Fountain of Youth: prologue.
Prólogo da história colaborativa que estou escrevendo.
Se 03 Set 2012 19:30:22 BET Years after the discovery of the Fountain of Youth, animals started to study it's water in several ways and found out that it was extremely easy to manipulate it's proprieties. The water was simple, once it was understood, and "water of youth" started being commercialized at low prices. The water that was able to regress the age of those who bathed in it was largely used for both cosmetic and therapeutic purposes. Those were happy days in Fenária and the inhabitants of the island were free from most of the known diseases. The water seemed to act on virus and bacteria as well. One of the known side effects of the water was a short time of infertility and it kept these micro-organisms from multiplying. The ill furry just needed to drink from the water and wait a few days until all the virus or bacteria were dead; their population would be limited and these invaders could only disappear if they couldn't multiply. Of course, it would also act over good micro-organisms necessary to the wellness of the ill furry, so the most efficient method was strategic injection of the water over affected spots. The water had two applications: bath and consumption. By bathing, the body would regress to an younger state, but it would be temporary and the body would gradually age back to the previous state during sleep. Drinking, injecting and other means of putting water inside the body locked the current age of the furry, making him unable to age. It was a crime, however, to regress someone against their will and an even worse crime to regress and lock up the age of said someone; the reverting process of the "age lock-up" was complicated, long and expensive. It was also discovered that bottling up the water to sell it wouldn't work; the proprieties of the water would wear off after twenty-four hours away from the source, so the water had to be bought nearby the fountain and applied there. Still, nothing too expensive, because the amount of water taken from the fountain would be instantly replenished by inexplicable ways, so the fountain would never be completely drained. But, somehow, it was. One day, when the scientists woke up to check the fountain for a new research, the water was gone. Because it couldn't be bottled, there were no other reserves of it. A group of skilled animals was hired to solve the mystery, but no information could be extracted from the happening. There was only one thing they could do now: ask help to the population. A high, huge reward was offered to anyone who could give the localization of the water, but no one came with an answer before the following twenty-four hours were over. So, the scientists deduced that the water, by then, was already invalid and without it's mysterious proprieties and effects over the age of the consumer. Fenária was, once again, at mercy of the recently cured diseases (now incurable
again), that threatened to come back after the advanced medicine based on the water from the fountain was now in the past. The animals were scared and irate and the hunt for the responsible started everywhere, in every village and in every community. Not only scientists and philosophers were in it, but also priests and normal animals, talking animals, anthropomorphic animals, centaurs and humans. No one was up to forgive and forget whoever did that. Chaos ensued. For almost one month, animals from all species wanted to rip someone apart and the government of the island was pressed constantly. The thief was never found and, eventually, everything calmed down... except for a few animals who were still trying to find out what happened and the government, of course, to bring justice to the island. But, for the most part, the things returned to their state before the discoveries about the fountain. But it didn't last long. One night, a rain started over the whole island. It was a familiar water. After that rain, all animals seemed to regress constantly to childhood. It was clear that the water from the fountain precipitated over Fenária for some reason. The water leaked to pounds, rivers and even the sea. So, all the water reservoirs were "contaminated" with the miraculous water. Some readers may think it was a good thing. It wasn't for most animals: now everyone regressed to the state of cub and, because the water had leaked to the reservoirs, the age lock-up started to affect the continuously regressing population, putting the regression into a halt. The proprieties of the water were changed somehow: it not only could regress indefinitely (unless you drank it), but seemed to resist time passage. In a matter of days, all animals were fully contaminated, now ranging from age 2 to 11. The sudden happening brought up the issue again. No one knew what to do. Now, without adults around, Fenária was powerless against the dangers from the Zero Island and the Hemispheres. It would be the worst moment possible to jump in a war! Again, the reward was offered, now raised even. Since everyone lacked physical strength, coordination and emotional maturity, hope seemed to be lost. Some of the cubs teamed up to find out what happened. The government, now powerless, decided to do the same; the population wouldn't listen to it any more as the authorities proven to be useless in finding the thief. Now, with nothing else left to do, everyone started to act on their own, motivated by their own ideals and objectives, but most of them converged in a single subject: revenge.