bigbutadorable (.) blogspot (.) com

Unchecked. Sorry about that. Will edit later.

The sky was so clear and crisp, as if it hadn't rained in ages. The warm sunshine and the clean, cool breeze would made anyone feel like all their worries had been swept away in one fell swoop.

Tarka was a beautiful planet, no bigger than a grain of blue sand compared to the vastness of the universe, but the value of all life on it was immeasurable.

It had been nearly a hundred years in space time since humans had abandoned the old planet Earth and settled on this uncontaminated world. The nuclear contamined Earth had shown human's true nature; those who were able to escape the nuclear contaminated Earth were those who could turn their backs on others and without mercy. Only a few powerful nations were able to afford to launch ships and take refuge in space.

That was the origin of modern humanity on Tarka. Even if they were sophisticated enough to leave their home planet and settle on another, it was another story altogether for a new civilization to blossom. It was not easy to develop an empty land with limited resources.

In order to rebuild, humans had to give up all the glamor they'd enjoyed on the old planet and return to a more primitive way. In a few decades to a few hundred years---at least in their planning---they would maintain their backward economic and living conditions, slowly building up their foundations and preparing to rebuild their civilization.

However, humans did not aware. That in Tarka already settled another being with a system far more advanced than them. They were cordollians large, gigantic, indigenous creatures of Tarka.

[Report the progress of our power expansion.]

Two cordollians strolled across the grass on a surprisingly nice day. One was a familiar size to the surviving humans, but the other was huge, the likes of which humans had never encountered before. Larger and more imposing than any of the other cordollians, and he carried himself with the majesty of a true ruler.

He was the leader of all cordollians, the one known as the Two Spirits.

[Yes, it's going well. Most of the weak ones have been culled, and only the few who accept our orders have survived.]

[That's good, how's the population growth coming along?]

[Nothing to write home about yet, but I'm sure we'll have some good news soon. We're making good progress.]

A cordollian, who seemed to be one of the Lord's closest aides, said, wagging his tail in a somewhat frantic manner. His head was only about the size of the Lord's hand at most, making him looked easy to crushed like watermelon. Fortunately, though, instead of being ferocious, the Lord was dignified and solemn in receiving the incomplete report.

Both the cordollians communicated through short hisses and gestures on the grass. The sounds, muffled by the wind, were not much different from those made by other animals, but they were highly political and strategic. If there were any mutants who could understand them, they must be smart. Smart enough to realize that what the pure cordollians' talking would have them scrambling for their lives.

[Prepare to capture the srongest ones, they are strategically important and must not be harmed.]

[As you wish, my Lord.]

[Only one or two of the strongests in each stronghold.]

[Understood.]

The Two Spirits' eyes shone brightly. All Cordollians had golden eyes, but his, the alpha, had the look of a fierce hunter. The retaking of the settlement was going well, but one must be cautious as one approached his end. Calmly receiving the report, the Two Spirits turned and retraced his steps, coldly calculating his next move.

Compared to humans, cordollians were long-lived. Moreover, they had a habit of migrating between habitats on a regular cycle. The long rainy season, with a cycle of about 87 years in space time, signaled their migration. And once the rainy season ended, the land where the Cordollians settled would gradually dry out and become habitable, only to return to barrenness in the next cycle.

This is why the first humans to settle the planet struggled to build a civilization. These invaders had ignorantly settled into the empty nests of the cordollians who had just migrated. So when the cordollian sent an advance party to the old nest to return, they were dismayed to find many weird-looking creatures had destroyed the nest and built a vast city. Wherever these aliens had come from, they must be so dumb to take up residence in the nest of a top predator, cordollians. Although one can admit it was amazing how quickly the humans settled in only one cycle.

At first, the Two Spirits thought about turning all those humans into meat and using them as a great food source, but then he changed his mind. If they were so adaptable and fertile, it was more profitable to use them as breeding stock.

Generally, not many female cordollians can contribute to the reproduction of the race. This was because the possibility of a new Two Spirits could lead to a split in the race. Producing only males was fraught with dangers. And in he first place, producing eggs was an energy drain.

Moreover, settlement is a labor-intensive endeavor, and any opportunity to gain additional labor, including race reproduction, is a good one. So the Two Spirits decided to take advantage of the long rainy season. And mixing his mutagen into the rain was the perfect way to mass-produce mutated cordollions.

Before entering the human cities, the water and winds that were the source of the rain would be mixed with the cordollion's powerful pheromones and the substance that would trigger the transformation. The foolish humans would be unprepared for the long, naturally occurring rainy season, much less for becoming cordollian mutants.

It was a very efficient method, especially since it allowed the cordollion to wipe out those who were immune to the viruses in their bodies, without allowing them to mutate.

In this way, The Two Spirits and his horde of cordollians silently exterminated the human race. In the center of the city, the top contributors, who lived in a relatively hygienic area, could not survive the pheromone rain and died. Only those exposed to unsanitary conditions on the outskirts of the city were able to survive.

The best part about creating mutants was that they were all males. Some of them, especially the older ones, tended to become breeders. Breeders could produce eggs and emit female-specific pheromones to attract males, although genetically, they still retained the traits of males. Because of this, mating between mutants was only between males, and only males could reproduce.

This was exactly what the Two Spirits wanted. Without the emergence of new females, to drive out the abominations that had trespassed on the nest and accept the useful ones as new kin. Furthermore, to allow them to reproduce amongst themselves, thus increasing the population of their kind without significant energy loss.

All had gone well, and now it was truly down to the last thing. The restoration of the structures and sites that humans had destroyed was well underway, and it wouldn't be long before the breeders were producing eggs.

The cordollians couldn't afford to lose much time, as they needed to make other arrangements for the care of the new eggs. With a nimbleness that belied his large size, The Two Spirits cut through the grass and returned to his nest.
PREV   ◆   TOC   ◆   NEXT



RELATED NOVELS: