by Alma Boykin
Alma T. C. Boykin
Kindle Edition
Alma T. C. Boykin
Published byIndieBookLauncher.com
EPUB edition ISBN: 978-1-927967-09-6
Kindle edition ISBN: 978-1-927967-10-2
Copyright 2014 Alma T. C. Boykin, all rights reserved.
The following people contributed to the production of this e-book:
Copy Editing by Nassau Hedron
Cover Design and Illustration by Saul Bottcher
E-Book Production (EPUB and Kindle) by Saul Bottcher
The typeface used for the chapter headings is Verb Black by Yellow Design Studios.
The typeface used for body text is the default typeface in your e-reading environment.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank JY, alpha reader extraordinary for his assistance and recommendations for this work and others in the Cat Among Dragons series.
Several years ago, Bud asked the question about the low population on Drakon IV that led to the ideas that became this book.
And thanks (and the occasional carp) to SAH and the Huns, Hoydens, and Mad Genii, for batting around ideas, encouragement, raspberries, and bad puns.
Author’s Note
The Azdhagi language as spoken differs from how it is written. Because the Azdhagi lack mobile frontal lips, the spoken language has no labile sounds—the English “p” or “b.” Instead, a hard “t” combined with a slight cough is made, for an explosive consonant sound. When transliterated into this quadrant of the galaxy’s trade-and-diplomatic languages, Republic Standard and Trader, that sound is written as a “p,” or more rarely as “b.”
Nasal sounds, such as “n” or “m” are flat in pitch because the Azdhagi have limited skull resonance. They posses a very expressive and extensive body language, relying on gesture and posture as much as on vocal tone in order to convey emotion and innuendo. It is nigh unto impossible for an Azdhag to stand motionless while speaking, unless he or she has unusually good emotional control.
The mathematical system is base twelve. There are four sixes of days to a double moon, and the year is thirteen double moons, from full to full, with intercalary days added when necessary. Nineteen is a very inauspicious number.
To Azdhagi, the strong side is left, while the right is the weak side. This has nothing to do with “handedness” per se, but is a cultural adaptation from the True-dragons, the other major reptilian species on the planet. True-dragons do tend to have a large number of left-forefooted individuals.
All dates are by the Azdhagi calendar, either Old Style, from the reign of the first Pack King, or the BGR/AGR style more familiar to readers of the earlier Cat Among Dragons stories.
Locations have been omitted from the section headings in the second half of the book.
1. In the Beginning…
Central City, Sseekhala, Drakon IV, 89 BGR (2569 Old Style)
It all comes to this. Please may he grant permission, please.
Maker Seeri studied the ancient reception chamber, trying to master her excitement and fear. Almost a thousand years of accidental scratches had turned the soapstone flags grey, and Seeri lifted her forefoot talons, resting her weight on her palms and grip-toes. She heard a door open and felt a puff of hot, dry-season air from outside blow into the chamber, carrying the scents of fire-bloom trees and dust. The wind fluttered the wall hangings as someone stepped on the light colored wood of the dais at the front of the chamber. Seeri dropped into a bow as King Laski entered the chamber.
The large male lumbered across the dais and settled onto the padded bench. “You may rise,” he grated, voice harsh from drinking the prickle-bark extract needed to keep his joint pain at bay. Laski’s steel-tipped neck-spines glittered in the dim lights, as did the silver woven into the collar of his light robe. The grey-and-green blotched male arranged his muscular tail to suit him. “You have a request, Maker Seeri?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. My research team and I have discovered a way to help Azdhagi grow stronger and better suited to maintaining the empire which you and your sires have created.” She struggled to keep her tail from trembling and revealing her nerves.
“Indeed. Is this technology or biology, Maker Seeri?” Laski tipped his head to the side, signaling intense interest.
“Biology, Your Majesty. We have found, and tested on animals and clone samples, a process to make Azdhagi generate their own body heat. We will no longer depend on heat-vests or be limited to tropical and hot-desert worlds.”
King Laski hated weakness, species-wide or individual, and Maker Seeri’s words brought a rare smile to his muzzle. The old reptile signaled for the female scientist to continue her explanation when she hesitated.
“Yes, sire,” and she took a deep breath to help her concentrate. This was no time to lose her composure—she’d worked too hard to reach this moment! “The expansion of Azdhagia’s presence into other star systems has, as you of all people are most aware, revealed both difficulties and possibilities for us. Difficulties in adapting to cooler climate regimes and limited fuel supplies have slowed colonization. We also have a slight disadvantage when dealing with groups such as Traders or True-dragons because of their telepathy. What my team found could change both of those potential liabilities into assets.”
“How, Maker Seeri?”
“Azdhagi posses a latent capability for energy manipulation, specifically telepathy and healing. There may be some temporal potential as well, but probably not enough to make concrete use of at the moment,” Seeri explained.
King Laski’s tail flicked with impatience. “If we have the potential, how do we put it to use, and why has it never been seen before?”
“Because the genes are hidden, your majesty. By that I mean that we, the Makers, looked for individual bits of genetic material. However, these are part of another gene, not separate. In this case, they are matched with metabolism, which makes sense,” she started to lecture.
Laski cut her off. “Yes, yes, telepathy and those other things are just forms of energy use and manipulation. Everyone knows that. Track me to your prey, Maker Seeri.”
“Your pardon, Majesty. You are much better informed than most,” and Seeri bowed at the correction before continuing. “What I propose is a very minor manipulation of Azdhag genetic coding. Nothing major, nothing that will cause problems or that will weaken us.” Seeri watched her monarch closely as she continued, “The effects will be two-fold. First, the improved metabolism allows us to deal better with cool temperatures. Instead of remaining somewhat dependent on external heat, Azdhagi will generate more of our own energy from food, especially from high–protein sources such as goldgrain and meat. Second, some Azdhagi will be able to use the additional internal energy to speak mind-to-mind, or to manipulate tissue with mental energy. What is already developing among the Azdhagi will simply accelerate, your majesty. We are not introducing anything new.” She stopped to let Laski process the information.
He rubbed under his muzzle with a brittle talon. All his life he’d envied the True-dragons and their ability to speak silently. The tactical advantages were enormous! Healing would be useful, but healers were rare and purportedly fragile. But not having to wear a heat-vest, or to consume so much power warming buildings and vehicles on the colony worlds, or in space for that matter, presented several advantages. However… “What are the possible complications of this, Seeri?”
“Death, of course, your majesty, but that is unlikely. We are not doing anything new, just modifying part of something that already exists, much like breeding stronger grain stems.” Seeri counted off on her strong-side forefoot talons, “There may be some failures in the first and second generations. First generati
on from reactions to the material used to modify the gene and from random failures, just as some females lose clutches today. Second, there may be genetic combinations that cause the process to go awry in the second generation. They should be few, because of the precautions the Makers will take, and no problems will arise after the third generation. The improvements will start appearing in the second generation, your majesty.” She anticipated her king’s next question, and added, “A five percent death rate at most, your majesty, and that includes problems with juniors as well as reactions among the adults.”
Five percent loss for a very serious gain, Laski thought. What about testing, though? Did he want them to try on prisoners first? “How will the genetic changes be introduced?”
“Into fertile females, using their own fertilized eggs. After the first generation, both sexes will carry the improvement and be able to transmit it, your majesty.”
Damn. That eliminated using prisoners as test subjects, Laski winced, since all incarcerated Azdhagi received chemical contraceptives for the duration of their sentences. And most were male. But the process had worked on cloned tissue, and that remained the final test, he reminded himself. Laski decided. “Very well. I approve of this project, on the condition that only volunteers are allowed to participate, and if one of the Clan heads refuses, the Makers will not approach any of the Clan members privately.” He could not lose the support of the nobles, not yet. The last thing his heir needed was a Clan war on top of the colonial battles. The northern continent would be enough of a mouthful to bite into, the old monarch reminded himself, then herded his thoughts back onto the proper trail.
Seeri hid her disappointment. The nobles would never grant permission, which took some of the healthiest and most prestigious individuals out of the program even before it started! Well, a haunch tasted better than no meat. She bowed very low. “Thank you, Your Majesty. We will begin with the project as soon as we have volunteers.”
“What are you going to call this, Maker Seeri?”
“Project Star-Strong,” she announced proudly.
“Star-Strong. Well chosen, Maker Seeri. You are dismissed.” He smothered a groan as he got up from his bench, his arthritic hip and shoulder joints grinding. Laski lumbered out of the reception chamber, his mind on other matters, like stretching out in the hot afternoon sun and baking some of the pain out of his bones.
For her part, Seeri hurried from the chamber as fast as her four legs would take her, her mind already back in the laboratory. A transcript of the meeting, including King Laski’s approval, would reach the files in an hour, proof that she and her team could start as soon as they had material prepared and protocols in place. They’d spent the last few years identified the most promising genetic lines, both in the Clans and among the out-Clan Azdhagi of the cities. All she’d needed was permission, and now the time had come at last. She caught herself in time to lift her talons before crossing the so-called musical floor, where the wooden slats and pieces squeaked different notes as one crossed the chamber. The scientist emerged in the bright sunlight of the dry-season day and sighed. The palace had felt cold to her. The hot sunlight melted away the worry-knot that had developed in her tail as she waited to meet with the king.
Seeri trotted through the courtyard toward the vehicle parking area, then stopped. After looking to see if anyone watched her, the female turned strong-side and went to a small wooden building roofed with bright gold straw. She bowed low, scraping her belly so she could pass under the lintel without touching it. Inside the chapel to the Lone God, the heavy cloud of incense stung her eyes and nostrils as Seeri waited for her eyes to adapt to the dim light. The female found what she wanted and she lit an incense stick, tapped six times to attract the attention of the God’s servants, then set the incense in with the other burning sticks in the rack before the empty altar. After a respectful pause, she tapped three times more and backed out of the shrine. How did the males manage to even fit into the shrine, she wondered as she finished walking to her transport. She only stood eighty centimeters at the shoulder, but the soldiers and noble males easily exceeded a meter. The female pulled the transport’s entry hatch open, climbed in, and set the navigation system by habit, her attention shifting to more important things.
Should she tell everyone the good news? As the transport rumbled onto the auto-steer track, Seeri decided to wait. By the time she returned to the lab, most of her team would have gone to their dens for the evening. And calling prey captured before she had the throat in her jaws and her talons in its flanks always led to disaster. No, she’d wait until she had King Laski’s official documents and any limitations on the project before she told her work-pack.
Two days later, Seeri gathered her research team leaders in a meeting chamber and broke the good news, after sending them the appropriate files. “We have full documented permission, we have the technology, and we have the budget from the royal research program. So now we can get to work on Star-Strong,” the green female announced. “Karli, you start collecting the volunteers and get as many more as your group can persuade. We need a large number from a variety of lineages and professions. Cheersee, get ready to process the genetic material we need, and Sleer, talk to the medical people about embryo implant protocols.”
Sleer, a green-blotched male, raised his tail for attention. “We have tentative approval for an initial trial with no more than five hundred volunteers. In addition to the usual medical procedure limitations, all volunteers must be un-coerced, both partners must consent, and we cannot accept any volunteers from any Clan if the Clan Lord refuses to participate.” Several of the team hissed their displeasure with the final limitation and he added, “And no more than two twelves from any community smaller than fifty thousand inhabitants until we determine the safety and success rate of the project’s initial phases.”
Seeri waved her weak-side forefoot, acknowledging the additional limitation. She moved on, “Teek, have you finished developing the software and databases we need?”
Teek blinked sleep-heavy eyes. “Yes, Maker Seeri. Two sixts ago, and we tested them last sixt. The report is on your—”
She cut him off. “Good. Fine. Now let’s get to work.”
The biologists returned to their various labs, but Teek stayed behind. “Seeri, just to confirm: Star-Strong will enhance energy use for telepathy and healing and metabolism simultaneously?”
The female swirled her tail. “That is correct. Do you need to change the software again?”
Teek’s neck spines twitched with annoyance. “No, but have you modeled the effects of so many metabolic changes simultaneously? And on both sexes? This seems very fast for something so complicated.”
“It is and it isn’t, Teek. Remember the genetic model you saw?”
“Yes. The genes for telepathy and healing are located close to those that govern metabolism, with a paleo-gap in between. The dead space, someone called it, with silent genes in it,” Teek said.
“Right. That space is where something remains that is no longer part of the genetic code. But the active parts are close because they are related.” Seeri tapped the floor with her tail tip. “In fact, Azdhagi will not be able to develop our latent abilities unless we augment the metabolic functions, because of the energy demands.” She still did not know how the True-dragons managed it, and they refused to assist her with her genetic analysis, leaving her scouting the trail in the dark.
“But why not do it as a two-step process, Seeri?” Teek pushed. “Metabolism first and get that ramped up, then push the energy manipulation abilities. If I understand correctly, the metabolism will be the hardest part of the process because of the complexity.” He was a computer engineer and programmer, not a biologist, but you always did the hardest or most system critical part first, sorted out the error cascade that inevitably followed, and then worked on the fun parts.
Seeri swung her forefoot in negation. “There are reasons, Teek. I can’t go into them just now, but there are very good s
olid reasons why we need to do everything at once. Trust me.”
The computer specialist rumpled his tail. It was Seeri’s hunt, after all. She had the game trace, she knew the trails, and she’d formed the pack. And she stayed out of his computers, leaving him to do what he did best. “So be it. Let me know if you need any additional parameters in the tracking package once things reach that point, Maker Seeri,” and the male slid off his bench and walked down the corridor. That was his last meeting of the day, and he intended to sign out and go bask.
Bright Spring, Raetee Holdings, Sseehkahla, Two Double Moons Later
Contentment and pleasure washed over Maker Seeri like sunlight on a summer afternoon as she studied the last of the medical reports. All the modified embryos taken from members of Raetee Clan had passed the third cell division successfully, and only one of the embryo implants had failed to take. The scientist made a note to have a full equipment check run on the set used for the failed implant, since that seemed the most probable cause for the embryo’s failure to attach to the egg-chamber lining. The number of successful implants now stood at three hundred, of which one hundred came from Raetee alone. Seeri still marveled at Raetee Clan’s willingness to take such a risk. After finishing her last notes, she closed her computer and tucked it into her carry-drag, preparing to depart.
Lord Raetee walked into the Bright Spring medical center office, looked around, and came over to speak. His dark coloring contrasted with the gleaming metals and polished white enamel surfaces of the medical suite. Even in the non-patient work areas, everything could be cleaned and sterilized with a steam bath if needed, and the white reflected light, making samples, text, and small details easier to see. Raetee Clan believed in simplicity and efficiency, the current head of the Clan as much as anyone, which partly explained the Clan’s participation in Star-Strong and the Clan-head’s personal presence today. Lord Raetee dipped his head in greeting. “Success?”
