Wereness 6. The Migration
<< Forward >>
This story will expand more on the Clydesdale's experience during the event known as The Migration and thus likely to answer any lingering questions one might have. Unlike previous stories there will be no yiff going on within this one. Instead references to yiff in general will be present. As progress through this story is made, the readers will not only be gaining depth and understanding of what shaped the world portrayed, but also sample something to be added into the storyline later. I thought that after there being over a month in between Wereness 4 and 5, that this one should finally be wrote. It also makes sense storyline wise to insert this one within the chosen place.
Woulfe Maelstorme
<< The Migration >>
A firm hand is felt on your left shoulder...
You sense your body being shook mildly...
The sound of metallic springs squeaking drift into your hearing...
Your vision goes from black to the warm brown...
You open your eyes and blinded briefly by sunlight...
The lighting dims to a blue sky and a familiar male human face...
He smiles at you and you smile back...
"Feeling more refreshed now?" He asks and leaves your viewing range.
"A bit." You answer as a pile of clothes swiftly enters your vision and lands on your face.
"Good then. We still have that trip to take today and I prefer to be at your old campsite by nightfall. Oh yes. While you were sunbathing there, I took the liberty of fetching this infopad from the house. It will help fill in the gaps, within what you already know about the world around you. My advice is to read The Migration first. Then read Morphology Revised second. After that, feel free to ask all the questions you want."
Just as you remove the clothes from your face, the described infopad lands inches from your right ear. You raise yourself up on elbows and gaze forward at the creek in front of you. Picking this spot, just off the side of the barn, was a sweet choice for sunbathing. Plus the gradual incline yields such a nice view of the property from your vantage point.
You then rise up completely to your feet, catching the clothes in your arms, and turn to your right to view this infopad yourself. You begin to examine it from the distance, while dropping everything but the shorts to the ground.
You begin examining its shape and look, while putting them on.
Its shape itself was completely circular and black, with a matte finish...
Its size was no bigger than typical antique laptop computer...
After pulling on the shorts and grabbing the sleeveless, you judge more thoroughly.
It possessed no visible means of turning it on...
No visible points of access for upgrades, repair or batteries...
It simply looked like a big eight inch, black, one-inch thick cup coaster...
You pull on the sleeveless and then squat down to put on the boots, while closing the seam on them. You then grab the info pad and stand back up to the sound of chain rattling. You give it one more curious glance and then look up to where the sound is coming from. You see him pulling the wagon, by the attached harnes form inside, right out of the barn entrance. Not even a bead of sweat on his entire body.
"Looks like you can handle that wagon just fine by yourself. Impressive."
"I'm not the only one who deserves such praise. You can perform the same show of strength yourself lad. Now would you mind coming over here and clasping the buckles under by belly once I have changed?" He asks and motions with an outstretched arm.
As you approach the wagon you immediately notice a change, in the immediate terrain, and find a road is now present that leads from the barn entrance to behind the house. You simply stare in amazement at the silent presence of something so bold.
"How...?" You begin asking, while pointing down at it and staring at him.
"Similar 'nanotech' to what is used in the shower. It is also described, with many of our creations, in that there infopad." He points at it and smiles at you.
"I will definitely be reading this during the trip then." You admit with a grin.
"Now...the harness please?" He asks.
"Oh, of course." You respond and set the pad down on the wagon seat.
He takes a mere five seconds to change from a Scottish human with raven black hair, to a full size Black Shire stallion. The harness itself never faltered once and stayed on him the whole time, as his body shifted and molded right into it. You squat down underneath him to secure the buckles and raise back up to, out of habit from the old family farm, give him a couple of pats on the rump.
[After we reach the campsite lad.] He teases.
[No leave without me.] Another more feminine signature enters into your mind.
You turn around and see the mare approach the wagon, at a firm trotting pace, holding a lead halter clasped in her muzzle. She stops just in front of you and shakes her head.
[We won't leave you.] You cue and stroke her neck.
[Keep pace with us.] He advises her.
[Yes I can.] She replies.
[Shall we go then?] He asks you.
[Yes. Lets do love.] You give her one more stroke and then fix the lead halter properly.
After flopping the reins across her shoulder, you give her a kiss between the eyes and then turn towards the wagon front. Out of habit you expertly place one foot on the step and boost yourself right onto the seat, while being sure not to sit on the infopad and moving it to your right. While looking that way, you notice a set of lead reins and chomp bit still resting in the floor, in front of the seat.
[Just out of curiosity...aren't you supposed to be wearing the reins also?]
[We won't need those until we enter into human territory.]
[Human territory?] You ask while looking back at the Shire.
[Aye. We be a lot further into the forest than you think.]
[Then why don't I simply change into a regular horse and help you pull the wagon?]
[Because occasionally one of us does encounter a human. That is why you are wearing those clothes and sitting up there right now. Just in case. Just imagine, from their perspective, how odd it would look. A normal farm wagon being pulled at great distance, by horses without being tended to by humans. At the moment I sense none, so feel free to grab that blanket behind the seat and use it for padding, while reading the infopad. Feel free to even catch a few Zs. We won't reach your old campsite until nightfall anyway.]
[I think you mentioned that earlier. I know how far I traveled to the campsite anyway. Considering though...we really are that far in?]
[Aye] You just shrug at the answer and reach behind you for the blanket described.
You stand up briefly to unfold the blanket and drape it over the whole bench. While doing final tucks and fixing, you admire the softness of the material. You swear to yourself that it has to be wool. Yet the fibers are soft as silk and attract absolutely no static electricity. The pattern chosen is simply a portrayal of the old South American rainforest. This encourages another question out of you, while sitting back down.
[You and the others actually remember the old rainforests?]
[Aye. Was just a boy when news of its devastation was televised to the world. I actually cried. Shall we move along now?] He bobs his head twice in traditional fashion.
[Looks like we are ready.] You glance sideways to make sure the mare is right there.
The wagon then gradually nudges you forward and picks up speed as smoothly as the cars in the city. You take the time to notice the recently laid surface extends beyond the house and through an antique open gate setup. You keep looking forward, expecting to see the trademark grating for the trap buried in the ground. Your peripheral vision takes note you are now beyond the house and coming upon the property fence. You crane your neck forward and still see no signs of the grating, just more of the organic road surface. The stallion briefly turns his head sideways and notices your posture.
[Is there something wrong?] He asks politely while turning his head back.
[What happened to the grating ahead...or rather where are the signs there ever was one.]
[There once was one. But those are only essential for cruel imprisonment of animals.]
[True. Why did you leave the rest?]
[A touch of novelty and it helps hold up the decorative wooden fence.]
At this point the trotting pace has you passing right through the gate and into the woods. You turn around backwards and view something that somewhat answers your question. The organic road surface begins to erode away at an accelerated rate. You scrutinize the erosion closely and see what is actually happening.
The surface seems to be spontaneously cracking, about where the house sits...
The cracks quickly cover the entire surface, stopping only at the fence and barn...
The segmented surface sections appear to be no bigger than your hands...
Each of them begin shrinking in size, like watching a flower fold up actually...
Where there once was segments, there are short stalks sticking up...
The visible grass underneath looks completely undisturbed...
The stalks then begin retreating into the ground...
The overall visual effect is like watching waves in the water...
The stalks near the house disappear first, and then retract in progression outwards...
The rippling effect moves towards the gate and the barn at the same time...
Then all that remains is the grass...as if the surface never existed...
Where the grating edge would be is the only part that didn't disappear...
On your side you notice the same thing happening, but with a difference. The wagon has cleared enough distance from the gate, to allow the surface to begin disappearing right behind it. The retraction starts right where the opposite edge of the grating would be and keeps pace exactly with the speed of the wagon. Your turn forward, to look ahead for signs of the surface, and see the reverse effect occurring roughly four feet in front of the horse. You turn your head backwards and judge the clearance distance to be the same behind the wagon as well. Its like there is something underneath the ground, that can read exactly where the wagon is, while also knowing the speed and direction as well. Beyond the edge of the morphing surface is nothing but the undisturbed ground of the forest itself. As if in answer to the question coming to mind...
[The surface we are traveling on is another effort to preserve what we don't need to disturb. The individual segments you see are actually a simplistic variation on fungus. The surface itself can be as firm as the paved ones of your city, or as soft as a bed mattress and capable of absorbing a lot of shock.]
[So was this grown like the house?]
[Aye. The growing method used is a modified version of how strawberries grow and spread through a patch. The growth rate of the surface network is impressive itself.]
[Somehow you don't strike me as the engineering type. Someone else had to do this for you. Someone very clever and inventive. Someone who actually does this as a career.]
[You could call it their career. We like to think of it as their intellectual contribution to our society. The very people who made this surface and house are pinnacle to us concealing ourselves from the city.]
[Then someday I will meet them.]
[Aye. Soon lad. Soon.]
[Just how does this thing work?] You ask after grabbing the infopad.
[Just speak to it, like you do to me, with your mind.]
[Let me guess...the same people made this too?]
You turn towards your right and lay back onto the seat, with your right arm under your head and the left placing the infopad on your chest. You lay there simply looking at it. Surely the flat surface serves some purpose, or simply wouldn't be there and thus the whole thing would likely be in the shape of a ball. You relax and sigh deeply.
[That they did. You soon find out just how they actually contribute to all of us. Just one more thing about the infopad, it conveys the information and communicates on a different level. It will step you through how to do that, once you begin talking to it.]
[Guess its time for to do some reading then.]
Lets see...does the infopad require a strict language command structure or do you simply just "talk" to it. There is only one way to find out.
[Infopad] You say in command fashion.
A soft but gruff and commanding voice responds back. It is the same way you would envision a bear would talk, if it had the capacity to use human speech.
[Infopad here. Your linkup level suggests you are a new user of the network. Let us start by refining and aligning your mental linkup. Say "infopad" again but envision you saying it as if whispering in a silent room. Now try it again.]
-[Infoapd]-
-[Not too bad. Your whispering, but the room is still noisy]-
-Infopad .
-Almost there.
--"Infoapd?"
--"That is much better. Now we can talk amongst ourselves effectively."
--"I have worked with computers that use voice instead of devices, but this is so different. Nothing I can't adjust to though. I like trying out new technology."
--"I am more than just one Computer. I am a core network consisting of billions of what a human might call hypercomputers. What you are holding in your hands is just one of them. Its specific function is to be a flexunit. It stores nothing permanent and acts as a conduit to my mind. It is also a means of gathering detailed information to refresh my memory. My expanded network can consist of every living plant on this world."
--"That is amazing. A "computer" that has no real physical limitations for capacity."
--"That is one way of looking at my form. For future reference, my proper name is Custodian. Shall we move on to the current purpose of you using the infopad?"
--"Yes."
An image appears and hovers over the flat surface of the infopad. The image itself is as solid as everything else around you and is in the shape of a bear's head. Then it talks.
--"The purpose of the projection plate is strictly for visual aid and interaction."
--"Sensible enough function."
--"Ask a question to learn from me then." The head smiles.
--"I want to learn about The Migration."
--"Any specific points of this history or chronology?"
--"Chronology. I feel I need to start with the beginning and learn as much as possible."
The head tilts down briefly and closes its eyes. Then levels back up with open eyes.
--"Would you like summarized or unabridged version?"
--"How long is the unabridged?" The head grins widely.
--"The unabridged takes a full month."
--"Don't have a month and need to read up on Morphology Revised as well."
The head nods and makes a sound like clearing its own throat before a speech or lecture.
--"The Migration initially started roughly two centuries ago and lasted until very recently, within the last few years. The singular event that triggered it was tragic human fear. In short, the human race was running in fear from change, as it always has. This change was of particular importance, because it took on a form that could not be controlled and simply could not be stopped by anyone this time. Recently retrieved recorded human history shows this has happened one other time before and the human race was actually able to stop it then. Their final solution was to simply kill those who showed signs of the evolution surfacing in them. These were dark times and two notorious keywords surfaced, that would forever be linked to this dark past. The Dark Ages and Werewolves.
Current recorded history shows there to be many similarities between the Dark Ages and The Migration. So many that it was decided extensive measures of our own be taken in order to avoid another Dark Age. Thus is the heart of what The Migration was all about."
--"Hmm...this is just a guess...but this meant a splitting of human society?"
--"Correct."
--"We were taught about that briefly in both grade school and high school. Those that feared the changes occurring and were not affected by them, fled to the cities and never looked back. The few humans who were either affected or accepted what was happening stayed outside and soon became isolated from the cities. Eventually they even moved away into the abandoned wilderness."
--"This is also correct."
--"But that is all we are taught in the schools. Everything else is rumors and stories told by the citizens within the cities."
--"Since you are here and hearing this. You have recently found much of it to be untrue."
--"Pretty much."
--"Shall I continue?"
--"Please do." You shake your head in earnest.
--"During the first century of the migration, the human race was dealing with both the well-being of its stressed society and the onset of evolution. Many brief fights broke out and contrary to distant history, the humans lost every time. Their losses became greater as the size of their occupied territory shrank and our numbers increased. Eventually the fighting stopped and the human raced focused strictly on retreating from the wilderness for good. We at least fortunate enough this time to have human allies and thus avoided both genocide and total war. In fact our human allies were so firm on their position they went to great lengths to detour any hostile threats aimed at us. Not many of us died this time...but a great many of them did. We will never forget their sacrifice and dedication to our survival.Their loyalty to us was so great, that they took those among them experiencing the evolutionary changes and handed them over to us, to take refuge deep in the wilderness where we would all be safe. This was one of the main reasons that so many of them were killed. It was deemed fitting punishment for those who support the aggressive extinction of the human race. Towards the end of the first century, the executions waned and soon it was discovered that not all of them could be executed. Many of the foods consumed by the humans could not be grown within the cities. A compromise was met and the remaining allies were left alone to do what they did best...agriculture. Thus at the end of the century, human society had become divided and we had retreated completely to the deep wilderness. The ones who had farms were left to repair the damage and continue as our door into the human's world. To this day this stable relationship exists."
--"Door? Not window? Why?"
--"Just as you sit here and breathe, there are others within the city likely experiencing what you did and thus will become changed and evolved as well. We need the farming humans still for rare situations, when one of thus unfortunate few can't leave the city. They are brought to us and we help them see the changes through. If we do not use this policy, terrible things could happen to those unfortunate few trapped there."
--"So they use the access to the city gossip network as a means of gauging who and where future werecreatures are. Then when one is found, you are notified and measures are then taken to help this person, to leave the city and live their life without fear of hurt."
--"That is part of the process. Yes"
--"During the second century, an unforeseen change occurred. Unforeseen because the human race had become clever and found a quiet way to potentially eliminate our link to the city. They still believed their way of dealing with the changes was the most humane and in the best interest of their own future. Another factor was the fact the motivation was completely uninfluenced, since all organized religious institutions were abolished the previous century. The entire strategy they devised for severing this link occurred in three stages and spanned the entire second century of The Migration"
--"Naturally what happened with my family was likely stage three. I really didn't want to leave the farm either. I wanted to keep living there and eventually see a werecreature for myself. But my parents had somehow got caught up in the propaganda, about some new township within the city being annexed for agriculture."
--"Many others of your generation also showed signs of resisting the propaganda and not allow themselves to be fooled, unlike generations before you. They felt the same way as you and either made contact with our farming allies or also found their own way outside the city. Interesting enough they also grew older and evolved just like you did."
--"Really? Hmm. Continue with the second century."
--"The clever new strategy worked so well that, by the end of the second century, we recorded a ninety percent drop in farming allies. Fortunately this had a profound and mutually beneficial affect on the remaining ten percent. Fearing the loss of the rich lives they have experienced, living in both human and werecreature society, they came forward to us and requested permission to move into the deep wilderness. We had no objections but informed them that by doing so they would likely have less social access to humans, due to the greater distance from the human cities, and possibly influence the evolution they accepted around them to speed up within their own bloodlines.In fear of themselves not making a valid argument in their favor, they began telling us intense detailed stories of their individual personal experiences with this new system of agriculture resource management the city was using. We listened and counseled, with the decision to accept their request already in the back of our collective mind. Once we told them of our decision and when we made it, they were very relieved and immediately returned to their individual farms. We in turn sent envoys of our own people with them to ensure swift relocation, before we lost anymore to this recent move to isolate us."
--"Well that definitely explains why what few friends we had were so far away. They had already begun moving into the deep wilderness. I suppose, to be extra cautious, you did bother with those already swayed by the propaganda."
--"No...we did not. The risk to the safety of the new homes, we were giving these fortunate few, was too great. If your parents had held out just another day, we would have reached you and the others on the edge of your region and explained what was really happening."
--"I suppose it really couldn't be helped. Is there any more left?"
--"Yes."
--"Well then lets get this wrapped up then." You reply with a grin.
--"Very well then. Towards the end of The Migration, help of a sort was given by evolution itself. Help we initially thought would aid the humans in completely severing our link to the cities. After successfully moving our allies into the deep wilderness, what we talked about amongst ourselves did indeed begin to happen. Evolution did accelerate within the remaining humans living with us. At the same time a select few of our own had made great progress with a personal biotech project of theirs. After coming forward to the Elders with the results, the larger scale version of the project was approved. In a span of a year they had successfully created a whole new core archive system. One comprised entirely of organic materials, resources and network paths. Once the transfer of the base and extended program was complete, upgrades were added to aid management of the new network and eventually empowered the network to actually begin evolving on its own. It was then decided that the new network then be treated with the same respect as any living creature within the wilderness and be encouraged to actually seek out its own individual identity within our society. Concern over the link being severed increased as the last of the human allies evolved. New ideas and strategies were suggested, for resolving this new problem. Finally one was found and actually not suggested by the existing werecreatures, but surfaced in the form of detailed information regarding the daily activities of the human cities outside the deep wilderness. The upgraded network had indeed reinforced the mutual knowledge that it was indeed a living creature and served its purpose well, as being custodian for our entire society. The name was then given and the struggle of The Migration had finally come to a close for all werecreatures alive. Full credit of this event was given to Custodian."
--"You..."
--"Yes. I even kept watch over your family as well. Unfortunately they showed no signs of the evolution. But you did. Thanks to me you are actually here today and not some wall trophy, for the last of the surviving hateful humans who actually hunt and kill werecreatures."
The bear head turns, with your eyes following the gaze and you look right at the Shire. Then you look back at the bear head and see it smile broadly.
--"I am also thankful to those as brave as him, who help me seek you guys out when the time is crucial." The bear head turns back to meet your eyes.
--"So you are partly responsible for where I am now?"
--"Yes...and most grateful for each life I save of yours."
--"Thanks. Mind if I switch off the infopad now and let the lesson soak in a bit, before moving on to the next one. I have a feeling it is going to a real learning experience."
--"If that is your choice. We will talk again when you are ready for Morphology Revised. I will even be sure to mark it with your reference. Good day young one."
The floating image disappears. Your eyes then find they have to adjust slightly to view the surroundings. You shift your gaze around and find the lesson still took quite a bit of time to review. The entire surrounding wilderness has a soft subdued glow to it. The surrounding leaves overhead all glow softly from the caress of a late evening sun. You shift your gaze down and treated with the kaleidoscope effect of the setting sunlight coming through passing trees and bushes. The overall feel of the environment still seems as peaceful as back at the farm. You sigh and catch sign of the Shire briefly looking back at you and then resuming his forward gaze.
[So what did you think of the brief history lesson, lad?"] He asks you.
[I'm currently speechless. I had no idea so much was going on outside our farm. My parents were among the few who clung to the old religious ways. So you can imagine what life was like for me...once I grew up and started seeing things differently anyway.]
[Most of us do know. The rest come close to imagining it.]
[I wouldn't mind meeting the guys that gave Custodian the form he/she has now.]
[That will have to wait a bit. In the meantime, feel free to read the next lesson at your leisure. We be only halfway to your campsite now.]
[About that, you knowing exactly where it is and all...were you ( how should I put this ) assigned to watching me once custodian found me?]
[Aye. My place was actually the closest...so naturally I was the one chosen to watch over you, in case things went sour. Fortunately that didn't happen until you went on your camping trip.]
[Maybe that is something they can help me with.]
[Who? The Elders? I'm sure you won't have to bother with them but we have excellent healers in the deep wilderness that can help with the emotional trauma of that night. Until then, just relax and enjoy the trip. You don't have to think about that night at all. Nothing relevant from it we can use at the moment anyway.]
[True.]
You lay there for what seems like an hour, just looking straight up at the forest canopy. You then sigh again and look back down at the infopad.
--"Custodian?"
--"Custodian here. Are you ready to proceed with Morphology Revised?"
--"Yes I am. Is the lesson by any chance structured to review individual specie of werecreature?"
--"The second section is. The first section reviews the basics and principals. Which section would you care to review?"
--"Hmm. Nothing wrong with being informed of the basics. The first section."
A floating image of Earth appears over the pad. Then a swift image zoom is initiated and the view changes to that of flying excessively high over the planet. Then you wisps of blue appear over it that resemble the wisps of smoke that rise from smoldering campfire embers.
--"The blue wisp, hovering over the world, is the life force of all life living here. Many centuries ago and very recently again, an evolutionary leap empowered certain individuals to utilize as a means of altering their current physical form into another one desired in their mind. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the life force energy itself, the change is currently limited to living animals. This, coupled with a disciplined mind, is but the means to accomplish what we will be reviewing now."
--"Hmm. I've had my share of running into people who claim to understand what you just described. I seriously doubt they even understood what they were talking about though."
--"The purpose of Morphology Revised is to give the reader an understanding of their physical existence and the extents it can be lived up to. Werecreature morphology covers three distinct groupings of our society. We ourselves did not choose this, but simply adapted to what developed as the evolution progressed. The three groupings do have names, which are rarely used beyond the purpose of information exchange."
A new image appears with three names in their own individual blue transparent pill capsule shapes, displayed in vertical order as follows: Predat, Herbiv and Botan. The bubbles themselves are the same length as the width of the infopad's surface.
--"Please select one to hear the proper pronunciation and brief description, for use in future detailed inquiries."
You reach up to the first one.
--"Predat. Pronounced with the "e" long and the "a" short. Predat is derived from the term Predator. The term was shortened to better represent the calmer nature of those who reside in this group of werecreatures. Recorded in history to be the first, of the three existing groups, to evolve from human stock. Earliest Memories put the arrival of Predats just before the beginning of the last Ice Age. Because of certain appendage and behavioral differences, the Predats are capable of five physical body forms."
Another menu with the bubbles appear: Hum, Fera, Evo, Hani and Beas.
--"Please select one to hear proper pronunciation and origin."
You lift your hand and place its palm across all five.
--"We catch on quick...don't we young one. The pronunciations will be in order then. Hum. Pronounced with long "u". Hum is derived from the term Human. In light of the definition being no longer binding, the last syllable was dropped. It was decided that the new term best represented those that evolved and live today."
--"Makes sense. Guess that is my current state then."
--"Correct. Fera. Pronounced with the first part just like "fair" and the "a" like a short "u". This term was derived from an old archaic human term known as Feral. The origin of the term Feral severely clashes with what was to be represented. The "l" was dropped and a new definition was created to accurately represent this form."
--"Considering Feral means "losing your humanity" and turning into a complete animal mentally...I can see why." You crinkle your nose.
--Evo. Pronounced with long "e" and long "o". This term was derived from Evolution and thought best to describe the dominant and most functionally flexible of the five forms. No verbal changes had to be made. Simply elimination of all but the first three letters in the term itself.
--Hani. Pronounced like Hand, but with the ending "i" sounding like long "e". Hani is actually a hybridization of two terms and in that, best represents the form physically. The terms Human and Animal were chosen to be the two terms combined in the same manner as what one sees when looking at the form itself. The "h" from Human was combined with the first two syllables of Animal."
--"Now that is something I will have to see and experience in person." You grin widely.
--"Beas. Pronouced with the first half like Be and the second half like Us. Beas is derived from the term Beast and thus went through much the same change and modification as Fera did. The reason for its change was the same as well.
--"Understandable."
--"Would you like to return to the previous menu?"
--"Yes please."
The Three blue bubbles return. You reach for the second term.
--"Herbiv. Pronounced like Her, but with the "i" long. Herbiv is derived from the term Herbivore. The original term was shortend for easier speaking. Aside form that, the group described is much like the animals described by the older term. History records them to have arrived at the same time as Predats and contrary to the relationship, shared by the latter terms, coexisted peacefully with Predats. They too are capable of five distinct physical body forms."
You select the final one.
--"Botan. Pronounced like Botanical, but without the ending letters. This group has no recorded history aside from recent info on their existence. This is due to the fact they are a recent evolution within our very one kind. The surfacing of them reveals that possibly Earth is on the verge of a planet wide evolutionary shift. Their origins are from the heart of the deep wilderness...or hat the call the deep forest. Many who have gone there have observed radical evolutionary changes in the plant life itself. Close personal studies of them have revealed a morphology that is actually a hybrid of both plant and animal."
--"Hmm, just how recent has this group surfaced?"
--"Ten years ago and actually just two before I was born."
--"So they are actually the ones who upgraded or "evolved" you?"
--"Yes."
--"Interesting. Continue."
--"Botans, much like their kin, also are capable of various forms but completely lack the capacity to use Hum."
--"Well that certainly was some kind of summary. Move on to the second section please."
A new menu appears, comprising of over twenty floating spheres keeping perfect formation in a spherical formation. Each individual sphere is siler and the size of your pinky nail. The formation has the same radius as the infopad's surface. Your eyes get quite big, as you move your finger across each individual sphere. Everytime you touch one with your finger, a familiar blue bubble appears at the bottom and displays the name while resting right on the edge of the surface.
--"When browsing this menu and wish to see a submenu, simply will the selected bubble to turn transparent blue. This is done by using an old human thought process recorded as silent wishing."
You move your finger to a familiar one and the name Canine appears in the lower bubble. Without closing your eyes you do the "silent wishing". The other spheres disappear and the selected one expands to fill the space, while hundreds of triangles appear and divide its surface. You move your finger across them and notice the bottom bubble change accordingly.
Your finger stops on one. Hyena. Hmm. Lets move on.
You trace your finger and stop again. Wolf. Way too common.
You move your finger around that one more slowly, and finally find one. Rottweiler?
--"Seriously Custodian. Domestic dogs as well? There are thousands of them."
--"But only a few hundred with stable enough genetic code for the evolution occurring across the planet. Their evolution is coming about in a unique and also has its source form deep in the wilderness. Which in itself is a bit unusual considering domestic animals are now found only within human cities."
--"Interesting at least." You just shrug and chuckle.
--"How do I...?"
--"...the same way as the previous menu."
--"Thanks."
The selected triangle turns silver and the rest disappear. The remaining triangle then explodes in a bright flash of white light that fills the entire projection pillar of the infopad. Once filled the entire projection area looks to have a height double of the width of the surface itself. The projection area stays filled with the white light and an image begins forming.
First a rottweiler's head is formed, then looks right at you painting...
Then the neck and shoulders, with dog fur and human form...
The arms and hands then generate, with the same fur and form...
The torso finally forms and sports exceptional athletic physique...
The Belly button is sits under the first two of the six-pack abs...
Where it should be is the start of a normal canine sheath, without the normal protrusion...
The hips and groin finish generating, displaying slightly slanted leg stance...
The scrotum also canine in structure...
The image begins rotating and displays a stub tail in the back...
--"I'm no idiot here. All canines are born with tails. The docking of them is a tradition among domestic dog breeders. This image has an error."
--"No error. Every werecreature of this variety have bobbed tails. A curiosity that must be explored at its source sometime."
The image continues to rotate, and finishes the upper legs...
The lower legs then begin generating and finish off with paws...
The legs themselves are clearly digitegrade in form and totally canine...
--"Very little is known of these varieties except that they are not evolving the same way as those kin to specie found in the wilderness."
--"Hmm. I'm dying for something to do and just might volunteer for this, after taking care of this trip and wrapping up my affairs at the city."
--"I will be sure to post a notice for the elders that you might be interested."
--"Thank you Custodian. I think I have done enough reviewing at the moment and will take a nap, until we reach my campsite."
--"My pleasure to be of service to you."
The image disappears and you casually tuck the thing under your right leg. After folding your hands across your chest, you close your eyes and ponder the situation with the rottweiler you just reviewed. The Shire actually says nothing this time. Most likely he is eager to reach the campsite and get everything packed up. Your thoughts begin to focus on the rottweiler's body and you smile to yourself, as you drift off to unconciousness.