Shroud of Doom

by William Manchee

  Chapter 8

  Deep Sea Defense League

   

  Jox Senna and his wife Ariela, lived in a small shack in the Seafolken village of Copesch on the northern tip of Rigimol. Seafolken were a race of amphibious humans who lived in or near the sea. They had been enslaved and persecuted for hundreds of cycles by the humans who considered them an inferior race. When the Supreme Mandate was signed slavery was abolished and supposedly all Seafolken became free. Unfortunately, not everyone complied with the dictates of Tarizon’s new law.

  Ariela had inherited their abode from her father three cycles earlier. Like much of the population he’d suffered from respiratory problems that eventually led to lung cancer and his early demise. Jox and Ariela were fortunate to have given birth to two beautiful children, a daughter, Lenira, and a son, Ulith. Fortunate, because to have two normal children on Tarizon, considering the toxic atmosphere and dismal living conditions, was a blessing from God and Sandee.

  Jox made a living as a fisherman. He had a small fishing boat that he took out into the North Sea each day searching for the schools of tripett that frequented those waters. A tripett was a large fish, which at maturity measured over three feet in length. It was quite tasty and in high demand. While many species of fish had been adversely impacted by high levels of radiation in the world’s oceans, the tripett seemed immune and hadn’t diminished in numbers over the cycles since the 8th World War.

  Every night the family would wait for Jox to come home from his daily journey to wherever the tripett were schooling before they would have their evening meal. It was a tradition among the Seafolken that the entire family eat at least the evening meal together in order to maintain a strong family bond. On this particular evening, however, Jox was a kyloon late and Ariela was worried.

  She knew that sometimes the tripett would school farther out to sea than usual and that would make the journey back and forth to the fish take longer. She told herself that this had to be the reason Jox wasn’t home yet, but that didn’t stop her from worrying. She was only too aware of the many dangers that fisherman faced in the North Sea. It was cold and dotted with icebergs that sometimes were hidden just below the surface of the ocean. If a fishing boat hit an iceberg it was almost certain doom as few hulls could withstand such a collision. Fortunately they had radar and sonar that was supposed to detect icebergs in time to avoid them, but they didn’t always work the way they were advertised. Then there was the unreliability of the ships’ engines and equipment.

  Most of the fishing boats that the Seafolken used were old relics. New ships were in short supply and very expensive, so they had lots of maintenance issues and frequently broke down. Ariela wondered if that was the problem. She went to the front window and looked out over the harbor hoping to see her mate on his way home from the docks.

  Just as she was about to turn and go back into the kitchen he came over the hill. She smiled as relief washed over her. She loved Jox so much and cherished each loon they were together. He was a wonderful mate and a loving father. The thought of losing him was incomprehensible. She couldn’t imagine life without him.

  Ariela blinked as she saw three men come into view behind her husband. She wondered who they could me. She knew they weren’t fisherman because the town was the other way and their shack was the last one in this direction. She waved her hands and pointed with her finger to warn Jox of the men behind him, but he didn’t seem to understand.

  She cringed when the three men began to run toward her husband until they overtook him. She screamed as the three men fought with Jox until they had subdued him. Lenira, her daughter and Ulith, her son came running to the front door.

  “What’s wrong, momma?” Lenira asked as she reached the door. She looked out toward the docks at her father who was struggling with the men. She screamed in fear and horror at seeing her father’s plight.

  Ulith, without hesitation, ran toward his father in a vain attempt to help him. One of the assailants grabbed Ulith and held him from behind by both his arms as he desperately struggled to get free. “Let me go, you scutz!” he screamed as he tried to wriggle out of the man’s grasp.

  Ariela grabbed her daughter’s hand and pulled her away from the door. “Go find a place to hide. I’m going to call for help.”

  Lenira protested, but finally ran off. Ariela closed her eyes and tried to make a connection with her sister. “Talla, it’s the slavers! They’ve come back and they have Jox and Ulith. Send help! Please send help!”

  “We’re coming!” Talla replied. “Hold them off. Don’t let them take you away!”

  Ariela went to the closet and pulled out a rifle. She grabbed a hand full of bullets and stuck them in her pocket. Then she put a bullet in the chamber of the rifle. But when she got to the front door she saw it was too late. An ugly bearded man had a knife to Ulith’s throat. Her heart sank.

  “Drop the rifle or I’ll slit your son’s throat,” the bearded man promised.

  Lenira sighed and then dropped the rifle. "Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded.

  "My name is Pratt and we are here to claim your body and soul into servitude."

  "But slavery has been abolished by the Supreme Mandate."

  Pratt spit on the ground. "The Supreme Mandate carries no weight here, mistress."

  "Yes it does. It's the law all over Tarizon."

  Pratt laughed. “Well, there's no one here to enforce it, so I'm afraid you are out of luck. Who else lives here with you?”

  “No one,” Lenira lied. “It’s just the three of us.

  Pratt looked at his shipmate. “Let's see if she be lying. Burn it down!"

  Guliah nodded and rushed inside the shack. Jox elbowed the man holding him, trying desperately to escape but to no avail. The man hit him hard across the face with the barrel of his pistol causing his nose to bleed. Jox winced in pain. Smoke started billowing out the front door as Guliah emerged.

  Ariela screamed, "My daughter! My daughter's in there."

  The bearded man shook his head in disgust. "Go back in a get her," he ordered.

  Guliah rushed back inside and returned a second later with Lenira in his arms. Ariela took her daughter away from the man and held her tightly.

  "You lied to me," the bearded man scolded as he grabbed her by her hair and yanked her head back. She stumbled and fell to the ground. Ariela grabbed his arm and bit it.

  Pratt slapped Ariela across the face and shook himself free. “All right," he said angrily. "That's enough."

  "Let’s get back to the ship before someone comes," Guliah suggested. "I’m sure they’ve called for help.”

  Pratt nodded and pushed Ariela forward. Jox resisted and tried again to free himself, but Guliah grabbed him by the collar and hit him hard in the stomach causing him to double over in pain.

  “If you give us any more trouble, I’ll put a bullet in your daughter’s head,” Pratt said coldly.

  “No! No!” Ariela replied. “They’ll be no more trouble. Will there, Jox?”

  Jox took a deep breath and then nodded.

  The three slavers took them to a cove half a kylod from the harbor. An old freighter was anchored in the middle of it. Three long boats were ferrying captured Seafolken out to the ship. Jox recognized two of his friends who had been loaded into one of the long boats that was getting ready to launch. He shook his head in utter despair. How can this be happening? Slavery has been abolished. This isn’t right. God and Sandee save us.

   After they were transported to the freighter they were put in a cargo hold with dozens of other Seafolken who, by the smell of the place, had been there for some time. When the door to the hold was closed it was black as night save a few shafts of light that slipped between the wooden planks above them.

   

   

  Grenz Lozich, a Seafolken, lived with his wife and three children in a shack on the north shore of Pogo Island. There were few inhabitants on this part of the Island and that was one reason Gre
nz chose to live there. He’d been separated from his family at an early age when the slave traders captured his father and mother and transported them to the city of Shisk on the continent of Turvin, to be sold at auction. His elder brother and sister, who’d been away when the traders raided their Seafolken village, provided him some comfort and protection while he was growing up, but Grenz pretty much raised himself.

  At age fourteen Grenz joined the TGA and served on a battleship for six cycles. During that time he became a master seaman and soldier. When his tour of duty was up he went to Shisk to try to find his mother and father. He searched there for half a cycle before he finally faced the reality that he’d never see his parents again. Although they’d been taken to Shisk to be sold at the slave markets, he realized their buyers could have taken them anywhere on Tarizon after the purchase.

  To honor his parents he decided to devote his life to combating the growing slave trade business. To accomplish this Grenz formed the Dark Sea Defense League and enlisted Seafolken from lands adjoining the Dark Sea. He trained his recruits to attack slave ships, free the seafolken slaves aboard, and kill the slavers. The captured slave ships were either sunk or refitted for use by the Defense League to pursue slave traders.

  In the fall of 23 A.U. Grenz was commanding a ship patrolling in the Dark Sea just south of Allso on the southern tip of Lamaine Shane. They were looking for slavers on their way to Shisk to sell their Seafolken cargo. Although slavery had been abolished by the Supreme Mandate many ignored the law and few were prosecuted for disobeying it. Since Central Authority, did nothing to stop slave traders, the Dark Sea Defense League, took it upon themselves to put as many slave traders out of commission as possible and free their sisters and brothers from a lifetime of hard labor and misery.

  Grenz was at the helm of a light cruiser called Revenge that had been captured several cycles earlier from the docks of Gallion. The slavers had stopped to restock and while they were out at the local taverns, Captain Lozich and his seafolken crew overtook the seaman left aboard and set sail. Since slave trading was illegal they couldn’t complain to the TGA or the local authorities about their loss of their ship. Of course, the slavers vowed to avenge the theft of their valuable ship and cargo, but trying to locate a Dark Sea Defense League cruiser that could be anywhere on the vast oceans of Tarizon was a daunting task to say the least.

  “Captain. There’s a ship twenty kylods northwest of us traveling fast,” his executive officer, Lt. Ullum Yels, advised..

  “Time to intercept?” Grenz asked.

  “Eighteen kyloons.”

  “Send out a drone to check it out.”

  “Will do, Captain.”

  The captain looked up at the weapons pad above the upper deck and watched a missile take off toward the oncoming ship. The missile would take the location drone to a position near the ship. The missile and drone would then separate and the drone would fly over the ship and take a full set of reconnaissance photos. Five kyloons later pictures of the approaching ship were displaying on the ships main monitor.

  “It’s a Hinderbrat Cargo Cruiser out of Ock Mezan,” Lt. Yels reported. “They call it Chaser.”

  “Cargo?”

  “Slaves, Sir.”

  “Defenses?”

  “Machines guns, torpedoes, and two small canons, sir.”

  “Alright. Ready the Ionic Interrupter.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The Ionic Interrupter was a bomb that let out an intense ionic pulse when detonated. It could be dropped on a target or delivered via a missile. In this case it would be attached to a missile. The Ionic Interrupter would do little damage to its target but would knock out all of its electronics rendering it defenseless.

  “Interrupter ready for launch,” Lt. Yels reported.

  Captain Lozich watched his monitor waiting for the right moment. “Launch now!”

  A missile shot out from the weapons pad and sped toward its target. Everyone turned to the monitors and watched Chaser in anticipation of the strike. A few loons later there was a flash and the Chaser’s engine failed causing it to sink into the water and come to a stop.

  “Full speed ahead! Boarding party, prepare to drop your boats,” Grenz ordered.

  The ship took off with a lurch as the thrusters were engaged. Wings began to extend out of each side of the boat lifting eighty-five percent of its bulk out of the water. This decreased the ocean’s resistance to the hull dramatically allowing the craft to triple its previous speed. Since the crew of Chaser would be working frantically to restart the engines and get defenses back on line it was imperative to overtake the ship quickly and board her before that could happen.

  A few loons later the disabled transport ship could be seen ahead, dead in the water. The boarding crews took up positions next to their boats and were ready to launch just as soon as they were close enough. Snipers took positions on each mast ready to take out anyone who posed a threat to the boarding party.

  Revenge’s thrusters stopped and the ship slowed down as it approached the slave vessel head on. Two machine guns began firing at them as they approached. The machine guns were mechanical rather than electronic so the ionic interrupter had no effect on them. In response to the machine gun fire the snipers quickly took out the two machine gun crews and their guns went quiet.

  A thousand strides from the slaver Revenge swung around starboard and the boarding ships were dropped with their crews already aboard. Their engines immediately came to life on impact and the two ships sped away toward Chaser. As they were approaching the ship the captain eased Revenge in closer so the snipers would be in range to provide support for the two boarding parties.

  A few shots rang out as the boarding parties began to climb up onto the ship, but the snipers silenced those in short order. Soon the ship surrendered, the crew was taken into custody, and the boarding party secured the vessel. Once the captured crew had been moved to Revenge’s brig, Captain Lozich went aboard the captured ship to explain to all the slaves that they were now free.

  His men opened Chaser’s cargo hold allowing sunlight to come flooding in. Hundreds of weak and frightened Seafolken raised their hands to ward off the bright sunlight.

  “Come forth my brothers and sisters,” Grenz said cheerily. “We have come to set you free.”

  The crew rushed in and cut the ropes that bound the slaves. Slowly they crawled out of the cramped hold and onto the deck of the ship warily, fearing this was but a cruel joke by their captors.

  “My name is Captain Grenz Lozich. My crew and I are here to tell you that you are no longer slaves. Under the Supreme Mandate slavery is abolished on Tarizon and each of you can now live your life as you see fit.”

  The stunned Seafolken looked around at each other in dismay. Finally one of them raised his fist and exclaimed. “Praise God and Sandee! We’re free.”

  The others, now finally beginning to understand what was happening, started laughing and talking excitedly. One of the Seafolken women stepped forward. “Captain. We are pleased that you have rescued us, but now what’s going to happen to us?”

  Grenz smiled at the attractive young woman. “What is your name, mistress?”

  “Ariela.”

  “Are you alone or do you have family with you?”

  “Jox, my mate, and two children are with me,” Ariela said and motioned to her husband to come forward. A tall muscular man stepped up and took Ariel’s hand. Two children joined them on each side.

  “Where are all of you from?” Grenz asked.

  “From Copesch in the far north, but the slavers burned our house. We have nothing to go back to.”

  “Don’t worry. We’re going to help you relocate, find jobs and start over. Right now just take a deep breath and enjoy your first day of freedom. We’ll sit down with each and every one of you soon to discuss your future. In the meantime, I’m sure you are all very hungry, so our chefs are in the process of preparing you a fine meal to celebrate the beginning of your new lives.”<
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  A Seafolken woman named Seerie raised her hand. “Captain. Where will you be taking us once we get underway?”

  “Our plan is to sail up the coast of Lemaine Shane and stop at each port for a few days. There is usually work available at each port and if you can find a job there, then you can stay. If not you can look for work at the next port. This has worked well in the past as Seafolken are known to be capable workers.”

  “What about work for women?” Seerie asked skeptically.

  “Ah. Don’t worry. Seafolken women are in high demand in the hotels and taverns.”

  It was common knowledge that Seafolken women were very alluring and possessed an uncanny ability to seduce human males. This made them very valuable to tavern or hotel owners who exploited their talents for profit. One of the weapons the seafolken women possessed was a small stinger on the tip of their tongues called a tortiac. The tortiac’s natural function was to paralyze fish so that they wouldn’t thrash around in the seafolken’s mouth during feeding, but it was also used on males during mating for intense sexual stimulation.

  “Or, if that doesn’t suit your fancy, factory work is always available—not to mention they’ll be men looking for mates.”

  Everyone laughed. Seerie smiled feeling somewhat relieved. She was very happy to be free but still apprehensive about what it meant. Soon, however, she forgot about her misgivings about the future as she was ushered into the ship’s galley and saw plate after plate of luscious meats, vegetables, breads, desserts and fine spirits that had been prepared for the feast. Tears of joy welled in her eyes at the sight. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d eaten more than a crust of stale bread or a hunk of dried fish. That night for the first time in many cycles she went to sleep with a full stomach and had pleasant dreams rather than nightmares.

   

   

  Threebeard mastered the tavern business quickly and he and Paz struck a deal whereby Threebeard would take over operation of the business and pay Paz a ten percent royalty on gross sales. Threebeard made it clear, however, that only revenue from liquor, food, entertainment, and lodging generated from the existing location would be considered as sales. Thus Threebeard didn’t have to worry about giving Paz a cut of any revenue from new taverns he might set up or new ventures he might undertake in the future.

  One of the first changes Threebeard made to the Mighty Jolly was to turn Paz’s cluttered office into a state of the art computer center. Now with plenty of money Threebeard bought extensive computer equipment and soon figured out how to hack into the TGN. This gave him full access to all government and military computers but also those private ones tied into the network. Although most computer systems tied into the TGN had sophisticated security, understanding computer technology perhaps better than anyone on Tarizon, Threebeard quickly learned how to get around this security without detection. So, now Threebeard had access to just about every bit of information available to anyone on Tarizon and he spent kyloon after kyloon searching through this vast sea of information soaking up knowledge like no human had ever done before.

  Threebeard even learned a lot about Earth through the TGN. Cycles earlier regular Earth Shuttles were sent to Earth to study the planet as a possible place to settle should Tarizon become uninhabitable. While the shuttles orbited Earth they monitored TV and radio stations and recorded most of the programing coming from them. Threebeard liked to watch American movies and listen to popular American music. He even learned to speak English and became familiar with the American political system. There probably wasn't anyone on Tarizon who knew more about Earth than Threebeard.

  Over the next few cycles Threebeard expanded his tavern business to other parts of Tributon and Quori to the south. Soon every major city in those regions had at least one Mighty Jolly. This, of course, caused a myriad of logistical problems which often frustrated Threebeard. It was hard to find enough good talent to provide entertainment to all his customers at so many locations. This is why he was drawn to a news report about the Dark Sea Defense League’s capture of a slave ship traveling from Copesch to Shisk and the release of 211 slaves held in defiance of the Supreme Mandate’s abolishment of slavery. What particularly interested him were the 130 Seafolken women who were in need of employment.

  The article indicated the ship Revenge would be sailing up the west coast of Lemaine Shane stopping at each port hoping to find homes and jobs for the newly freed slaves. Threebeard noted the expected arrival date of the ship at the first port, Allso Uza, and vowed to be there to see if any of the men or women would be suitable for employment. He was excited about the prospect of meeting the Seafolken because he had read extensively about them, the women for their allure and sexuality and the men for their strength, courage, and unusually strong telepathic and telekinetic abilities.

  On the day Revenge was to arrive at Allso Uza, Threebeard was at the docks with Rigella who he had promoted to personnel manager as a reward for helping him acquire the Mighty Jolly from Paz. A large crowd of spectators, media, and prospective employers were also at the dock patiently waiting for Revenge’s appearance. To insure that he would have the first opportunity to talk to Captain Lozich and the Seafolken aboard Revenge, Threebeard had agreed to house all of them for free at his two local taverns. Threebeard enjoyed a further bit of good luck as the ship didn’t arrive until after dark, thus depriving many of his competitors from talking to the captain or the Seafolken that first evening.

  After the guests were all assigned rooms, Threebeard invited them all down for a dinner and entertainment. While they were eating and enjoying his entertainment he went around and talked individually to as many as possible. As he was mingling he realized how incredibly intelligent and talented the Seafolken were and knew he could use almost all of them in one fashion or another. Before they retired for the evening he gathered them together and made a proposal.

  “Captain Lozich, my Seafolken friends, I am honored to have you as my guest for the evening. It is such an injustice for anyone to have to live in slavery today and I celebrate your release and honor Captain Lozich and his crew for freeing you.”

  There were cheers from the audience.

  “Now I know starting over with nothing is difficult with no money, no family, or friends to turn to for help. So, I want to ease that burden for you if I can. I don’t know if you know it or not, but I have many Mighty Jolly Taverns all over Quori and southern Tributon. One day I will have one in every city in Lemaine Shane. So, there are many employment opportunities at the Mighty Jolly and I invite each and every one of you to apply for employment. My good friend and our personnel manager, Rigella, is here to tell you about these opportunities and take your applications if you are interested. And let me just say that we have one of the highest pay structures in the tavern industry and when you come to work at a Mighty Jolly you are joining not a business but a family. Just ask any of our employees here tonight what that means. I’m sure they will be happy to tell you. Finally, since none of you have a place to live right now, anyone who comes to work at the Mighty Jolly will be given free room and board for a reasonable time to allow you to accumulate some earnings and find adequate housing.”

  The room broke out in appreciative applause. Captain Lozich shook his head in amazement and turned to Threebeard. “That is a most generous offer.”

  “Well, it’s nothing compared to what you have done. I salute your efforts to rid Tarizon of slavery. Before you go, I want to make a generous contribution to the Deep Sea Defense League. I know it must be expensive to operate a fleet of ships as you do.”

  “Yes, our crews serve without pay fortunately and we have acquired our fleet without cost.”

  Threebeard scratched his middle beard. “So, how did you manage that?”

  “The chief public enforcer here in Allso Uza is a Seafolken, so when we bring in ships we have captured and their crews, he prosecutes them for slave trading and their property is forfeited to the state. The forfeiture st
atutes allow for the payment of a reasonable bounty to those who bring in slavers or their property. We have an arrangement with the Chief Public Enforcer to split any revenue generated by the sale of the seized property. This provides us funding for our operations and, if a ship doesn’t sell at auction, we can take possession of it in lieu of our bounty.”

  Threebeard nodded. “Excellent. I’d like to meet this PE. He sounds like a fine prosecutor.”

  “Yes, he is. I’ll invite him over to meet you before I leave.”

  “Good. I shall look forward to it.”

  Before the evening was over nearly two-thirds of the Seafolken guests had signed up to work for the Mighty Jolly Taverns. Threebeard was pleased and anxious to put his new employees to work. It took time to train them and put each in the right job, but in time his efforts paid off. The most immediate success were the Seafolken women who were hired as barmaids and dancers. Men flocked to the taverns to see them and were not disappointed. Once they’d had time to recover from their imprisonment, put on a little weight, and learn their jobs they became quite intoxicating and the human males who frequented the taverns couldn’t keep their eyes or hands off them. Fortunately, Giant and other bouncers were always there to protect them if a customer got out of control.

   

   

  Another news report that intrigued Threebeard one night was the story out of Vaceen in Tributon about the Flat Meadow Massacre. He was appalled by the butchering of rhutz and knew there must be more to the story than what was being reported. He followed the story each day and hacked into both the TGA and the Vaceen PE’s computer system. He learned that there were accusations that a teenager named Rupra Bruda had actually killed a rhutz without provocation thus causing the rhutz to kill one of the humans. His interest in the story was further heightened when he read the transcript of the session of Tributon’s General Assembly where an amendment to the Animal Control Act was debated. He couldn’t believe the government was seriously considering committing genocide on the Rhutz and was shocked and delighted when two rhutz appeared to testify as to what actually happened at Flat Meadow.

  Shocked and fascinated that the rhutz had actually been able to communicate with humans, he contacted Councilor Sandista to see if he could arrange a meeting.

  “I believe Shadow is staying with Starlight’s pack for a while. I could contact them and try to arrange a meeting.”

  “Excellent. I can’t wait to meet them.”

  “May I ask why you want to make contact?”

  “I believe strongly that the Supreme Mandate was meant to protect all sentient life-forms and I want to do whatever I can to force Central Authority to accept that truth. I recently have gotten involved in helping to free Seafolken who are still being held as slaves all over Tarizon. I believe the plight of the rhutz is something equally important. If I can establish a line of communication with the Rhutz I think it will be advantageous for us both.”

  “Then I will do what I can to help you make contact. Shadow‘s agenda is very similar to yours. He wants to open up communication between humans and the Rhutz to avoid senseless killings in the future.”

  Several days later Threebeard and his brother Nic traveled to Urunes to meet with Shadow and Starlight at Councilor Sandista’s government office. Both Threebeard and Nic were ecstatic over the prospect of actually talking to a rhutz. Nic loved animals and demanded Threebeard take him to the meeting. They both shook the councilor’s hand and then turned to Shadow and Starlight.

  “How does this work?” Threebeard asked. “I understand they communicate telepathically. I have the gift, but I’m not sure how to reach out to them.”

  “It works the same way as with humans. Just look into their eyes and share your thoughts.”

  Threebeard nodded and smiled at Shadow. “I’m so sorry about your mate, Shimmer.”

  Shadow dipped his head slightly. “Yes, there isn’t a day that I don’t think about her. She was a wonderful mate and I loved her dearly.”

  “I read with great fascination the transcript of your appearance at the General Assembly. I hadn’t realized humans and rhutz could communicate. I guess I should have realized it since the great Master, Sandee, and Whisper must have communicated with each other.”

  “Humans assumed the Rhutz were just another forest animal and treated them as such. Of course, many of us knew better but didn’t realize the importance of establishing communication. I only thought about it when my mate was needlessly murdered.”

  “I want to do whatever it takes to make Central Authority recognize the Rhutz as a sentient life-form and recognize that it is entitled to all the protections of the Supreme Mandate.”

  “Yes. That is my dream. Do you have any idea how that can be accomplished?”

  “Of course. We must organize the rhutz in every state on Tarizon and establish a means of communication that legislators can use to start a dialogue with the rhutz. Once we get enough dialogue going Tarizon’s General Assembly will have to deal with the matter.”

  “That won’t be an easy task,” Shadow replied. “The rhutz are organized by packs and do not have any political structure.”

  “But you can communicate with other packs, can’t you?”

  “Yes, each rhutz has two levels of consciousness—an individual consciousness in which they live their daily lives independent of each other—and above that primary consciousness there is also a collective consciousness that is common with every other living rhutz on Tarizon. The collective consciousness is rarely invoked but when it is, it interrupts the rhutz’ primary consciousness and puts him in direct communication with every other rhutz in the region.”

  “How does a rhutz know when to invoke the collective consciousness,” Threebeard asked.

  “It’s instinctive,” Shadow replied. “When the hunting party came to my pack, the first one who saw them knew instinctively to invoke the collective consciousness. He didn’t even have to think about it.”

  “So, what you are saying is we will not be able to use the collective consciousness whenever it suits us.”

  “No. It can’t be invoked at will. We’d have to communicate on a much more restrictive basis—with one pack at a time.”

  Threebeard shrugged. “Well, nobody said it would be easy, but I think it is worth the effort, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” Shadow agreed.

  “Shadow and I can travel from pack to pack and talk to our brothers and sisters about this project. I’m sure they will go along with the idea. What you could do is set up a network of contact persons throughout Lemaine Shane and then we can assign packs to each contact.”

  “Yes, Nic will do that and we can link the contacts over the TGN so these communications can be done quickly.”

  “What’s the TGN?” Shadow asked.

  “It’s a computer network that stretches all across Tarizon and facilitates the sharing of information.”

  “But what is a computer?”

  Threebeard chuckled. He realized for the first time that the rhutz knew nothing about human technology. “Think of it as an artificial brain that can store and process unlimited amounts of information.”

  “Does such a thing exist?”

  “Oh, yes. It’s a wonderful invention and has opened up the Universe to the people of Tarizon.”

  “The Universe?”

  “Yes, the worlds you see when you look up at the stars.”

  “Humans can travel to the stars?” Starlight questioned.

  “Yes, Tarizon has a sister planet millions of kylods away called Earth and we send ships there all the time. It’s the only planet that we know of like Tarizon.”

  “That is truly amazing. We have so much to learn,” Starlight thought.

  “Don’t worry,” Threebeard replied. “I shall enjoy teaching you about the human world and look forward to you telling me more about the life of a rhutz.”

  After kyloons of conversations Threebeard and Nic finally tore themselves away from Shado
w and Starlight and returned to Liehn. Before they left, however, they all agreed to begin work on the network that would one day link the humans and Rhutz together so that there’d never be a tragedy like the Flat Meadow Massacre again.

   

   

  Rendh Sealey walked into Cornelius Bruda’s office and took a seat across from him. The Chairman looked up. “So, what is so urgent that you had to see me immediately.”

  “There’s a petition circulating calling for your resignation.”

  “My resignation! Whatever for?”

  “They say you are protecting a murderer.”

  “You mean Rupra?”

  “Yes. By protecting him from the public enforcers you have abused your office, they say,” Sealey explained.

  “I’m not going to let my grandson be tried for killing a rhutz. That’s like prosecuting me for stepping on an ant!’

  “Well, technically what they intend to charge you with is obstruction of the assembly. A motion had been made to have Rupra take the truth serum, but you failed to call it to a vote. That, they say, was an abuse of your power and grounds for removal from office—particularly since you were protecting a family member.”

  Cornelius sighed. “Oh, what next. I lose my son. My grandson is a lunatic and now I must resign from office. How did this happen?”

  Sealey swallowed hard. “Perhaps your grandson needs help. If you swore out a lunacy indictment, you could blame everything on his mental instability. If you apologized and explained you were under a lot of stress with your son’s death and all, maybe a majority of the members would forgive you.”

  “You want me to have my own grandson thrown into a lunatic asylum for the rest of his life?”

  “Well, he did kill the rhutz without provocation, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, but that’s my fault. Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve killed a rhutz or two in my day. I’m afraid I may have bragged about it to Rupra. The rhutz have no respect for private property. They used to come by my father’s ranch and help themself to the horthogs and launas. Usually I just shot over their heads to scare them off, but if they lingered I shot straight at them.”

  “Oh, my God!” Sealey exclaimed. “But—”

  “But what? They were stealing my property for the sake of Sandee.”

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  “I have no choice but to resign. Go to whomever is circulating this petition and tell them I’ll resign if Rupra is not prosecuted and no action is taken against me or anyone in my family.”

  Sealey nodded sadly. “Yes, Mr. Chairman. I’ll go make that deal at once.”

  “Thank you, Rendh. You’ve been a good friend. I’m sorry it turned out this way.”

  “Yes, Mr. Chairman. . . . Oh, I was just wondering, when you were a rancher, why it was the rhutz didn’t attack you after you killed one of them.”

  Cornelius thought about that a moment. “I wondered that myself and incorrectly concluded that they were just dumb animals and were afraid of me. I know differently now.”

  “How’s that?” Sealey asked seeming confused.

  “After the Flat Meadow Massacre I realized there had to be another reason why they never attacked me.”

  “What was it, you think?”

  “The only conclusion that I can make is that when I attacked them I was defending my home. They knew they were taking my food so they expected me to fight back and didn’t blame me for it. In Rupra’s case there was no reason for the attack. He didn’t need the rhutz for food, nothing had been taken from him, and he wasn’t under attack. What the rhutz wouldn’t tolerate was someone just randomly killing them for sport.”

  Sealey raised his eyebrows. “If you are right, then the Rhutz are truly sentient beings.”

  Cornelius shrugged. “Yes, which makes this whole affair even more tragic.”

   

   

  When reports began to circulate that his grandfather had announced his resignation as Chairman of Tributon’s General Assembly and was resigning his seat in that body, Rupra Bruda was aghast. He couldn’t believe shooting one dumb animal could have such far-reaching consequences. He was angry that so many people had come out in support of the Rhutz. What was this world coming to when human beings were bowing down to common animals. Is everyone on Tarizon insane? How can I face my mother and my grandfather after this? Don’t they understand I was doing God’s will, that it was my destiny. He wants me to put the rhutz in their place or kill them if they are not happy with what God has given them.

  He began pacing back and forth in his room wondering how long it would be before his mother knocked on his door and confronted him. Fear and outrage welled within him. What am I going to do? More importantly, what will my grandfather and mother do. Will they forgive me or cut me off? What’s more important to them, their own flesh and blood or what others think? He wished he would be the most important thing to them, but if they blamed his father’s death and grandfather’s disgrace on him, then they may not have much love left for him.

  There was a knock on the door. He wondered what he should do. Should be accept his fate or move on to make his own destiny without the support of his family? Finally, his pride won out. He couldn’t accept the ridicule and humiliation of his family and friends. There was no choice but to disappear for a while until things quieted down. He grabbed his bag and stepped out his window onto the roof. He’d go to Shisk, he decided. It was the world capitol where people who believed as he did were in the majority. No one there worshiped the Rhutz or any of the other lesser life-forms like the Seafolken or the Nanomites. They wouldn’t care if he’d killed a rhutz. They’d probably applaud him for what he’d done.