Chapter 5: Minnie’s Moon Mice

So much to do before the Sa’arm arrive. So little time. I’m blessed that I don’t have to do everything myself, blessed that I have people who are ready, willing, and very able to do what’s required. My day began curled up with three tigers and three jaguars. I was “home” in my family apartment aboard Arc Dios and Debra and Dawn had deemed that I needed to bond with the younger cats in my family. It was just me and the six cats, two mommies and their cubs.

Poor Kimba was excluded because he was a male cat. Tigers and jaguars, despite all those nature films by companies such as Disney, are solitary creatures. Papa Tiger, much like Papa Bear, would munch little tigers if given a chance. Kimba was an albino lion and at the moment he was with the girls, especially his Fatima. Not that Kimba would on several counts; lions are not tigers.

I woke up because Fatima called my name from the doorway. She greeted each of the big cats in tern, talked to them in Arabic, counted on Channel D (for “Doctor Doolittle”) to translate between girl and cat. Is it okay for Kimba to greet the master, Fatima asked—Kimba doesn’t eat family. When I consider how difficult it is for humans from the same nation to get along, this inter-species communications is a miracle of love.

“Good morning, Fatima,” I said as I sat up. “One moment while I tend to these cats.”

Spots, the jaguar, was first—she insisted. Spots seized my right hand between her turtle-crunching teeth. I rubbed a few sweet spots and focused—big cats generally don’t allow access to their ears and are discriminating about their vulnerable throats, but in seconds Spots was a furry puddle.

Then it was Svetlana’s turn. The tiger was soon semi-conscious in pleasure.

“How about you four?” I asked.

“No takers,” Fatima announced as the cubs nudged their mothers. “I’m supposed to make sure that you’re properly bathed and dressed. That’s right, Kimba—smelling like a big cat frightens mousey people. Let’s not waste time, Husband. Today is going to be very busy for you.”

Today is always busy. The only slack day was yesterday, to misquote US Navy SEALs. It didn’t take long, even with Kimba helping. Not everybody has an albino African lion for a valet.

I left my dependent-wife and her lion in my office and entered the Selena Medical Complex by means of transporter pad directly from Arc Dios. There I was met by four human women and a female dog and a female wolf. The two fur people I recognized as Nana and Calgary, and they immediately took my hands and tugged me in the direction of the stage. If you didn’t get that, dogs and wolves have no hands so they have to use their mouths. Calgary held my right hand and Nana had my left. The four women were wearing pants suits—it was odd to see Bettie and Candy wearing clothes. I didn’t know the other two but their name badges read “HI” and “Ricky.” How did I know they were women? Nana and Calgary told me via Channel D.

The stage faced a full banquet hall. I didn’t have to estimate the crowd. AI interface told me that there were 76 conference attendees and that my wait staff – counting canines and the two Marine guards outside—numbered 17. And then there was me.

I had a moment so I used that time to perform a trick with Nana and Calgary. Before the Confederacy enhanced me, I used to bond with dogs by first getting their trust and then showering them with affection. If you want to turn that into a dirty joke, go ahead, bud—I won’t have time to listen to your yuk-yuk-yukking and primate dominance antics. The dog was in a receptive state of mind and accepted physical affection. It worked on house cats, too. Nana and Calgary were enhanced, chock full of nanites—and through my implants I could exercise limited control over those nanites and through the connected nervous system. The strange thing is that ordinary, unenhanced humans have the ability to comfort each other—and other creatures, too. Be aware that cats and dogs do their share of comforting humans, too. Need I purr? Calgary was a puddle of blissful fur on the stage to my right. Nana was made of sterner stuff but she wagged her tail energetically.

“What are you doing with my dog, mister?” Bettie demanded in a mock-stern voice.

“This presentation is going to be stressful,” Candy explained. “He’s putting his escorts in the emotional state that Tom wants to remain in. They’ll help him stay calm and focused.”

“I was just teasing,” Bettie claimed. “After this I’ll need a spanking.”

Sir Issac came up on stage and announced that the program was beginning. The walls flashed with color and light—an abstract fireworks display, or a kaleidoscope. The walls dimmed to featureless gray as the stage was spotlit.

“Lieutenant Lawrence is in soft clothes today because in a short time he departs on another mission,” Sir Issac introduced me. “You’ve heard from Hirum Yokum about the Apacheland Movie Ranch fire.”

For details, see “Pick-up Loop Hole” chapter 24.

“You’ve also heard about the submarine that started World War Three and destroyed Israel,” Sir Issac announced from the back of the room.

That would be found in chapter 6 of “Behind the Steel Veil.”

“But before Lieutenant Lawrence makes his presentation we have another guest speaker.”

My AI interface identified the next speaker as Viktor S.--no further ID.

“Earth First is getting all the credit for resisting the Confederacy,” Viktor said, “but there are many human factions opposing the Confederacy and they all have different agendas. You’re aware of the Steel Veil that has descended over 12% of the Earth’s land area. China’s government isn’t trusted by the Confederacy for good reason. Russia and Japan have their own problems. India and China have been divided for centuries and that’s why they were conquered by Europeans during the 19th Century. Africa is being torn apart by the West, by Islam, by China, by India—and by Cuba. Just imagine, tiny little Cuba is a world power. There are a number of criminal gangs seeking wealth and status. I did mention one religion—if it were only one, the solution would be dissolution. And speaking of criminal gangs, there are multinational corporations. Earth is at war with itself. If we don’t sort things out, the Swarm will win.

“One gang in particular has caused us much grief and Lieutenant Lawrence is here to tell us about it.”

“In 1798 Thomas Robert Malthus penned ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population.’ The human population exceeded one billion about 1801 and Malthus warned that unless the population level was controlled, everybody would starve,” I began. “There are numerous Lebensraum predictions along those lines since then. Look at the 1973 move, ‘Executive Action,’ for the scene justifying Vietnam as an experiment in population control. In that movie the global human population was going to be reduced to only 500,000,000 and placed under strict control—this was presented as speculation and escapism, but it wasn’t. A wide-spread, die-hard notion that Earth’s humans must be controlled is old and cannot really be called a conspiracy despite more than a billion humans being murdered in the 20th Century to promote control. Religion was the original vehicle used to organize and harness parts of the human race to control the human species—and exterminate what wasn’t controllable. Now other movements are used to organize and harness humans to enslave the rest of the human race. This is the symbol of one faction that is actively promoting extermination on a global scale. That extermination is intended to put all humans under control.”