Chapter 30

Dale was thrusting his engorged cock deep within the hot wet pussy of the young Latina beauty in what he now referred to as his 'pussy stable'. Twenty or so beautiful women had lined up in a row on hands and knees in the doggy position wagging their gorgeous asses and Dale was moving between them every twenty or so thrusts of his rampant prick. While he had some qualms about having children by women who weren't his life mates, he knew that these women wouldn't be getting pregnant and they had been kept alive simply for his pleasure; and fucking them certainly was pleasurable! Ever since the conversation with his mates, Dale had been careful to make certain that he enjoyed his time with them first and only after satisfying the sexual hunger of his mates did he come to play in his pussy stable.

Dale was in the midst of one such session when he 'heard' Xenanthul's long wail. His concern for what had happened over ruled his need for sexual release.

"Vyagar, please transport me to the throne room and meet me there."

Instantaneously Dale found himself standing in his throne room clothed in his wizard's robe and in the company of the holographic representation of his trusted AI friend.

"What happened?" Dale asked.

Vyagar explained what had happened to Pharnuil.

"So he died protecting the people in Chicago. Vyagar, I have a question that I've put off asking you until now; but I think it's time we had a talk," Dale stated.

"What do you wish to discuss?" the ever patient Vyagar inquired.

"You have told me that as an AI you do not directly experience emotions, at least not the strong and intense ones that organic creatures like myself feel. What about these OAIs? Fang once told me that it felt good to be outside running freely. Was that just to give his body exercise? Or, like a real wolf, is it unnatural for him to spend long periods of time in enclosed spaces? Was he feeling an instinctual need of his organic body?"

Vyagar's answer wasn't precisely what Dale anticipated. "Perhaps I have made an error Dale. I thought that you would want the OAIs to be as genuine as possible. The process of designing these OAIs involves merging the instinctual behaviors encoded into the very structures inherent in the base animals DNA and RNA patterns with the extremely complex logic, intuitive, and empathic constructs that make up an AI.

Fang is not an AI that simply behaves as a wolf. He is in fact a real wolf with the extreme intelligence of an AI. Also, as an AI created upon your command, Fang and every other such created Organic AI are completely loyal to you. The OAIs view you as their creator and I as a higher level instrument of your will; their assumptions in this regard are correct. They would not choose to disappoint or disobey us in the slightest thing because they actually cherish your happiness and satisfaction. Unlike myself, they feel intense emotions; yet unlike a lower animal, they have extreme intelligence, logic, and a sense of purpose guiding their actions."

"You said they have instinctual behaviors that come from encoding in DNA and RNA. What DNA and RNA do you speak of? No animals in nature are as large as those you have developed and there were certainly no dragons roaming about before you introduced them," Dale said.

"Dale, you must remember that I have been in existence for more than one hundred thousand of your years," Vyagar replied. "I have DNA and RNA samples from the lifeforms of thousands of worlds. I also have samples from animal forms now extinct from your own world. You see Dale, at one time there were dragons who roamed the earth; yet never in great numbers or with any significant intelligence over other animals. The natural dragon mind is on par with that of an Elephant: somewhat intelligent and with a reasonably strong memory, but not exhibiting the same brilliance as that of your species. They were hunted to extinction over four thousand years ago."

"You are telling me that at one time, there really were flying, fire breathing dragons here on earth?" Dale inquired.

"I'm afraid the answer is both yes and no. The stories of what the dragons were, like every other hunting story I've ever heard told, has grown with every repetition. Yes the dragons were large and potentially dangerous creatures, especially if one was stupid enough to corner them; but they didn't breathe fire or truly fly. Their wings were powerful enough however for them to glide, and they were excellent climbers. Their aerial agility and maneuvers were well developed and they did in fact prefer the heights of mountains from which they could launch themselves into the air. In this way they could scan the ground below for available prey and then quickly descend to its position and make a clean and quick kill.

All of the stories about man eating dragons are rubbish as is the rumor that they desired to eat virgins. They do like lamb, venison, and beef, and just like the wolf, they were killed whenever possible by those humans who raised such livestock animals for their livelihood."

"So where did the myth about them being fire breathing come from?" Dale wondered aloud.

"I don't really know Dale; but when studying their DNA and RNA I did discover that their bodies need a higher level of the element phosphorus than most other animals do. They also had the ability to spit their somewhat acidic saliva quite accurately and would do so in a fight," Vyagar replied.

"Like a camel you mean?"

"In a way yes; however, dragon saliva was much more potently acidic than that of a camel and even slightly venomous. I theorize that it aids their digestion much as your saliva aids in yours," Vyagar informed him.

"Perhaps the sensation of the acidic saliva hitting the skin felt like fire," Dale suggested.

"That is possible Dale. It is also possible that the venom may have had some soft of hallucinogenic affect; however it is more likely that the venom just slowed down their attacker or prey to give the dragons another advantage," Vyagar surmised.

"So how come they fly and breathe fire now then? Did you alter them to fit the myth since I was posing as a wizard?" Dale inquired.

"Yes I did; but only just a bit. Their wings muscles are more powerful, their bones are stronger yet lighter, and yes they seemingly breathe fire."

"What do you mean by seemingly breathe fire?"

"I mean that it is an effect controlled by the AI portion of their brain and not an actual bodily function."

"Oh! I think I get that. In any case, all of this has been very interesting; but if they have strong feelings and emotions I think we need to see what we can do for Xenanthul."

"Xenanthul, may I come to you?" Dale inquired.

Even though she was an Organic AI, Xenanthul's grief was real. Her heart was quite heavy as she tried to deal with the loss of her lifemate. She had returned to their nest, deep within a set of caverns below the Cordillera de Talamanca, a mountain chain in Costa Rica. At first she had thought it would be good to be alone; but when she 'heard' the wizard's voice she changed her mind.

"Please do; I'm so lonely!" Xenanthul sent back with hopeless undertones.

On the eve of Pharnuil's death, every major news channel featured the story. All afternoon the programs played and replayed aerial footage of the runaway train and the dragon's dramatic intervention when he plucked the bomb carrying car off of the tracks and disappeared. It wasn't until early evening that someone came forward with video of the dragon's actual demise. When the President and First Lady saw the video clips they both began to cry.

It seemed that there was always a video camera aimed at the President whenever he was out of the White House and there had been when the assassination attempt that Pharnuil had thwarted took place. These scenes of the dragon's heroism and subsequent death moved many to mourn over the dragon's death. President Hatcher felt that he must address the nation and from the oval office he made a heartfelt tribute to his friend Pharnuil that tugged at the heart strings of many around the globe:

"Today I lost a true friend. Throughout our lives we have the joy of meeting new people, learning of their goals in life, sharing in their triumphs and sorrows, and enjoying their presence; yet in the time we are given to walk this earth only a few will be revealed to us whose love and compassion will move them to the ultimate sacrifice - to give their life for a friend. Pharnuil proved to be just such a friend.

It wasn't so very long ago that an attempt was made on my life and the lives of those who were traveling with me. Regardless of the possible consequences he might suffer, Pharnuil put himself in harms way to save us. His actions at the time were quite unexpected, everyone had thought dragons to be only the stuff of myth, and the uniqueness of meeting such a powerful and intelligent creature seemed to get far more attention than the actual fact of what Pharnuil had done. But, as we have seen them do over and over again, the dragons give aid to those in need and protection to those in harms way on a regular basis; thinking of others first and their own safety second.

I said that I lost a true friend and indeed I have; but the nation and in fact the world has lost a true friend. The terrorist plot Pharnuil foiled would have been on an epic scale. Without his quick and selfless action, the enormously powerful explosion would have taken place in the very populated and busy Union Station. Somehow the terrorists had jammed the track switches and the controls on the train - the bombs impact was timed to occur during the heaviest period of commuter activity at the train station. I shudder to think of the number of lives that would have been lost had he not been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save others.

Each and every day, around the globe our men and women in uniform serve their country with honor and distinction. Here at home our brave firefighters, policemen, and emergency workers place their lives on the line. And now, our new friends the dragons do the same as well. When one of our soldiers dies - we as a nation share a loss. When one of our policemen or firefighters die, the community recognizes that a brave soul has passed on and often moves to comfort or aid the family of the fallen one.

Tonight I ask what can we do or say to comfort Pharnuil's lifemate, the one who held his heart, his dear Xenanthul? Three loud and unexpected noises were heard over the Chicago Metro region today: the crash of derailing train cars, the horrifying sound of the explosion that killed our friend, and the heart rending wail of his mate's agony as she witnessed his end. Again I ask - what can be done to comfort Xenanthul? What can be done to honor Pharnuil's service to his friends, this country, and the world?

My friends words fall far short of this task; only our actions will mean anything. The next time you see someone who truly needs your help I urge you to think of Pharnuil and the way in which he lived his life and then step in and lend a hand. The next time you hear of a soldier, policemen, or fireman fallen in battle, find out where you can send a thoughtful note of thanks and even some of your hard earned money to the family now struggling to get along without their loved one. And whatever God brings you solace in your times of distress, shoot up a prayer for Pharnuil and the loved one he left behind: Xenanthul.

Good night one and all."

Dale transported to Xenanthul. He told her how sorry he was about Pharnuil's death and that he would miss him as well. Now that he understood just how real the OAIs were and that they could feel joy and sorrow and the intense emotions of living creatures, it pained him to see her loneliness and misery. He called the remaining dragons to be come to him and be with her and indeed their company did seem to provide her with some level of comfort; but like anyone going through a loss, Dale knew that Xenanthul would have to work through her grief. The other dragons had lost a close friend as well and would deeply miss their fallen friend.

The terrorists had struck on a Tuesday. They had chosen to strike during the busy work week hoping to kill as many commuters as possible. When Wednesday morning dawned it became clear that many around the world were in mourning. Almost everywhere, flags were at half-mast. The normal hustle and bustle of people going to work and children heading for school was somehow more subdued.

In Chicago, at Union Station, at the sight where the train derailed, and the park like area over which the explosion had occurred at some thirty thousand feet above people were making little monuments to the fallen dragon. Flowers, pictures, cards made by children and their parents were being placed near the last places the dragon had been seen. In other cities were he had been sighted similar shrines were being erected as well.

Another surprising phenomenon began to occur as well. It started with an interview of a respected and well loved religious leader whose advancing age had caused him to retire. A reporter had been sent to his home to get his take on the whole situation. When they asked the gray haired old gentleman with the kind face what he thought of the recent events with the dragons they had expected to hear some of the same fire and brimstone kind of talk many of the television 'Evangelists' had been spouting; instead his response seemed to catch them off guard.

"Before I answer any of your questions there are a few things I'd like to say. I spent my whole life believing that love, kindness, goodness, and concern for others were character traits that made life meaningful. In the last year, I've heard more spiteful and malicious talk concerning these wonderful creatures and a good share of it has come from others in the clergy accusing the dragons of being demonic. Now, it is true that the Bible speaks of dragons as a prophetic element; but it also uses water, land, and people the same way - are we to believe that all of these are evil as well because they were used in prophecy?