Paranormal Group Conference Room, Australian Federal Police National Headquarters, Canberra

Tasmanian devils consume the entire animal when they eat. Their jaws open up to 80 degrees, generating large amounts of power to tear apart meat and crush bones. They have the strongest bite per body mass of any living mammalian carnivore, exerting a force of 553 N. oneearth.org

Joey met Alexa and Sam, her dad, at the front entrance and escorted them up to the conference room. He said, “Please, take a seat. This is Mary, Head of the AFP Paranormal Group, Anna, Head of the AFP, Fancy, Member of the AFP Paranormal Group and Roger, Head of the ACT AFP.”

Mary started, “Thanks for agreeing to talk to us. I’m assuming that this contact was a surprise to you, but it does look like it’s something that you’ve … expected?”

Sam replied, “Well, it’s not the first time. When Australia entered World War Two, John Curtin, the then Prime Minister, was informed. Then, all the Prime Ministers through to Harold Holt knew about us, but when Holt disappeared - and no, that wasn’t us - we decided that it wasn’t gaining us anything, so we didn’t bother talking to McEwen.”

“What about now?”

“I’m going to assume that we ran afoul of some electronic surveillance or something, and that’s just going to get worse. So, we’d decided a few years ago, that if the opportunity presented itself, we’d talk to the government and see how they wanted to handle things.”

“So, who are ’we’?”

“ACoS, the Australian Council of Shifters.”

“Are their other shifter councils around the world? Are there other supernatural councils?”

“Not our story to tell. If there were, we’d theoretically inform them of what we do, and theoretically, such bodies would decide what they want to do for themselves. Certainly, we’re cautious about the idea that there are sups, err, supernaturals, around the world becoming public knowledge. Partly because of any concern that mobs might attack us, but mainly what would happen if some of the more…extreme governments found out. Some already know. Therefore, if there was to be a public announcement, we’d like some warning so we can inform those most at risk, if there were any outside of Australia, of course. We’d love for the Government to allow refugee status for at least some of those at risk, but we understand that there could be some problems there, thus the request for at least a warning.”

“Are you aware of any other governments that know?”

Sam sighed, “Well, not telling you about any other Councils lasted all of a couple of minutes. There is at least one more council in Australia, but I can’t give you any more information. That one at least will need to contact you themselves. Both Britain and USA knew of at least two councils during World War Two, but I don’t know if they still do. Switzerland and Norway know of more councils than any other countries I am aware of. Greenland, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and India only know about Shifters. Japan is a strange case, they know about supernaturals in general, but not about the councils, nor are they aware there are supernaturals outside of their own country.”

Mary paused for a minute to sort through all of that information in her head. “OK. I’m going to go around the table, as most of us have some questions we’d like to ask, but first, do you have any questions for us?”

Sam and Alexa looked at each other and Alexa said, “What is your intentions towards us?”

Most people looked at Anna. “Go, on, pick on the boss. Sheesh. Really, we don’t have any intensions towards you. We have become aware of your existence and are therefore required to do a threat analysis. Because of the risks involved with a terrorist organisation or foreign power utilising their own shifters, I’d expect that there has to be at least some level of awareness so precautions can be taken. Also, it needs to be covered so no one can be blackmailed into cooperating with someone because they are afraid of being outed as a shifter. But mainly, this is fact finding.”

Sam asked, “Do we need a solicitor?”

Mary looked at Anna and said, “Is there anything we are suspicious of? Anything that we have legal concerns about?”

Anna looked at Joey and said, “It’s fine Joey, you can handle this.”

Joey raised his eyes, shook his head, and said, “We have noticed some irregularities to do with the public records of some of the shifters we’ve become aware of. So, the only potential difficulties would be to do with the falsification of records.”

Mary said, “Assuming that this is not to support anything illegal but is because of the extended lifespans, it’s within my authority to say you won’t be charged with anything about that.”

Sam said, “Illegal?”

“Money laundering, identity theft, criminal avoidance, selling phony IDs down at the local Pub, tax avoidance, that sort of thing.”

Sam continued, “Fair enough. Well, the only other concern has to do with whether there will be restrictions on employment. Oh, and a request that if there is a public reveal that you would support a ‘Shifter Olympics’. Currently shifters do not compete above local level in any sport, as it would be unfair.”

Mary blinked a couple of time and said, “OK, that wasn’t on any of our radars as a potential issue. We’ll table the sports issues for the moment, but we’ll flag it as something that we’ll have to revisit later. The employment issue should not become a problem, as the discrimination legislation generally stops the restriction of employment, but one of the first tasks that the Government will need to address is if there are any laws that will need to be addressed to assure fair treatment for all. On that note, if the council is aware of any federal or state laws that will require tweaking, please inform us. Right, let’s go around the table. Anna?”

“How many shifters are there is Australia?”

Stolen story; please report.

Sam said, “We’re about a half percent of the population, so 150,000 or so?”

“Are there any shifters in politics?”

“Yes. I’m aware of us in Local and State politics. I don’t think there are any current Fed Pollies who shift.”

“Are there any shifters in law enforcement?”

“Only the best of us go there.” Sam reached across and ruffled his daughter’s hair.

Alexa blushed and said, “Dad!”

“Yes, there are shifters in both State and Federal Law Enforcement, also generally in the Legal system, judges and stuff.”

“National Security?”

“As far as I am aware, there are none, but there are some who would like to be. I’m assuming you’re talking about ASIO, ASIS, ACIC, and the other refugees from a can of alphabet soup?”

He received a nod.

“There is too much likelihood of discrepancies turning up with any deep background check, so we let our children know that these options are just not open to them. Even with Alexa, it was only because she decided at a very young age that she wanted to work for the AFP that we allowed it. We made sure that no irregularities existed in our or her records.”

Mary jumped in, “Before we go any further, one thing really stands out. How come you know so much about all of this?”

Sam glanced sideways at his daughter. “Alexa, darling, cover your ears and hum or something for a moment.”

Alexa just glared at him.

Sam sighed and said, “Because, I’m the Deputy Chair of the Council. That piece of information is very confidential.”

Sam turned to Alexa and said, “You’re not to tell your mother, you hear!”

Fancy said to Joey in a stage whisper, “We’d better note that he’s been compromised by Alexa and could be blackmailed.”

“So, when you agreed to step down as the Chairperson, you did, but took the Deputy Chair possie. Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Sam looked worried.

Mary said, “Sorry, back to the inquisition.”

“Don’t use references like that when dealing with shifters and other supernaturals. Staking, burning, ‘hunt you down’, all that kind of stuff brings up a lot of bad history.”

Anna said, “Thanks. That’s exactly the kind of thing we need to know.

Mary said, “Sorry.”

“Are there shifters in the Australian Defence Forces?”

“Yes, but really, only in the Army. Again, there are ones who love to be in the Air Force and Navy, but the risk of exposure is too high. No-one closely looks at grunts.”

“What are the issues from your side?”

“Having to live in fear, having to retire when we’re just getting into our prime, having to change our identities and lose our friends. One of the big ones is that shifters have a greater, how to put this? Greater hunger for community. We want to protect our local community and Australia as a whole, but we can only do a fraction of what we could be doing.”

“Such as?”

“Many shifters are sensitive enough to be able to tell if someone is lying, but we can’t use that in policing or judiciary because its outside ‘normal’. Again, we’d happily shift which would deal with most injuries in a matter of hours instead of weeks or months, but to do that would raise too many flags. We hear our shit of a neighbour abusing his or her partner – our hearing’s very good. We want to step in and have a ‘friendly talk’, but we can’t. We’ll support but can’t do what our instinct is yelling at us to do.”

Fancy said, “So, the old definition of Stress: The internal conflict created by resisting the urge beat the living shit out of some arsehole who desperately deserves it?”

Sam had a wry smile on his face as he said, “Yeh, basically. But also, we could be better. That’s we, Australia. Imagine having professors who could admit they were over 200 years old. Both on the Colonisation side and the First Nation side. Being able to get the real, ‘I was there’ on both sides of History. The wealth of knowledge and experience they have but can’t admit to. Imagine having a magic wheeling dragon in your air force squadron able to fly at above Mach 2, stop or reverse within a handful of metres and has the protectiveness and attitude of a mother elephant towards their squad mates. Imagine Royal Commissions where the witness chair forces anyone sitting in it to tell the complete, full truth with no distortion or obfuscation possible? In fact, their basic urge is to try and help by giving as much information as they can.”

The room was silent.

After a minute, Mary said, “Bring it on.” She shook her head and said, “Any more questions?”

Fancy continued, “Is the were-animal separate or part of you?”

“Dad, let me answer this one. My ‘human’ side is in charge, while my shifter side is very much like a conscience. You may have noticed that I’m not nervous like I was yesterday?”

Fancy said, “I had noted that.”

“I’m still nervous, but nothing like that. Because of the fear of being discovered, I tended to not shift as much as my eagle wanted me to. This created tension. I shifted last night and spent most of the night talking with me. Well, it’s not talking, but it is. Anyway, the long chat with my Eagle helped me a lot and I’m more integrated with my shifter side today, so I’m not fighting her, instead I’m able to ‘lean into her’. She is fearless, bold, and…preens a lot.” Alexa blushed at this revelation.

Fancy commented, “OK, I’d noticed that you are wearing less makeup today, but are looking, I hope you don’t object to me saying this, prettier. Is that the eagle’s influence?”

Blushing even more, Alexa said, “Yes. But also, the act of shifting, so long as we stay in our shifted form long enough, gets rid of blemishes, gives our skin and hair a healthy glow and gets rid of minor issues like bags under your eyes, colds, hangovers, that kind of thing. And knots in my hair.”

Fancy said, “OK, now I’m jealous.”

Alexa smiled and continued, “So, yes, we have two people in here, but the more we are allowed to be ourselves, the more integrated they are. Can the animal override the other? Only in some very specific instances.” She looked at her dad.

“Brain injury, most illegal drugs, some medications, psychosis, that sort of thing. But if a shifter is not raised with discipline, they can end up with what looks to others like a bad temper, as their animal side influences their human side. Can’t take over but does influence.”

Alexa nodded her head and continued. “So, just the freedom to be me has integrated myself far more than I had been. But there was never a risk of my eagle breaking free.”

---***---

After the meeting, Roger said, “Alexa, I’ve arranged for you to be on administrative leave for at least a week. It’s no reflection on you, but I must be cautious with what we do. Sam, please check with the Council and see who the contact with us will be.”

“Sir, will you continue to have surveillance on me?”

“Yes. There is no way around that until we are further into the… investigation? Doesn’t sound right. Determination? That’s better. Further into the determination. What I can also promise is that the information we are collecting is being stored on one of the high-security networks, no information will be transferred except in person, and we are keeping the number of people able to review that footage to a very small, professional group.”

They shook hands and then Joey escorted them down to the entrance. Everyone else sat down.

Anna said, “Right, where are we at?”

Mary said, “Fancy and Roger, how are the reports going?”

Fancy started, “Nothing in this interview really changed anything for me, so you’ll have a final draft of the ‘no’ case in the secure folder by tomorrow morning.”

“Rough outline?”

“Our technical branch is still debating whether some sort of hologram or 3-D protection could be as real as we’ve observed it to be in broad daylight - I don’t expect an answer until two to three weeks - while the psychology and psychiatry consultants have signed off on this not being a mass hallucination or drug effect, so we can find no proper case for the ‘no’ side.”

“Roger?”

“This is the first time I’m having to do one of these. The whole team have been a great help, but it’s going to be a few more days. The rough outline is that it all looks real, but the actual putting of an objective rating on it is going to involve some advanced statistical work.”

Mary said, “We’ve completed the decision trees, outlined the probable investigation paths to categorise other risks and this meeting will allow Joey to complete the hierarchy of concerns.”

Mary looked at Anna and raised her eyebrow.

“I’m having a chat tomorrow with the Government and see what direction they are currently leaning towards.”

“Right, two days’ time, same time, same place, same bat channel.”