The Cold War between the Kiiote and the Yown’Hoo has
become a shooting war. On Earth, there
are three Triads one each in Minneapolis, Estados United; Pune, India; and
Harbin, China. Protected by the Triad Corporation, they intend to integrate not
only the three peoples and stop the war that threatens to break loose and
slaughter Humans and devastate their world.; but to stop the war that consumes
Kiiote economy and Yown’Hoo moral fiber. The Yown’Hoo know about the
extra-Universe Braider, aliens whose own “civil war” mirrors the Cold War. The
Braiders accidentally created a resonance wave that will destroy the Milky Way
and the only way to stop it is to physically construct a sort of membrane that
will produce a canceling wave – generated from the rim of the Galaxy inward.
The Braiders don’t DO physical stuff on that scale – the Yown’Hoo-Kiiote-Human
Triads may be their only chance of creating a solution. The merger of
Human-Kiiote-Yown’Hoo into a van der Walls Society may produce a stability
capable of launching incredible expansion, creativity, longevity and wealth –
and building the Membrane to stop the wave.
The young experimental Triads are made up of the
smallest primate tribe of Humans –two; the smallest canine pack of Kiiote –
six; and the smallest camelid herd of Yown’Hoo – a prime eleven. On nursery
farms and ranches away from the TC cities, Humans have tended young Yown’Hoo
and Kiiote in secret for decades, allowing the two warring people to reproduce
and grow far from their home worlds. Grendl, Manitoba is one such place. No one
but the Triad Company has ever heard of it and the physical plant goes by the
unobtrusive name of Organic Prairie Dairy.
The city Triads never hear of anything they aren’t
spoon fed in their luxury worlds and have heard only rumors of the farms and
ranches. Surrounded by a Humanity that has degenerated into a “duck-and-cover”
society as the Big Boys fight their war, the Triads don’t care about anything
but their own lives. Oblivious, cocooned, manipulated, they have no idea that
their privileges are about to be violently curtailed and all of their biology
ransacked for the correct Membrane pattern. (update: 5/2/2014)
I only barely understood what she was saying, but I bowed to
her. The rest of the Triad pressed together. The lieutenant Bakhsh looked
totally confused and so did St. Admiral. The leaders of the intelligent
universe turned to look at us.
The Kiiote howled, the Herd Mother stamped, Bakhsh clapped
his hands, and St. Admiral nodded slowly. Backing away, I exclaimed, “What?”
“This is why we need all of you!” Bakhsh said. “You knew
what she was talking about – you should see all of your faces! You knew what
she meant and accepted it within your own psychological matrices. None of us
understood her. That,” he jabbed a finger at us, “is why we risk everything to
get you out of here.”
I shook my head. “You expect me to believe that all of you
think that Humans and Kiiote and Yown’Hoo can live just fine without each other?”
“We have always done so,” said Pan; her mate rumbling in
agreement.
“As have we,” said Ji-Hi.
“And us,” said St. Admiral.
“You’re all disgusting,” I said.
Qap and Xurf turned and urinated in the direction Pan and Zir.
They growled, but neither one made an move to attack. The rest of our Pack
scattering to avoid the spray then stood by their leaders. Dao-hi and the Herd
spit in unison, their acidic saliva hissing on the edges of the front hooves of
the Ji-Hi, Mother of All Herds. She didn’t move, allowing the acid to eat the
edges of her hooves smooth.
Lieutenant Commander Patrick Bakhsh said, “Explain yourself,
Human Oscar.” I opened my mouth but he held up his hand, adding, “I don’t want
you to explain yourself. I want you to explain your group. I want you to
explain the Triad.” He put his hand behind his back and fell to a stance I’d
seen in old movies. It was parade rest. St. Admiral did the same. The other
elders also fell into their people’s version of parade rest. Everyone was looking
at me.
“What do I mean?”
“You’re the one set off the verbal attack. Explain the Triad
to us.”
“Um, I just meant…”
“You meant to shame us, Human child,” said Ji-Hi. She was so
old, her head was almost level with mine. Yown’Hoo neck vertebrate begin to
collapse and they grew shorter the older they got; there was a legend that it
happened because of the weight of authority on them.
I shrugged. I didn’t mean to shame anyone, but I guess I did
mean to. I finally figured it out. “You all don’t get each other, do you?”
The Zir and Pan said in choral response, “We do not…”, “…understand
our enemies or Humans.”
Lieutenant Bakhsh said, “We have no idea what either of them
think! Why are they tearing up our planet?”
Pan said, “We do not hate Humans. We hate only the food
ones.”
“As we hate only the rule-less ones.”
“And we all get each other,” I cut into the hate-fest. “We
know each other. We grew up together. We understand how we think.”
“That is why…”, “…you must escape. The Humans…”, “…do not
work alone,” Zir and Pan said.
“The Humans have been joined in hate – Yown’Hoo and Kiiote
together – as much as you have been joined in growing,” said Ji-Hi.”
St. Admiral said, “We have to go. Before we all die.”
“And we have to go now, or this is all over and Humanity,
Yown’Hoo Shwee, and Kiiyaa will never have a chance to show how great we can be
together.”
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