Memory transcription subject: Aaron Clemont, Humanity First rallier
Date [Standardized human time]: August 20th, 2148
[Day 13]
Stephan is fucking dead. The news took absolutely forever to finally reach us, all the headlines were more preoccupied with the flu than one lowly human death. Disgraceful. The prey might as well spit in our faces. It was clear I made the wrong call with Dr. Stat. I was well aware the summit would be today, I could only hope those fear-mongered feddies deny his plan. Once his case goes nowhere, and he returns home, we’ll make him pay.
First things first, I needed to figure out where he was holed up after the murder. I knew he wasn’t incarcerated, the police saw the ring and instantly alleviated him of all blame. Maybe I can make good on Hausen’s death and take out the whore Stat’s with. I was willing to bet he went where she went. Stephan mentioned something about Morva Falls over the phone, that would be a good starting point.
I opened my holopad and scrolled through my notes app. It contained the name of every city we had a foot in. I cursed silently, Morva Falls wasn’t on the list. We’d have to shuttle someone out, which could leave receipts back to me. And the town was rural, everyone knows each other there, I’d have to account for neighborly-ness in the herd.
I looked a little further into the town, there was some sort of celebration going on until the 23rd. Xenos from all over the place gathered to sell shit in the town square, the perfect cover. I checked for the closest town we had people in. Just south was Dian, a city made up of Earth refugees during the war. It had a very, very low Xeno population, so it acted as a major Humanity First rally spot.
Even after it got raided in ‘139, it was still a hotbed for our activity. I scanned another document for rally leaders, landing on Felix Levesque, a refugee from Paris, and a very competent HF member. I dialed his number, hoping it wasn’t during his sleep cycle.
The form of a slight man with a black combover appeared. He eyed me for a moment, years of living among the sniveling Xenos gave him a passive glare.
“Monsieur Clemont,” he greeted. “You don’t call often, what’s happened?”
“You’ve heard of Dr. Stat, yes?” I asked.
“Ah, he is the man trying to cure the virus. I heard about Monsieur Hausen, my condolences,” he spoke without changing tone or expression. He was just saying what he needed to say.
“I’m forwarding you a photo of a venlil, she is Stat’s fiancée. I want you to find her, somewhere up in Morva Falls. Use the guise of their little holiday to avoid suspicion,” I explained.
“Do you want me to kill her?” He asked bluntly.
A smile crept across my face as I nodded. “Make sure Stat gets the message.”
Felix nodded, “Consider it done.” the call ended and his visage faded.
This will show him that Humanity First doesn’t take kindly to being walked on. Of course, I know the prey’s life is less valuable than Hausen’s was, but she’d be an easy target.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Daniel Stat, human virologist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 20th, 2148
[Day 13]
My alarm blared. I blindly swung my arm around to halt the noise. I could hardly sleep last night, the anticipation of the summit was killing me! I quickly threw off the heavy blankets and slipped into something nice, another rental suit I’d ordered in advance.
I examined myself in the bathroom mirror, it was tight-fitting, but I looked pretty snazzy. I downed an energy drink quickly, not wanting to be drowsy on the floor, then began styling my hair. As I finished gelling it, there was a knock at the door. I rinsed my hands and answered.
“Dr. Stat,” an older venlil spoke, “I’m here to escort you to the summit,” she explained. She looked strangely familiar. Well-groomed gray fur and a bionic tail.
“One second, Miss, I’ve gotta grab some papers,” I retreated inside to grab my speech notes and a flash drive full of statistics courtesy of the governor. I returned and the venlil guided me past several rooms that filled out the expansive hallway, finally ending at the elevators. She tapped the down button with a manicured claw. Not long later, the door beeped and we stepped inside.
We were going to ground level, the most reinforced part of the building that wasn’t subterranean. I felt jittery, partially nervous, and partially caffeine. The doors glided open to a massive room with real comfy chairs surrounding a center podium. The meeting room was divided into sections, each one had seats custom-made for a wide variety of body plans. Most seats were already filled by representatives from almost a hundred species. Plenty of which I didn’t even recognize.
The wall behind the podium was adorned with the planetary flags of every species present, all surrounding the Sapient Coalition’s banner. A krakotl ambassador eyed us as we walked in, then fluttered over to greet us.
“Lady Tarva, I wasn’t expecting you to show today,” the krakotl chirped.
I knew I recognized her! I tried to hide my look of surprise. “Kuisim, you should know when Skalga’s involved, I’m involved,” she replied. The krakotl clicked his beak, then turned to greet me.
“And you must be the governor’s plus-one, a pleasure to meet you,” Kuisim wrapped one wing across his chest and bowed.
“Likewise, ambassador,” I mimicked the action, a customary greeting of respect among krakotl.
“Now then, let’s get seated. We’ll begin shortly, doctor,” Tarva gestured toward the section of seats populated by venlil officials. Two spots were open next to Governor Maulo, who was proofreading his speech. The former governor and I sat on the opposite side of him. The chairs had huge holes in the back for venlil tails that made it awkward for me to sit comfortably.
“Glad you could make it, Lady Tarva,” Maulo said. “I’m sorry to pull you out of your retirement like that,” he chuckled.
“Oh nonsense, governor, I’ll always be willing to help my planet until my last paw,” the elderly venlil smiled.
“How’s Noah doing?” Maulo asked, dropping the professionalism and speaking in the tone of an old friend.
“He’s doing just fine,” she stated, “he would have come along today if Elia wasn’t in the hospital again.”
Poor kid, I thought. Elia was one of the first genetically fixed Skalgans to be born, and the new sciences left her with a slew of abnormalities. A lot of early-born Skalgans are like that, with either bad legs, messed up spines, or just generally screwed-up olfactory systems. We’ve only recently been able to bring fully healthy babies into the world, but a lot of people have already been dissuaded from the technology.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Maulo had a look of concern on his face, but quickly Tarva reassured him, “It’s just an annual checkup. Noah just can’t fathom leaving his daughter’s side while the doctors work. He’s a real sweetheart,” she said.
Maulo nodded, he looked relieved. He turned to me and whispered, “You’ve got your speech prepped?”
“Yes,” I answered affirmatively.
“Good, we’re due to start very soon. I think the only person missing is Ambassador Virnt-”
As he said that, a tilfish scuttled out of the elevator behind us, carrying a bag in each free arm and profusely apologizing to anyone nearby. He sat himself down in the tilfish section and clicked his mandibles excitedly. The UN’s Secretary General Abdul Suresh checked his watch and stepped up to the podium. He was flanked on either side by blue-helmeted humans.
“Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming to the 22nd Sapient Coalition summit. As you all are no doubt aware, we have very pressing issues occurring on Skalga. Nearly 2 weeks ago, a strain of the earthborn pathogen rhinovirus, crossed the species barrier and has had devastating impacts on the venlil population. Governor Maulo of the Venlil Republic will speak more on the subject,” Suresh gestured for the venlil to step up to the podium. He flicked his tail, urging me to follow.
I stood and strode up to the stage to the sounds of applause from the audience.
Maulo cleared his throat, “Good morning. As the secretary general made very clear, Skalga is in the midst of a crisis,” he pulled out his holopad and plugged it into the podium. It emitted a huge hologram that hovered over heads and read out the statistics of the Skalgan Flu. “The death toll is 200,000 venlil as of this morning,” he paused as gasps escaped the other ambassadors, “Venlil,” he urged, “are the only species affected by the virus. That brings me to Dr Stat here, who believes he has a potential treatment,” He stepped back from the podium, allowing me to take the microphone.
“Thanks, Governor,” I cleared my throat, “While studying the strain at the lab, a colleague of mine came to the conclusion that human immune cells could fight off the sickness exceptionally well,” I flipped my notecard over, taking a chance to gauge the audience. They seemed at the edge of their seats. “She proposed a plan to engineer human immune cells to recognize venlil biology and aid it in fighting off the Skalgan Flu. As it stands now, the Skalgan Flu is nearly 100% fatal,” murmurs erupted from the crowd. I waited for them to settle before continuing, “I’m here, on behalf of Skalga, to request permission to look into a genetically engineered immune cell line for the benefit of all venlil.”
Immediately a few paws raised among the crowd. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I shot Governor Maulo a look. He stepped up to the microphone and pointed at a Harchen, “Ambassador Viscin,” he said.
“Where did this virus come from?” the harchen asked timidly.
I glanced at the governor, then took the mic. “It originated in humans, then mutated into the current strain.”
The yotul ambassador waved his paw, “You,” I said hesitantly.
“What are the risks of another mutation? And how does something like this even occur?” Rumblings of agreement circulated the crowd.
“The risks are minimal, even the first mutation had astronomically low odds. Viruses are known to evolve very quickly. A small mutation just happened to happen at the perfect time to kick off all of this, it’s nearly impossible for it to happen again,” I answered.
A kolshian raised its tentacle. “And you’re sure this is a natural occurrence?” He asked smugly.
“What are you implying, Geravis?” Governor Maulo asked, taking the microphone again.
“Just saying what we’re all certainly thinking,” he began, “Who’s to say we can trust a human’s word? 200,000 deaths is nothing to scoff at. In fact, that feels like the numbers a work-in-progress bioweapon would achieve,” he crossed his tentacles across his chest.
The yotul spoke up, “What would you know about bioweapons?”
“What wouldn’t I?” the kolshian replied. There was noticeable unrest among the crowd.
“It wouldn’t be the first time humans engineered a virus for warfare,” a farsul spoke suddenly, “just ask them what kicked off the Satellite Wars.”
Governor Maulo looked enraged. Tarva took the stage without interference.
“Ambassador Geravis, Tratuin, you are both out of line,” her voice was stern. “We won’t tolerate your barely concealed xenophobia,” she growled.
“I think we bring up a good point, one you’re too hornswoggled to see,” Ambassador Geravis said accusingly. The elderly venlil clenched her paws.
“Regardless of what you two have to say, we’re still holding the vote for the better of Skal-”
“The better of Skalga? Isn’t that the same argument you made when you brought a whole generation of half-developed freaks into the world?” the kolshian’s tone was harsh. The crowd silenced completely.
“It was new technology,” Tarva said exasperated.
“So is this,” the farsul, Tratuin, chimed in. “You’re dealing with a human virus, by injecting citizens with more human cells? That sounds like a recipe for disaster or the opportunity for another bioweapon to be unleased.”
“It’s not a bioweapon!” Tarva exclaimed. “It wasn’t manufactured! It wasn’t intentional! Humanity has no reason to even want to instigate another war!”
“And who told you that? A human? Maybe you’ve put too much trust in Williams, and it’s blinding you of their predatory intentions-”
“I think that’s quite enough,” the arxur ambassador barked, silencing the kolshian. “I for one believe Dr. Stat and Lady Tarva,” he growled, “cast your vote how you will, but silence your ignorant ramblings.”
The silence was deafening. Now I was really unsure what the verdict would be. Secretary General Abdul Suresh took the stage, ushering us back to our seats.
“All who wish to vote on the matter may do so digitally for anonymity. The baseless accusations of a ‘bioweapon’ should not affect your decision making, remember who even founded this coalition to begin with.”
Everyone flicked up their holopads, I waited with bated breath. Once everyone had cast their votes, Abdul cleared his throat. “The verdict to allow the genetic engineering of human immune cells for civilian medicine is…”
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Felix Levesque
Date [Standardized human time]: August 20th, 2148
[Day 13]
My flight to Morva Falls was very, very short. Aaron gave me a list of potential spots she could be but suggested my best bet was to set up a fake stall and see if she went shopping.
I touched down in a parking garage and stepped out onto a busy street. It was barely paved, the prey had no use for cars in a town this small, so everywhere I stepped I was at risk of flattening one of the filthy pests. Their town square was even worse, full of Xenos mingling with humans.
There were food stalls, vanity, and bullshit nobody needs. I felt the outline of the handgun in my trenchcoat. This is probably a one-way mission, but anything for the cause.
On the outskirts of the event were rows of unclaimed stalls set up for anyone to take and sell goods. I’d brought some snowglobes to layout for the illusion of stock. Something flashy to get the target’s pea-brained attention.
It started snowing once I got my spot. An automatic roof deployed above to keep my ‘goods’ safe. I studied the photo of Silvon I’d been provided, comparing her with the other venlil out shopping. I didn’t see her yet, but I could wait.
~~~
There was no way to tell how long I waited with the unmoving sun. But I assume it was well over 4 hours before I finally got a glimpse of orange fur, lighter on the top of her head, and auburn on her chest. I clicked off the safety as she and a similar Xeno, maybe her father, walked along examining each stall.
They spent an excruciating amount of time staring at jewelry, she asked about the prices of some earrings but finally decided against buying. Then they got to my stall.
She opened her mouth to speak, but I was swift. In one smooth motion, I fired the handgun. A spray of orange coated the stall and splattered the snow globes, and I ran. Screams erupted across the square. The Xeno she was with was yelling for help. Mission complete.