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IV

The Tutor

Monday morning, Michael was getting dressed when he heard someone knocking on his door. He said, "Just a minute." He pulled his pants on and said, "Come in."

Tigresa walked into the room; she was accompanied by a female dog of a breed Michael had never seen before. "Michael," she said, "I'd like to introduce you to Mrs. Sobaka (1)." She turned to Mrs. Sobaka and said, "Galina, this is your student, Michael Thomson."

With a mild but noticeable Russian accent, Galina said, "Thomson, like the gazelle?"

Michael smiled and said, "Yes, ma'am, like the gazelle, Mrs. Sobaka." As they talked, he tucked the tail of his shirt into his pants and then they started walking toward the living room.

"Please, Michael. You may to call me Galina."

"Yes, ma'am. Galina? That sounds Russian."

Galina said, "Russian? I do not know this place."

Surprised, Michael said, "It's in eastern Europe and northern Asia."

"Ah. You mean Fursian.

"I am a Hortaya Borzaya (2) and they do come from that area of the world."

"A what?"

"Hortaya Borzaya. It is a Fursian dog. I am guessing you never have heard of us before?"

"Well, Mrs., I mean, Galina. I never was much of a dog person growing up, although I have heard of a lot of different breeds. I just don't know too many Russian, I mean Fursian, breeds other than the saluki and I'm not so certain the saluki is Fursian."

"Well, Fursia claims we are Fursian." She laughed and continued, "I will tell you a bit about us so you understand why I was chosen as your tutor.

"We Hortaya Borzaya are quiet and balanced. This is why we are preferred as teachers over most other races. But, despite being quiet and balanced, we have very good eyesight so it is next to impossible to pull the wool over our eyes. (3) This makes us even better as teachers." She laughed and continued, "As matter of fact, I am a former teacher and have tutored one or another of the Panthera cubs in subjects they did not understand. I am sure I could teach to you everything you need to know. Oh, and my husband is a Sakwhalelin Husky. (4)"

"Sakwhalelin? Oh, yes, I knew them as the Sakhalin Husky. I've heard of them, although I've never actually seen one. They're similar to the Siberian Husky and the Akita, aren't they? I read that back in the early 21st Century, they went extinct because they weren't needed to pull sleds as they were originally bred to do. However, some breeders learned how the breed was originally developed and restarted the breed in the middle of the 21st Century."

"That is true. Humans of Carpan and Sakwhalelin saw the potential historical advantage to saving the breed and worked to restore it to survivability status. Most Fursian breeds of dog were late to the party, so to speak, when humanimals were created. Around that time, Fursia was an isolationist country. Fursia did not care for outside interference in her affairs. Fursia thought that Amurica was trying to do that."

"Yes, there never was a lot of love lost between our two countries even when they were allies during World War 2."

"Yes, that is true even today. You will tell me about history during the human era, yes?"

"I'll be happy to tell you what I can, Mrs.--Galina."

"But, as I was saying, Mr. Sobaka emigrated from Sakwhalelin when he was very young."

"That explains the Russian, I mean Fursian, sounding name, although, if I recall correctly, Japan, uh Carpan, claimed some of the islands near Sakwhalelin."

"The Sobaka family came to Amurica to try to improve their life. My husband made good here. He is a renowned electrician. He has plenty of work and is very much respected. Dr. Leo hired him as the electrician for his house. When Dr. Leo learned I am a teacher, he asked my husband to ask if I would tutor his son in a subject he was having a hard time with. I have been a tutor ever since especially for the Panthera family.

"Now, we will start the lessons, yes?"

"Okay. I'm looking forward to learning about your society and the history I missed."

Just as we reached the living room, the doorbell rang. Tigresa opened the door and said, "Ah, Mrs. Khomyak, come in."

Tigresa stepped back and Mrs. Khomyak walked in. Tigresa indicated Michael and said, "Mrs. Khomyak, you didn't meet him Friday so, I'd like to introduce a new resident in our household. This is Michael Thomson. Michael, this is Mrs. Khomyak."

Mrs. Khomyak looked at him and said, "Thomson? Like the gazelle?"

Smiling, Michael said, "Yes, ma'am. Like the gazelle."

"Ah, very good. That should make it easy to remember your name."

Turning to Tigresa, she asked, "Tigresa, is Anne ready for me to sit with her?"

"Yes, she is. Just a minute."

Tigresa went to Anne's room and, a few seconds later, as Anne was rubbing her eyes, brought her back into the living room. When she saw Michael, Anne smiled broadly and said, "Mah'l! Uh mornuh, Mah'l! Kiss! Kiss!" Ever since his arrival last Friday, Anne had adopted Michael as an older brother to the mild frustration of Richard and severe consternation of Mary.

Michael walked over to Tigresa and took Anne. After taking Anne from Tigresa, Michael gave her a kiss on her cheek causing her to smile happily. Anne returned the kiss and gave him a hug.

Michael said, "Anne, I need to let mommy take you." Indicating Galina, he continued, "This nice lady here is going to teach me things I need to know to live here. Okay?"

"Uh-kay, Mah'l. Mommy, beez?" Anne reached out to Tigresa who took her and, followed by Mrs. Khomyak, carried her back to her room and put her in her playpen.

After she returned, Tigresa called, "Leo, sweetheart, it's time for us to go."

From the back of the house, Leo called, "All right. I'm on my way."

Leo arrived in the living room putting his coat on. He saw Mrs. Sobaka and said, "Good morning, Galina. Are you prepared to teach this human our history?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I am sure he will teach me a few things about the time he grew up. You know how little history has survived from the time of human civilization. I am hoping he will fill in some of the gaps."

"I'm sure he can, at least up until the time he was put into stasis. Tigresa, has Mrs. Khomyak arrived yet?"

"Yes, she has. She's in Anne's room keeping an eye on her."

"Good. Let's go. We'll see you later today, Michael."

"All right. Dr. Leo."

**********

At the same time that Leo and Tigresa were leaving for work, a few miles away Amanda was ready to leave for her job. "Mother, I'm ready to go to work."

"Amanda, I'm not certain I wish you to go to work. It looks very bad for an unmarried woman to work."

"Mother, we've gone through this Friday and all weekend long. I am going to work if I have to walk to work. I'm 18 years old and, by law, I'm free to live my life as I see fit, even though you told Daddy otherwise. I'm going to work and you can't stop me."

"Amanda, I can stop you, if I want to and you can't do anything about it."

Amanda glared at her mother. "Mother, do you intend to try to stop me from going to work?"

"Amanda, not only do I intend to stop you from working, I am going to stop you."

"I don't think you will, Mother."

Amanda walked to the front door and opened it. Outside, she saw two police cars pulling up and police officers getting out just as she walked out. She looked at one of the officers and said, "Is there something I can do for you, Officer?"

One of the police officers, a corporal, replied, "We've received a call from this address stating that a young feline female with striped fur and red fox markings has been seen attempting to enter homes without permission."

"What!? Do you think that I'm the person that has been reported?"

"You do fit the description, ma'am."

"It's funny that you arrived here just as I was walking out of this door. Please tell me; when did the police receive this telephone call?"

"Not that it matters, ma'am, but we received the call about half an hour ago."

"Interesting. I was taking a shower in this very house half an hour ago."

"So, you admit that you broke into this house."

"No, I don't admit to breaking into this house; I live here."

At that moment, Ophelia walked out of the house. She said to the police officers, "Officer, this is my home. I am Ophelia Fuchs. Does this young woman look like me, even remotely?"

**********

After Drs. Leo and Tigresa left, Mrs. Sobaka said to Michael, "Mr. Thomson, could you to tell me a little about yourself?"

"Yes, ma'am. I was born on July 20, 2069. That was the 100th anniversary of the day that the first human walked on the moon. His name was Neil Armstrong. My father was a history buff as well as a history teacher. On the day I was born, my dad wanted to name me Neil Armstrong Thomson after him. My mother, who was no fan of the way the name sounded, decided to compromise with my dad about my name."

"Compromise? What kind of compromise?"

"Well, I didn't learn this until I was 14 but, my dad told me that my mom said, 'How about this? We'll name him Michael Edwin Thomson and you can continue to sleep with me."

"What!?" Mrs. Sobaka said, laughing.

Also laughing, Michael said, "Yes. I asked my dad why he didn't stick to his guns and name me Neil. He replied, 'You don't understand, son, I have sleep with that woman and I happen to enjoy it. Naturally, I wanted to continue to sleep with her.'

"My mom looked up and, laughing, said, 'He made the right decision. Because of his decision, you've got a brother and two sisters.'" Michael replied, as he smiled broadly.

After laughing at Michael's little story, Mrs. Sobaka continued, "All right, Mr. Thomson. Let's begin. You were born late in what you knew as the 21st Century. In the middle of 21st Century, an anti-human terrorist group, known only as 'Earth First!', genetically altered the virus known as HIV to make an airborne virus of it. The HIV was known to mutate in the human body and become the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, AIDS for short. But you know about that, yes?"

"Yes, ma'am. It was required learning in school. However, by the time I started school the HIV was only a warning and, since most young people had started practicing safe sex and because intravenous drug use was dying, it wasn't so much of a dire threat anymore."

"True. But it continued to exist and, on occasion, some unprepared human would contract it, either through unprotected sexual relations with someone they did not know or through equally rare intravenous drug use with an unsterile needle. Therefore, because it was still available and there were members of the group that were willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause, the terrorist group obtained examples and, through genetic experimentation, altered the HIV to make it airborne.

"After releasing the virus on an unsuspecting populace, 'Earth First!' contacted the leaders of every nation of the world and announced what they had done and what was going to happen. Unfortunately for 'Earth First!', altering the HIV into the HEV, Human Extinction Virus, they altered its properties. It was no longer a death sentence; now it was a human weakening virus. 0.013% of those who contracted the virus would and did die; 0.024% became sterile; the remaining 99.963% continued to live lives that were, seemingly, unaffected by the viral infection. Since no one could tell by looking at anyone else who was sterile, the numbers of women unable to become pregnant could have reached 0.048% of the population, although actual percentage was closer to 0.033%. It was soon discovered that the death rate was outstripping the birthrate by about 0.002%. Not a lot when world's human population was well over 10 billion, but it was obvious that a slow, painful extinction was occurring."

"Dr. Tigresa told this to me shortly after I awoke." Michael said. "It's hard to believe that I was one of the first to contract the virus."

"Yes, before I came over this morning, I verified through the Medical Research Facility at Catlanna Medical Center, that you were the 12th documented case. However, you were lucky enough to know someone experimenting with suspended animation and were able to have yourself put into stasis until a cure could be found. Unfortunately for the world, Dr. Broadhurst contracted the virulent form of the virus and died less than two weeks after you entered stasis. It seems that he never wrote down how to build stasis sarcophagi and took the secret to his grave. Several people studied your sarcophagus but couldn't figure out how he did it.

"After you were put into stasis, two schools of thought came to the forefront in combating the virus. First was a school that advocated fighting the virus and attempting to find a vaccine or cure. Another was a school that advocated creating a new species to replace humans as the dominant species on Earth just in case of failure at finding a cure or vaccine. This school was sub-divided into two schools themselves. One school advocated genetic engineering to slowly evolve a new species and the other advocated gene splicing to create the new species. When all was said and done, the gene-splicing school won out, although the ones who advocated combating the virus continued to look for the cure or vaccine. Drs. Leo and Tigresa are the current doctors following that line."

"But Galina, that was 20,000 years ago. Why did it take so long?"

"I'll explain why when we start your history lessons later. I believe that, after the explanation, you'll understand why it took so long to find the cure.

"The gene splicers tried to genetically splice every known species and found minor problems. First of all, only mammal DNA accepted being spliced with human DNA. No one is certain why this is true, unless it's because humans are mammals; all I know is fish, arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and every other family of animals, except mammals rejected splicing. Second, ungulates and sea mammals, cetaceans (4) and pinnipeds (5), also rejected human DNA. Once again, no one knows for certain why this is true; it is suspected that, because of the major alteration in the feet of these animals, one and two toes in ungulates and flippers in sea mammals as opposed to four or five toes in other land mammals would not allow for proper hands and feet to be created, although otters did accept the alteration but, otters still had paws even though they had webbed toes.

"Placentals, of course, were the most common mammals that were genetically altered; but, marsupials and monotremes also accepted human DNA. Every known species of placental, marsupial and monotreme mammal was genetically altered into a human/animal hybrid, known as humanimals, even extinct animals, such as thylacines, smilodons, dinofelises, dire wolves, etc., were brought back and altered. If DNA of the animal could be found, it was brought back from extinction and altered. Even the relatively recently extinct species such as Caspian tigers, Barbary lions, red wolves, eastern panther, etc. were brought back and genetically altered. Despite human DNA, there were some minor problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"Even though sex between each of orders of mammals is possible, pregnancy is not. For example, if a placental humanimal has sex with a monotreme, the fact that monotreme mammals lay eggs would make it impossible for pregnancy to occur."

"I don't understand. Why was this a problem?"

"Animal DNA controls pregnancy and birth. In other words, if a placental male and a monotreme female attempt to become pregnant, the monotreme DNA would attempt to create an egg. However, the placental DNA of the father would attempt to override the monotreme DNA and create a fetus. In rare cases where such a union resulted in "pregnancy", the result was horrific at best and grotesque at worst. The same goes for a placental/marsupial union or a marsupial/monotreme union. Some mothers died due to the extreme differences in their pregnancy genes."

"Ah, I see. Marsupials give birth when the joey is still very underdeveloped and the joey crawls to a pouch that may not exist if the mother is a placental mammal, so passing this trait on to a partner that is incapable of fulfilling the mothering necessities would make such a birth difficult at best and impossible at worst."

"Correct, Michael. Or, if the father is a placental and the mother is a marsupial, the joey might stay inside the mother until it is completely developed and the mother's uterus would be too small to carry a 5+ lb. baby to term. That is not to say such pregnancies never occur. If a marsupial female manages to get pregnant from placental male, birth has to be performed through what you know of as Caesarian section and very early in the pregnancy and the joey would have to be forced into the mother's pouch. However, I have got a couple of friends who are mixed pregnancy couples. They are married and, naturally, have no young of their own; but they knew the situation before getting married and are happy.

"Now, physically, humanimals look like humans except in two very important areas. Humanimals have fur, if the ancestral animal species had fur, and they have head and general coloration of their ancestral animal. Take me for example, I have the head and fur of a Hortaya Borzaya; however, that is where the similarity ends. My body, internal organs, arms, legs, hands, feet, and brain are human. Also, my larynx and vocal cords are human otherwise, I would be unable to speak other than barks and growls." Galina laughed after saying this.

Michael got a funny look on his face, blushed slightly and asked, "Uh, how exactly like a human is your body?"

Galina smiled and said, "If you are asking about sexually and, because of your blush I am guessing you are, I will say this. I am descended from dogs but, I don't look like a dog when I am naked. I look like a furry human female with a dog's head and no tail. My husband looks like a furry human male with a dog's head, with one notable exception."

"Should I ask what that is?"

Again, Galina smiled. "His penis has no fur on it."

"Well, that's understandable. Since fur tends to shed, you wouldn't want fur in your, uh, your, uh--you know." Now, Michael was blushing furiously.

Galina laughed uproariously and said, "Yes, I know and you are absolutely right."

"So, there's no sheathe?"

"No. As I said, humanimals look like furry humans when we are naked."

They continued this discussion until lunch time when Mrs. Sobaka said, "Michael, we'll continue this discussion at a later date. It is time for lunch. We will continue your education afterward."

*****

The corporal said, "I'm sorry Miss but, I need you to turn around and place your hands behind your back." Amanda did as she was told.

As she turned, Ophelia said, "Corporal, may I speak with her alone for a moment." The corporal, a Eurasian lynx wearing a name tag that read "Ilves", had already snapped the handcuffs on Amanda so he walked a few paces away. Ophelia stepped close to Amanda and whispered, "You can stop this, Amanda. All you have to do is tell me you'll contact Edward Blaidd and tell him you changed your mind about accepting the job."

Amanda just glared at Ophelia, turned her head away from her and said, "Mother, I'd rather spend the rest of my life in jail than accept those terms. But, just remember, Daddy will be home tonight and you'll have some explaining to do when I don't show up for dinner."

Just as Amanda finished saying this, her oldest brother, Marshall, stepped outside saying, "Mother . . . What's going on!?"

Ophelia said, "Marshall, the police just arrested this young woman for attempting to break into our house."

"What do you mean, 'young woman'? Mother, that's Amanda! Why is she in handcuffs?"

Corporal Ilves turned to Marshall and asked, "Do you know this young woman, Sir?"

"Yes, sir. She's my sister. Her name's Amanda Fuchs; mine is Marshall Fuchs and this is our mother Ophelia Fuchs."

Corporal Ilves turned to Ophelia and said, "I thought you said you didn't know this woman. Do you know her or not?"

Ophelia stammered for a second before ducking her head and saying, "Yes, Officer. She's my daughter."

Corporal Ilves narrowed his eyes and stared at Ophelia for several seconds before saying, in a level voice, "She's your daughter? Why did you say you didn't know her?"

Looking around as if she was trying to find something to hide under, Ophelia finally said, "I don't want her to go to work. I don't think she should have a job. I was just trying to scare her into staying home."

Talking too calmly to be as calm as he acted, Corporal Ilves said, "Ma'am, do you realize that you filed a false police report? Do you know how much it cost the taxpayers of this city for the Catlanna Police Department to send two squad cars here to investigate a crime that wasn't being committed?" Ophelia didn't respond and Corporal Ilves said, louder, "DO YOU!?"

Ophelia flinched and said, in a small voice, "No, Officer."

"It cost the city our time to respond, plus the time it'll take us to fill out all the necessary reports, plus the gasoline we burned getting here at the speed your call indicated that we needed to get here. I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 Yenars. Shall I have the Department send you the bill, ma'am!? Or maybe I should cuff you, take you to the precinct and have you explain to our Lieutenant why you called in a false breaking and entering report? I'm sure he'd love to hear that one."

As he was speaking to Ophelia, Corporal Ilves removed the handcuffs from Amanda's wrists. When she saw the look of utter horror on her mother's face, Amanda said, "Corporal, please don't do that. I'm sure my mother won't do this again."

"Very well, ma'am." Turning to Ophelia, he added, "However, if we receive another false police report from you, Mrs. Fuchs, there is nothing that can be said that will prevent me from handcuffing you and taking you in. Do you understand?"

Ophelia said, "Yes, Officer."

Returning his attention to Amanda, Officer Ilves said, "Ma'am, what time are you supposed to be at work?"

"I'm supposed to be there no later than 0300." Amanda looked at her watch and began to despair. "It's a 20-minute drive to SoGa Industries and it's 0255. I'm going to be late."

Officer Ilves said, "I can give you a ride, Miss Fuchs. You'll still be late but, I can get you there in less than 20 minutes."

"I don't want to put you out, Officer."

"It isn't a problem, ma'am. I have to pass SoGa Industries to get back to the precinct anyway."

"Well, if it isn't a problem, I appreciate the offer."

*****

With his siren going, Corporal Ilves weaved through the traffic. He arrived outside of SoGa Industries in ten minutes. He pulled into an empty parking space, put his vehicle in park and opened his door. He turned to Amanda and said, "Miss Fuchs, would you like me to accompany you to your work station and explain to your boss why you're late?"

"Thank you, Officer, but, I had already warned my boss that I might be late this morning and why."

"All right, ma'am. I hope the rest of your day goes better than your morning."

"Thank you, Officer. I'm sure it will."

As Amanda walked toward the front door of SoGa Industries, Corporal Ilves watched her walk away. As Amanda entered the building, he slowly shook his head and thought, "If only I wasn't a married man. Maybe she might be interested in an older man because I'm certain she could make a man very happy."

*****

Amanda raced to the elevator, pushed the up button and, when the doors opened, pressed floor 12. When the doors opened on the 12th floor, Amanda raced to her desk knowing that all of the secretaries saw her. She placed her purse and lunch on the floor next to the desk, turned on her typewriter, retrieved some typing paper and started typing. She had gotten one line completed when the door to Mr. Blaidd's office opened. She froze and listened.

"Miss Fuchs, could you step into my office, please?"

Amanda started shaking noticeably as she slowly arose. Even though she had warned him of the possibility of her being late, she also knew her mother wasn't satisfied with just letting her go to work. She walked into Mr. Blaidd's office and took the chair that he indicated. After she sat down, Mr. Blaidd looked at her over his steepled fingers for several seconds before he spoke.

"Amanda, you're late on your first day at work."

Nearly in tears, Amanda said, "Yes, sir."

"Your mother tried to prevent you from coming to work, didn't she?"

"Yes, sir."

"What did she do?"

"She called the police saying that a tiger-striped female fox was trying to break into houses in our neighborhood. She gave the police a perfect description of me."

"I see. And?"

"The police arrived and handcuffed me. They were about to put me into a patrol car when my brother happened to walk out of the house and saw what was going on. He came running out and stopped what was happening by telling the police officer that I was his sister."

"I'm guessing the police released you then?"

"Yes, sir. He even told my mother that filing a false police report could get her arrested and, if she ever did it again, he would arrest her and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him."

"When did this occur? I mean, you only live about 15 to 30 minutes away from here."

"A little over half an hour ago. The police officer, Corporal Ilves, gave me a ride to work as an apology for putting me in the handcuffs. I had arrived about 5 minutes late and I rushed up here as fast as I could."

"I'll have to call the police station and thank them, and Corporal Ilves, for taking good care of you. Now, get back to your desk and get to work. Do you think I'm paying you to just sit around talking to me?" Edward said, smiling broadly.

Smiling in response, Amanda said, "No, sir. I'll get right to work. Thank you for being so understanding."

"Yeah, yeah. Now git."

Amanda raced to her desk and started working.

**********

After lunch, Galina and Michael returned to the lessons. This afternoon, she was explaining to Michael the humanimal calendar. "Michael, when you were growing up, the New Year started 12 days after the winter solstice, on what you called January 1, if you include the winter solstice as the first day. After the fall of the human civilization about 17,000 years ago, the humanimals decided that it made no sense to start the year in the deadest part of the year; to us a new year started new life, not to mention that spring is when most of our ancestral animals gave birth or mated. So, we decided to move the New Year's Day to the vernal equinox or, as it was better known in your time, the first day of spring. We also decided that the day should begin at sunrise every 15 degrees of longitude on New Year's Day and we would use a 24-hour clock. Therefore, the official start of the New Year is at sunrise on the first day of spring which is 2400 on our clocks. Since there are 365 days in a year and, approximately, 28 days between each full moon, we chose a 28-day month and a 13-month year. Now, if you multiply 28 by 13 you get 364. That means that there's one day left over each year. What happens to the extra day in the year you may ask? After the 28th day of the 13th month, we have what we call an 'open' day. I'm sure you're asking yourself, 'What does this mean?' It means that the extra day at the end of the year belongs to no month. It is an open day. Every four years, as you well know, there is, once again, an extra day. This extra day is added to the end of the sixth month of that year and is, once again, an open day. The open days are holidays that are celebrated in every country in the world. No business is open on the open days. In fact, the militaries of the world have also agreed that on the open days, no shots will be fired during the extremely rare war, although the military is still active just in case there happens to be a need for them to be available. However, the police forces and emergency and hospital personnel work in case of need. To simplify matters, we start each month on a Monday."

"What are the names of the months?"

"We decided to use 13 different languages from all around the world to name the months. We also decided that simplicity in naming would be the best way of going. Therefore, we named the months, first month, second month, etc."

"And the name of the first month is?"

"Che'ad Mhi'; it's Gaelic from Fireland. The second month is called Nikagetsu-me; it's Carpanese. The third month is called Derde Mannd; it's Afrikaats from South Catfrica. As you can see our way of naming the months is both simple and relatively beautiful."

"Yes. I'll have to find out all the different month names, later.

"Now, back to the clock, so, even in the middle of winter, 2400 is the beginning of the day even though it's still dark outside?"

"Yes. And, in the middle of summer, the opposite holds true."

"When does the year counting begin?"

"It begins with the fall of the human civilization. That means that, technically, we are in the year 17,274."

"Wow! Humans hadn't even reached the year 7,000 in the oldest calendar in use when I was growing up and humanimals have reached over 17,000. That has to be some kind of record."

Galina laughed and said, "I guess so. But you have to remember that our civilization is only about 7,000 years old. That's when humans normally started their calendars. We decided to officially start our calendars when we managed to become civilized again, therefore, our calendar is in the year 7,123 because we spent close to 10,000 years basically as barbarians and having to continually fight against humans who opposed us didn't help not to mention infighting between the different races."

"Races, Mrs. Sobaka?" Galina was so into teacher mode she failed to notice Michael's little faux pas.

"Yes. Even though we call ourselves species, they are actually the equivalent to the human races of your era. We can interbreed between the species, except as I noted earlier, therefore, the different species can honestly be called races.

"But we'll talk about those things later. It's almost time for Leo and Tigresa to return home and, as a result, time for me to go home and see what kind of trouble my husband has gotten into."

Michael laughed and said, "I see that even though you aren't human, you have human problems in a marriage."

"Well, he does tend to try to fix things that aren't broken." Rolling her eyes, she added, "He calls it 'improving' them." Both of them laughed at this description.

Michael replied, "That sounds like the government during my time. We used to say that the government had a motto, 'If it ain't broken, we'll fix it until it is.'" Once again, both of them laughed.

The door opened and Leo and Tigresa walked in. They greeted Galina and thanked her for stopping by. Leo handed her an envelope as Tigresa walked to Anne's room. A few seconds later, Tigresa returned carrying Anne and was followed by Mrs. Khomyak. When she saw Michael, Anne squealed excitedly and demanded to be given to him. Leo held the door for Galina and Mrs. Khomyak and followed them out. Tigresa went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner for the family as her cubs started filtering into the house.

*****

After she sat at her desk and started typing a letter that had been dictated to Bertha the previous week, Amanda became aware of the presence of others. She looked up and saw a badger, a white and brown bear and a serval standing in front of her desk. The fact that they had come to her desk uninvited and unannounced worried her. Then, Wanda spoke up, "I know we were introduced Friday but allow me to say for everyone here, welcome to SoGa Industries. I'm Wanda Anaguma." She indicated the bear and said, "This is Berth Karhu." Then, she indicated the serval and said, "This is Michelle Tierboskat. We're so happy that someone wanted to be the personal secretary to Mr. Blaidd."

"What's wrong with being his secretary? Is he a difficult boss?"

"No, we just don't want the responsibilities that come with the position. By the way, the three of us usually have lunch together. We would love to have you join us." Wanda leaned closer to Amanda and whispered, "We need someone new to help us with our gossip." She laughed after saying this.

"Sure. I'd love to have company while I eat my lunch. It'll be nice to have someone there that won't be looking at me like I'm some kind of conquest trophy."

"Good. We all go to lunch at 0600."

"Everybody here goes?"

"Well, all but one of us. One of us has to stay and answer telephone calls and respond to Mr. Blaidd or one of the eight vice-presidents. We alternate doing this."

"Thank you, Mrs. Anaguma."

"Nope. Mrs. Anaguma is my mother. I'm Wanda."

"Thank you, Wanda."

*****

At lunch, Amanda joined the other secretaries. Wanda seemed to be the spokeswoman of the group. "So, Amanda, tell us a bit about yourself. Tell us especially about your beautiful markings."

"Well, I'm Amanda Fuchs. I'm 18 years old and working my first job."

Bertha said, "Your first job? Wow! Why did it take you so long to get one?"

"My mother. She's so suffocating sometimes. She hardly let me out of the house from the time I was born. She's embarrassed by the fact that I look so much like a tiger."

Michelle said, "Why would that bother her? Aren't you half tiger?"

"No. My parents are full-blood foxes, genetically speaking."

Bertha said, "What do you mean, 'genetically speaking'?"

"Well, my mother's great-great-great-great grandmother was a Siberian tigress and my father's great-great-great grandmother was a Javan tigress. According to genetics, they have virtually no tiger blood in them."

Wanda asked, "So-oo, how did you come by your looks? Did you mother cheat on your father?"

Angrily, Amanda replied, "NO!" Then, she calmed a bit and continued, "I'm sorry. I've heard that my whole life, especially from my mother, only she continually said to me, 'I never, ever cheated on your father, ever.' My features are a quirk of genetics." Bertha, a half polar bear, half grizzly bear, listened intently. "As you know, in us humanimals, if a mixed marriage occurs, the kit is half and half. If that kit marries the race of one of his or her parents, the genes of that race become dominant but the genes of the other race are carried in the body and can show up later in one of the descendants. Anyway, after those grandmothers gave birth, every one of my direct ancestors from those unions married red foxes; so, my parent's dominant genes are red fox genes. However, because both of my parents carry tiger genes as well, the tiger genes came together when I was conceived and I came out looking like this. I have five younger siblings and none of them have so much as one stripe, amber eye or round pupil."

Wanda looked at Bertha and said, "Now, we know about your youngest."

"That isn't the case, Wanda, and you know it."

"What do you mean?" Amanda asked.

Bertha hung her head in shame. Wanda said, "Because of how she looks, Bertha was very shy growing up. She never even dated. Because of this, she was in an arranged marriage when she was 18. Her husband was very abusive and controlling. He wouldn't allow her to leave the house without him being present."

"Wow!"

"Yes. She gave birth to three cubs to her husband, two boys and a girl over the course of 15 years. Finally, her father happened to visit unexpectedly as Edgar was physically abusing her."

"Wow! What happened?"

"Well, Bertha's father thinks the sun rises and sets in her. You don't hurt a Finnish bear's daughter. So, he mopped the floor with Edgar. After beating Edgar to a pulp, Mr. Karhu called the police and had him arrested for spousal abuse. He also convinced Bertha to take her cubs, move out and file for divorce."

Looking at Bertha, Amanda asked, "Did you?"

"Well, as you likely know, divorce isn't something that humanimals normally do. We do pride ourselves with our ability to save any kind of marriage but, my father was afraid of what Edgar would eventually do to me or my cubs. So, he convinced the divorce judge to have Edgar deported from the province. He was forced to move to Flamingo, which pretty much limits his ability to travel."

"Why?"

"Because Flamingo is bordered by two provinces, Gargia and Wallabyma. He'd have to go to the Aponychicola River to leave Flamingo. He can't fly over nor take a train through Gargia because, if airplane lands anywhere in Gargia or the train stops at any station in Gargia, or if he gets caught in Gargia, for any other reason, he'll be arrested and put in prison for no less than 15 years with no chance of parole for violating a court ordered deportation."

Amanda said, "So, you were divorced at the age of 33?"

Bertha, still hanging her head in embarrassment, said, "Yes. At least my family understood why and never judged me. However, others weren't so understanding. I had to endure a lot of attacks against me personally, accusing me of being a failure as a wife and a mother."

"Wow, Bertha. Rest assured, I don't judge you, period. You did what you had to do to protect yourself and your cubs."

Smiling slightly, Bertha said, "Thank you, Amanda."

"But, what about your youngest? Wanda said you had four cubs but only three cubs with your ex-husband."

Once again, Bertha refused to speak about it. Wanda filled in the gap. "After Bertha's divorce was finalized, she kind of went wild. As I said earlier, because of her ancestry and the way she looked, she had never dated before she married Edgar; as I said, she's half polar bear, half grizzly bear. Most guys had a hard time dealing with her coloration. You know how prejudice can be.

"So, after the divorce, she found a job as a secretary at SoGa Industries and for the next year, she made up for lost dating time. She was a dating machine; it was like she was in heat every day. She was on a date with someone new every weekend, and I mean a different guy every night until, about a year later, she woke up feeling sick every morning. Having been pregnant three times before, she knew what had happened. She was pregnant."

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah. Uh-oh. Her parents understood her need to let off some steam after that debacle of a marriage; but they weren't prepared to find out that she had managed to get pregnant without benefit of marriage. Her father was especially scandalized; but he never showed any anger, only disappointment. When her parents asked who the father was, she couldn't look them in the eye when she told them that she didn't know who he was."

Amanda looked at Bertha in shock. "Did she ever find out?"

"Not really. However, when the cub was born, we all saw that she was half otter. Bertha said she had dated only one otter."

"Does he know?"

Bertha tearfully said, "Well, he would if I knew what his name was."

"What do you mean, Bertha?"

"I met him at a bar. He was in his middle twenties and he told me he liked women older than him. He flattered me by telling me how beautiful I was, something Edgar never said to me, even on our honeymoon. That otter was most definitely a lady's man. He knew all the right things to say to get me into bed with him, or, rather, invite him into bed with me."

"Wow, Bertha, I don't know whether to feel sorry for you or praise you. I mean, you could have had an abortion."

"True. But, even though little Kaunis will never know her father, she didn't deserve to pay for a mistake I made. My parents were more than a little disappointed in me; but, after she was born, they accepted my daughter as if she had been conceived while I was married. However, my father was a bit put out when he heard her name. He said, in his Finnish accent, 'Berta, I know she is very beautiful little girl but, Kaunis is no name; it is description.'"

"Description?"

"Kaunis is Finnish for beautiful. My father thought I should have the advantage of being bi-lingual.

"I thought she was a very beautiful cub. So, I chose a Finnish word for her to honor my parentage."

"Well, I'm happy for you, Bertha."

Smiling happily, Bertha responded, "Thank you, Amanda. She's so beautiful like her name and her older siblings have always thought she was perfect. In fact, they spoiled her rotten. When she was a baby, my older daughter, Alice, wouldn't let me pick her up when she cried. Alice demanded to do that. When I would nurse Kaunis, Alice was there to assist in any way she could. You know, I honestly believe that if Alice could have done it, she would have nursed Kaunis as well. But, being only five and, naturally, having not entered puberty yet, it was impossible." Bertha laughed at the thought.

Amanda looked at Wanda and said, "Five? How old was your oldest?"

Bertha said, "He was 15 at the time of Kaunis' birth."

"That's a long time between the two of them."

"Well, Edgar wasn't the most loving man I could have married. In fact, the only time he really wanted sex with me was when he thought I was able to conceive. I nursed my cubs a little longer than I should have so, I wasn't able to conceive except after five years. My oldest son is 24; my second son is 19; and Alice is 14. Kaunis is 8 and very shy."

"I'm sorry to hear about your ex-husband, Bertha. I'm glad that you've got three loving cubs, though. I hope I can be a mother one of these days. I just need to find the right man.

"What about you, Wanda? What's your naughty little secret?"

Wanda said, "Just that, Amanda, a secret. I don't talk about myself very much."

Bertha said, "Wanda prefers to keep her private life private." Glancing sideways at Wanda, Bertha added, "But, she doesn't have a problem airing anyone else's dirty laundry."

Smiling at Bertha, Wanda said to Amanda, "Perhaps I'll tell you more about myself one of these days, Amanda. If I do, I'd prefer to do it privately. What about you? You've already told us about your ancestry. What about your family?"

Amanda stopped talking for several seconds before she said, "I'd just as soon not talk about my family. Let's just say, that, as I said, I've got five siblings; a father who, like Bertha's father, thinks the world of me; my oldest brother would do anything he could for me, including defend me from my mother's tirades; and I've got a mother who blames me for all the ill in her life."

"Why?" Everyone said at the same time.

Amanda touched her striped fur, her muzzle and her ears. "These. My mother had to endure a lot of insults from her so-called friends after I lost my birth fur and my stripes grew in.

"Well, Wanda, since you won't talk about yourself, how about Michelle? Will you tell me about yourself?"

Michelle quietly said, "There's not much to tell. I'm full blood serval. I'm 23 years old, never married, never even dated."

"Never dated. Wow, Michelle, you sound like me."

Michelle smiled ruefully and said, "I bet it isn't for the same reason I never dated."

"What's that?"

After thinking for several seconds, Michelle continued, "My mother married at age 18 to the guy she'd loved since she was a kit. In fact, he'd loved her since he was a kit, too. They were both 18 when they married. I was born a year later and, as I've been told, my father loved me so much. He was scared every time I did anything and I accidentally got hurt as a result. He would pick me up and cuddle me until I stopped crying. In the middle of the night, he would go get me and bring me to my mom so I could nurse and go back to sleep.

"My parents were planning another kit when my father died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident when I was three years old. My mother moved away from where I was born about six months later. The city held too many memories of her happier times and she couldn't deal with that.

"My mother found a job here in Catlanna and two years later, when I was five, she met and married a cheetah. A year after marrying, my younger sister was born. My parents have been trying since then to have another kit; but, for some reason, my mother hasn't been able to conceive again. She's hoping to give my stepfather a son but, so far, it hasn't happened.

"I had to endure a lot of teasing when I went to school. Since servals and cheetahs have pretty much the same spot pattern. My schoolmates thought I was the result of an inter-species marriage. I tried to tell them of my mother's first husband, my father, but they wouldn't listen. They had made up their minds about me and the truth be damned."

"Oh, Michelle, I'm sorry for what you had to endure. I experienced the same thing from guys while I was in school. Mixed species kits, for some reason, have a bad reputation whether they earned it or not."

Michelle's eyes watered as a sad look crossed her face. Wanda started patting her arm. Michelle turned and buried her face in Wanda's shoulder as her body shook with sobs. Amanda looked at Wanda questioningly.

Wanda looked at Amanda and said, "She's crying because of the reason that she doesn't date."

"I'm sorry, Michelle. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Sniffing, Michelle said, "That's all right, Amanda. You didn't know."

Wanda asked Amanda, "What about you? What's your relationship status?"

"Well, I'm not married and I've only had three dates in my entire life."

"Really? Why?"

"For the reason you implied. All the guys thought I was mixed race and, because of the rumors about mixed race humanimals, they thought they could have their way with me. Before I turned 17, I was turning down date offers from every guy that asked me out because I didn't want to fight off unwanted advances."

"What kind of guy would you be interested in?"

"Why?"

"Well, I might know someone that's both honorable and interested in tigers."

"Wanda, I've already told you I'm a vixen, not a tigress."

"I know but guys would notice your stripes rather than you gloves and stockings.

"So, what kind of guy would you be interested in dating?"

"I haven't really thought about it since I was 16 but," she paused, thinking wistfully, "I guess, considering how tall I am, he'd have to be taller than me, concerned about my welfare, willing to protect me no matter the situation, smart," she smiled impishly, "good looking." Everyone giggled at that requirement.

Bertha piped up and said, "Would you be interested in a human?"

Wanda's face clouded up noticeably. "No! She would NOT be interested in a human!"

"You sound like my mother, Wanda. What's wrong with a human?"

"Amanda, do you not know what humans used to do to our feral ancestors?"

"Such as?"

"They used to kill foxes just for their skin and fur. They did the same for badgers, although they used the excuse that badgers were a nuisance animal. What about bears, Bertha? Didn't they used to do the same thing with bears?"

"Well, Wanda, bears, especially grizzlies and polar bears, were known to kill and eat humans. So, I guess they had a good excuse for bears. But, Wanda, foxes were known to attack and eat chickens and eggs. Humans were notoriously protective of things they considered their food kind of like our feral ancestors."

"Still, killing an animal but not using it for food is wrong and you know it."

Amanda sat watching this exchange. Finally, she said, "But, Wanda, humans are different today than they were before the changing. They're a lot more protective of the ferals, not as much as humanimals are, perhaps, but a lot more than they were 19,000 years ago."

"Humph! I still don't like them and I don't want to have anything to do with one."

After a few more minutes of conversation, lunch was over and the four of them returned to the 12th floor and back to work.

*****

The end of Amanda's first day at work arrived and she started putting her work away. She gathered her purse and other personal items and stood preparing to leave. Just as she started to walk toward the elevator, Mr. Blaidd's office door opened and he stepped out.

"Oh, Amanda, you're still here."

"Yes, sir. I was about to call a taxi to take me home."

"You don't need to do that. I can give you a ride home."

"But, Mr. Blaidd, isn't your home in the northeast area of Catlanna? You know I live in the southeast area, near Grapeville. That would make my home out of your way."

"Nonsense, Amanda. I'd like to see your father again. I haven't seen him in a few months."

Now Amanda panicked a bit. "Please don't do that, Mr. Blaidd. I'm going to tell him what mother did, if Marshall hasn't told him already."

"Well, all right, Amanda. But, I'll still give you a ride home, if you'd like. Not to mention it won't cost you an arm and a leg to get home."

"In that case, sir, I'll be happy to accept your offer."

As they walked away, Mr. Blaidd asked, "So, did you enjoy your first day at work?"

**********

1-Galina Sobaka is a late middle aged Hortaya Borzaya. She is 58 years old 5'4" (163 cm) tall and weighs around 130 lbs. (59 kg). She has long graying dark brown hair and brown eyes. Her measurements are 40D-28-36 (102D-71-91). Like most humanimals, her body ages relatively slowly compared to humans of the same age. She dresses relatively conservatively normally wearing a long dress with elbow length sleeves. Normally, she wears her hair braided and wound around her head with her ears exposed, although she will occasionally wear her hair loose and down.

2-From a Wikipedia page about the Hortaya Borzaya: "The Hortaya Borzaya is an old Asian sight-hound breed originating in the former Kievan Rus, later Grand Duchy of Lithuania (later Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) and Russian Empire. It is a dog of large size, of lean but at the same time robust build, of considerably elongated proportions. In its everyday life the hortaya is quiet and balanced. It has a piercing sight, capable of seeing a moving object at a very far distance. In spite of its calm temperament the dog has a very active reaction to running game. Hortaya are excellent, enduring hunting dogs endowed with a good, basic obedience and completely lacking aggression towards humans."

3-From an internet page about the Sakhalin Husky: "The Sakhalin Husky, also known as the Karafuto-ken, is all but extinct. The breed comes from Sakhalin (known in Japanese as Karafuto), a large island in the Sea of Okhotsk, just north of the northernmost Japanese island (Sakhalin is part of Russia). The indigenous people of the island include the Ainu, most of which relocated to Hokkaido when the Japanese were displaced from Sakhalin in 1949. The Karafuto-ken is a beloved Japanese sledding dog, but unfortunately is facing extinction. There are currently only 2 known purebreds left, Hana & her brother, Kuma, who are both 12 years old (as of 2011). Hana's owner has attempted to revive the breed by importing Russian stock, but more than likely, the breed will find its way from the rare list to the extinct list." (As of the writing of this story, the breed likely is extinct.)

4-whales, dolphins and porpoises

5-seals and walruses