl answered Harp’s comment.

Harp sat down and invited the big male Cat to put his head on his lap, effectively telling him he trusted the big Leopard. While scratching his ears, to much purring, he relaxed and brought his thought processes to the Feline’s range.

«So? What brings you to us?»

The big Cat looked around, alarmed.

«Hey, I am scratching your ears, so no use looking for someone else.»

The big Cat sat up and looked at Harp in the eyes.

«Yes, I can. I always was able to, but we decided that you were not ready. It seems you are now. So, back to the reason of your travel?»

«Bring family home. Safety. Kittens sick.»

«The Kittens are sick?»

«Yes.»

«Can you talk to your mate so she brings them to us?»

«What will you do to my Kittens?»

«It depends on what they have. I cannot tell until I look at them closely. What is your name, mate of Spare Ribs?»

«Name? What is Name? What is Spare Ribs?»

«Spare Ribs is the Name of your mate. There are many like him and we needed to know whom we were talking of or to. When your mate exchanges with you, how does he call you? Your mate knows it is his name, look at how his ears perk when the other one, whose name is Colibri, calls his name.»

«We do not call each other Name. He is mate, I am mate; these are Kittens, ready to leave the Den. Food has name?»

«Get that out of your mind. Colibri is not food. He is different, but not food.»

«He smells like food, therefore he is food.»

«You smell like food to him, and yet he is not eating you.»

«I smell like food? I?»

«Yes, you! We are ones that eat, the predator here.»

«That, I cannot believe!»

«Spare Ribs, I think your mate is more stubborn than you were. Mind moving out of the way for an instant? I will not hurt her, but she might hurt you or herself.»

The big 350 pound male Cat gently moved off Harp’s lap, after giving his face a lavish tongue bath, much to the surprise of the female.

"Ian, stand between the female and Colibri. He has not gained shape-shifting yet."

Ian stood between the three Felines and Colibri, clearly indicating he was protecting him from any foul play.

«Have a bite, mate of Spare Ribs. I will not even fight back.»

The female did not trust that strange animal that seemed to believe he could resist her jaws, so she came closer slowly. Harp extended his hand, now covered in Dragon scale, and waited. She did not move, so Harp moved his hand right in front of her muzzle and tried to rub her nose. Instinct took over, and the female clamped her jaws hard on the offending piece of meat, only to meet something that offered more resistance than the hipbone of a Bull! However hard she tried to bite, twist, or pull, her teeth kept sliding on the skin. The taste of blood was making her think she was getting somewhere, but the impassive face of the prey disturbed her.

«That tickles! And you just broke a tooth, female. Now, it is two. I think it is getting to the point I can feel your blood trickle off your mouth. Open up! You are hurting yourself, for no good reason!» said Harp.

The female backed off and took a swipe at Harp, only to notice one of her nails get torn! What kind of food was that? Harp looked at her, and then converted to the biggest Cat she had ever seen, which then took her by the nape of the neck, and lifted her 300 pounds off the ground and shook her gently, making the point she was food if he so chose. Coming back to his Atlantean form, but keeping the Dragon skin, Harp sat back.

«Come here, open your mouth.»

«What will you do?»

«I will fix your broken teeth. You cannot eat properly with two broken teeth.»

«Will it hurt?»

«Much less than your attitude and stubbornness.»

The Feline walked closer, opened her mouth and waited. Harp looked at the two teeth, and quickly regenerated them from the root to the tip, taking the time to replace a rotten maxillary tooth.

«Done. You must have had a pain in the jaws over the last few years. You had a rotten tooth. I fixed that too. Give me your paw.»

The Cat obediently lifted her right paw.

«I see three broken nails, and a torn forefinger. That is the cost of attacking us. Let me fix that.»

Harp fixed the torn forefinger, regenerating it from the middle phalange to the tip, including the nail; he then regenerated the broken nails from the root, and sharpened the rear nail as well.

«There, you are good as new. Roll on your back!»

«So you can kill me easily?»

«So I can fix the other paws. If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead before even knowing what happened.»

Harp flipped her on the back without even touching her, much to the female’s surprise, and began examining her paws, fixing things as he went, such as removing a wood shard, fixing a dislocated hip, and repairing skin where fights had left her itchy. He also deprived the Fleas and varmint of their food by porting them into the river down below their location.

«You must be less itchy. You were infested. Now get going to sit beside your mate. I have to look at why your Kittens are sick. We are not done. I only took care of the outside. If your skin is an indication of what is inside, you are a mess! Ian, bring me that female Kitten.»

Ian ported behind the young female and grabbed her by the neck to bring her to Harp, over much meowing. Spare Ribs eyed his mate and saw her getting ready to jump at a meal in the person of Colibri. Spare Ribs knew better, but decided to let his mate learn the lesson on her own. If that food was not food, he knew better than to defy his Mother! After all, he had learned the hard way that food was not always food! Colibri also noticed Spare Ribs mate’s attitude and decided to give her a lesson. He waited for her to be in full jump to port a rock in her path, and when she had collided with it, he made it disappear and ported himself right behind her. Using Magic to lift the heavy Cat, he threw her on her back and grabbed her by the neck using his own mouth and a lot of Magic, lifting her off the ground before throwing her off on the side.

«Try again, food, and you will not live!» he said, much to the Feline’s surprise.

Ian almost dropped the Kitten out of laughter, but managed to hold his grip. Once he was near Harp, he dropped the female Kitten and held her in place by placing a strong paw on her neck.

«She is all yours!» growling at the female still trying to escape his grip.

Harp examined the female, which tried to bite him repeatedly, only to earn a few powerful swipes at her sensitive nose with a hard hand equipped with Dragon claws. The lesson carried, and Harp waited until he had finished examining her to repair the mashed nose.

«Spare Ribs, this Kitten has Worms and Fleas all over. I have removed the Fleas and Worms, but she needs a thorough check-up and healing. We will need to bring her with us. If this is an indication of what the male suffers, he too will need to come. A week in the healing den for both would do them good. Your mate as well, and I would like to put you in it for a day.»

«Healing Den?»

«Remember where we recovered your Brother? He was severely hurt and spent some time in one. You too, for that matter, but it was short, since you were healthier.»

«Mother?»

«Do what Dad asks.» replied Ian.

«Where is Brother?»

«We are going to pick him up after your family is in care of the Den. We separated you two, since you kept fighting all the time. I hope relations between your Brother and you will improve. He too is heading toward the point you are searching for, home.»

Meanwhile, Ian had cornered the male, who sure did not take to being dominated by a female! A few shake-ups that sent hair flying in every direction, a bite or two in the butt, and a swipe on the nose brought the Cat to better dispositions.

"Customer two at your disposal, Harp. We have a feisty one here.»

«He holds the temper from his Dad! I remember having to shake up Spare Ribs a couple of times to get my point across!»

The easy treatment was done in a flash, but the rest of the process required a move to the Ark General Hospital. Harp communicated with the Staff and had four stasis chambers prepared for the Felines.

«Sit down on the ground, all four of you. We will get you to the care Den.»

«How can we walk sitting?»

«Do what Dad says, female! I have seen this often enough when I was not yet mated to know it is possible!» said Spare Ribs, as he sat beside Ian. The mate had doubts, but decided to sit as well, some distance away from the Food, and a growl from Ian made it clear to the two Kittens that they had better sit down as well.

«Colibri, do the porting, please.»

«As you wish, Harp.»

«Now you know why they name us. If Father had called out Food, who would it have been, the one they call Colibri, the Kittens, you, or me? We need names.»

The female did not answer. There was still so much she did not understand. As she looked at the river, it suddenly disappeared to be replaced by a strange place with even stranger smells.

«This is what I meant by walking without walking, female,» said Spare Ribs.

«Okay. We are in the Feline rooms of the health care den. Each one of you will receive his own healing den. Spare Ribs, jump in that one!» said Harp.

The big Cat immediately obeyed.

«Sit in it for a while. I will prepare your Kittens and mate. Watch.»

Harp ported the female Kitten into a stasis chamber, putting her to sleep during the port to prevent any panic. After putting her down on the side, he installed the cover, and started the preparation cycle. He repeated the process for all three Cats.

«Your family is now getting a diagnostic. I already have one for your female. She is just infected by a lot of crap, including Worms affecting her muscles. She should be out of there shortly after you.»

«What about the Kittens?»

«The diagnostic is more complicated. Their immune system is compromised. So is your mate’s, but since she is older and stronger, it is putting a bigger fight. Ah, we have a diagnostic: FIV, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. It is treatable. The treatment is going to take a full regeneration of their immune system, using nanobots. I know you do not understand what I am talking about. I suspect you have the same issue. I will be sending a group of us to find out where you caught this. You were in perfect health and so were all the Cats before we released them to your natural habitat. There must be something we missed. Now, your turn to go to sleep.»

«Brother?»

«I think your Brother has the same issue with his family. We will go get him and his brood, and heal them. Then we will find the source of the infection, while healing the other Cats. Healing the Cats should not take too much effort, Spare Ribs. You are few. We will do our best. Before I put you to sleep, one question. What do you eat?»

«Big prey is mostly this; but we eat a lot of Rodents.»

Harp recognised the form and smell of a Tayassu Tajacu or Collared Peccary, of the Pig family, and in the Rodent family, he saw a big Capybara.

«Nothing else?»

«No.»

«Okay, Sleep. We will find the vector and clean it up.»

«Can we stay?»

«I missed you, Spare Ribs, but that will depend on how your family behaves. You saw your Kittens’ behaviour and your mate’s. We cannot risk them considering everyone food.»

«I know. Let us try.»

«Okay. We will talk about that when you are healed.»

Spare Ribs lowered himself on the bottom of the stasis chamber and fell asleep. Harp began his diagnostic and found the Cat also was infected so he activated the therapeutic process. After sampling each Cat for the FIV strain, he got the process underway to determine if they were derived from a common source or were the result of independent infection.

«Paschal, I need you to do a full genome analysis on viral strands! The Cats suffer from FIV, and we need to determine prevalence, source, virulence and history! Send a team to check on the Tayassu and the Capybara population to determine which of these is the vector of the virus. Also, I want a team to determine each species’ range and intersect with the Sabre-tooth Snow Leopard and other Felines’ range. From there, I want a study of propagation across the Ark! Get as many Elves as needed on the task. The situation is critical! Also check whether other species feed on the two, and if they are infected as well!»

«All right, I have sounded the red alert. Every Ark team is coming to report to the dispatch at the Ark Centre. I just received your blood samples. I am putting them in a biohazard class four safe environment for analysis. Expect the first results within 24 hours. Is this Spare Ribs?»

«Yes. How did you know?»

«The blood reacted to a marker. I will handle that personally. Tell Ian I will not be available on the Bridge for the next 24 hours.»

«He is aware of the situation already. He is waiting on me to go get Fang Chao and his family.»

«Okay. Good luck. How is Colibri doing?»

«Fine.»

***

The recovery of Fang Chao went much like it did for Spare Ribs. Fang Chao was somewhat sicklier than Spare Ribs, showing his infection dated earlier. Careful count of viral loads and CD4 cells showed this to be the case. It did not mean that the infection was originating from Fang Chao’s range and spreading from there, only that Fang Chao had eaten the vector earlier than Spare Ribs had. His family was also put in stasis chamber, and teams of Elves began retrieving every Feline family from the forest for treatment. The issue of vector became more complex as more and more Feline families showed signs of FIV. Within 24 hours, all 16,724 Cats had been captured and put in stasis for emergency treatment.

Paschal did not hesitate: he ordered stomach contents flushed and examined for dietary components. The problem became even more complex as the Cats seemed to eat just about anything, from Birds to Fishes to Monkeys, Rats, anything with a bit of meat on the bones, and all, without exception, suffered from one form or other of FIV.

Meanwhile, another group captured a sample of Monkeys, Peccaries, Capybaras, and Rodents of a wide variety. Blood samples were taken and viral analysis was done on a wide scale. Paschal expanded his level-four laboratory to allow for thousands of tests to be done simultaneously, while the FIV virus was analysed for mutation rates, evolutionary history, and geographic spreading pattern.

After 24 hours, a pattern began to emerge, but it was strange. The virus was spreading so fast it just did not make sense. Paschal decided to bring his results to the morning meeting of the Royals, in the hope of getting a tip from anyone on the vector. Paschal took a dive in the frigidarium to wake up; 24 hours without sleep was not keeping him fresh as a flower, and he was getting grumpier than a Bear before hibernation.

***

"Hey, Enron, I wanted to talk to you. I have issues about the propagation of FIV in the Felines."

"I have been told by the Ark Staff about the problem. What is the data?"

"Let us sit there, and look at the maps. Something is not how it should be."

The two Boys used the big conference table and spread a map of the Ark layer reserved for Felines and the ecosystem reproduced for their benefit.

"AI-5, drop the silk screen, and project the map on it, please."

A map of the Ark level in consideration appeared, revealing vegetation, and streams.

"Overlay contour?"

Contour lines appeared, clearly revealing the limits of water basins.

"Overlay Feline distribution, by species."

That revealed the fact that Sabre-tooth snow Leopards were usually found in colder, mountainous areas, but their land occupancy overlapped other Felines, from mountain Lions to Ocelots.

"Overlay prey distribution."

Another layer appeared, more complex, as each Feline had its preferred prey, with the Leopards eating just about anything that happened to be unlucky enough to cross their path. On the other hand, they were the only Felines big enough to eat Capybara on a regular basis. The other Cats were content with lesser, more numerous preys.

"Overlay the distribution of FIV."

It covered every square inch of Feline territory, all species confounded.

"That does not make sense. Some areas should be clear! After all, no single vector covers all the territory, and some territories are isolated!" exclaimed Enron as he saw the result.

"That is one thing that ticked me off. AI-5, please regress the layer to its point of origin from the mutation distribution of the FIV virus. Watch!"

The cover began to shrink, finally reduced to a very small region in a deep swamp, several thousand miles away from the nearest concentration of Felines.

"There lies the crux of the problem. Cats never even crossed the area; the track logs are formal. How could they have caught it? In fact, apart from Insects and Bats, there is not much in the form of animal life forms there. It is swamps, rotting trees, and nothing much else, Snakes in profusion, but no big animal. Yet, somehow, a virus escaped from that and contaminated the Cats, which were not immune to it. Furthermore, once it left that area, it spread much faster than what would be expected. I thought the problem was the Capybara acting as vector, but if you look carefully, it spreads from the swamps along streams, some of which have no Capybara, or, for that matter no Felines. It is found in the blood stream of just about every Mammal in the area. From Mice up, but the only ones it endangers are Felines."

"How did you collect the samples?"

"I was not dumb enough to send in anybody unshielded. They used Spiders to do the data collection!"

Colibri had been eyeing the show with critical attention.

"Did you ever consider the vector must be small enough to infect a Mouse without killing it? I would lean toward a Mosquito of some type."

"A Mosquito? There must be some 20 species in that swamp!"

"Yes, but only one that is the vector, and is spread over the entire Feline lands. AI-5?"

"Yes, Colibri?"

"Do we have Mosquito distribution maps by species?"

"Yes."

"Which ones cover the Feline territory in its entirety?»

«The Anopheles is the only Mosquito found everywhere. Here is the overlay.»

"That is interesting, Colibri. What do you make of this?"

"Well, the Anopheles is the vector. It stings every damn hot-blooded animal it meets to draw blood for its eggs. It probably injects a parasite that itself carries the FIV virus; the parasite grows in many animals, but only the Felines are sensitive to the virus. It infects a Cat and it gets FIV, crossing over dry lands in the blood stream of the Cats, who get stung again, and spread the virus through the Anopheles to other Mammals and so forth "

Enron whistled.

"That makes sense, a lot of sense. Now. Just how do we deal with it? Anopheles Mosquitoes are so widespread it is just about uncontrollable. The Ancients tried and failed miserably. Ian, when you got Colibri, you got a little pearl!"

"I know!"

"What do we do? Nothing stops that virus from mutating and attacking other animals with devastating effects! It could undermine the entire Ark project! If the two Cats we raised had not though of coming to us for help, we might have missed the entire issue entirely!" said Ian.

"I was going to suggest we vaccinate the Mosquitoes against the virus, but I just imagined us trying to insert a needle in a Mosquito! Keep still little one, it will not hurt, I promise!" said Sitar. Everyone sobered up after a good laugh at the image of trying to shoot a vaccine in a Mosquito butt.

"Maybe you can vaccinate using a different method. Why not use a counter-virus, one that attacks the FIV virus in the guts of the Anopheles?" suggested Colibri.

"That is an interesting suggestion Colibri, but how do we spread it around?"

"They breath, do they not? Spray it."

"The only issue I have with the counter-virus is it could merge with the other one and create a super-virus. I think we need something different. How about a crystal, a prion, maybe?" suggested Enron.

"Or simply a protein that would block the reproduction of the virus in the saliva glands of the Mosquitoes by binding with the RNA production?" suggested Thorsten.

"All these solutions are attractive, but we must make sure they do not in any way interfere with normal expression of life," said Harold, from the presiding chair.

"Dad, one way or another, that virus has to go. It may be important, it may not be important, but it is killing the Cats. And nothing tells us it will not start killing us later on."

"Ian is right," said Samson. "It is a war, and one where the word genocide must take its full implacable meaning. That virus must be eradicated to the last. That means dealing with it where it shares a common point: the salivary glands of the Anopheles. The best solution is to vaporise a thick cloud of the selected vector over the entire area affected, repeatedly."

"Repeatedly?"

"The Anopheles has a specific life cycle. We must meet them at the time they emerge from their pupal stage to begin their Adult life and present them with no option but to swallow our vector. Since females can live for a month, and they are the sole vectors of Mosquito stings, that implies we must maintain the spray for at least two months, 24 hours a day."

"That will demand a lot of resources, once we have the vector. How much product will we need?"

"Dad, the exact mass will depend on efficiency, density of covering, and a lot of other factors. From what Samson said, we need to cover right to the canopy and probably above it for several hundred feet?"

"Right to the canopy and maybe an additional 100 feet, yes. The goal is to saturate the atmosphere so every female Adult emerging from a pool of water has to breath our product during her drying cycle before taking off."

"Okay. Thorsten, Harp, Colibri, Paschal! You are to combine resources to develop that vector. Work on multiple fronts. If you can combine two or three vectors, do so. Timor, you have been heading the search for Atlantis One since we moved here. What is the result?"

"I was hoping to find traces of an Atlantean colony somewhere. Unfortunately, there is none. Are we sure Atlantis orbited Lupus-Alpha?"

"No, the Archives dating to that time were rather inconclusive. Did you find anything?"

"Not really. The planet seems to have seen innumerable meteorite bombardment, but that was it. Ian, why did you pick Lupus-Alpha?"

"It is the brightest of the Lupus constellation. I figured I needed a starting point to explore the 15 brightest stars of the Lupus group."

"Ian, I hope you are aware that the constellation of the Wolf is an illusion, and that the stars are at different depths?"

"I am not that naïve. Give me some credit, Thorsten. Since we have nothing here, progress down to Lupus-Beta, and so forth. Let us spend 24 hours per star, and when we find a promising one, we mark it, and then from the group, we select the most promising."

"Okay, Ian. There is something strange about these stellar Archives of yours, you know. How come they have an exhaustive catalogue of life forms in the Pyramids, but they do not have the exact location of Atlantis?"

"Probably because it was self-evident at the time."

"A self-evident location? Dubious."

"Ian, I think you forgot to take into account one tiny tip we have on the location of Atlantis’ primary."

"What is that, Dad?"

"History."

"History?"

"Remember that Atlantis was being evacuated because the primary star was on the verge of going nova or super-nova, depending on its original mass. The only colony ship barely escaped with its Crew because the star exploded prematurely. We need to look for a star remains, not a star."

"Oh shit! You are right! Samson, how many stars of the Lupus constellation went nova or super-nova over the course of time since the colonists left Atlantis One? Can you find out the oldest blow-out?"

"I am working on it, Ian. Lupus has, from Ancient Human Archives, a series of 100 stars, and that certainly does not include black holes. They had enough trouble with anything emitting light. Finding a black hole, once its halo was gone was impossible for them. The double star we are orbiting has its primary on the verge of going super-nova. We are playing with fire by staying that close. Anyway, the neutron star that is beaming its radiation around like a rotating light is dangerous."

"Okay. Move us back four light-years, Alexander."

"Me?" Alexander squeaked.

"Yes, you. Enron has been teaching you the helm for a few months, and getting us out of this gravity well should be a breeze by now. Pulse at warp 9 for 0.66 minutes to get out of the solar system, then enter warp 9.999 for 32 minutes. Engage when ready."

While keeping an eye on how Alexander was doing, Ian watched the reports flowing to Samson’s station.

"The most recent super-nova is catalogued as SN1006, Ian. It became visible from Earth on May 1, 1006 AD, and given that the star is 7,500 light-years away, it dates from May 1, 6494 BC. The super-nova was a type Ia. Yet there were two others. Much earlier, Gamma-Lupus, a variable beta-Cepheid, is a binary star system where one of the pair blew its top, producing a neutron star. The next one is not catalogued. It is a black hole detectable by its gravity well only. Our own Catalogue puts it in Lupus only because it is within the body of Lupus. It is 37,231 light-years away from Earth, and, by far, the furthest star within the constellation that is still part of the Milky Way. Naturally, the binary system we were orbiting is also a nova remains, as the neutron star testifies. It occurred so far back it predates the destruction of Atlantis One."

"I get it. The only star left that is a viable candidate is that black hole. Epoch of explosion, location within Lupus and the fact that it is not catalogued by Humans all indicate it is the best. Alexander, you should receive the trajectory to that black hole. Engage transwarp drive, at 9.99999. AI-6, estimate ETA?"

"3.3260625 days, Ian."

"I hate it when that AI comes back with such precise numbers "

"I can estimate to the nearest picoseconds "

"Get lost!"

"I cannot, I am stuck in a pyramid!"

"Trajectory laid out," notified Alexander, as Colibri took second helm.

"Helm synchronised," reported Colibri.

«Helmsmen in trance! Trance synchronised.»

«Engage!» ordered Ian. «Secondary helm on standby!»

The stream of light that helped manoeuvre the ship while below warp suddenly moved to the far gamma range, becoming invisible to any outside observer before flashing right back to the deep infrared as the transwarp drive kicked in. Once the drive engaged, the ionic drive was put on standby, ready to be activated once the ship fell back to within its power range.

«Enron and Rockhook reporting from secondary helm! Ready and on standby to replace Colibri.»

«Rotate every hour, on the hour! Ternary, quaternary Crew report to standby quarters!»

"Why all the precautions, Ian?" asked Harold.

"We will be passing inside the core of the galaxy Dad. So far, we have skimmed the periphery, but the density of stars will increase exponentially as we move forward. It will be very tiring for each Crew. Luckily, we have well over 12 Crews available, full complement, all of equal competence, so we will not be burning anyone. One hour at one or the other Bridge will be more than enough! Enron, Colibri, when your are done with your shift, report to Paschal and Harp to help that search for the treatment!"

***

"Hey, Williams, what brings you on the Bridge?" asked Harold, surprised to see the Man there. Williams, for all his knowledge about ships, felt overwhelmed by the space ship, and had been keeping a low profile ever since they had left the Earth.

"We collected new life forms when we intervened with the Cubes. According to Ian, they were produced by another accident. What bothers me is the fact that we have yet to get more of them?"

"I have been asking myself the same question."

Dunbar, which had been taking a tea with Harold as they watched the virtual projection of stars play on the forward screen, and surprised at how often the ship changed trajectory to avoid collisions they were not even aware as imminent, looked away from the fascinating display.

"I think I have a good idea. The Soul-eaters had been creating havoc in the galaxy for billions of years and just about destroyed advanced life as it emerged in the galaxy. It was Atlantis’ luck that the Soul-eaters were from across the galaxy and were in their infancy because Atlantis would never have emerged from the animal status to explore space and, ultimately, migrate to the Earth. If you notice, all advanced races are old, very old: The Seraphrims, the Goblins and the Atlanteans. From the Archives the scavengers are old too. We can only speculate about the Cubes, since we never did contact them. Most of the advanced life forms the Atlanteans inventoried ended up as preys for the Soul-eaters. Naturally, the Soul-eaters are old. And notice I am careful to say are, because we have no proof we actually destroyed them all. Ian said it all, when we dealt with the Cubes. By the way, I was looking at an old Human Archive. They had a name for them, which escapes me. It bothers me that the Humans knew of them but were not converted to grinded meat."

"That is an interesting question. Could the Humans have had a precognition of them?"

"Why not? That is secondary. But there is something more interesting, Harold: The trap that cornered the Soul-eaters. Atlanteans were powerful, but not that powerful! We need to figure out who set it up! Remember, the colonial ship did not expect to find Soul-eaters on the Earth! Therefore the only logical conclusion is they could not have set up the trap! Atlantis One was at its peak when the colony ship left in catastrophe, after the star blew up. There must have existed a civilisation more powerful, older than Atlantis One. It is important we locate its origins! For now, let us label them the Founders, for lack of a better name."

"I think the moment we reach that star, I will have Paschal send out every available Collector. We must recover Atlantean Archives from as far back as possible. Unfortunately, we cannot contact them without risking a time paradox. It is sad to know that billions will die because of that risk. Maybe the reports from all the exploration ships collected in the Archives will give us an indication."

"What about Atlantean colonies? Surely, they, as space-farers had colonies?" asked Annabelle.

"The Archives should tell us about them. But, to be honest, I do not have much hope. The Soul-eaters may have found us toxic, but there are others that were not so difficult. I have looked at some reports from the material Paschal recovered on Earth, and there was a variety of Insect, or, as the Humans called them, Spiders, that were space-farers and seemed to like sucking the juice out of everything. The colonies were just that, colonies, and depended on the Metropolis for defence. Again, locating the colonies’ positions were recorded relative to the Primary, and, until we have located that star with some certainty, their coordinate will remain a mystery."

"Harold, you have strange readings!"

"Hey, it is part of the ransom of sitting on a Throne, Timor. The older the Throne, the more rotten the reading!"

"I already have nightmares with Paschal’s Spiders, and knowing my love has a colony at her disposal also gives me the creeps. I just hope we never meet them."

"Given the number of space-faring species that kept going to war with each other, they probably had an indigestion somewhere. The Scavengers never lacked food, and they would not be above taking a dead Spider ship."

"What is this obsession with food?"

"It is rare in space. Many star systems have life, but life is not necessarily edible for all forms of other life. Reading the copies of the reports Paschal recovered has been an eye opener."

Paschal and his research team happened to walk into the end to the conversation, and their faces showed a mixture of emotions.

"What is up Boys?"

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Give me the good news."

"We found a treatment, and it is being implemented with all Felines as we speak. It is complex, but Colibri was a great help. His special plasmid key was the starting point to locking the treatment in place without the virus being able to escape the grip of the treatment. The second good news is we have begun spraying the entire tessaract containing the Felines with the vaccine. Just about everything that can fly is hard at work maintaining the Tessaract saturation level to its proper value."

"I smell a but coming "

"Well, yes, and a big but at that. The issue is best explained by Harp."

"Dad, you know that the Thebes super-tessaract is speeding up evolution of magical beings, right?"

"Yes, Atlanteans are now all born magical, and that is good."

"Well the tessaract is also speeding up the evolution of other traits, in effect speeding up evolution at large."

"So? I have no objection about that "

"You might have if you understood that viruses and other sicknesses of biological origins are also speeding up their evolution and that the FIV virus is only the tip of the iceberg on the emergence of super-bugs!"

The listeners gulped and looked at Harp wide-eyed, measuring all the horror this meant.

"How far has this progressed, and what can we do?"

"The how far is measured in leaps; the can do is simple: only magical beings are immune to them. I have consulted with Ian and the others. We concur. We must implement Magic in all life forms we cannot put into stasis! And the stasis chamber method is a stop-gap measure because we know the sicknesses will one day evolve enough to pass through the filters of the stasis chambers."

"How do you give Magic to a life form that does not have it?"

"All life forms have orichalque crystals. However, some have very little Magic, due to two factors: one is badly crystallised orichalque; the second is insufficient quantity thereof. It is not that the current level of super-bugs requires a lot of Magic to keep them at bay. It may change later on. The progress of Magic itself surprised us. Remember Spare Ribs and his Brother Fang Chao? They have telepathy, and yet they were not born in Thebes, only raised in a tessaract! They were able to resist these super-bugs for quite a while, and their Children were infected only because they were newborns and vulnerable. Their Magic was too weak to protect them. I have given their immune system a boost, but also their Magic. But that has some profound effects, Dad."

Thorsten looked at Harp, worried about what was to come out.

"Dad, I think I will need to teach the Felines proper magical use and we need to integrate them fully in our culture, make them Atlanteans. We will have to do that with every advanced life form in the Ark tessaract. I have done something with the Eden tessaract, where we store the Ogres. I have just about blocked time there, in effect freezing Eden in time. It is a stopgap measure. I am looking at the possibility of isolating the Ogres. But then, it might be counterproductive. After all, they showed some form of intelligence, if only by being able to communicate with the Orcs, and it would be unfair to them. We forgave the Orcs, so it might be best to try the same with them in the long run. I cannot block evolution with more advanced life such as the Felines. I need your approval concerning this plan of action, since the consequences on Atlantis would be considerable."

"I will call a general meeting tomorrow morning at prime. What about the Fairies’ domesticated Spiders?"

"We will discuss the issue with Iridia. Timor? Can you breach the issue tonight with her? And I am surprised she is not with you today?"

"She is at the General Hospital for her last pre-natal check-up. I wanted to come but she told me to go take a hike. She is moody lately. Are all females like that?"

"Oh yes!" replied Harold, earning a scowl from Annabelle and Amethyst.

"I did not say anything!" said Samson.

"What a friend you are!" said Harold, looking at Samson.

"We need to consider the Ants and Bees as well," said Amethyst. "After all, they are colonies, and who knows how this interacts with tessaracts!"

"Damn! That is true! I have got to talk to Enron!" Harp ported to Enron’s own laboratory, to bring the issue to his attention.

***

Ian had taken Spare Ribs and Fang Chao out of stasis, and fed them a hefty meal. As the two Cats purred in contentment, feeling full for the first time in an eternity, he petted them on the ears.

«We have fixed your Kittens and your mates, guys. However, we need to talk about something. From what I understand, you want to move back with us?»

«Yes!» purred the two now full-grown Cats.

«You must realise that no life form here is food. We create food on request from inanimate material. This place is a shelter, for all life forms. Are you willing to abide by these rules and curb your hunting instincts?»

«There is no hunting at all? That must be boring, Mother!» said Spare Ribs.

«I am not saying no hunting at all, because there are tessaracts that are hunting reserves. But you would not need to hunt to feed your family. Here, you think food, and you get food. It does not mean you never hunt, you just do not hunt those that live with us. You do not hunt your extended family; that is what I meant. There are many things to learn, and, eventually, you will become part of us.»

«Us?» piped in Fang Chao.

«You would become full-fledged Atlanteans. We can change shape, as you saw. Eventually, you too will be able to do that. It takes some special abilities, and maybe you, as Adults, will never be able to get it, but your Kittens, or their Kittens, will one day be able to do that. We have Werewolves, Weredragons, and others. You would become Were-cats, much to our pleasure. Everything is a question of learning. For instance, you two never talked before, and for some reason we have yet to figure out, when we caught up with you, you could. This means the changes have begun, at a much faster rate than we expected. Your Kittens talk earlier than you did, evidently. And their Kittens will be able to do so even earlier. I just hope they will not be fighting all the time as you did when you were Kittens! That was a pain!»

«Why are you keeping everyone in sleep?»

«The Feline tessaract is undergoing a major cleanup of a virus that makes you sick. I am not sure all Cats are willing to forego their independent nature for a place with us and those that do not wish to will have to be reinserted in their territory. Until these territories are safe, it is preferable to keep them asleep to prevent undue discomfort.»

«How does living here affect our independence?» asked Fang Chao.

«Well, there are rules to living together. You just cannot go around fighting all the time, and trying to eat everything that runs under your nose, for one. Second, there are body care issues. Not that you Cats have much issue with this, but digging a hole in the potted plants to dump is not well received! You have to go to a specific, reserved, area for that purpose. By the same token, you do not eat your food everywhere and leave residues behind. Water is shared. And, in many instances, so is food. You are not the only carnivores. The Wolves are too, and they too like to hunt. Their hunting techniques are different. You stalk, they run down their prey. It is due to different morphology: you can run fast on short distances, they can run moderately fast for long distances. The Dragons hunt by diving on their prey from the air. Eventually, as your Kittens and maybe you become shape-shifters, you will learn new methods of hunting. Even sleeping quarters are shared. It is not rare to see Wolves, Dragons, and Equines share space with the numerous bipeds that populate this place. You shared our living quarters when you were Kittens.»

«Why were we sent away?»

«Two reasons, Spare Ribs: first, you and Fang Chao kept fighting, and however hard Harp or I shook your hair off, you kept at it. I am surprised you have not been at each other’s throat yet! Second, you were becoming more violent and we feared an accident with one of the other young Kittens. Sven and Alexander were Kittens at the time, and you could have killed them easily.»

«We talked from afar, and found out we missed each other,» replied Fang Chao.

«Can we go visit the others?»

«Sure. In fact, there is a meeting this morning, and I think you need to be there. It concerns you, the Feline tessaract, and a lot of other issues, including the cause of the problems you had with your Kittens. We will be eating while discussing the different issues. It is called a working breakfast.»

«You have names for everything? Life must be complicated! I have food, water, sleep, hunt, sex, danger, run, crawl, climb, jump, swim, stalk, maybe some more, and that is about it,» said Fang Chao.

«It is the ransom of living within a complex group.»

***

The arrival of Spare Ribs and Fang Chao at the Royal table caused a lull in the conversations raging in the Mess Hall. The two giant Cats walked in regally, tail held high, ears straight up, and six-inch claws fully extended. Ian walked in his Human form between the two, almost disappearing in their fur.

«The other Royals are not there yet. They should be coming shortly. Let us see. I sit there, right beside the Emperor, my Dad. His Wife is to his left. Harp, one of my Brothers, sits beside me. Would you mind being separated, one on each side of the Emperor? Knowing you two, you want to be able to watch everything that moves. I think one of you should sit beside my little Brother Alexander, and the other beside Sven, the Dwarf King’s Brother. Sven likes Cats. Alexander likes Cats too, but not as much since he is allergic and has to use Magic to hold the Cat fur out of his nose. Alexander is more a Wolf kind of guy, and Greywolf will be sitting on his right. Whatever happens, do not react. It is the Change of the Guards this morning so you will see a lot of movement.»

«Guards? The Emperor cannot protect his own family?» asked Fang Chao.

«That is not it. The Emperor’s family is so powerful it is quite capable of protecting itself or, for that matter, everyone else. The Guards consider this an honour, and offer their allegiance to the Emperor by being his Honour Guards for a tour. It is another way to bind us into a cohesive fighting Corps, and making us all Atlanteans. But here they come.»

The Imperial Family walked in, led by Harold and Annabelle. Everyone had stood up, and the current Guard slammed pectorals, hooves or otherwise made their presence known. Instinctively, the two giant Cats growled at full power. Harold overheard the two new, powerful voices and acknowledged their presence telepathically, while continuing his slow progress across the vast hall. Harold waited for everyone to be ready to sit down before taking his place in the chair with his crest on the back. Everyone then sat down.

«Let there be food!» he ordered to Magic, as everyone found a plate of food filled to his or her specific wishes, along with their preferred drink.

«The two Cats are Spare Ribs and Fang Chao, adopted Sons of Ian and Harp. Welcome home, lost members of my family!»

Harold’s declaration took quite a few by surprise but was accompanied by thunderous applause. Harp was as surprised as anyone. He had thought he would need to debate the return of the Cats within their midst for hours!

«Do you think you can show me new tricks, Harp? I have learned from a Master: You. If you three terrors can welcome back Orcs in our group and make Tarik a member of my family, I certainly can welcome back Spare Ribs and Fang Chao! Their kind has done nothing warranting my displeasure. But I leave you the pleasure of introductions after the breakfast. Now, explain to the Felines what you have found and what is being done.»

Harp, Enron, Colibri, and Paschal took turns explaining the intricacies of the FIV to the two Cats and what had been done to halt and reverse the progress of the deadly sickness in the Feline population. After getting the Biology out of the way, it was Thorsten, Typhoon, Sitar and White Wings’ turn to explain how the tessaract was being saturated with a combination of three antiviral drugs targeting the Mosquito guts and saliva glands. As the Cats wondered why the pesky Mosquitoes were not simply eliminated, Enron and Colibri took turns explaining the principles underlying the Pyramid of life: Mosquitoes fed Birds and Bats; Bats and Birds fed small and big Rodents alike, and Rodents fed Spare Ribs, while Spare Ribs’ blood fed the female Mosquitoes. With that out of the way, the next issue came to the fore: the evolution of Magic and life in tessaracts.

Again, it took some explanations about the nature of Magic, its interactions with tessaracts, and more importantly, what it spelled out for the future of life aboard the giant tessaract that was Thebes.

«What you are saying is that we are on a fast track to becoming fully magical and that you wish us to join you as full members of the Atlanteans?»

«Yes,» said Harp. «We cannot afford division, if only because space outside of here is infinite, and space within is finite. We have a goal, to save life from annihilation, but we cannot achieve that goal if life is at war with itself. We will have a lot of battles to deliver, and it is by joining together that we will win them. You are great Hunters therefore you are great Warriors. You will learn new hunting techniques, especially team hunts, and, eventually, your Kittens or the Kittens of your Kittens will lead other species in battle.»

«What will it take?»

«All it takes is a vow of Fealty on your Magic to the Emperor,» said Ian as Harold cringed. «Yes, you have Magic or you could not talk. That alone is enough to bind you to us as members of our family and full Atlanteans. You will learn a lot, not as much as your Kittens, and they not as much as theirs, but eventually, you will become fully immersed in Magic, and develop a collective species Conscience. Since you are individualistic, and do not have herd instincts, that will be more difficult for you than for others, but I am sure that it can be achieved. The vow binds you, your family, and your descendants. Just so you know, all Felines in stasis are listening in on this and will be bound by your vow, if you choose to take the vow. They see it as a living dream.»

The two Cats looked at each other across the table and each one licked their lips. No one said a word, and the huge hall was totally silent as the Cats debated within themselves the vow and its consequences. Finally Spare Ribs, always the more adventurous of the two, made his decision.

«I will take the vow.»

Fang Chao, relieved of the decision, nodded.

«Paschal? Take their vow.»

Mitsuko appeared and the two Cats sat in front of the small Atlantean Teen, their head squarely above his. The vow itself went perfectly and the two Felines received the Royal lanyards to indicate they were now Atlanteans and members of the Royal family. It did not actually matter, since Harold’s previous Decrees concerning the unity of Atlantis had made everyone a member of his family.

«Sit back to your places. The Change of the Guards is now to be held. One day, Felines will take part in this ritual!» said Ian, as he stood up and, once the two Cats had taken their seat, slapped his hands together. The ritual had not changed since the two Snow Leopards had been Kittens, and they finally felt at home and safe. Once the ceremonial was completed, the two Cats were brought to the Imperial Suite.

«This is your family’s den Spare Ribs, and to the right is yours Fang Chao. Let me show you some of the facilities. There, on the corner, is the couch, where you can sleep on cushions. Do not worry! Magic will replace them every morning with clean ones so they do not become fur balls. On the wall here is the claw sharpener. In that room is the bath. The water is always at the right temperature. Once you are done, the dryer there will remove the water from your fur. That small sand-floored room is where you pee and dump. Notice that as soon as you leave, any dejection disappears and is sent to recycling and the sand is replaced. The grid around the sandbox is so your paws do not carry anything outside and dirty your den. In here is the dining room. Each member has his or her own bowl of food and water. Water is always fresh, and the meat bowl is kept supplied with fresh meat as soon as you dip your nose toward it. The leftovers are recycled as soon as you leave the feeding area. We do not want Insects and other disagreeable visitors to infest your dens, and by corollary, ours. There is the Nursery, where your mate will nurse her Kittens until they are weaned. Note that birthing will be done under our care, so your mate does not lose Kittens or suffer unnecessarily. One final addition: this room is the playroom, where your Kittens will have toys to play with, much like you had. The Hunting grounds will be available for you whenever you feel the need. There is an additional ground you will probably appreciate: the training ground. There, you will learn new hunting techniques, and the principles of war and teamwork. Prince Sitar, the God of War, will be training you and your mates. Do not underestimate him, as so many have done! He can give you a run for your meal!»

«Not everyone of my family is here to hear this,» worried Fang Chao.

«They hear it, they dream it, they feel it, they smell it. Every Feline will have a den, and every Feline will know instinctively which den is their den. They follow us in our walk, and hear us. This is one fine use of Magic," explained Harp. «I hope one day to see your family in the Royal nest, purring while our own Kittens sleep in your paws. For now, I believe you need to feel a little less overwhelmed. Let us go get your families at the Healing Den, they are ready to face this brave new world.»