“Well, crap,” Desmond muttered. He had been hoping for a way to help these creatures, but now he was starting to realize the hopelessness of their situation.
Infinity stepped forward and addressed Grayface. “How many of you are there?”
The lemur listened and then replied. “Today we have eight hundred seven. However, there will be a hunt this afternoon, and perhaps it will be a kill.”
Infinity turned to Desmond and raised her brows.
Desmond thought for a moment. The logistics seemed daunting, but not impossible. He had been directly involved in bridging out colonies of 712 people each while his planet was dying, and that had been without the enhanced bridging abilities made possible by the key. “Maybe this is how we prove ourselves to Kitty,” he said. He suspected he was wrong about this, but anything was worth trying.
Vic stepped forward. “You guys can’t be serious. How would we even—”
Grayface interjected with another stream of speech, and Desmond’s device translated. “There are also other groups of our species, held in enclosures near each of the city dwellers’ cities. We do not know how many cities they have, but we estimate twenty-four hundred ninety-three. Each group of our species is probably equal in size to our group. We are interested in bringing all of our species to another world. There are also groups of seven other intelligent species held in the enclosures around each of the city dwellers’ cities. They too are attacked and killed every day. We are interested in bringing the seven other intelligent species to a new world with us. They will build their own cities, as they did long ago. It will be a world of happy living.”
Infinity flopped her head back and growled. She stared up toward the forest canopy for a moment and then lowered her head and leveled her gaze at Desmond. “Okay, scratch that. Any other ideas for how we can prove ourselves?”
He wasn’t ready to give up on the idea yet. “Of course we can’t save them all. But that didn’t stop us from evacuating a few human colonies from our Earth. Saving some is better than saving none. And it still might be a way we can prove ourselves worthy.”
She rolled her eyes and turned away, having obviously decided saving these lemurs was impossible. Desmond knew deep down it probably was impossible, but he also wanted to believe that Kitty was looking for behaviors that proved humans were honorable and compassionate. Kitty’s people had sent him and his group of humans to a world of unthinkable cruelty and oppression—probably not a random destination. It just seemed logical to Desmond that his group was expected to help these creatures.
“Reality check,” Gideon said. “How in the hell would we bridge any of these creatures out of here? We can’t even bridge ourselves out.”
Desmond shook his head. “I don’t know!” But then an idea came to him. He tapped the tiny bump on his forehead where the camera was embedded. “Kitty? Are you listening? We want to bridge these lemur people to another world. The city dwellers are murdering them every day, and we want to help them escape. But we’re going to need your assistance.” He waited a moment. “Can you hear me?”
Nothing. No surprise there.
The wrist translators had remained silent while the humans discussed what to do. Grayface and the other lemurs had been watching patiently, apparently fascinated by the unintelligible speech of a species they’d never encountered before. They stared, still transfixed by the humans, as Desmond waited for a response from Kitty.
“Well then,” Infinity said after several seconds of silence. She turned to Grayface. “We would like to help you, but it’s not possible for any of us to use the bridging device.” Just as her translator finished, and before Grayface could reply, she said, “And I have to pee. I have to urinate.” She made a dispersal motion with her hand near her crotch. “I haven’t done it since last night. Also, since the others are probably too polite to ask, do you have any water we could drink?”
Infinity wasn’t the only one about to burst. Desmond was nearly to the point of having to dance to keep from leaking into his organic pants. When the translator had finished, Grayface responded by escorting the humans to a row of thirteen structures no more than fifty yards away that could only be described as outhouses. Each structure was made primarily of tree branches but with colorful scrap items integrated into the doors and outer walls. The scrap items appeared to be pieces of trash from the other side of the fence—trash that didn’t look much different from what one might have found in a landfill back on Desmond’s own version of Earth. Some of the items appeared to be molded plastic, while others were metal or wood.
Desmond opened the door to one of the outhouses, expecting to be hit by the stench that is typical of outhouses. Instead, his nostrils filled with the aroma of honey. Did these creatures actually crap out honey? The first thing he noticed inside the structure was a round seat that looked to be made from a hollow section of a tree trunk, about eight inches high and polished smooth. Perhaps this was the lemurs’ optimal squatting height. Through the hole in the center of the seat, he could see and hear water flowing by from left to right below. Apparently the ring-tails had diverted a stream into an underground tunnel and then placed all thirteen of the outhouses in a row above the aqueduct.
Desmond’s organic trousers had no fly, so he had to pull on the waistline until they had loosened enough for him to pull them down. As he peed into the hole, he gazed around at the inside of the outhouse. He didn’t see anything resembling toilet paper, and he was grateful that he only had to urinate.
After the humans had all finished their business, they were led back to the center of the clearing. Several lemurs were in the process of placing hundreds of green, heart-shaped leaves on the ground, each about twelve inches wide. Many of the others were settling into seated positions with the leaves in front of them, their heels against their butts and knees on either side of their chins. While about half of the villagers got seated, the other half busily prepared for what was beginning to look like a communal meal. Grayface instructed the humans to sit in the center of the clearing. They complied, sitting cross-legged, surrounded by hundreds of seated lemurs.
A ring-tail approached, carrying a thick stack of leaves, and placed one in front of each human. Dozens of lemurs emerged from one of the dwellings carrying wide trays that appeared to be made of leather stretched across rectangular frameworks of wood. The leather sagged beneath the weight of a dark substance that was heaped high on each tray.
A pair of the lemurs, carrying a single tray between them, came directly to the seated humans. They lowered the tray in front of Desmond, and the scent of honey filled his nostrils yet again. One of the lemurs spoke, and Desmond’s translator said, “This is food for your body. You eat this food, and your body will be fast and strong so that you can serve your people with honor. Take as much of the food as you can eat.”
Desmond glanced out at the crowd of seated lemurs and saw one of the creatures using a wooden utensil to scoop food from a tray onto its own leaf. A thought occurred to him—this food was specifically suited to the dietary needs of the lemurs. What if it made him and the other humans sick?
Some of the lemurs around him seemed to be watching and waiting patiently, so he plucked the spatula-shaped utensil from the tray and scooped a glob of the stuff onto his leaf. He put the utensil back. While the others were scooping their own portions, he leaned forward and studied the substance on his leaf. Not surprisingly, it smelled strongly of sweet nectar or honey, although it was much darker in color than honey. He poked the stuff with his finger and realized suddenly why its color was so dark—it was filled with mashed insects. Legs, antennae, and bits of exoskeleton darkened the otherwise translucent substance. He scooped some up with his finger and tasted it, finding it to be just as sweet as its aroma.
“It’s better than it looks,” he said to the four Marines, who appeared far less enthusiastic. “And it should be safe to eat. Gideon, Infinity, and I have been living on a diet of arthropods for a year and a half without ill effects.�
�
“Arthropods,” Vic repeated dryly. “You’re talking about bugs.” He took a small taste from his fingertip.
Infinity spoke around a mouthful of the substance. “We don’t know how long we’ll be here. You should eat.”
Grayface, one of the few lemurs still on his feet, approached the humans and spoke. Desmond’s translator said, “We believe that you possess weapons. We would like to know what you intend to do with your weapons. Do you intend to harm us?”
Gideon surprised Desmond by speaking up first. “We brought weapons to protect ourselves.” He held up his gun with the muzzle pointed straight down. “We won’t use them unless we are attacked. You have been kind to us, so we do not want to harm you.”
Grayface listened to Gideon’s translator and then replied. “We would like to introduce to you our young. Our children. However, we will not introduce to you our children until you have given us your weapons. We will return your weapons later.”
The humans exchanged glances. Desmond said, “They could kill us whenever they want, but they haven’t. I think we can trust them.”
Gideon nodded and handed his gun to Grayface. Terry then handed over his.
Grayface stared at the weapons in his arms with his perpetually-wide eyes. There was no way to know what the creature was thinking. Finally, he spoke, and Desmond’s wrist device translated. “Our young are important to us, and they must be protected and valued. Our young will now come out to meet you. They will perform and entertain you. We think you will enjoy.” Grayface then turned and carried the guns away.
Desmond noted that Infinity, Gideon, and the Marines carefully watched the lemur until it disappeared into one of the ground dwellings. Seconds later, Grayface emerged again without the guns and let out a commanding whistle. Abruptly, the feeding lemurs fell silent and hundreds of faces turned skyward.
Desmond looked up. At first he saw only a few dozen treehouses interspersed among the foliage. Then his eyes were drawn to the largest of the arboreal dwellings, which was suspended above one edge of the clearing, perhaps forty feet from the ground. Lemurs were swarming out of the structure and descending from the tree. These creatures were smaller than the ones on the ground. In fact, some of them appeared to be no more than two feet tall, probably weighing only thirty pounds or so. The largest were perhaps three quarters the size of the adults. By the time the young had all gathered on the ground, Desmond had counted forty-three.
One of the larger children threw its head back and emitted a series of cackles and clicks. Deon was nearest, and his translator responded. “City dwellers say farewell to their families and to their young. They put on their best clothes, and they groom their tails. They give their wealth, hoping to achieve honor. They enter the forest, which they do not enjoy.”
About twenty of the older-looking children stepped away from the smaller kids and moved out among the dining adults, walking with exaggerated movements, looking from side to side as if searching.
A noisy ripple spread throughout the crowd, a chittering sound unlike anything Desmond had yet heard from the ring-tails. The young creatures then began exaggerating their movements even more, which caused the chittering ripple to grow louder, with some of the adults throwing their heads back and others pointing at specific children as if delighted by the style of their movements. Desmond became convinced the adults were laughing.
As the older kids continued stalking through the crowd, the smaller children began spreading out and moving around the perimeter of the clearing, staying low as if to avoid detection.
Amidst all of this motion, the narrator remained still at the clearing’s edge. The kid spoke again, and Deon’s translator said, “City dwellers move noisily in the forest. They look for movement. They smell for scent. They do not know they are being watched.”
Before Deon’s translator had even finished speaking, the crowd’s chittering grew even louder. As if on cue, the smaller children around the perimeter began moving into the crowd, still crouching low.
The narrator continued. “The city dwellers cannot find what they are seeking. Their noses can no longer smell because they live in the stink of their city. They make too much noise. They become angry. They become sad.”
The audience’s chittering laughter began to drown out the speaker on Deon’s wrist device. To Desmond’s surprise, his own translator, as well as all the others’, began speaking simultaneously as one, amplifying the translated words.
“The city dwellers are sad. They have given their wealth, but they cannot find something to attack and kill. They achieve no honor. They achieve no fun.”
The larger kids crouched and feigned anger, slapping the ground, eliciting even more laughter.
Abruptly, the smaller children jumped to their feet, squealing and waving their arms.
The older kids exploded into action, bounding toward their prey, leaping over the heads of some of the seated adults. But just as one of the hunters closed in on its selected target, it tripped and rolled in the dirt, expertly avoiding tumbling into any of the adult spectators. This resulted in a huge surge of roaring laughter.
By this time, all the supposed city dwellers were likewise tripping and falling in overly dramatic and exaggerated ways. As the crowd continued laughing, the city dwellers slowly staggered to their feet and took a fighting stance. Desmond realized they had the same posture he had seen one of the real city dwellers take the previous day just before it had attacked Infinity—fingertips of one hand touching the ground, the other hand clenched into a fist near the face.
The crowd’s laughter reached an almost deafening gale.
The smaller children all crouched into the same fighting stance for a moment and then sprung into action, at least twenty children leaping forward and attacking, sending their opponents into absurdly clumsy but well-practiced nosedives and flailing somersaults.
Undaunted, the city dwellers came back for more, only to be pummeled, kicked, or head-butted, again resulting in unflattering antics.
The series of attacks and more-effective counterattacks continued, becoming more farcical and yet more impressive with each round. During all of this, the laughing adults remained untouched, even though the stunts were being acted out only inches away. The youngest lemurs’ motions were relatively simple, but the older ones were obviously skilled acrobats. Desmond sat in awe of the performance’s choreographic complexity.
Finally, when it seemed the fighting antics couldn’t get any more outrageous, the city dwellers all collapsed simultaneously onto the ground one last time and remained still. The smaller lemurs stepped up onto their bodies and let out long, warbling whistles.
The adult lemurs immediately returned the whistles, making so much noise that Desmond had to plug his ears with his fingers. The adults then went back to eating their bug honey.
The kids’ performance had apparently been a success.
11
Volunteer
April 11 - 12:11 PM
Infinity pushed the last few globs of food around on the leaf with her finger, wondering if the lemurs would be offended if she didn’t finish all of it. Her thoughts then began to swirl in her mind as she tried to make sense of her group’s dilemma. Why had Kitty, Tigger, and Teddy selected this particular version of Earth for the trial? Did they intend for the humans to become embroiled in the liberation of these forest-dwelling lemurs? Regardless, the trial’s absurd design—judging an entire species and planet based on the actions of a few individuals—was cruel and unfair.
She decided to quit worrying about which actions were right or wrong for now and just focus on keeping the remaining members of her team alive. She had never considered herself all that well suited to matters of ethics anyway.
She swallowed the last bite of her buggy-nectar goo and looked out over the sea of hundreds of seated lemurs. Many of them were stealing not-too-subtle glances in her direction, while others were flat-out staring.
She nudged Desmond. “What do you suppos
e they’re thinking about us?”
He had actually been licking his serving leaf, and he flashed a boyish grin as he quickly put it back on the ground. “I would guess they’re fearful and suspicious. They definitely have reason to be, considering all that’s been done to them. I mean, humans are certainly guilty of mistreating their fellow humans, but keeping them in enclosures in order to hunt them for sport?” He shook his head.
Gideon, sitting beside them and having apparently overheard, said, "I hunted at a game farm in Texas once. For a price, you could pick the species you wanted to shoot, and they would take you to the right enclosure and guide you within range of one of the animals. Everything but pull the trigger for you.”
Infinity raised her brows as she turned back to Desmond.
“Look, I’m not defending human behavior,” Desmond said. “But this is different. These lemurs are intelligent—at least as intelligent as we are. All I’m saying is that they have every reason to be fearful and suspicious.”
Infinity nodded. “Yeah. Which makes me wonder why they haven’t killed us yet.”
Bishop, who was sitting across from Infinity, nodded toward something behind her. “Incoming.”
She turned. Scarface, Grayface, and another adult male lemur were making their way through the crowd toward the humans. Following them were two juveniles.
The group of lemurs approached the humans and came to a stop. Grayface spoke, and Desmond’s wrist device translated. “These children would like to speak to you. Our children are important to us, so you must be respectful, and you must not threaten them or try to harm them. Do you agree?”
Desmond spoke up. “We don’t wish to harm anyone. Thank you for introducing us to your children.”
The Trial of Extinction Page 11
