“Yes, we had a close call today. We could
have lost my offspring if it wasn’t for Duchess’ quick thinking.”
Duchess jumped up to Bron’s lap and purred loudly.
Zaron, Mark noticed, was very quiet during
the proceedings.
“Jonal and Tonas,” he stated as he took a sip
of Asta, “You must have an idea that your psy has gone off the
charts since your bonding. Your fem may even have untapped psychic
healing abilities because of the Triad.”
“Mark already knows the extent of his
abilities from what he did on the
Brightstar
.”
“Yes, Juraens taught me to move objects with
my mind; very useful if someone is about to murder you with a
surgical scalpel.”
There was a bit of uncomfortable
laughter.
“I take it that Jonal, Tonas, and Anya are
about to be admitted to the club.” Mark laughed.
“What club?” Jonal and Tonas asked in
unison.
* * * *
Zaron thought,
::How to explain?::
Bron answered, ‘‘Just tell them all of
it.’’
“For the benefit of our fems and Mark, I need
to outline a bit of Sarran history.
“We are one of the oldest known civilizations
in the galaxy. Some of our historians believe that the rapid
development of civilization on Sarran had more to do with the
geography of the planet than any natural tendency toward a superior
genetic heritage. The planet’s landmass consisted of a single
continent crisscrossed by abundant rivers, lakes and streams with a
salt ocean surrounding the whole.”
“Yet as I understand the history of the
galaxy, the Sarran were preceded by the First Ones who seeded the
galaxy with life on any planet in the Goldilocks zone,” Mark said
as he picked up his brandy from the low table and moved from the
couch to a stance leaning on the side mantel of the huge stone
fireplace.
“That’s true; however natural disasters, such
as asteroid hits, tiny changes in planetary orbits, even comets and
solar flares wiped out the first steps toward intelligent life on
many of the Goldilocks planets.” Zaron took another sip of brandy,
fortifying himself with some liquid courage.
“Sarran’s seven moons took most of the
asteroid hits that would have destroyed intelligent life. We also
somehow managed the stewardship of the planet so we were not
destroyed by greenhouse gases that could have turned the planet
barren like your Mars.”
“What about wars? Humans are constantly
wasting resources making war on each nation state and thereby
inhibiting progress toward scientific exploration,” Syn asked. She
walked across the room to sit by Bron who visibly relaxed when she
came near.
“The topography of Sarran precluded any
natural barriers that could form isolated populations. Therefore,
the Sarran people settled early into a four tribe system based on
their geographical location. The tribes spoke a common language.
The northern tribe was the LightClan, named in antiquity for the
long planting evenings.
The southern tribe became FireClan and called
the high desert their home. The clans of the east and the west were
Water and Air.”
“As I understand it, we live in Castle Air
yet you and Bron are Fire and Light,” Syn persisted.
“Yes, here is the crux of the matter. The
Sarran civilization flourished until the time of the first genetic
manipulation. The Ministry of Science found ways to make the Sarran
DNA and RNA produce proteins which made the Sarran Warriors
physically larger, stronger, and more intelligent than their
brethren on other worlds. The experiment became a lesson in the
book of unintended consequences.”
“Jonal and Tonas told me about it. The
genetic experiment caused the population to produce fewer fem,”
Anya jumped in. “Speaking as a physician, that is something that
could have been studied and rectified if the science was
there.”
“Just as it took multiple generations of
Earthen humans to recognize that they were killing their planet; It
took three generations for the Ministry of Science to agree that
statistically, the fempring birthrate diminished to a worrisome
level.”
“Yes,” Mark said to Anya. Humans, any humans
are adroit at suppressing evidence they don’t want to see.”
“That was the case here. Two additional
generations wasted precious time by claiming the phenomenon
represented a natural cycle that would self-correct. By the fifth
generation, the civil government of the time admitted that yes, the
fempring birthrate had decreased yearly since the aborted attempt
at genetic manipulation. There was now only one fempring born for
every two offspring. The Ministry of Science warned that the trend
could continue to the point where the Sarrans would cease to be, or
it could reach a plateau.”
Bron took up the story. “Some of the
ClanElders wished to import fems from other planets, others argued
for further genetic engineering. While the government and the
Elders debated, the individual clans took action. Brutal war came
to Sarran.”
Jonal sighed. “What Bron isn’t saying is that
we practiced genocide on our own. Within each clan, fems known to
have produced fempring were taken from their homes by the nobility,
raped repeatedly until they were breeding, and kept in that
condition until the desired fempring was produced. Any boy child
born of the unions was strangled at birth.”
“How horrible!” Syn said, shuddering at the
madness of a civilization she previously saw as superior to her
own. She walked across the room and refilled her brandy glass and
Anya’s with Tierest juice.
Tigger chimed in,
::Even cats overbreed.
The survival instinct is strong. It takes intelligence and
sentience to stop that kind of madness.::
Duchess nodded her head in agreement.
::Sentient felines paid for the over breeding of our less gifted
brethren.::
“What happened next,” Mark asked.
“Before this, Sarrans were already in space
exploring our neighboring star systems. Because of the crisis, all
Sarran space exploration ceased. The council disbanded and the
planet descended into nine hundred years of barbarism. Science,
except for the art of war, was lost. Art, music, and creativity
ceased to be options. All Sarrans became Warriors.”
“But what happened to end this stupid war?”
Syn asked with a tone of disdain in her voice.
“FireClan and LightClan watched as the Air
and WaterClans rendered themselves extinct. All technology was lost
and in the final battle, we tragically lost two of the four Sarran
Tribes.”
“In other words, half the population,” Mark
interjected.
“Yes, the final battle between Water and Air
was brought on by a singular act of brutality. In spite of the
truce declared by all clans at the request of our Goddess, the
reigning Prince of the Water Clan stole the much loved wife of the
Prince of Air. The truce was broken and the two clans met for
battle on the Taragrassa Plains.”
“Didn’t Fire and Light try to stop the
carnage?” Mark asked.
“We managed to compel a truce until the
Prince of WaterClan raped the Princess of Air on the battlefield in
front of all the assembled troops.” Zaron took a breath.
“The act, as intended, was incendiary. There
was no stopping them after that. Like your General Custer the Clans
fought to the last man. When they realized the battle would be to
the death, Water and Air went for the women and in an act
unparalleled in Sarran history began the wholesale slaughter of
fem, fempring, and offspring.” Tears rolled down Zaron’s face.
“Fire and Light were prepared for battle but
the sheer madness of what happened before them convinced them to
keep the peace. The princes Darjet and Rojay met in the cottage of
the last surviving member of Castle Air, a wizened fem, Zorna, who
was an acolyte of the Goddess Ulna in her youth.”
Bron, who alternately paced and raged
throughout the story began to speak again.
“The next bit of history comes directly from
the Codex, the laws by which all Sarrans are bound.”
Zaron took an ancient scroll from a
beautifully carved cabinet and read, ‘‘Zorna’s form lit up with an
inner glow that pulsed with the energy of the Sarran land. ‘You
cruelly used your fems and bled the land. You diverged from the
path the First Ones intended you to walk. In light of these great
transgressions, Sarran Warriors will forever be in thrall to their
fems. Gather together what is left of your science and bring it to
this plain. On the plain of the Taragrassa, named for the Goddess
Moon, there will be a healing.’ The light faded and Zorna fell to
the floor.
“That evening Zorna presented the beginnings
of the Codex to the Sarran Clans. It began with the Rights of
Birth. They were—Shelter, guaranteed from birth, Sustenance—a
Sarran would never experience hunger. Education—from birth till
death a Sarran possesses the right to learn. Medical Care—from
birth until death all care will be extended and all effort devoted
to keep you well. For your disrespect and cruelty to your fems,
each Sarran Warrior must first mate with a Warrior of his opposite
clan, only after this bonding may Sarrans claim their fem. From
this point on, you will share what was stolen.
‘‘And thus began the foundation of Sarran
law, the Codex.”
Zaron looked at the stunned faces around him.
“From that point on all Sarrans were trained as Warriors to protect
our fem from any outside harm. We went back to space and in our
absence other space faring civilizations appeared. All Sarrans were
genetically modified so that the bond between two Warriors could be
created, and they together must find their fem.”
Zaron turned to look directly at Syn, “That,
Pa Chette, is why WarriorPairs will do anything to keep their fem
safe and happy.”
“Aside from the obvious ramifications of the
loss of your fem, how did this play out politically?” Mark asked.
When Bron went to pour him another glass of brandy, he refused.
“I believe I want to stay sober to hear the
rest of this.”
“After the loss of our fem from the Zyptz
virus there were the same arguments proposed as were proposed after
the council first realized the dearth of fempring births,” Zaron
continued.
“Cloning was proposed and discarded because
of the threat of potential fatal loss of our psy in the process.
For the same reason we refused to take fem from the Galactic
Council planets. They all experimented with genetics and we
couldn’t take the risk that one of their planned mutations would
collide with the two genetic manipulations that were made on
Sarran. We needed to find fem from a civilization where the science
didn’t possess the ability to change the original gene stock, the
stock with which the First Ones peppered the galaxy; yet were
prepared to accept the reality of alien life,” Jonal explained.
“As you know, we found Earth; to our great
delight Earth retained psy ability in their recessive genetic
spiral. The rest is our recent history; however, something remains
to be told.
“Like people of psychic ability on Earth, the
degree of that ability varies. On Sarran that variation became
pronounced for certain individuals. They are the HiPsy. Before the
Zyptz war there were only five individuals on the planet who
possessed this ability. They were my late fempring Nerissa, Naffie,
ourselves, and Juraens,” Bron said. “During the Zyptz war we found
others with this ability and formed the PsyOps. Garlance and Stoker
are HiPsy.
“There may have been others outside of
PsyOps, but they likely hide their ability like we did,” Juraens
said, downing the rest of his brandy.
“We have since discovered that Jonal, Tonas,
and Anya possess this ability. We all were aware of their joining
into Triad. Syn also has it. She heard Naffie from space. The cats
have gained in ability since their exposure to the Sarrans, so too
have the fem.”
Bron went to Syn who sat in one of the chairs
and pulled her into his arms.
“In the Earthen fem we found more than we
expected. Where we had resigned ourselves to an empty union with
women who had no psy ability, we found a strain of psy that
naturally existed in the Earthen genome.” Zaron smiled.
“I still don’t get the politics involved.”
Mark was annoyed. “The history lesson was fascinating, however it
has nothing to do with the current situation.”
“The means to change the Earthen fem into
vessels that could possibly bond with Sarran Warriors was in the
Medical Lab of the
Brightstar
. Bane planned to pass on the
technology to the Galactic Council.’’
“I don’t understand. You are willing to share
your technology with Earth, our planet that is backward, yet you’re
unwilling to share psy.” Syn’s eyes shot fire.
“This is a natural progression of the genome
left to us by the First Ones. Each race must come into it
naturally. We carefully selected the fem from Earth, taking only
those who reacted violently to the virus. This proved they held
great psychic potential which could possibly be released by mating
in Triad,” Zaron explained.
“The problem with HiPsy is that it is so
limited within the population. The potential for abuse of those who
possess it is massive,” Bron interjected.
Mark said, “I know that first hand, the
military took me from my parents at an early age and I grew up in
what was basically a science lab.”
“The story of the Codex is a cautionary tale.
What is a scarce commodity becomes precious and humanoids will do
anything to possess it,” Zaron said.
“So, until the ability is widespread it makes
sense to keep those few who have it under wraps,” Mark
concluded.
::Exactly!::
Bron, Zaron, and Juraens
chorused.
* * * *
Syn thought about all that was said that
evening. She had insisted on cleaning up. It gave her time to clear
her mind. Duchess bade Tigger goodbye and joined her in the
kitchen. Although it was a long day, Syn was anticipating the night
to come. She had questions, lots of them, that she didn’t want to
ask in front of the others.