Stepping Stones (Founding of the Federation Short Stories Book 1)

by Chris Hechtl

  “I hate those toys. I keep tripping on them,” Kibba muttered, stalking off. Sakura watched him go.

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  After his minor success, Toshi spent a brief time with the babies before he moved on to the female enclosure the following day. The females were young and had been abused by the others of their troop so they had been plucked by the well-meaning humans and put together in their own troop. There were four; so it should be easy to keep his wits about him.

  He brought a prod stick in with him. At first the females moved as far away as possible from him, so he settle down with his back to them and waited. “You just going to sit there?” Sakura asked.

  “Why? Bored? Some things cannot be rushed,” Toshi replied.

  “He's right. He's getting a feel for the situation,” Kibba replied, coming up into the room. “Thought you could use some backup.”

  Sakura looked over to him. Technically Kibba was the most experienced with handling animals. He preferred canines though.

  Toshi held the staff across his knees and sidled a look under his arm. He then moved a little backwards and waited.

  “They are looking at you,” Kibba said.

  “Doesn't it make your skin crawl?” Sakura asked, voicing her concern. She hated the idea of turning her back on a potential threat.

  “It's not something I'm doing lightly,” Toshi replied. He checked again, one of the females was grooming another while the other two were eating from a hole in an artificial log. They were using a stick to fish out insects that had been put there by the waldo arm before they had woken in the morning.

  “Picked one to approach yet?” Kibba asked.

  “Don't rush me. I'm trying this technique out,” Toshi replied, looking at Kibba then away. He was sticking to the practice of not making eye contact, but it was hard. And keeping his tone light with Kibba's occasional needling was tough as well.

  He moved a few more times until he was within a meter of a female. She was one of the youngest, he'd read her bio. She had graduated from the nursery to Thoth's group but hadn't bonded well. The other females had been hard on her, even tearing off a chunk of her ear, biting off one of her fingers, and blinding her on her left side. He moved on that side until she turned her head to him. He pretended to pick at things on the ground.

  “Are you eating that? That is so grouse,” Kibba said.

  “Shut up,” Sakura sighed. She was taking notes of his progress.

  Toshi passed the female, then turned away when she looked his way. When she turned back, he waited a moment then reached out to touch her.

  Sakura's sharp inhale was enough to get the baboon's attention. She flinched at his touch and looked over his shoulder. He looked away, withdrawing his hand. But she only moved away a little before sitting back down. He was still in arms reach so he tried again.

  She itched with her back paw, then stopped as she felt his fingers traced down her spine slowly. He brushed her shoulder then started to groom her gently. She closed her eyes and luxuriated in that simple social custom.

  One of the other females came to investigate making Toshi pause for a moment. She sniffed then sat down beside him.

  “Will you look at that,” Kibba said softly as Toshi kept grooming.

  “Don't jinx it,” Sakura murmured.

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  “How did you do that?” Kibba demanded when Toshi exited the enclosure.

  “Clean living and I did my homework,” Toshi replied.

  “The more you handle them, the more they will accept you, the easier it is on all around,” Doctor Ishigani said with a nod of approval. “A good first step, Mister Nakumora,” she said in approval.

  “Domo Arigato Sensei,” he replied with a slight bow. She nodded in reply and then went on her way.

  “Yeah, just don't get too comfortable and drop your guard, man,” Kibba said. “You'll be the one hurting if you do.”

  “I know I'm going to get hurt eventually. But it is the risk we take to get the job done,” Toshi replied with a fatalistic shrug. He was shivering inside though. He was glad his training had worked out so well so far. He made a mental note to bring a brush and something for them to interact with the next time.

  “I think smell had something to do with your luck,” Kibba said, sniffing him slightly. Kibba's sense of smell was legendary in the lab. “You stank,” he drawled.

  “Thanks,” Toshi replied dryly.

  “No, seriously. It's the babies. I think one of them peed on you so they smell that.”

  “Maybe,” Toshi replied. He looked over to Sakura. She was being careful to stand away from him and breathe through her mouth.

  “I wasn't going to say anything,” she said quietly. “But you may want to go get cleaned up and change,” she said.

  “No, I want to see the others. Even if it's only from the other side of the glass or bars,” Toshi replied.

  “Okay, pushing your luck,” Kibba said.

  “We'll see,” Toshi said.

  He went over to Brutus's entrance and stopped at the door. He flipped down the dinner door so he could see the baboons. Bright brown and black eyes met his before he looked away. “High big fella, remember me?” he asked softly. A hand came out, demanding food.

  “Sorry, forgot that,” Toshi muttered.

  Sakura came over and handed him a treat. “Thanks,” he said with a half-smile her way before he snapped it in half and handed the first half to the impetuous baboon.

  “Careful he doesn’t grab you,” Sakura warned as she watched from a safe distance.

  “You should come in with me. Two sets of eyes and hands to watch each other.”

  “I'll keep my distance thanks. I signed on to handle lab work, not the animals.”

  “Well, technically I did too. But I've been trying to train to be a primatologist for some time,” Toshi replied as he broke smaller and smaller pieces off to hand the baboon. When Brutus turned away, he reached through the open space to groom his exposed shoulder and flank. Brutus snorted but didn't move away or react negatively.

  “I think this is smarter. Get to know them from some safety before you push it,” Sakura stated. “I suggest you do your homework on the players too. And look for any warning signs they might show.”

  “Good idea,” Toshi said softly, still grooming. “See? You do know a bit,” he observed.

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  He finished just before dinner. He had to rush out to get a bite to eat in the college cafeteria before his evening class. When he found out the professor was running late, he went over his notes and search results once more. He zoomed in on their daily behavior.

  In the wild baboons got up around 7 a.m. from their sleeping places, a bit after dawn, and played and socialized for a bit before they formed up into a column to forage for food. In Africa they would forage for the first three hours, then rest when the heat of the day hit. Then they would forage when it tapered off, returning to their sleeping places in rocks, cliffs, and trees by 6 p.m. Around that time they would also do a lot of socializing and grooming; it was their time to reaffirm bonds and establish new ones.

  He wasn't sure if his timing was right or not. He'd have to check with Sakura and the log. Most likely the animals were following that social behavior to some degree, though they didn't need to march around in the enclosures. They did need to forage; the staff made certain to hide food in various places to give them some enrichment.

  He snorted when he remembered a trick Kibba had played weeks ago. He'd placed a rubber snake in one enclosure with a recorded hissing sound. The animals hadn't known what to do with it, but hadn't liked the hissing thing so they'd avoided it until Sakura had guilt tripped Kibba into removing the thing.

  “All right ladies and gentlemen, and I use the term loosely for some of you, it is time to put away your childish things and begin another rousing history course,” the professor's assistant said, coming onto the stage. There was a collective rustle as people got set to take notes. Toshi bookmarke
d his reading place then flipped his tablet open to get ready to take notes.

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  Over the following week, Toshi took Sakura's advice and introduced himself to the other troops through the bars first, bribing them with treats before he tried to go into the enclosures.

  He had success with Brutus right off, but the male didn't seem to mind Toshi and enjoyed the grooming. He didn't see the human as a threat to the social order apparently but didn't exactly welcome him as an old friend. He did seem to miss Toshi when he took the weekend off. The following Monday the male ran about the room for a while before he settled down and approached Toshi for his treat and then sat companionably to get groomed.

  “I wonder what that was about,” Kibba asked.

  “Getting some nervous energy out?” Doctor Ishigani asked. “Or he's excited to see young Nakumora?”

  “More like the treat he's bribing him with,” Kibba said sourly.

  “It's not just that. Toshi's a new thing. Something different, a break in the established routine. Brutus seems to be accepting it. He's something different, something new to think about.”

  “Exactly one of the things we were hoping for,” the doctor replied. “But we need to set up for the next exercise.”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  “Did you finish analyzing the last results?”

  “The computers are still mulling over the simulation versus applied results, Doctor. They are refining their projection algorithms now,” Sakura replied dutifully.

  “One day they won't even need us,” the doctor muttered, shaking her head. “I know some things stood out. We'll see if there is a difference from Mister Nakumora's influences.”

  “Hai Sensei,” the young woman replied, schooling her face properly.

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  Over the following week, Toshi introduced the baboons to new tests, tools for them to try out, and screens to tap to learn more symoblogy.

  They seemed to take to the new things with interest; the new experiences seemed to intrigue them. Boredom was always a problem with animals in captivity he knew, so enrichment was a daily struggle for the staff. But the doctors had been going about it with the primates in the wrong way, trying to get the animals off their routine and onto what they wanted to do. It took some quiet persuasion to get Doctor Chaing reluctantly on board to change his schedule.

  “I understand young Nakumora's point now that I've gone back and reexamined their social behavior,” he said during the Tuesday staff meeting. The meeting was to establish what they wanted to see for the following week while giving them time on Monday to correct any problems.

  “Has he bonded with Thoth yet?”

  “No. We need a backup, another intern to go in with them in case Nakumora is unavailable,” Doctor Ishigani stated.

  “Why?” Shima demanded.

  “Because he is a student. So he can't be here all the time. He can't work more than a full shift you know,” she replied patiently.

  “Back to the scheduling problem,” Doctor Chaing stated, putting a hand out on the table to get their attention before they got diverted by the tangent problem. “I think I see two solutions. One, we adapt to their schedule.”

  “Which is difficult.”

  “Agreed,” Doctor Shima replied. He did his best work during the day, not at night or in the early morning when the animals were available. But it did explain why the animals didn't like to be bothered during the day. They seemed to be less interested in the testing, more inclined to ignore the humans.

  “The other idea is to alter their day. We can adjust their timing to fit our needs. We have to be careful about doing it. We don't want to cause problems with their biocardial rhythms, but it should work.”

  “Okay, that might work.”

  “But it has to be a fixed alteration,” Doctor Chaing replied warningly. “And we can't get away with stretching some time periods out too far. The best we can do is try to get them to synch up with us a bit more.”

  “Have their day time when we're processing information? Their evening when we are ready for them you mean?” Doctor Ishigani asked. Doctor Chaing nodded. “Okay. I've adapted part of my schedule to them already. I think we can do it. How do you want to proceed?”

  “Well, I want to alter the day-night cycle by stealing some of the minutes from the day and adding them to the night; then once we have the right balance, let things return to normal.”

  “Do it,” Shima ordered. “And I want more progress with Nakumora.”

  “Hai,” Chaing replied. “Getting someone else in with him will be difficult though. Young Inuzuka has a tendency to challenge them. He keeps going eye to eye and he keeps baring his teeth as if spoiling for a challenge. He's good with the other animals but unsuited for this purpose.”

  “I see,” Doctor Shima murmured, netting his fingers together.

  “Young Nakumora's efforts are showing some results. It is still early, but we're seeing more signs of focus and concentration with market decrease of aggression in the subjects. It's allowing us to test their intelligence easier, and the improved results are making us adjust the models,” Doctor Ishigani stated.

  “Which is taking processing time, so it's actually a good thing young Nakumora is approaching the project cautiously,” Doctor Chaing stated.

  “In a way. Frustrating as well though, since he can only be in one place at one time,” another doctor stated.

  “Yes indeed,” Doctor Chaing replied. He shrugged, looking at Doctor Ishigani.

  “We need more interns,” Doctor Ishigani stated flatly.

  “Or you could go in yourselves,” Doctor Shima said simplistically.

  Doctor Chaing shook his head. “We've set our established roles with the animals already. We handled it poorly in retrospect, using the SWAT armor to get in and handle them aggressively to minimize injury. They know us, so they instinctively respond to that.”

  “What he's saying is anytime he or any of the other vets come onto the scene the animals get aggressive or defensive,” Doctor Ishigani interpreted for him.

  “Arigato,” Doctor Chaing said with a nod her way.

  “So you're not the right man for the job?”

  “If a man is needed at all. The young seem more flexible for the task. If we could import someone with experience from Earth, that would be even better,” the vet said hopefully.

  Doctor Shima seemed to still as he processed that idea but then shook his head. “Not going to happen, the security vetting and risks are too high. Work with the pool of talent you have available,” he said as he rose to his feet.

  “Hai,” the other staff members replied as they too rose. He nodded, closing the meeting.

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  Thoth's group was the largest of the troops, with the largest enclosure so Toshi was careful to take that project on when he was feeling the most fit and able. He initially stuck near the door and kept an eye on exit strategies at all times when in the enclosure.

  He was also careful not to trap any of the animals and prevent their own escape should they wish to do so. All the earlier lessons he had learned with the other troops were put to the test as he moved backwards to the troop.

  Thoth came to inspect him briefly. The old male baboon took to the treat and grooming easily. He seemed to form a bond with Toshi, accepting him much to his relief.

  The females smelled the young on him as well as the other animals so each came to inspect him. He felt relief, none showed aggression to him. He caught sight of Sakura through the glass. She gave him a thumbs-up.

  He had learned to use the reflection in the glass to help watch his back and gauge how close he was to an animal. He still took it slow, ever aware of the danger. When Thoth started to yawn, an indication he had overstayed his welcome, he slowly departed.

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  “Sakura, you aren't still working on the micro-primate project are you?” Doctor Chiang asked her in passing with a sniff. She looked at the sketch then smiled innocently
up at him.

  “It is a cute idea. Not viable, but cute.”

  “I'm glad you have some objectivity,” he stated, looking over her shoulder to the wide-eyed creature she'd drawn clutching a pen stylus like a branch. “Harrumph. Not a bad eye. You've got your proportions down,” he said with a tight nod.

  “Thank you, Sensei,” she replied with a slight bow of her head.

  “Stupid project. Can you believe it came from marketing?” he asked, shaking his head.

  “I thought on the surface it would be wildly popular for people who wanted designer pets, a pocket pet.” She'd read the brief synopsis allowed her and had been fascinated by the idea. The company had gotten word that some of their competition had delved into designer pets. Most of it had been fairly basic, designer fur color, even body shaping or in the case of Lagroose Industries, mapping the form of a large animal onto a much smaller one.

  The company's marketing had gotten the idea of taking the idea one step further, the pocket pet. They could engineer animals down to one-two centimeters in size. Fit them in small containers, feed them food only the company produced … the ideas had gone on and on. On the one hand she'd been fascinated; as a girl she'd always dreamed of such a pet. On the other she'd been appalled at the exploitation of animals on that level.

  “Which is how they sold the initial concept to the board,” the lead vet said, oblivious to her thoughts as he crossed his massive arms in front of him and he leaned against the counter behind him. He tucked his massive chin down so he looked like had no neck. He looked a bit like a bullfrog. “Getting the scale down would be tricky; we don't have the bioforms in our library, which means either going outside to purchase the DNA or trying to engineer them down from our own in house forms.” He shook his head. “We can engineer the various color schemes they were talking about easily enough. Even the rainbow afro,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “But animals that small … feeding would be simple, but the medical care …,” She looked up to the ceiling, eyes lost in thought as she started to go over the cons he had already seen.