Origins, Chapter Eight

Karec and the other Walerians walked back to the lifeboat weary but contented.  It had been several cycles since they were introduced to the village as a whole, and now they were part of the community.  “How much more wood are you going to need for Joseph and Abigail’s house?” he asked Vilsid.

“We’re going to need at least a couple more trees, I’m thinking of taking from the far forest.” He replied.

“Could you wait for a little while tomorrow before you start cutting?” Tira asked. “I’m going to be taking the children for a walk through there in the morning.”

“After lunch work?”

Tira smiled. “Perfect.”

As they made it up the metal steps, Karec opened the door and the four of them trudged into the space.  Everyone prepared for bed, and then turned in for the night. In the morning, they returned to the village and got down to work. Vilsid helped plan the foundation for the new barn, then used his Imprint’s claws to help excavate the ground needed. Silanna was still treating some of the injured. Miraculously, no one had succumbed to his or her injuries as of yet. She had a patient or two that were still touch and go, but Silanna was hopeful for recovery. Tira had fallen into the role of caregiver, especially for the children.  Karec however, had fallen into the most interesting role of all, ambassador.

Working with Christopher, almost every project he and the other Walerians had been involved with had come to Karec’s attention first. Karec hadn’t tried to become what he had, but it seemed like everyone wanted him there. He had to admit he liked being the ambassador for his people. These past cycles the humans had accepted them all readily as members of their community, and had made great strides to include them all in village life.

During their work cycles, they had learned a couple interesting facts. The human body ran on almost all the same requirements for energy and nutrition, as well as having incredibly similar anatomy. For humans, their blood used iron to carry oxygen, while in Walerians copper was utilized. Genetically there were also vast similarities to human and Walerian makeup as well. Medications and treatments Silanna created would work just as well in Walerians as in humans with almost identical effect. These similarities even extended into culture and beliefs.

While Karec and Vilsid were helping with construction, the two Walerians engaged in a debate about religion with the humans. What Christopher and the other Humans called God, Karec and Vilsid called the Creator. Both of their religions detailed the entire universe being created by one all-powerful being, then his creation rebelling and being cursed to death. One nation was picked out from the inhabitants, from whom a Redeemer was destined to arise. This Redeemer became a stand-in for all sin and rebellion, bringing creation into harmony with the Creator. Eventually the Redeemer would return and collect the faithful to dwell with him in a new creation freed of all traces of rebellion. Christopher didn’t have a copy of his scriptures to let Karec see, but he promised if he ever could, Karec could look at it to compare.  Both the humans and Walerians marveled at the drastic similarities between their two peoples, despite the fact that they developed completely separated from each other.

The cycles turned to deciorbits, and eventually the village was restored to the way it was before the attack. During the reconstruction, the Walerians were able to move the lifeboat lab to the village. The resulting move used up most of the remaining rocket fuel, preventing them from being able to return to space without a rescue party. Karec and the others were happy to do this because they believed there was no other Walerians coming. In fact, they couldn’t even detect any other Walerian transmissions from the other lifeboats that should have made it to the planet. On the edge of the village a barn-like structure was constructed around the metal ship, just in case travelers were to come into the village. It was here that the Walerians continued to live amongst the villagers that had come to accept them and appreciate them for what they were.

That appreciation continued even through the next trial they all weathered together. After a few decicycles, Claw had returned. It was late one night when a large band of men cam riding in on horses carrying torches.

The men were clad in impressive armor and armaments. Some carried swords, others carried bows with arrows, and still others carried weapons the Walerians had never seen. In the darkness it was easy for Karec and the others to hide amongst the people and not be seen.

Claw had rode to the front of the group, and dismounted from his horse. He had fashioned a set of armor embrazend with wolf heads on the chest and shoulders. Even the hilt of his sword had a snarling wolf head on it. “I have returned!” he bellowed to the whole village, which was all standing outside to witness the spectacle. “With me I have gathered men from all across the realm, and all of them have come to find the supposed guardians of your forest. I have instructed these men to not do more harm than necessary to draw these guardians out into the open.  As soon as we find these guardians and kill them, then we will leave you in peace.”

There was a collective murmur that rippled through the people. The ones that were closest to Karec, Silanna, Vilsid, and Tira all subtly showed solidarity with them, making sure to convey support.

“The guardians will not let this stand!” one of the villagers shouted. It was a man Silanna had saved from an arrow wound in his arm, an injury that would have most likely been lethal due to infection. The rest of the village shouted in defiance as well. Karec couldn’t help but be humbled by the display.

“You had better hope they come, for we are here by order of the king himself. He has decreed that your village shall compensate us for our expenses. Turns out he doesn’t like having creatures in his forests that could possibly pose a threat to his sovereignty.” Claw remarked as he produced a scroll from his belt.

Another murmur rippled through the village, the people were now very concerned. If the king had truly put Claw in charge of this hunting party, then they were at the former bandit’s mercy.

“Rest easy tonight, good subjects.” Claw said with dark satisfaction. Karec could tell he drew immense pleasure from being able to say that.  “Tomorrow evening the hunt will begin.” After saying his peace, Claw mounted up and led his band of men back the way they came. After the hunting party was out of sight, the four Walerians returned to their home. After a little while, Christopher came to talk to them.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asked his four friends.

“I wish we knew.” Karec said. The four had been talking about the situation before Christopher had arrived, but no one had a good plan so far.

“I told all of you this would happen.” Vilsid remarked.  “And now, the innocent are paying the price.”

That comment sent Karec’s blood to boil. “You knew we didn’t have any other choice. “ he growled. “Claw had set fire to people’s homes and supplies. You’ve seen all the people Silanna treated, how his weapons injured them.  Claw had to be stopped. “

Before the two of them could come to blows, Tira stood up. “It doesn’t matter who was right or not back then, we need a solution for now.” She said with force in her voice. “All five of us here came up with the original plan a few deciorbits ago, so now we need to come up with one again. “

All five of them sat there thinking for a good while, until Christopher said something. “It’s too bad there aren’t any more of your people with that Imprint ability. If we had an army of them, Claw wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Karec’s ears perked up. “That’s it. More people. “ He said as he was already thinking of a solution. “Silanna, do you still have that gene transfer vehicle?” he asked.

“I have a bunch of canisters of it, why?”

“At the molecular level, what are the essentials for the Imprint ability?”

“Not much, but most of the genetic component is coded from the subject of the imprint.  The only things we express is the machinery to assimilate and assume the imprint form. Are you thinking?”

Karec nodded his head. “Exactly. If we can transfer the imprint ability, along with some fighting instincts, then we could make an army of so called guardians overnight.”

“What are we doing now?” Christopher asked.

“We want to give a group of volunteers the ability to transform like we can.  Silanna have to come up with the treatment, but if we can do it, then we can give anyone who wants it the ability to fight Claw and his men head on.” Karec replied.

Christopher sat there for a moment. “The question is, who would be willing?”

“I think once we get our first volunteer and his or her body accepts the treatment, it won’t take much convincing to bring around a few more. “

“Then I’ll be your first volunteer.” Christopher replied as he stood up from his seat.

Karec smiled. “It’s going to be a few cycles, but we’ll let you know as soon as we have the treatment ready.”

“Okay, but remember time is short. The others might try to attack Claw outright if it takes too long.

Karec nodded his understanding. “Silanna and I are going to be as quick as we can. Try to keep the rest of the village from doing anything for the time being.”

Christopher nodded. “I’ll tell the others we have a plan in the works.” He said as he walked out the door.

After he left, Karec and Silanna got to work on a gene therapy treatment. Utilizing the knowledge all four Walerians had gained about humans, they were able to construct a surprisingly accurate simulation of the human body’s functions. While Silanna and Karec worked through the days and most of the nights, Vilsid and Tira would sneak into the village under cover of night to see how the village was holding up. It almost took a deciorbit, in which time the village almost attacked Claw and his men twice, but the two biologists were finally able to create a safe and effective treatment that did what they wanted. Word had already spread about the treatment Christopher had volunteered to take, and if his was a success there was a force of several other men ready to go.

After making up enough for Christopher’s treatment, he came to the barn with his wife late one night. The mood was somewhat somber. While there had been simulations on how the treatment would affect his body, no one was absolutely sure what would happen. One of the metal workbenches had been adapted to be a procedure bed. Since the simulations had shown muscle spasms were likely, they strapped him down so he wouldn’t thrash during the treatment. All six of them said a prayer, then they began.

After inserting an infusion set, Karec and Silanna slowly began administering the treatment. At first nothing happened, but after a few moments Christopher said his skin was feeling hot. After that, things started to happen. He began straining against the straps as his muscle structure began to change. His bones shifted under his skin, setting of a series of sharp pops. As he continued to change, he let out a roar of pain, which sounded like an actual roar.  Genevieve kept her hand clenched in his, even though claws sprouted from his fingers.

After almost a millicycle, it was all over. Christopher’s breathing was ragged, but stable. His vitals returned to normal quickly, and he wanted to see what he looked like. “Amazing, I look like your imprint Karec.” He said as he sat up and hung his legs over the table’s edge. His voice was considerably lower, and had a gravely quality to it. Gray fur now covered his skin, and his total body structure resembled a wolf.

“We weren’t able to completely replicate the imprint, but we were able to come up with a solution. We integrated actual wolf into the treatment like our bodies do.” Silanna said.  “We were also able to include instincts as well, so you should be able to use the full range of your new abilities with little training.”

Genevieve slowly wrapped her arms around her husband, and he enveloped her in his embrace. He was a few centimetrics taller, and his clothes had popped along some of the seams because his muscle structure had increased. His head was like a wolf, but his ears were still in the same place.  

“When do we give the others the treatment?” Christopher asked.

“Soon, we want to observe you to make sure there are no adverse effects.” Karec replied.

Christopher nodded. It had been a success thankfully, but now the challenge was how to make an army of people like him.