The Urimine Effect

by Matthew Fortuna

father had given her, but only for a short while. She wanted to spend a few days in Jasper before she started work at the mansion in the hopes of running into the right mate for her. She was afraid to leave the city, but she knew it was important to try for something new. Yin went back upstairs and started packing, taking a quick shower and putting on a plain, black skirt along with her white sweat and a pink undershirt when she was done. She didn't particularly like her outfit, but she'd worn worse many times before. She put a few gold coins in the suitcase before clicking it shut, she would need that money while she was away, and the ticket home would cost more than she cared to think about. Yin washed her ears, wishing again for a hat; A nice white one, with a wide brim all along the edge. It would give her something nice to hid behind if she were ever afraid.

  Yin looked around the room, taking in the dreary atmosphere she was leaving behind for a few days, she wouldn't miss her room while she was gone, but hopefully, it would still be hers when she returned. Maybe I'll assign Marcus to take care of a few things while I'm gone, She thought, I need him to clean up this mess in here and everywhere else; He should love it though, so I shouldn't feel bad about asking him. She ran downstairs with her suitcase and put her jacket around her shoulders. "Marcus," She called, "I'm staying in Jasper for a few days. While I'm gone, I want you to clean everything in the house. You love this stuff don't you? Think of this as a personal vacation." Marcus came into the room and nodded his approval.

  "Everything will be fine when you return." He said.

  "Thanks! Have fun!" Yin left through the front door and headed down the sidewalk of her neighbourhood, in the opposite direction of the inner city. The train station was almost a mile off, and she wanted to be early. She checked her synth card for the time. One fifteen; She still had an hour and forty five minutes. Yin held her jacket tight, trying to ward off the constant chill. She felt a sense of peace now that she was finally going, she just didn't quite feel right about her reasons though, on second thought. She didn't especially need to find a mate at her age, she was too young to know what it was like to be married, but she knew it was important that she try anyway, otherwise, she might never get the chance again. It was hard living in a city without many of her own kind, but she'd learned to be frugal, and take heart in the face of her personal solitude.

  The outer city only ran about a half a mile away from the valley, the rest of the walk to the train station would be through the dusty highway that stretched past the city on its way to the heart of the country. There were many such highways all throughout the wilderness, expressly used by what was left of the national government to connect all of the outlying cities with the more centralized, well bred society closer to the capitol.

  Yin didn't know how her father earned her ticket, but she knew it couldn't have been paid with the wages she earned. At a gold talent a ticket, she could have fed their little family for a month, including all expenses related to the house and her education, her father must have been planning this for a long time.

  I know it must be a terrible burden to be put up with me all the time, she thought, but I want to know why he wanted to leave so bad. Maybe he left for legal reasons. Yin's face turned sour.

  The train station was an old relic, from the days high speed trains had come into use. No one really knows why the government insists they continue using them, but the people followed because there wasn't any other way to travel from city to city. Cars had become more compact and city oriented, reducing the legacy of the highway to an old legend.

  Yin climbed up the short flight of stairs to the ticket booth, presenting her ticket at the ticket machine. It buzzed and opened the gate onto the platform where several humans stood waiting for the train.

  Yin checked her suitcase and walked up to the only Meregal at the station, an old feline with grey fur and a sharp looking suit.

  "Hello sir, are you bound on your way to Jasper?" Yin asked. He looked down at her.

  "Not quite," He said, "I'm on my way to Cashmere, just two stops beyond."

  "Oh." Yin looked back at her synth card; two thirty. She sighed and put it back in her pocket. It would take half an hour to get to the station and the trains were never early from what she knew.

  "Do you have relatives in Cashmere?" She prodded.

  "No, I'm going on business for my employer, the Despot corporation. Have you heard of it?"

  Yin nodded her head yes. The Despot corporation was a minor extension of the national government, dealing with military secrets and weapons technology.

  The old Meregal nodded his approval, "I'm to attend a meeting you know, a very important one."

  "How did you get in?" Yin asked, "I though Meregals weren't allowed in government affairs?"

  He chuckled, "Times have changed young Meregal child, and none too soon. This is a revolutionary new stand by the corporation to integrate Meregal technology and know how into the human arsenal."

  "But isn't it wrong to kill?" Yin asked, "And we aren't at war with anyone, why are we making weapons?"

  He scrunched his nose, "Because young Meregals like yourself don't understand why the world is the way it is." He leaned in and whispered into her ear, "But, there are rumors of war coming from across the sea, big rumors, from powerful people who have connections into the enemies secrets. We need these weapons ready when they strike, otherwise we will die as we almost did on our home planet. May it ever rest in peace." He stood up and ignored her, his eyes glazed by some distant memory.

  Yin walked back to the center of the platform and waited until the train arrived, as silent as the grave on its magnetic tracks.

  The train gave off a loud ping as the doors opened, letting out a crowd of people onto the station. Yin dodged around them, trying to stay away from the threats the humans threw off if she were to get in the way. One man eyed her disdainfully before continuing on his way. Yin tried her hardest to look harmless in the midst of the crowd but many still kicked and scuffed her. She curled up in a ball until they'd gone away and stood up when the coast was clear. The older Meregal had suffered similarly, but his suit had retained a few rips in his sleeve from an unwelcoming lady. They looked to each other with paired sympathy before boarding the train.

  It was nice inside, much nicer than anything she'd seen besides the house, with red, cushioned benches along the sides with gold trim, and red carpets underneath. Wooden cabinets resided in all four corners of the cabin, no doubt filled with fine wines and expensive pastries and cheeses. Yin sat down before she was tempted to explore, wanting to spend the first few minutes before the trip finding a comfortable place to sit in the cabin. The trip would take three hours to complete.

  A luggage rack held several other passenger's things on gold leaf railings above the benches on either side of the train. A door opened at the back of the car and several more human passengers pushed passed her, pressing her into the side of the cabinet. Yin took this with a resigned expression, hoping to be unnoticed until they were gone.

  Several of the humans passed her with tight lipped glares and Yin tried to make herself seem smaller, drawing her paws into her lap and pressing her ears flat against her head.

  She decided to leave for a better cabin once they'd gone, a nicer one further toward the end of the train where fewer humans will have to bear looking at her. She seethed inwardly as she made her way through the train, looking at everything except the humans around her. Through three more cars she had to cross through to get to the end, each one filled with more and more hatred, until she arrived at the final car, a tatty one filled with the only other Meregals on the train. The old Meregal she'd seen at the station sat in one corner.

  Yin sat down next to a mother and her three children, all from the same litter. They clawed and mewed at their mother, and Yin tried her best to face forward and ignore them. Across the way sat a couple huddled in deep conversation, their faces close together and covered in concern. Yin guessed by the rings on their fingers they'd gone to the city to mar
ry legally under the law, undoubtedly against their parents wishes.

  Yin sat up once the conductor entered their car asking for tickets. She waited anxiously while the mother pulled tickets out of her purse and held them out to the conductor who punched them before moving on. Yin unclenched her hand from inside her pocket and pulled out her crumpled ticket, offering it to the conductor. He looked her over suspiciously before giving the hole puncher a hard squeeze, offering his hand to the old Meregal for his ticket. Yin cringed in her seat, trying hard not to look any more suspicious than she felt when the conductor looked her over before finally leaving their car.

  Yin was sweeping her paw across her black skirt, taking several wrinkles out of the fabric, when the train lurched up off the magnetic track, bumping her against the railing dividing her from the next seat. She looked around at the other passengers, feeling the train pick up speed. Yin had never been out of the city before now and it scared and excited her. She turned and looked outside of the window at the empty wasteland, watching it pass by as the train sped along the track. She hoped she would enjoy her time outside of the city, but intuition told her to be wary. Bad things have happened to Meregals like herself who took the world too lightly. She