by M. A. Owens
Nightshade tapped on her shoulder, and she nearly jumped out of her seat.
“Are you blind, Nightshade?” she shouted, waving her hand in front of the speaker which instantly stopped playing the lifelike tune.
I wanted to ask, but didn’t… but I really, really wanted to.
“Sorry, Morel. It’s important, and we tried to get your attention at the door.”
Morel looked between both of us, the blinding beam of light still projecting from her hat into our faces. She took a sudden step toward me, leaned in really close, and smiled.
“How is that eye working out for you? I bet Joy didn’t even tell you I put that together, huh? Bet that cat took all the credit.”
“Working great, ma’am. I actually forgot all about it until just now. It’s like I never lost the eye in the first place,” I said, returning the smile in the least awkward way I could. Probably failing miserably.
“Hey, I know. How about you tell me the story of how you lost it?”
I froze, feeling that familiar tension rising in my chest again, getting lodged somewhere in my throat. It wasn’t a story I told, to anyone, and I wasn’t about to make an exception here. Thankfully, Nightshade seemed to have caught on, and changed the subject.
“Hey, Morel, story time is nice and all, but like I said, this is important. We don’t want to take up any more of your time than we have to.”
Morel eyed me up and down, probably sensing my relief and finding herself even more curious than before. “If you say so, but you’ve caught me at a bad time. I’m working on something for Moss and was getting ready to take it over to him. You’ll have to make it quick.”
“We will, ma’am,” I said. “Right to business, then. We’d like to know more about the cloaking device prototype you’ve been working on. What’s the problem with it?”
Morel narrowed her eyes at me, not backing away from still being way too close to my face for comfort. “Problem? What problem? Two are basically complete. They’re perfect. They’re probably as good as the originals, if not better. Problem? You’ve got some nerve coming in here and talking about my work that way. I ought to throw you out on your face.”
“Morel…” Nightshade said, crossing her arms.
“What?” she asked, crossing her own arms. “Can’t have any fun with the new guy?”
“Morel…” Nightshade repeated, more sternly this time.
“Okay, fine. You’re right. But if you’re not in the joking mood, why bring up my cloaking devices? What’s wrong with them? I’m the first cat ever to reverse engineer what the originals were capable of.”
“But the power requirements for extended use…” Nightshade protested.
“There was never an extended use version of it, Nightshade! You activate the cloak as a machine passes, or to ambush one, or to confuse it and escape during an attack. It’s not something you use while you read a book down by the stream, or for a long, romantic picnic. It never was. You’re talking about something in a whole different league from the originals, created by the most advanced civilization to ever exist on earth, humanity, and when they had near infinite access to resources. That’s what you’re asking for.”
“That’s what we’re asking for,” I repeated with a smile.
Morel took a step back and finally turned off the blinding light.
“It can’t be done with what I have here. The most I can get out of them is a half hour. Which is, by the way, much longer than you would ever need in any practical application. You could wait for the colossus to pass by with that much time. That’s what the original… You know, the one that received so much praise? That’s what they knew it for, why it was legendary. It’s why the commander is here with us, and mine is even better. But not good enough for Trigger and Nightshade, huh? What do you think I am, a magician? A sorceress from a fantasy story? I work with science and technology, not wishes. I’m bound by the laws of physics. Sorry, dreamers.”
I looked to Nightshade. “I heard ‘with what I have here’. Didn’t you? Pretty sure that’s what I heard.”
Nightshade nodded. “I’m pretty sure that’s what I heard too. Sounds like maybe Morel just isn’t up for the challenge.”
Morel gasped, tossing her head lamp onto the desk beside her. “I cannot believe what I’m hearing. I’m the most advanced technician this camp has ever seen. I practically work in my sleep, and I’ve invented things that even humans in their universities would applaud me for, and pin awards on my coat. But you cats? You cats, let me tell you… Can’t please you with anything! I could invent a weapon that could kill the colossus with the push of a button and you, Nightshade, would yawn. The nerve!”
I raised a brow at Nightshade. “I heard a lot of ‘trying to change the subject’ that time. You?”
Nightshade nodded several times with enthusiasm. “Yes sir, that’s what I heard too.”
Morel threw her paws into the air. “Fine. Look, you’d have a better chance prying the battery units needed for long-term cloaking out of the steel jaws of the colossus itself than Moss’s flying machine. I hope you understand that. He will laugh so hard it’ll shake the ground and make the entire camp think we’re under attack if you even ask. Believe me, I know my husband. Ever since he was little more than a kitten, he’s been working on this thing. Dreaming about it. Talking about it to everyone who would listen. Everyone laughed. Said it was impossible. He’s worked on it in his spare time, and now everyone is almost ready to accept his crazy dream might not have been so crazy after all.”
Nightshade sighed, reaching out and taking Morel’s paw. “Sorry, Morel, but we have to at least ask. If we can convince Moss to let us use the high-efficiency cells, can you modify the device to last at least a day before needing to be recharged?”
Morel placed her other paw on Nightshade’s. “I can tell this is important to you, but I don’t think you understand how much Moss wants this flying machine to become a reality. The only two things he loves more than that thing is me and our daughter, and that’s a close call. It’s his life. But… yes. If you can convince him to give you the cells, I can upgrade the device to last a day. It’ll need to be made into a heavy backpack instead of the tiny device it is now, but I’m confident I can do it.”
“Sorry to have troubled you, ma’am, and for what we’re about to ask of your husband. Just know that if it wasn’t a matter of life and death, for everyone here, we wouldn’t ask,” I said, tipping my hat.
“Oh, don’t tell me… You’re planning to go deep into their territory, aren’t you? That’s madness, Nightshade! Even for someone like you.”
Nightshade shook her head. “All true, but that sounds a little like what everyone told Moss, right? It’s crazy. It’s impossible. But is it, really? This situation has made me realize that if we’re going to have any chance of winning in the end, crazy dreams and reckless plans become more and more necessary as that time draws nearer. Thanks, Morel. Get all of your tools ready. We’ll be back soon.”
Morel laughed, put the light hat back on top of her head, and waved her hand at the speaker again. The music resumed playing, and it sounded like the musicians were there in the room with us. My eyes widened, and I opened my mouth to speak, but drew a glare from Nightshade before I could even get the first word out.
“Ma’am,” I repeated, tipping my hat. Nightshade smiled, and we made our way toward Moss’s tent.
13
Moss’s tent was the complete opposite of his wife’s. Despite a similar array or parts and pieces, he had neatly organized everything on sprawling shelves, cabinets, trays, and tables. Several drawings and schematics decorated the higher parts of the tent’s interior walls. There were smaller vehicles, what they called ‘bikes’, in one section, a larger vehicle in the center, and, in the corner, encapsulated the way one might expect a shrine to be, was the partially built flying machine. By looking at it, you’d think the thing was ready to hit the skies right this minute. Then again, I had no idea what I was look
ing at or what made something like this work, so there was that.
Several other cats moved around the area, presumably Moss’s assistants. Moss himself was working under the larger vehicle, illuminated by several small, but almost blinding lights dangling above. Like Morel, he didn’t really pay much attention to visitors coming in. Like every other cat I’d met here, he was busy all the time. Other than the group greeting when I woke up in the camp, I had seen none of the top brass together at all, including Morel and Moss. I guess the impending end of the world can put a little extra pressure on a cat.
“Yo, Moss. Your favorite pink-eared kitty is here to see you!” Nightshade shouted.
Moss almost appeared to be thrown from under the vehicle, kicking out while lying on a rolling table, a wide smile across his face. He grabbed a rag lying on the ground beside him and wiped his paws before standing and running over to us. He grabbed Nightshade in a hug and spun her around.
“Nightshade! I didn’t realize you were back. Sorry, I’ve been stuck in here trying to repair the frame on this Mountaineer everyone’s so excited about. The last time this happened, it took me a week. It’s such a time sink... Anyway, how was your mission? Did you like the tweaks I made to your bike?”
“Really threw me off at first, but I got the hang of it in no time, and you know I love it. Now the only bikes faster are those scout bikes.”
Moss laughed. “If I had the parts, I’d make even more upgrades. But we work with what we have.” He gestured toward me. “I see you brought Trigger with you. That’s right. Come to think of it, there aren’t any transportation machines in your city, are there?”
I shook my head. “No, but odd now that I think about it. We have streets large enough for one to travel.”
Moss reached out his paw and tapped me on the head. “Ah, I was hoping you’d make the connection! When your city was first established, a few things were removed. Cars, guns, and nonfiction books left there by humans, about humans. The reasons are probably all obvious to you. We needed all the vehicle parts and guns available. Even those retro metal shooting models are useful if they’re all you have, especially since there were some bullets lying around too. The books were something we hoped to learn from and speaking of which…” Moss pointed to the flying machine in the corner.
“You found that in a nonfiction book?” I asked.
“Nope, fiction. Some were picked up by mistake. The story was about an inventor who wanted to rescue a princess held captive atop a floating mountain by an evil wizard. Several princes tried to use magic to reach her and failed. All the while, this inventor worked tirelessly to build a flying machine. Even though he had few possessions, he had access to endless parts, because the people had abandoned all technology in favor of magic. Discarded technology littered corners of the kingdom, and it was there he found everything necessary to build his machine. It was powered by burning rocks, called ‘coal’, heating a combustion steam engine.”
“You’re losing him, Moss. And me,” Nightshade said.
“Right. We’ll skip the tech details. Anyway, he flew up there and rescued the princess. The wizard had many magical barriers and detection spells. He would know the moment magic was used anywhere near him. There was a lot more to the story, other gadgets he used to break in and rescue her, but what mattered the most to me was the flying machine. Everyone underestimated how useful it would be, and in the end it saved the day with no one realizing it until it was all over. Even the wizard.
“Imagine, for a moment, what we could do with something like that. There are no flying enemies we’ve encountered. We could escape the area and reach unexplored lands. We could take the fight to them, dropping bombs on them from beyond their reach, high in the sky. We could scout from heights previously only seen by the birds, knowing every movement they made long in advance. We could see their patterns. Where they moved. Where the colossus is kept, even. The possibilities are endless. And it’s just days from being complete, if only I could find the right parts to finish it!”
Moss clenched both paws into fists, staring up at the schematic of this thing on the wall, and I could see how real it was in his mind. Few times in my life had I ever seen this look on a dog or cat’s face. It was a face of determination so intense that failure wasn’t even a passing thought. Of all the cats here, with tunnel vision of the dire task at hand, and impending doom, this was really something. Of all the cats I’d met so far, Moss, more than any of the others, had dared to dream and hold on to that goal, even as the world crumbled around him.
“Sorry, Moss, but there’s something we need to ask you. I know you won’t like it, but please, hear us out,” Nightshade pleaded, hanging her head.
I raised my paw. “Hold on. Nightshade, I think we’re looking at this wrong. Moss, what if we could help you finish it? As far as I understand, most of the good stuff has been long lost in distant territories. We’re looking for information in those same territories. Something to change the course of this war. You could give us a description of what you need, and we’ll look for it.”
“And the catch?” Moss asked, tilting his head.
Nightshade sighed. “The catch is we need the high-efficiency battery cells you have installed on the flying machine. Probably all of them.”
Moss ran a paw across the top of his head, leaning back on the machine. “It’s taken me my entire life to find those cells, and I haven’t found more in years. If I give them to you, I won’t have the proper power to safely start the engine or perform a rapid takeoff. If I give you those cells, everything was for nothing. Everyone who laughed at my idea or said it would never become real will be right.”
I shook my head. “Don’t be so dramatic, Moss. Look, we’re just asking for a loan here. We’ll give them back. And, when we do, you can add them back with the other parts you need to complete it. We’re not ending anything. We’re going to help you complete it. That speech of yours just now? It really hit me. I can see now just how important this thing can be. It needs to be finished, but for it to change the world there has to be a world left standing for it to change. Understand? If we all die in the next colossus attack, who are you going to show it off to? Do you want to live in a world where you fly around in this thing, alone, looking down at smoldering ruins?”
I pointed to it, shaking my paw.
“You put two seats in it for a reason! Don’t you want Morel to sit beside you on the first flight? Maybe Nightshade could come on the second. And what about Kerdy? Imagine the look on her face when she’s flying above the world. She’d have no choice but to admit you were right. Don’t make me beg, Moss, because I will. I’ve got friends in the city I can’t imagine my life without, and they’re counting on us, just like everyone here is.”
Moss turned his head away, clenching his teeth.
I dropped to the ground, putting my head down. “Please, Moss.”
Nightshade kneeled down beside me, doing the same thing. “Please, Moss. We need these cells so Morel can improve the cloaking devices she’s working on.”
Moss ran over, pulling us to our feet by an arm each. “Stop. My goodness, you’re embarrassing me doing that. Take the cells, strictly on loan, but remember… your secondary mission is to find these parts for me. Second only to your saving the world stuff, alright? That’s my price for using these cells. If you can find more of them while looking for the other items, all the better. I could retrofit one of the cloaking devices on to my machine if we had enough batteries for both. Wow, just think of that. Flying above them, out of their reach and completely hidden.”
“Morel would probably love that,” Nightshade said, smiling.
“She better love me more, since this cloaking device is going to give her all the glory yet again. What you two don’t steal first, that is. Wait here, it’ll just take a moment.”
Moss grabbed a box of tools from the shelf nearby and made quick work of removing the cells. I was tempted to tell him there must be a mistake. These things were no bigger t
han a desktop radio, and they were supposed to lift this machine into the air? But I didn’t say that, because it was no more or less bizarre than anything else here.
“Thanks, Moss,” Nightshade said, hugging him.
I tipped my hat. “Sir.”
And with that, we ran straight back to Morel’s tent, and handed her the cells. The wide-eyed look on her face lasted a moment before she finally spoke up.
“How in the world did you talk him out of these? You didn’t steal them, did you?” Morel looked to Nightshade, narrowing her eyes.
“No! Of course I didn’t!” Nightshade shouted in protest. “He just turned Trigger over there into a fan with his flying machine speech. Now we’re helping him too, in exchange for using the cells.”
Morel nodded enthusiastically. “A fair trade, if you ask me. With my cloaking device, it may very well be possible for you to gather those components for him. I’m sure he’ll have a list ready by morning. Come back and see me after you see him, and I should have this ready for you.”
“Um, aren’t you going to sleep, ma’am?” I asked.
“You must be joking,” she said, with a deep belly laugh. “I have so many ideas for what I can do with this that I wouldn’t be able to sleep if my life depended on it. Now go. Get out of here. You’ve interrupted my work enough for one day.”
Nightshade and I agreed to meet up at breakfast, which I was now desperately looking forward to, and then head to Moss’s tent from there.
It was looking like this crazy plan might just work after all.
14
I had two servings for breakfast the next day and kept both down. By now, my appetite had come back in force, and I was feeling the effects of two months eating nutritional fluid through a tube. I’d have given anything for a big steak. Funny enough, even though the cats were the ones raising the cattle, they only kept a minimal amount for themselves. Mainly for flavor. I’d have settled for a plate of bacon and eggs, too.
