In Situ

by Frazier, David Samuel

  “That is exactly what I have in mind, Paula.”

  Pete had ordered some bottled water and a large bowl. He had also asked someone to run to the commissary and get some steaks and some fruit. Pete was sure that the creature was primarily a carnivore, but who knew?

  “Raw steaks, Doctor?”

  “Yes raw, of course raw,” Pete had replied, fully aware that he had no idea what he was doing.

  “So, you are essentially going to walk in there with a bunch of bloody steaks?” Paula tried to reason again, shaking her head.

  “Look,” said Pete, “if worse comes to worse just shoot her with tranquilizers and I will get right back out.”

  “That might not be so simple, Doc,” said one of the marksmen who had witnessed the creature’s earlier moves. “It could easily get you between itself and our line of fire.”

  “Pete,” Paula tried one last time, “did you see how fast she was? If she comes after you we won’t be able to stop her. Even with tranquilizers, she won’t go down immediately.”

  “Well, you guys just do your best, and I promise you I will be right in and right out. I’ll wear a headset so we can communicate. But do not under any circumstances fire at that creature unless I give the order. Is that clear?” Pete got another very doubtful look from both Paula and the marksman, but they said nothing more.

  When everything was finally in place, Pete took a deep breath, tested his radio one last time, and had his staff open the door. He walked through it slowly—a gallon bottle of water in one hand and, in the other, a large bowl full of raw steak and some apples and bananas. He felt as if he had a target painted on his shirt, but something in his gut told him things would be OK, that he was dealing with intelligent life.

  The creature sat crouching, watching him from the other side of the room. Her skin glowed under the lights, mostly golden but really the entire spectrum of colors. Her eyes were golden as well, with amazing flecks of blue and yellow accents around very linear pupils. Aside from their unique color, they could have belonged to python or an alligator or almost any other reptile, but they glowed with some sort of higher intelligence-Pete was sure of it. He imagined that the creature was actually squinting at him, sizing him up. He slowly sat down with his back against the wall near the door where he had entered, never taking his eyes off of the creature, carefully placing the water and the food on the floor. His hands were shaking. She was absolutely amazing. Beautiful. Deadly.

  The Arzat sat as still as possible for the longest time, willing herself not to flick her tongue as she studied the little animal. She could smell the water and the meat and the creature itself, the latter two both seemingly good enough to eat, although neither had an odor that was completely familiar to her. She was very thirsty and very hungry, but sniffing with only her nose was like trying to see in the dark. Her tongue was where her primary receptors for heat and smell were. Despite herself, her tongue popped out, and she felt herself blushing. Who was this little creature anyway, tempting her and scaring her, and forcing her to display bad manners? She was an Arzat, after all—a Zanta no less—from a proud lineage of excellent Hunters that spanned thousands of seasons. She wished her father were here. He would know what to do.

  Pete was still trying to decide if he had really seen the creature flick her tongue. “Paula, did you guys get that? Can you replay that and confirm?” he said, almost whispering into the radio.

  “Yes, we are running it again right now and…. Wow!”

  “I take that as affirmative,” he said quietly into his microphone.

  “Yes, oh yes, sorry Doc. Definitely a tongue flick.”

  The female shut her eyes for a moment and focused all of her senses. She listened and felt, but sadly, she could still not discern the presence of any other Arzats, only the loud noises of these strange animals. The world had never been so loud. She could hear all kinds of inexplicable bumping and moaning, and the high pitched chatter of the skinless creatures. Hopefully, she thought, she would be able to eventually block some of it out, or it might drive her mad.

  She turned her attention back to the one creature before her. She knew she would have to learn, and learn quickly, to survive. She could smell that the creature was a male and that he seemed to be trying to establish contact. Perhaps something could be done. It was confusing though. The little male appeared to be communicating or trying to communicate, but she didn’t get the feeling that the communication was directed toward her. This made no sense at all since the two of them were the only ones in the room.

  She tested his mind a bit, probing. Arzats could sometimes communicate with other creatures on a very limited basis. It just depended on the circumstances, and mostly on whether the other animal was willing and had some level of intelligence. Since a good deal of Arzat time was spent trying to hunt and kill most animals, the opportunity to have any meaningful interchange was limited. But she was no threat to this little male—at least for the moment—and it was quite clear that it had some language skills.

  Az mam Ra’a, imi agi metses moroc Zan. Kot en tew, tama azrew? “My name is Ra’a daughter of the great Hunter Zan. Who are you little creature?” She spoke with her voice and with her mind directly to the little animal. She tried to speak softly, so as not to frighten him.

  Pete was so astonished he couldn’t move: language? He recognized the clear pattern of speech immediately. Of course, Pete couldn’t understand any of it, but something else amazing was going on in his head. At first it was like he was being tickled, then a huge point of pain like a massive migraine came and passed. Was she trying to say her name? It was as if he had actually understood her, but in a language that might as well have been Martian.

  “My name is Ra’a daughter of the great Hunter Zan. Who are you?” Ra’a repeated the question, but this time with her mind only. All of the other little animals outside the room had burst into chatter when she had attempted to speak aloud. It was most annoying. One thing about these creatures, she thought, they were very excitable and very noisy. She wondered if they ever slept, and if so, how?

  Pete sat dumbfounded. He thought he had actually understood her. Did he? Was he just imagining it? He couldn’t move. He didn’t respond; he was too busy thinking. Impossible. Language? Come on Peter, this whole thing is impossible. She, this creature, is impossible. Forget about impossible. The word no longer seemed to have any significant scientific value. Besides, you were the one so convinced of her intelligence. Why should you be so surprised about language?

  Ra’a decided to get closer to the little male. Proximity did sometimes have a bearing on communication, although she wouldn’t normally have a problem reaching another Arzat at even much greater distances. Anyway, the creature certainly didn’t seem to want to hurt her, and she could see that it carried no obvious weapon.

  In the time Pete might have blinked, the three hundred pound female had moved from thirty feet across the room to less than five feet away from him. She was already squatting, trying to bring her head down to the level of Pete’s. Her speed was impossible, practically preternatural, and clearly too fast for anyone to have done anything. She flared her neck and the skin on the back of her head spread much like that of a cobra’s. The creature looked him directly in the eyes but her face remained non-aggressive and neutral. Pete could only sit, watch, and attempt to stay calm. He had worked with many wild animals in his life, but he had never seen anything move like this one. It almost defied the laws of physics. He could hear Paula on the radio calling for the marksmen to prepare for a shot.

  “I am Ra’a daughter of the great Hunter Zan. Who are you?” Ra’a again repeated silently.

  The language was foggy, as if it were covered with a blanket. The beast was speaking to him without saying a word. “Don’t shoot, do not shoot, Paula,” Pete spoke into the radio as quietly and calmly as he could.

  “What is ‘shoot?’ What does that mean?” Ra’a asked.

  The creature kept looking directly into Pete’s eyes,
but he could tell that she was scanning the entire room as well.

  “Do not shoot her, confirm please,” Pete said again into his headset, as calmly as possible. It was as if the creature’s words were suddenly coming into complete focus.

  Ra’a was confused. Who was this creature talking to? She was aware of the entire room and could see nothing around that was a threat or that could “shoot her,” whatever that meant.

  Finally Paula responded. “Confirmed, Doc, but are you all right?”

  “Can you understand me, little creature?” Ra’a continued, beginning to get annoyed. “Kak. I am Ra’a daughter of Zan,” she tried again. Ra’a thought that she might be getting through but she was not yet certain. What she was certain of was that the proximity of the food and water was making her salivate. She reasoned it would be much easier for her if she could establish direct communication with the creature, but if not, she would just have to come up with another plan. Perhaps I will have to just take it from him, she thought to herself, knowing full well that such a move would be an unconscionable display of bad manners.

  “OK, Paula, the headset is not going to work,” Pete finally said, mesmerized by the creature. “You guys will have to just keep a visual on me.”

  “But…,” as she tried to respond, Paula could see Pete removing the radio slowly from his head. So much for that idea, she thought, as she watched her boss cutting off her only form of direct communication.

  Pete looked the creature in the eyes, his heart pounding. “My name is Pete,” he said to the female directly. He watched and waited. The animal cocked its head to the side, studying him.

  “Pete,” Ra’a repeated aloud, but with so much accent, no one would have recognized it. It didn’t matter. Pete had heard it clearly in his head, and understood it perfectly. “Yes, my name is Pete,” he replied, his heart racing.

  “Greetings, Pete. My name is Ra’a daughter of the great Hunter Zan.”

  “Ra’a?” Pete tested out loud.

  “Yes, although your pronunciation is not quite correct.”

  “Well, I am going to have to work on that.” Pete said, trying to suppress a smile, his heart slowing. He had been right: the creature was sentient and intelligent.

  “This is not a big concern, Pete. Many of my own kind have difficulty with my name as well, but it is quite clear that we can speak non-verbally if you prefer. Simply make the effort directly to me to communicate as if you were going to say it with your voice.”

  “OK, Ra’a. How can I help?” Pete tried to just think of the words.

  “I am not familiar with the concept of ‘OK’ but will assume it indicates an affirmative. I must first know your father’s name.”

  “He isn’t alive.” Despite his excitement, the question stung Pete. He had buried his father less than a year ago.

  “I am sorry to hear that your father has passed from this world,” Ra’a replied, “but it is not necessary that he be alive to have had a name. We are all of our fathers, are we not?”

  “Yes,” Pete said, his head about to burst. “His name was Robert.”

  Ra’a seemed to contemplate this for a while. Pete couldn’t have known that it was customary, and a sign of good manners for an Arzat to fully consider a name for a moment when introduced, but Ra’a did. In general, the manners of Arzat females were superior to those of the males, and Ra’a took great pride in the fact that she had been raised very correctly. “Pete son of Robert then,” she finally responded.

  “Yes.”

  “Yes,” Ra’a repeated.

  Pete suddenly had no idea what to do. Ra’a had folded her mantle back into place, and both of them now sat looking at one another. Pete wanted to ask a million questions, but he found himself speechless.

  “I am glad that I did not have to kill you earlier, Pete son of Robert” Ra’a said, remembering the first time she had awoken.

  “Yes, me too.” Pete nervously cleared his throat despite that fact that he was not even speaking aloud. He had no doubt that the being in front of him could rip him apart before he could even blink if she wanted to; intelligent or not.

  Ra’a stole a quick look at the water and the food. The smell of them was almost overwhelming. She was torn. It was extremely bad manners for an Arzat to ask a host for anything; it had to be offered. She waited, hoping that this “Pete” creature would get the hint and invite her to drink. Finally, when she could stand it no longer she asked, blushing with embarrassment as she did so. “Tell me, Pete son of Robert, who might the water be for?”

  “Oh, of course,” Pete said, recovering from his stupor. “I brought this for you.” He gently removed the top from the plastic jug and pushed it towards the dinosaur along with the bowl full of meat and fruit.

  “In what way does your species express gratitude?” Ra’a asked, relieved that she had apparently not offended. She carefully removed the meat and the odd looking fruit from the bowl and placed the items on the floor, doing her best not to look too anxious, then carefully poured the water into the large container. She picked up the bowl with both hands and took a long sip.

  “We say ‘thank you’,” said Pete, watching her intently, amazed that the plastic jug seemed to pose no problem at all for the creature to deal with. She had deftly picked it up with one of her large hands and poured half the water into the bowl. Ra’a quickly drank the contents, then poured the rest of the water from the jug, and began to carefully sip again.

  “Thank you, Pete,” Ra’a said with her mind, testing the term even as she drank. “I was extremely thirsty.”

  “You are welcome,” Pete said silently back, still in shock.

  Ra’a looked at Pete carefully as she sipped. “Now tell me, Pete son of Robert, why do many of your friends seem to refer to you as ‘Doc’?”

  “Oh, it’s just a nickname,” Pete immediately replied, shocked, wondering where she had heard it. Then it occurred to him that she must have been able to detect Paula’s voice through his headset! Oh my god. How the heck do I explain what a ‘nickname’ is? “It’s short for Doctor. Easier to say,” Pete added to try to clarify.

  “Yes, it is much the same in my language,” Ra’a said, setting the empty bowl back down on the floor. “We have many ways of referring to certain people. My given name, for example, was very difficult for my younger siblings to pronounce correctly, so when we were very little—instead of Ra’a—they simply called me ‘Ara.’ It means ‘the wind’ in my tongue, which they thought was very amusing until I proved to be faster than all of them. You may call me that if you wish.”

  “Ara,” Pete tried to pronounce it aloud.

  Ara slapped her thigh and laughed. “See, much easier, isn’t it?” She looked down at the food on the floor and then back at Pete. “I hope you have a way to cook that meat, Pete, son of Richard.”

  Pete suddenly found himself speechless again.

  *

  In the gallery above, Paula had located Batter and sat with him as the events transpired below. Since Pete had removed his headphones, there wasn’t much more she could do other than watch and hope he wasn’t killed.

  “I actually think he is communicating with her somehow,” Paula said, looking down, shaking her head in disbelief.

  “I agree.” Batter said. At any other time in his life, he might have had the luxury of being as fascinated at this discovery as everyone else, but unfortunately, he had an impatient President to deal with and a lot of work to do.

  “As soon as he gets out of there, have him find me,” he said to her, heading for the stairs.

  Chapter 21

  The Ranch

  Alex watched Gus disappear from her rearview mirror as she slowly drove the truck around the first hill on the way down to the ranch house. The road was not paved, just a gravel path worn smooth with two distinctive ruts from years of carts and cars rolling down it. The main house itself was about a quarter of a mile from the gate.

  Alex was worried, but she knew Mot must be somewhere close. S
he stopped the truck when she was sure she was far enough to be completely out of Gus’s potential line of sight and stepped out. When she turned to look back down the road she was startled to see Mot right behind her. He had come out of nowhere.

  “Jesus, Mot! You scared the crap out of me!”

  “I am sorry, Alex. I was worried I might not catch up with you.”

  “Well, that’s hardly likely,” she said, calmer now that she had found him.

  “I am a very fast runner, but not as fast as your good ole truck,” Mot said so matter-of-factly that Alex laughed.

  “Yes, Mot, that might be true. But you see-my house is right down the hill there.” Alex pointed.

  “What are those animals?” Mot had smelled them long before he’d seen them. He was still very hungry and whatever they were they smelled delicious.

  Alex squinted down the road, trying to figure out what Mot was referring too. “What? Oh, that is just Billy and Bobby. They’re horses that I keep for the ranch. Mr. Garcia comes and feeds them every day when I am not here.” Alex made a mental note to call Mrs. Garcia and tell her that she had returned. The last thing in the world she needed was for Garcia to find Mot! Talk about a heart attack. “And no, Mot, they are not to eat,” she added. “Come on, jump in and I will take you down.”

  As Mot squeezed back into the truck, he was still gazing in the direction of Billy and Bobby. “You mean none of your kind eats those animals?”

  “Well, they are OK for eating, but they are much better for riding.”

  “Riding?”

  Alex just smiled, she was going to have to teach Mot everything, and she loved the idea.

  The house was a classic western two story, which was one of the many things Alex liked about it. The front door was right in the middle of the bottom story, which included a covered porch and identical windows on either side. Just to the left of the house was a corral and a large barn, and just past them another building that was the high point of the ranch, her father’s old library and lab.