The Heart of Dog

by Doranna Durgin

  Max shook his head yes.

  "He says she used her psi powers to knock him out and to get past the guards."

  "That explains why LoveClone decided to test their systems by turning them off," I said.

  "Max says he didn't want to leave, he's no fool! He had a good thing going there and he knew it," Carol said.

  I turned to Carol. "How powerful of a psi would you have to be to influence an entire building of people?"

  Before Carol could answer she was cut down from behind by a stun blast. I turned towards the blast to see Gem Moon standing there holding a laser.

  "I am class I, level 6," she said proudly. "Now put your arms up please."

  I did what I was told.

  "How did you know I was here?" I asked.

  "I'm clairvoyant," she said calmly. "As soon as you left the building I got the feeling that my mental manipulation of you didn't work and that you would head to my house."

  "So, what's your game here, Gem?" I asked. "Are you planning on selling Max to the competition?"

  "No, of course not," Gem said. "I'm planning on keeping him here as my dear pet. What they did to him was unnatural. I'm going to give him a mental adjustment to make him a normal dog again. He'll be happier that way. Intelligence brings worries."

  "Do you think the folks at LoveClone will just forget about him?"

  "Actually I do, Mr. Johnson," she said. "With a bit of help from me. I couldn't just completely erase Max from all of their minds, they have way too many records of him. But by convincing them he's run away and that they can't find him, eventually they'll just give up."

  "Ah...not to be difficult, but what are your plans for me?"

  "You're going to turn off what ever psi blocker you are using and let me erase him from your mind. I'll give you a nice cover story. If you don't cooperate, I'm afraid I'll have to shoot you."

  "I don't think you'd kill me."

  "I'll shoot you in the groin. Then that should make it easy enough for me to take over your mind. So you see, I'm going to do it anyway. You might as well make it easy on both of us."

  This was certainly a tight situation. I just can't pop HARV out. He's actually implanted via a lens on my eye that connects through my optic nerve to my brain. As much as sometimes wish I could, I can't turn him on and off at will.

  A message from HARV rolled across my eyes. I think I can let her zap you and then I can unzap you when she lets her guard down.

  I looked at Max. He typed a message that said, "Gem, why are you doing this? I like my life!"

  Gem looked at him and smiled. "Maybe, but you are both their toy and their prisoner. Trust me, Max, this will be a better, more natural life for you." Gem turned her attention toward me. "Give me the psi blocker now!"

  That little delay was all I needed. I took an old 2004 quarter I keep for luck out of my pocket and tossed it to Gem. I figured I could use it as a decoy. These days nobody remembers what physical coins looked like.

  "Here's my psi-blocker," I said. "Now get it over with."

  Gem caught the coin and looked at it. She seemed pleased with herself and how things were going. She locked her eyes on my mind.

  The next thing I knew I was standing in a big grassy open field that rolled on and on as far as my eyes could see. The sun was shining and the wind was gently brushing against my face. The field was dotted with fire hydrants. Suddenly a rabbit darted by. Then another. Then another. I had to catch those pesky rabbits.

  I started after a rabbit, a chubby brown one who looked like he'd be an easy mark. I heard HARV inside my brain, "Oh my Gates—she's turned you into a puppy!"

  HARV's words snapped me out of my Gem-induced daze just as I had run past her toward my car.

  "Woof," I said, not wanting to let on that I broken free of her mental vice. I spotted Gem out of the corner of my eye. She seemed even more pleased with herself now. I stopped and sniffed the air, doing my best dog impression.

  Gem bent down and picked up a stick. She tossed it towards my car.

  "Go fetch!" she ordered.

  I lunged towards Gem instead of the stick. I grabbed her gun arm, easily disarming her by twisting it behind her back. The gun dropped to the ground and I held her in an arm lock.

  "I don't fetch sticks for anybody!" I told her.

  "At least not for free," HARV said.

  "I see this calls for plan B," Gem said, calmly—too calmly.

  I didn't like the sound of that. Gem looked back at me, suddenly I felt as if the Earth was a giant magnet and I was a big steel rod. I crashed to the ground, pinned like a butterfly in a museum.

  "Apparently she is a powerful telekinetic also," HARV said.

  "Gee, do you think?" I said.

  "Well, it is possible that the laws of gravity have changed only for you but I compute the odds of that being greater than a trillion to one," HARV said.

  I knew trying to force my way up would be futile. This called for a different course of action.

  "It appears we have a standoff," I said to Gem.

  She looked at me. "What standoff? I have you pinned helpless to the ground. I could kill you at anytime."

  "Semantics," I said. I would have shrugged if I could. "I know you won't kill me."

  "What makes you so certain?"

  "You're not a killer, I can tell."

  "I've never needed to kill before because I could always use my powers to get what I wanted. But that doesn't mean I won't kill."

  "Sure it does. You just want what's best for Max."

  "That's true."

  Max ran up to Gem and just looked her in the eyes. Gem bent down and petted him.

  "Believe me, Max," Gem said. "I'm doing this for your own good."

  "Really?" I said. "For his good or your good?"

  Gem turned to me. She tightened her mental pressure on me, making me feel like a lame fly under a swatter. "He's their prisoner!" she said. "I'll love him!"

  "We're all prisoners in one way or another," Max said. "At least I know I'm a prisoner and I have a really nice cage."

  "Let me go, Gem," I said, with great difficulty. "I'm sure we can work this out."

  "No!" she shouted "Those people at LoveClone are just playing god with his life!"

  "So are you," I said.

  "Perhaps, but I'm playing god out of passion not profit."

  Gem looked at Max. A little tear formed in her eye. "What they did to you was wrong. With me you'll have a happy simple life. I'll treat you well."

  "But I'll be your prisoner instead of theirs," Max typed.

  "You'll be happy. I'll knit you little outfits. You'll look so cute!"

  "This woman is in serious need of a hobby," HARV mumbled inside my mind.

  "Think about it, Gem! What's your goal here? To make Max happy. He already is happy."

  "Well, I also want to make myself happy," Gem said.

  "You can both be happy at LoveClone," I said. "Max likes it there."

  "I love it there!" Max typed.

  "And you love Max. With you there you can make sure Max is treated properly," I said.

  Max looked Gem square in the eye. Or at least as square in the eye as a dog with such a long nose could. I could tell Gem was wavering.

  "You can't keep me pinned here forever, Gem."

  "Sure I can. I can use you as a scarecrow in my garden! I can let you move just enough to feed you so you won't die."

  I had to give the lady credit for being persistent.

  "People will come looking for me," I said. "And for Carol."

  "I'll plant a story in her mind and send her away. Nobody will know you're here."

  "Of course they will," I said. "My computer assistant will tell them."

  She looked at the watch/communicator I wear on my arm. The watch lifted up into the air and floated towards her. It was a logical assumption on her part. After all, that's how most people communicate with their computers.

  "I'll just smash your computer interface."

  "
It won't work. I don't have the standard computer assistant." My next statement was a bit of risk but I figured I really had nothing to lose here. "My computer is not only more intelligent than the average computer assistant, but he's hard-wired to my brain. That's why you can't control me."

  HARV projected a hologram of himself from my eye lens. He bowed to Gem.

  "Oh, that is just so unnatural," Gem said.

  "I'm alerting Zach's good friend Captain Rickey of the NF police force of his predicament in 10 seconds," HARV said.

  "Let them come. I'll make them all forget why!"

  "Three seconds," HARV said calmly.

  Gem was confused. She had the look of a woman who was going to snap one way or another. She had to release the tension built up inside of her somehow. She could either let it out slowly like air leaving a balloon, or she could snap like an old fashion rubber band. It that were the case, I could only hope she would snap without snapping me.

  "I should crush you like a grape!" Gem shouted at me.

  Gem clenched her fists and her eyes. Beads of sweat popped up on her forehead like bubbles in boiling water. The pressure on me increased; it felt like I was on Jupiter being run over by a steamroller. If something didn't break the tension soon I was going to be the one broken. My mind frantically searched for some way out of this. I knew I had to calm Gem down, to reason with her. The problem was I had no idea how to go about that.

  Max, however did. He leaned over and licked Gem across her face.

  My first instinct would have been to say, oh gross—dog germs. Gem instead smiled. You could feel the anxiety slowly ease from her body as she relaxed and hugged Max.

  "Oh, Max, are you sure that's what you want?"

  He licked her again.

  "Yes, I can't imagine anything better than being at LoveClone in your care," Max typed.

  I felt the pressure that was holding me down release. I sat up.

  "You are doing the right thing Gem," I said.

  She looked at Max, then at me. "I know. Science may have given him intelligence but nature gave him wisdom,"

  ~~~

  The next day I sat in my office recapping the past day's events with HARV and Carol.

  "No ill effects from yesterday?" I asked Carol as she brought me a glass of ice tea.

  "I'm fine," she said. "My ego took a bit of bruising by letting another psi get the drop on me, but I've learned to be more careful next time."

  "I don't know if there'll be a next time for you," I said. "Your Aunt Electra is upset with me taking you into the line of fire. She really didn't buy my excuse that I didn't know there would be a line of fire."

  Carol smiled at me. "Don't worry, I'll talk to her. I had fun."

  "LoveClone was certainly pleased. Not only do they get their prize project back, but they learned they employ one of the most powerful psi minds around. They offered to make her head of marketing."

  HARV gave me one of his patented—literally—condescending smirks.

  "All in all, not the hardest 5000 credits you've ever made. Though if truth be told you should share some of the fee with Max. If it wasn't for his well-timed lick, not even I can predict how things would have ended."

  I turned to HARV. Of course it was easy for him to imply it was an easy case. He wasn't the one being mind-handled by Gem Moon. Still, he had a point. Max had lent a paw to help make his rescue possible.

  "You're right, HARV. Llink with Max's computer and see if there's anything he wants?"

  HARV flickered for a moment then grinned. "He says he doesn't need anything, but if you know any nice bitches to send them his way."

  Carol rolled her eyes and mumbled something about all men being alike no matter what their species.

  I smiled. Now I was certain. Max really was the world's smartest dog.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

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  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Mountain Challenge

  By John Mierau

  I've always loved dogs and their wolf cousins, and their love and loyalty has been a part of my life since childhood. With "Mountain Challenge," I wanted to talk about what the young of all stripes can learn from the old, and what the old can give back to the young. Size doesn't matter, time is a great leveler... and at some point, everyone needs someone to help spur them over the next hill.

  ----------

  An old wolf stands motionless and silent at the foot of a tall, snow-capped mountain. The chill water of a mountain stream soothes the ache in his bones, before he reluctantly presses across to the far bank. Long-ago scents and sights of his brothers and sisters frolicking on the slopes of this very mountain play in his mind as his paws sink into pebbles on the shore. He walks along the shore, not wanting to leave the sounds of the stream, but the slowly healing wounds between his shoulders and on his left haunch remind him of how far he has left to travel. Growling at the pain, he trots once more toward the mountain, sharp eyes scanning the slopes for the easiest ascent. A puff of smoke rises high above, and the gray-muzzled predator returns to his former stillness.

  ~~~

  A herd of elk stampeded down the mountain, smashing against each other in their haste. Aleyku licked his lips, but had fed well the night before and watched the fevered run of the animals with the clarity of a full belly. Aleyku could almost smell the elk's panic, and scanned higher on the mountain for the strange smoke that had caught his eye. Nothing. He watched the long-legged animals barrel towards him and wondered what predator had spooked them from their high mountain plains.

  Aleyku bared his fangs at a flare of pain in his withers, and whipped his head around to chew at long, fresh scar across his back. His chest felt cold and hollow as the pain reminded him that he was now packless, defenseless. He crept to a thick patch of grass and crouched low as the elk approached, surprised by the number of strong young males running scared. Aleyku stayed hidden long after the herd splashed loudly through the stream and rumbled over the low, rolling hill beyond, and his eyes did not leave the mountain pass. He listened and breathed deep for scent but caught nothing. It shook him that a predator powerful enough to warn off a whole herd could evade his senses. A dozen heartbeats, then a dozen more passed and still there was no sign of what had stalked the elk.

  Finally, Aleyku trotted warily from the grasses and continued slowly up to the path, sniffing deep with each step. Growing bolder, he began to run while the temporary relief of the waters still lent him the strength, stretching his legs out full and slapping the ground with just the clawed tips of his feet. He sensed no eyes on him, but he would feel safer when the wide path closed up again to narrow turns and twists higher up the mountain.

  ~~~

  Aleyku did not let up his gallop until he was deep into the last thick stand of trees on the mountain. Creeping into the shadow of a low bough, he fought to still his panting enough to catch any chasing scent, any stealthy footfall on his trail. Recovering from the run took too long, and his hackles rose in nervousness until quiet returned and he could listen with hard ears. He had seen many seasons, led his pack through lean times and plenty, and now felt each step he had taken, each bite he'd not been quick enough to evade.

  He turned in a circle, nostrils flaring, but again there was no scent. No animal scent at all. No rabbits, no elk, not even birds. Are all the animals gone? Aleyku found the silence eerie, wondering what had become of the seemingly endless number of rabbits he and his brothers and sisters had chased at play in his first years. He remembered a scary moment as a cub, chasing behind an elk three times his height to impress his littermates, to see how close he could get before it turned and stabbed at him with its antlers. A smile came to Aleyku's face, remembering how he'd always gotten closer than all the others.

  Forcing his mind back to the present, he tasted the empty air again: the hunter no longer prowled nearby, or so his nose said. Nothing did. He continued up the trail, but his hackles still pointed skywards, and he took care to step lightly.

 
~~~

  Fire.

  Preserving Instinct backed Aleyku up against a jutting rock when the horrible scent filled his nostrils. When he met the rock he stopped, and thought of following the elk back down the trail. No. He waited, ears twitching in vain for sound, but refused to slink back off the mountain. All that matters is reaching the top. When he was satisfied that nothing moved around him save swaying branches, he continued on. In part he was frightened how easy it had become to override life-preserving reflexes, but another part was eager to face whatever came. Stupid, looking for challenge like this.

  Both relief and sadness tugged at him as he completely abandoned the cry of his Instincts for the first time in his life. Aleyku was saddened by the thought he might be running his last race, but also eager to see what lay at the end. He stooped to chew long, cool grass to settle his nervous stomach and stoke his courage. He caught it again, the strange fire-scent. Sure enough, it was close now, wafting down the only pass leading upwards. Baring his teeth, Aleyku loped.

  Stupid, but exciting!

  ~~~

  The air was crisp, the ground chill beneath the pads of Aleyku's paws as he clawed his way up a steep incline, and he hoped the snow of the mountaintop was near. He could feel his energy fade, his will along with it.

  I will decide when it's time to lay down!

  Growling, drawing every ounce of pride to spur him on, Aleyku bounded over the crest onto a wide field and a view of the Moon, rising pale in the face of the sun. The scent of snow grew strong in his nostrils. So close now. He felt the Moon was calling him forward, his last ally, cheering him on from its beautiful perch in the sky. Looking at the eternal Moon, Aleyku felt his resolve grow, and opened his mouth to bay in thanks. As he drew in that breath, the choking scent returned, and he jerked his head down to the path just in time to see the rabbits leap past. A plague of rabbits, bounding around and off of him in terror-inspired haste. One of the poor creatures' tail was on fire, yet it was in too much of a hurry moving its legs to roll in the loose dirt. One of the last of the rabbits bounced off Aleyku's chest, chittering in panic. It found its legs and took flight again, ignoring the shocked wolf in its single-minded flight.