Memory transcription subject: Governor Maulo of the Venlil Republic
Date [Standardized human time]: August 10th, 2148
[Day 3]
I received several urgent messages during my sleep, and waking to discover we’re on the cusp of a full-blown pandemic is a terrible thing. I was lucky the news had yet to go public, everyone in the capitol would be in hysterics by now, but it didn’t afford me much time to think. The first thing to do is start small, gauge the severity of the infection, and then plan accordingly.
I called for some proper statistics, exact numbers weren’t yet possible, but a good estimate was a start. I sat in my office, reading through what felt like hundreds of emails, flicking my tail back and forth like a pendulum. I was in close contact with the SHO as the situation developed, not wanting to miss a single detail.
There was a knock at my office door, pulling me from my work. “Enter,” I called. A venlil with cloudy-gray fur trotted in.
“Governor Maulo,” he flicked his tail, “I’m Servaen, I’ve been put in charge of keeping track of the Skalgan Flu,” he introduced himself with a nod.
“Good, you’re exactly who I needed. How bad is it so far?” I asked with bated breath.
“Ransu City’s got a population of 2 million venlil, two paws ago 8 thousand were infected, just a paw or so after the initial outbreak. That’s a 0.4% increase in just one paw. If we consider it only increasing incrementally, by today 1.2% of the population, 24000 people, would be infected. It could be less, it could be more,” while he explained, he handed me a few graphs to help wrap my head around his wording. I was no mathematician, but this seemed simple enough to grasp.
“And how many dead?” I asked.
“Only a couple dozen. Patient Zero, his doctor, and a couple of her patients, all the dead were among the first to be exposed to the virus. It seems to take anywhere from a paw to three actually to kill the host, but symptoms are near immediate.”
“Then we’re going to see a sharp rise in deaths soon,” I said gravely.
“Y-yeah, it’s predicted at least a thousand by tomorrow,” he lowered his head.
“Let’s get the word out then,” I decided finally. “The risk of a stampede is incomparable.”
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Daniel Stat, human virologist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 10th, 2148
[Day 3]
The alarm on my holopad spurred me awake, the blinds were still shuttered from last night. I rolled over to see Silvon still sleeping soundly next to me. I kissed her snout and got dressed and ready for the day. I’d finally be back at the lab in a few hours, I was excited!
I made myself a bowl of cereal and mixed in the vitamins as usual, today felt more normal than the last few paws combined. I clicked on the TV and plopped down with my breakfast. The program was a looping broadcast directed at Ransu City’s residents. I turned up the TV and gave it my full attention.
“Governor Maulo has given the order for all citizens in Ransu City to quarantine in place in lieu of a new virus dubbed ‘the Skalgan Flu’. The initial outbreak of the virus was believed to be just 3 paws ago, and it is already confirmed to have claimed the lives of 22 people. If you are showing symptoms similar to zesui, it is recommended you remain at home until fully recovered,”
A pair of furry arms wrapped themselves around me, and a sweet voice seductively whispered in my ear, “Is that your doing, Mr. Hero?” I raised my head to see Silvon towering above me. She took this opportunity to kiss my forehead, my nose, then my lips.
“Hey, we’ve got work later, c’mon,” I mumbled as I broke out of her captivating embrace. She snickered and helped herself to a bite of my cereal, luckily made with a milk substitute.
“Hey!” I exclaimed, grinning at her antics. I set the bowl down on the coffee table and got up. Now I towered over her. I glared down at her, my best attempt to look predatory, which was ruined by another kiss. I just laughed and fell into her embrace.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Silvon, venlil biologist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 10th, 2148
[Day 3]
We clocked in together at the lab, I gave Danny a parting tail flick and made my way to my workspace. My fur was still damp from the hasty shower I took before work, and I prayed it dried fully by lunch. I cracked open the door labeled ‘bio lab’. Tinasi was already there, taking stock of specimens and equipment.
“Hey Dr. Silvon!” she smiled, “You look happier today.”
“I’m practically a new woman,” I beamed. “What’s on the to-do list today?” I asked. The yotul flipped through her notes, scanning the pages.
"Some water samples from asteroids, a couple plants from some forest world way out past Wriss, and a couple bugs from Leirn," she listed while pointing to each container with her tail.
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"Right," I tried to pop my knuckles like Danny does, to no avail, "let's get started."
As I prepared a slide with the asteroid water, Tinasi observed my process with intrigue. She was well on her way to becoming a proper biologist like me, she had a natural sense of wonder that seemed to just seep from every yotul I'd ever met.
"So, I saw the news earlier," she said while I peered into dead water. "That was where Danny went, right? To talk to the Skalga Health thing?"
"Yeah, I’m proud of him, going through all that effort for everyone,” I sighed dreamily.
“He’s a good catch, glad to see you’re happy again.”
“How could I not be? For once these last few paws, everything seems to be okay finally.”
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Launo, venlil baker.
Date [Standardized human time]: August 10th, 2148
[Day 3]
I recovered from another coughing fit, I’ve practically lived the last couple paws with my head over the toilet bowl. My holopad on the counter by the sink was spewing whatever auto-played online. Yesterday, I learned everything there is to know about kiglus, a rodent from the hot side of Skalga.
My program about the human chocolate industry came to a close and was replaced by something new. A venlil speaking with the facade of gruffness began introducing himself and his news show.
“Hello again everyone and welcome back to the Skalgan True, the only real news source on the whole damn planet, I’m your host Weitun-” I coughed violently, blood dribbled down my chin and pooled in the toilet.
“Joining me today is an anonymous guest, we’re keeping his name withheld in case the preddies try silencing him.”
I squinted my eyes at the source of the garbage noise. Clearly, I’d stumbled into some pretty radical programming. A deeper voice, artificially edited to hide the speaker’s identity, boomed “I appreciate you having me on, I’ve been loyally listening for many cycles,” I tried to stand up to turn off the show, but my bad leg gave out and kept me firmly planted to the floor.
“So, you said you had some info on the Skalgan Flu?” Weitun asked. There was silence for a moment, then “Yes. Something terrible is afoot in humanity’s latest attempts to subdue the masses,” I got a chuckle out of that. Some of my best friends are human! Now I was interested in what they had to say next, purely for the entertainment value.
“You’re saying this virus is from humans?”
“Yes, patient zero got it from his exchange partner. Do you know where he is now? Imprisoned on Earth. For manslaughter,” the anonymous venlil continued, “This was an earthborn pathogen, you can read all about it in the UN’s official registry for the program. They aren’t even trying to hide it!”
“So what you’re saying is, this is some kind of attack?” Weitun asked.
“What I’m sayin’ is, the fed’s predator disease might just have some merit. Think about it, how much our civilization has changed since the humans arrived. They’re out here, bio-engineering our children, ‘fixing’ us, making us more predatory, and now they’re cleaning up the mess, taking out the rest of us so only their filth remains.”
“A predator’s disease,” Weitun said grimly.
“Exactly. A virus to take out those of us who won’t bow down to them. Did you know they let arxur live freely on our streets? That was their doing, not ours. If we don’t do something about them, we’re gonna go extinct,” the anonymous venlil was punctuating every sentence by banging on his desk. “Now they want us to sit around? Let their little disease run its course? No! Humans are the harbingers! We need them OUT of our cities!” he screamed his call to action with fervor.
What a joke, I thought. There’s absolutely no way anyone believes this shit.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Miguel Hecht, human tourist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 10th, 2148
[Day 3]
I stumbled my way out of the bar, those venlil make a mean brew! Shit’ll have me on my ass for the next week at least. I made my way down the sidewalk, Ransu City was cloudy and wet this time of year, but I didn’t care much, I came for the beauty, booze, and chicks.
I wiped drool from my mouth with my hand and wandered between two dome-shaped buildings, my hotel was just on the other side of the alleyway and I didn’t feel like walking any more than I had to.
A distant thunderclap echoed in the distance, a storm was building up on the horizon. I proceeded down the alley, only almost tripping a couple of times, before a voice called out behind me.
“Hey- human,” it was a venlil, slurring his speech.
“Yo? Whazzup?” I hiccuped, turning to face the stout alien. He had a really fuzzy face, his fur was mostly gray with spots revealing it used to be black. He was wearing a coat, guess even venlil get cold during the wet season.
“Where ya goin'?” he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. I figured he was about as drunk as I was.
“‘Ome,” I chuckled.
The venlil coughed a couple of times into his sleeve, then spat an orange glob of mucus onto the wet pavement. The rain began to pick up.
“Woah, are you ah-right?” I asked. He glared daggers at me. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated his enraged features. His eyes were bloodshot like he hadn’t slept in a while.
“W-would nuh you know, preddie,” he hissed.
“What?” I asked, not really comprehending his hostility. Before I could get another word out, the venlil flicked his wrist, I saw a glint of metal beneath his coat, and lightning crackled above, drowned out by the ear-ringing blast of a gunshot.
Immediately I felt the bullet tear through my chest, the energy sent me backward where I landed heavily. I rolled, groaning in agony as my assailant stared me down, gun still pointed at me.
A pool of blood formed quickly beneath me, pouring from the holes in my chest and back and being washed toward a drain by the rain. I coughed, a metallic taste filled my mouth, and found it impossible to breathe in. I gaped like a fish out of water, unable to speak.
The corners of my vision grew fuzzy as indistinct voices approached. The venlil suddenly snapped back to reality and scampered away before anyone else could find him. Another venlil and a human showed up, yelled something I couldn’t understand over the ringing in my ears, then, silence.