Invasion of the Animals Snatchers – Part 1
Near the Stel VIP headquarters, everything was in chaos: a swarm of people looking for news … Not all of them were Stel. We even saw a girl with an Asclarias who, despite her clothes, looked like a Resa in disguise.
Despite not being VIPs and being accompanied by a Toulano, when we identified ourselves they let us go inside the barracks … For a moment I felt excited, but I remembered that everything was a product of the chaos that had been unleashed, not of my merits as Stel .
We went to a meeting room in one of whose walls there was a row of monitors … At the head of the long table were several Stels that I did not know … without a doubt they were the VIP leaders; but there was someone else … A character dressed in a strange armor and a holographic star-shaped insignia on his head … he looked at us and began to speak:
-Dante, Katalina … and you, Toulano … I am the Planetary Chief Socrates … You will wonder why you are here …
-Er, well … Greetings, Chief Socrates … This Toulano is Moustapha, and he is here because …
-Dante, we know why he’s here… You wouldn’t think that anyone can come to Next Island without us knowing who he is, right?
-I understand … But why did you call us?
Socrates looked at us, smoothed his graying hair, and spoke.
-Something has unleashed a nightmare throughout Next Island … The animals behave like an army, act together and rush blindly in waves towards the settlers … And it seems that you were close to the initial focus … That is why we have called you.
The three of us looked at each other … we knew more thanks to our friend Dr. Boward … Even so, better not to talk about the albino chimera … Katalina was the one who answered.
-We don’t know much else, only that we were hunting in Misty Outpost when a meteorite fell and the animals began to behave strangely.
-A meteor? – One of the VIP Stel was looking at us as if we were telling a children’s story.
-Yes – Moustapha replied – And a kind of green smoke came out of it and is capable of “possessing” the animals and modifying their behavior.
Socrates and the VIPs looked at each other… they seemed confused. Finally Socrates looked at one of the VIPs and spoke:
-No one detected the meteorite?
-Well – the VIP looked at him nervously – we had no evidence of possible threats from outside, so such possible detection was not a priority.
A loud knock on the table… several glasses were tipped over.
-Damn!! The Stel are one of the most technologically advanced factions and you do not worry about possible threats from outside to MY planet? – Socrates made special emphasis on “my planet”.
While the discussion continued, I observed the monitors … there were cameras all over Next Island showing the most interesting or strategic points … That is why they knew where we had been, and the initial focus … One of the monitors showed a circle of Sweat in Crystal Bay … Screechers let themselves be manipulated by the settlers when, suddenly, everything changed: The greenish gleam in their eyes appeared and, a few seconds later, in unison, they glared at the Sweaters … they advanced and attacked furiously … A misdirected peck broke the camera … “No Signal” appeared on the monitor …
The voices had stopped… The Stels looked at each other in shame under the threatening presence of Chief Socrates… He sighed wearily, and turned to us…
-Well, gentlemen, any idea what this is all about and how to stop it?
-Sir – I said calmly – We have a scientist friend, Dr. Boward, who has discovered that they are high-tech nanobots …
Automatically, the Stel VIPs jumped and began to look at each other nervously. Even so, one of them recovered his poise and replied:
-Borward? That crazy old professor? … and do you trust his judgment?
I didn’t have time to answer … the back door opened and a panting Stel appeared in the doorway …
-Gentlemen, Planetary Chief … We have a big problem advancing towards us …
More problems? I do not imagine that it can be now …
Invasion of the Animals Snatchers – Part 2
The Stel looked at us all tiredly, cleared up his voice and only said a few words:
-The dragons are coming …
Dragons !!! After all, boars, chimeras and pappoo are nothing, but dragons … they are huge, they fly, they release puffs of fire … they are a great threat …
Socrates looked down at the ground with his head down … for a moment he was seen as a vulnerable man, under the weight of the responsibility of the planet … but it was something fleeting … he regained his poise and began to give orders:
-Getlemen, we must forget certain quarrels between our factions, and present a united front to this threat … – He turned to the Vip Stel – try to communicate with the Resa, Loyalists and all the factions of which you have communication frequencies, and ask for support .
Katalina, Moustapha and I looked at each other, hoping what plans he had for us… A moment later, Socrates addressed us…
-Moustapha, we know that you have old military training, so try to create a defense column with the settlers, civilians and whatever you can … look on the monitors which area is most in need of help and go there immediately, understood?
Moustapha made the typical Toulano farewell gesture, and left to carry out the orders … A Toulano at the head of the defense of Next Island … well, stranger things have been seen …
Socrates looked at Katalina and me … here is what awaits us …
-You … I do not give much credit to what that crazy Borward says, but … if he knows something about this horror that happens on a planetary level, perhaps he also knows how to counteract it, so … – He looked at us with hope – Go with Borward … try to find the solution and, above all, don’t let anything happen to the old man …
We said goodbye to everyone and Katalina and I went to the TP … a huge queue of people waited to come and go … now we don’t have time for this, so we drew our weapons and fired a few shots in the air (Yes, it is prohibited except in areas PVP, I know) … The effect was immediate, people were paralyzed or moved away from us, so we jumped into the TP and dematerialized …
We showed up at the Pearl Cove TP, where Borward had his lab, but we weren’t prepared for what we saw …
A huge mass of green-eyed boar was around the building … through the windows of the upper floors you could see the faces of scientists and maintenance personnel, terrified …
Meanwhile, the boar tried to penetrate the building … with their fangs they smashed the durasteel walls … but what we did not expect was to see the Papoo …
Papoo mounted on the back of the largest boar, like horsemen … they used their momentum in the charge to jump off their backs trying to reach the windows of the upper floors … Without a doubt, the nanobots that commanded them were learning and evolving …
The only way to enter the laboratory was with the Teleporting chips, but we had to be careful with the coordinates: We could appear on a wall, or inside a table, or God knows where, and that would be very dangerous now …
We adjusted the approximate coordinates and pressed the buttons … with a flash we appeared right in the middle of the empty laboratory … there was no one, most likely they were all trying to hide or looking through the windows …
We went upstairs … we entered the other laboratory and there was our friend Dr. Borward … He looked at us and said …
-Guys, you have finally come … I think there may be a solution to this crisis !!!
Invasion of the Animals Snatchers – Part 3
Katalina and I looked at each other… would there be any hope to stop this chaos? We asked Dr. Boward:
-What do you mean, Dr.? – I told.
-Very simple, that you have a specimen immune to those nanobots … that chimera that you said you had captured …
Sure!!! If “Snow” was immune to nanobots, it was because in his genetic mutation there would be something that repelled them and even fought them … it was necessary to know that …
-Then what do we do? – Katalina asked.
-Well, bring that animal to the laboratory and I will do some tests, let’s see …
– We have him in stasis in one of the planetary storages …
-Well, go find it, time is running out …
Indeed … a second later a huge roar echoed through the laboratory, and a shower of crystals fell on us … The huge head of a dragon appeared through the hole in the glass, looking for a prey to incinerate …
Boward’s eyes widened at that beast … the animal caught his movement and stared at him … he threw his head back to launch his flare and …
He did not have time: Katalina and I had brought out our Armatrix and sprayed a rain of shrapnel at the head of the animal … seconds later it exploded in the middle of a sea of blood, and to top it off, our “rare loot” swirls blinked … as if that matters now …
Through the window we saw another dragon perched on another building … We did not have to waste time, we had to go to the lower floor for a Storage, remove “Snow”, extract him from stasis with the Pet-Izer and pray to the gods that Boward would find some remedy …
We went down the stairs to the lower floor … the laboratory staff had armed themselves and were shooting through the windows at the mass of boars … in the distance a cloud of dragons could be seen in the sky that, without a doubt, would be destroying some other settlement …
We took “Snow” out and ran up the stairs again … the smoke leaked through the cracks, some rubble fell because the structure of the building had suffered enough … time was running out …
When Boward saw us he couldn’t believe… the Chimera was ALBINA… the myth was reality… Boward’s jaw dropped with an “Oh!” out of surprise … but he quickly recovered and started turning on scanners and monitors …
Katalina knelt beside the playful chimera …
-Come on “Snow” … now we’re going to leave you in the care of our friend … he won’t hurt you, okay? … Be nice and I’ll give you a lot of nutrios bars when we get back …
“Snow” seemed like she understood what was being said … he turned and trotted to the surprised Boward, sat on his hindquarters and gave a friendly yelp …
Well, everything depended on finding something to stop that … for now we had to help as much as we could, so we called Chief Socrates …
– Chief Socrates, do you receive me?
-Here Socrates … is it you, Dante?
-Yes sir, everything under control in the laboratory … any more orders for us?
-Go to Crimson Fields immediately … Moustapha is there and his situation is desperate.
-Copy that, we left immediately …
Katalina and I took our TP chips to the nearest teleport, where we dematerialized …
A blink later we witness a nightmare scene in Crimson Fields …
Invasion of the Animals Snatchers – Part 4
Crimson Fields looked like the setting from the old books about Dragons and Thrones: Lots of dragons flying over the building, launching tongues of fire …
Through the skylights you could see the settlers firing their weapons at the animals … we had to enter making the same movement as in the laboratory, and this time it would be less dangerous since the interior of the building was very empty … We connected the Teleporting chips …
A few seconds later we were inside: Moustapha haranguing a diverse mix of people: Resas, Stels, Loyalists, settlers … the wounded crowded into a corner while some of them busied themselves in the craft machine, obtaining better weapons to repel the aggressions. … We get closer.
-Greetings Dante, Katalina … as you can see, this is chaos, and we don’t know what we can endure … I imagine that in the rest of the planet everything will be something similar – Moustapha told us while wiping the sweat.
-Borward has “Snow” and she is practicing some tests to try …
There was no time for more … with a sudden explosion, one side of the building was opened while the heads of several dragons appeared … and a series of papoo that climbed through the rubble and were introduced by force between the defenders … There was no time to lose , the three of us materialized our most powerful weapons and began to riddle the dragons …
The other defenders joined us and we presented a common front, while the slightly wounded kept the Papoo at bay … the situation was desperate, but we were able to repel the aggression, and the animals withdrew …
We had a moment of respite … through the skylights and through the rubble we saw the animals looking at the building, carefully, as if measuring the next steps to take … Obviously, it was a matter of the nanobots, but the scene was terrifying …
During the following hours we repelled two more attacks … through the communicators we could hear battles in other settlements … in some the aggression could be repelled, but in others there was no communication … without a doubt the defenders had fallen …
Night came, and it seemed that the whole planet was quiet … we did not know why, but it seemed that the nanobots did not work at night … perhaps they depended on light as a source of energy? Conjectures…
Near dawn, the communicator crackled … it was Borward …
-Dante, Katalina, Moustapha… do you hear me?
-Come in Dr. Borward, how’s everything there?
-Well, it seems that at night the nanobots do not work, so we have been able to work quietly, and we have good news …
We look at each other: Good news? Is there a solution to this invasion?
-Borward, have you found any way to end all this?
-Not yet, but we have isolated what makes “Snow” immune … Come to the laboratory and I will show you.
There was still hope… It was about three hours before sunrise, so we were relatively safe… the three of us went to the TP and were transported to the laboratory.
Invasion of the Animals Snatchers – Part 5
In the lab, Borward was looking at monitors. He turned to us.
-Ah, you have arrived… well, look here.
The monitor was displaying a low-frequency analog signal, a variable signal… it looked like a sound signal… Borward pressed a key and the unmistakable bark of the Chimera sounded through a speaker.
-Sirs, this is the bark of a normal Chimera … and on the screen is the representation of the sound signal … now look at this other …
Borward pressed a series of keys, and a signal very similar to the first one appeared on the screen … it was almost identical, but it had some kind of modulation that differentiated it … The sound of the Chimera sounded through the loudspeaker but … it had something, I don’t know … it seemed something different …
-And this is the sound of “Snow” barking… it’s almost identical, but… it has something else, right?
The three of us nodded… on the screen we could see the subtle differences in the sound signal…
-My friends, “Snow” has the anatomical shape of its uvula different from that of a normal Chimera, it is double … that is why when it barks it produces a second vibration of the frequency that slightly distorts the sound that it should produce under normal circumstances … and now look … Péter, bring the samples…
Peter was one of Dr. Borward’s assistants … he appeared with a large illuminated glass vial inside of which swirled greenish smoke … they were undoubtedly nanobots …
-We got these nanobots from a boar that snuck into the laboratory a few hours ago … As you can see, they are active by light … well, let’s proceed with the test … – Borward enjoyed giving his erudite explanation of the test …
Then he opened the glass jar … the greenish smoke began to move looking for a host … Borward pressed a key and the barking of the Chimera was heard …
The nanobots stood still for a moment and threw themselves at the speaker, which continued to reproduce the sound … Without a doubt they believed they were in the presence of a real Chimera, and were trying to “possess” it …
Borward smiled, and immediately pressed another key … the bark of “Snow” was heard …
The greenish smoke separated from the speaker, and began to swirl, circling … the same behavior we had seen when they tried to enter “Snow” …
-You see what happens? The nanobots seem confused and move away from the host- Borward said as he looked at the green swirl.
Katalina was very quiet, attentive, and she only said a few words …
-Dr. Borward, turn up the sound power to maximum, please.
Some keys were pressed, and the bark of “Snow” was heard at a deafening volume … The nanobots jerked spasmodically and the cloud began to dissolve, to disperse … The nanobots were moving away between them …
Suddenly I had an inspiration … I looked at Borward:
-Dr., Can you filter and amplify just that strange frequency that “Snow” produces?
Borward nodded, pressed a couple of keys and the on-screen menu offered various forms of high-pass, low-pass, Fourier filter … he combined several, adjusted a few dials and only the strange differentiated vibration appeared on the screen … he turned the volume to maximum and suddenly…
Some kind of green powder fell to the floor of the laboratory … Seconds later, the nanobots were inert on the ground … disconnected or disabled…
-Amazing!!!! –Borward did not leave his astonishment – The nanobots have been deactivated !!! … But … How?
-That strange frequency that produces “Snow” interferes in some way with the nanobots – Moustapha said.
-And with the appropriate volume of sound, it ends up disconnecting or disabling them – Katalina finished …
Yes!!! We had a way to end it.
Invasion of the Animals Snatchers – Part 6
Minutes later Katalina, Moustapha and I had recordings of the sound of “Snow” on our communication tablets. We proceeded to teleport to Crimson Field …
We arrived almost at dawn … the animals were still calm, but we knew that it was a matter of minutes before, when the light appeared, they would attack us again …
We ran up the stairs to the upper floor… There were the communication systems and the external public address system for emergency announcements… we connected one of our communication systems to the public address system and we waited…
The minutes dragged on as dawn broke … and suddenly, the animals began to move towards the building … They charged like ancient cavalry riders, with the papoo on the back of the boar and a formation of swooping dragons … Not yet, not yet …
We already had them on… Now !!!
-Moustapha, connect !!!
He pressed the connection button, and the “PLAY” key … a deafening sound thundered the sky: it was the frequency extracted from the barking of “Snow” at the maximum power that the public address system gave …
The animals stopped in their tracks, as if they had hit a wall: the papoo were thrown over the riding boar, and the dragons fell to the ground with strong wingbeats …
Suddenly, a greenish smoke began to come out of each animal, moving, writhing like a snake … and a handful of green dust began to fall to the ground …
Everyone in the building looked at the scene expectantly … and suddenly it happened … the animals’ eyes began to clear, and the behavior began to be the same as normal animals: The dragons flapped and went to the mountain, the papoo began to yell and they ran into the jungle and the boar, well … the boar started dropping tons of Common Dung as they returned to their zones …
In the building we could not contain the joy: we had disconnected the nanobots and ended the threat of the animal waves … But it was not the time to be quiet, there were other settlements that needed help. We called Socrates at the VIP Stel Barracks.
-Chief Socrates speaking … Dante, is it you?
-Yes Sir… we have found a way to disable the nanobots.
-As you say? Is that possible? – Chief Socrates’ voice had a hint of disbelief.
-Sir, now I am sending you an audio file of a special frequency … transmit it to all the settlements and communication devices that you can … This signal must be emitted by the auxiliary public address system of the settlements, the music equipment of the settlers, whatever … Anything that has speakers, sounds and is loud enough…
-Dante, are you and Borward sure about this? – He didn’t believe it yet …
-Believe me sir, there is nothing dangerous left here in the laboratory, we have achieved it …
-Copy that … we will try … and thanks for everything …
The four of us looked at each other … now everything depended on the communication networks of the settlements, the speakers that the settlers had in their music equipment, the speakers of their tablets, whatever damn thing that sounded on the planet … and also the speed to transmit information to the settlements … the result would be seen in a few hours …
Epilogue 1:
It’s been a week since the events of the nanobots… Chief Socrates contacted the other settlements and was able to send the audio file for “Snow”… From there, the inventiveness of the colonists did the rest.
There were those who mounted loudspeaker systems on Striders, and began to circulate through forests and deserts among the masses of animals… Others assembled a fleet of Gungnir Mk. 1 with public address systems on the sides, and they flew close to land to be heard by the animals… Apocalyse, Now…
Even among the youngest settlers a viral challenge became popular during those days: Going with the communication tablets with the sound at full volume, on foot on roads and areas of animals scaring them away … things for teenagers …
Ultimately, everything is over … Well, not all … there is much to rebuild, much Common Dung to collect and, above all, the matter of “Snow” remains …
Katalina, Borward, and I were in the lab, teaching the playful chimera tricks when Moustapha walked in …
-Good morning everyone … er, I think … we have to talk … -he said after his Toulan greeting, with a tone of annoyance in his voice.
Katalina was a little sad, because she already knew what the purpose of Moustapha’s visit was …
-Friends, I came to Next Island with a mission: To find the Albino Chimera and, well, I have found it …
Snow was sitting on her hindquarters, her tongue sticking out of her, looking amused at the Toulano.
-But “Snow” is not like another animal … It is different, and tame … and it has helped us to conjure a threat that came from outside … I think we have no right to condemn him to spend his days in a zoo far from his home planet …
Katalina, Borward and I looked at each other with joy: it was fair, “Snow” was more than an animal, it was … “Snow.”
-Well, and what do we do with him? Shall we return it to Misty Outpost? -I asked for.
-I think it will be the best … although he lived apart from other Chimeras, I think that in these days he has matured and grown and, perhaps … perhaps now he will find his place. –Moustapha said, and added – For my part I will say in the Center that I did not find it, and that we do not waste any more time with that search.
We got ready for the trip to Misty Outpost, and the next morning the four of us were there, around “Snow” … Katalina hugged the animal while it, like a dog, licked her face …
-Goodbye “Snow” … be careful … when I come to this area I will leave some nutrio bars near your cave.
I approached the neck of “Snow” and pressed the ON / OFF button of the Pet Tag, which went off and fell to the ground … We moved away from the animal …
“Snow” blinked as the Pet / Tag neural connection was broken … then he tensed and in attack position … it was no longer the docile and playful pet, but a wild animal ready to attack …
We walked away in silence as the animal retreated cautiously … Katalina looked back and, suddenly, “Snow” sat on her hindquarters and made the friendly yelp we already knew … it was only a few seconds, and then she ran between weed…
I hope this endearing animal continues well … Inside me there is an unanswered question … Where did the nanobots come from? I don’t think Dr. Borward ever said it… I’ll ask him when he sees it.
Epilogue 2:
Several months later …
-Listen, being the best hunter only happens when you are able to find an albino Chimera. –The Mentor said to his Disciple while they explored the surroundings of Misty Outpost.
-Master, do albino Chimeras really exist? –Asked the Disciple incredulously.
-Yes, yes, they exist … they are rare to see, but they exist … let’s do one thing, I’ll go east and you go west, let’s see if we see it … It’s today’s lesson in your mentoring learning …
Mentor and Disciple parted ways… The Mentor thought that searching for the nonexistent animal would teach him skills of vigilance and patience. The myth of the albino Chimera was useful.
After a while, the Disciple was watching in the vicinity of a cave where perhaps the Chimeras were hiding … and a characteristic sound was heard … the Disciple prepared himself for what he was about to happen …
At the entrance of the cave a female Chimera appeared … she looked around, and made something similar to a gesture inside the cave … and three small, playful cubs appeared… the three little animals moved on their little legs with the typical insecurity of very young animals… and suddenly…
At the entrance of the cave two other cubs appeared … One was almost the normal color of Chimeras, but it had light spots on its skin … something strange … but the other cub was totally white, with red eyes …
The Disciple froze … an albino Chimera, a puppy … it was something that no one had seen before … and a loud bark brought him out of his reveries … A large albino Chimera appeared from the undergrowth, with a boar pidget in its jaws … white as snow, huge …
The Disciple couldn’t take it anymore … he withdrew carefully, without making a sound, and ran looking for his Mentor … without a doubt Mentor would be proud of him when he told him that he had seen two albino Chimeras …
Epilogue 3:
The A.I. General Kratos showed signs of instability that, in a human being, would be the equivalent of being angry … The idea of the possession of animals by nanobots had failed, and again that stupid human who went by the name of Dante was involved … In the future should watch over that human and his group of friends …