Cadi, Chapter 8
Story by Cadi Carys on SoFurry
Imported from SF2 with no description.
Things went quite smoothly for about another week before something came across the news feeds that their tech team were monitoring. They had no access to the law enforcement systems, but they watched the news like hawks. There had been a lot of buzz around the disappearance of all of the furs. Some of that had been tinged with hopefulness that the crisis was now over, though those were rare, and only on highly conservative outlets. More often, it was people puzzling over where they'd all gone, and even concerns about Parson, who had publicly become a significant supporter of transhuman rights, and his disappearance along with all of the furs. There were even some outlets that speculated that he and the furs had been disposed of, because of the inconvenience they'd become.
Most of the news chatter was almost humorous, coming from the perspective of Tropico, knowing full well what the truth was. But what was concerning about the latest news report was a big fuss about the first known fur to appear after the disappearance of the others. With some digging, the team found that she'd been found in Louisiana and that after the disappearance of furs from the districts, she'd been taken to a prison deep in the state. This news triggered a bit of a crisis response within the leadership, causing all of the directors to meet to discuss what to do about this.
“We have to demand that she be turned over to us," the former EU director demanded, getting a general buzz of agreement from the others.
“More than that. We need to come to an agreement with the world governments that any furs be turned over to us," added the Pacific Northwest director.
It was the Chinese director's time to throw cold water onto the direction that the discussion was taking. “There are a lot of countries that would never agree to that. What's more, any country without a free press... we'll never know if a new fur appears within their borders. I wouldn't be surprised if a dozen furs hadn't been quietly secreted off in my former homeland in the time since we've all come here," he said, his tone glum.
That certainly brought the mood of the room down significantly, not helped by the Russian director adding, “Not to mention that if we reveal the existence of this island, there are nations out there who would view us as an active threat and an inherently hostile nation... and would search for us. Even if they'd have no chance of finding us, or harming us even if they did, it would make the world beyond our borders a very dangerous place for all of us... and could even lead to furs in some countries being executed on the spot, rather than shuffled off to a detention facility, as this woman in Louisiana has."
The room was quiet for a very long moment as they all processed that news. “Okay... so what we need is to get what furs there still are on the mainlands of the world... get them here... and figure out a way to get to new furs before the authorities do." Cadi breathed deeply, her tone very solemn.
Christine rubbed her eyes slowly, taking a moment to process this. “I've been working with some of the tech team to see what understanding we can get about the magic. Seeing what we can learn about it and the way it works. We're figuring out a recognizable energy signature for it... and we can't be certain, but every fur we've tested here on the island shares the same energy signature... and we wonder if furs who've never been here have an energy signature that we can recognize." She then crossed her arms on the table and then lay her head on them with a groan, “And then just comes the little logistical step of figuring out how to detect the energy signatures globally so that we can get to new furs quickly enough to keep them from being picked up by the authorities first..."
Cadi chuckled and rubbed Christine's shoulders, “Don't worry. We'll get it figured out. But I did kind of want to bring up one matter. We're going to need an agency to help us take care of furs around the world... and help with getting them settled into life here on the island. I know that the name we've agreed on for the island is Tropico... because it just fits the place... so what if it was the Tropico Outreach Agency?"
Everyone paused for a moment, recognizing that the acronym would be the same as for the old Transhuman Organization Agency... which was something that they, as a community, had rather hijacked from the oppressive bureaucratic intent that it had been saddled with by the humans who'd made the districts to contain the furs, and made it their own, working to help one another.
They all started laughing at the way that Cadi was completely making it their own, and when Christine pulled herself back together well enough to put it to a vote, there wasn't a single one of the members who had any problem with that suggestion. It would be a way for them to take something derogatory that they'd been saddled with, and make it something truly positive.
It was a little while before they finished out the plan of how to rescue the fur that had been found in California, to no small part because the tech team had wanted to get a scan of her before she was brought to the island. As such, they'd prepared a portable device to scan for magical auras, which they'd given to Cadi before she went through a door into the fur's cell.
Laying curled up on her bed (not yet asleep, but rather still in the process of crying herself to sleep) was the mouse that had been captured by the authorities. Cadi smiled softly and took a quick scan of her, tucking the device back away before she purred softly. “Hey there, hun... don't be afraid, I'm here to get you out of this place."
The mouse jumped and squeaked, quickly twisting around to put her back against the wall, looking around before staring up at Cadi with wide eyes, pressing tight against the wall. “What... who are you... what... I thought... all the other furs... vanished... please, don't eat me..." she stammered out, clearly in a blind panic.
Cadi purred softly, getting down into a bit of a squat as she looked into the mouse's eyes with her piercing, golden gaze. “Easy there... easy... I'm not here to hurt you... or eat you..." as much as you do look like a tasty little morsel, she thought to herself, “I'm here to rescue you. We've found a new home... just for our kind... where we don't have to worry about humans who hate you," she said, holding her hand out as she just did her best to radiate calmness to the mouse.
She did relax a little bit, the blind terror leaving her eyes, though she was definitely still afraid. “But... I just... I just want to be with my friends again... it's been so scary without them... and now I'm here... just a little mouse... and there are all of the predator furs..." she whimpered.
That got a little laugh from Cadi, who smiled and shook her head gently, “Humans don't like us... so they make up all sorts of nasty stories to make how they treat us easier for everyone to live with. We're all really nice on the island, and we look out for each other."
Her ear flicked a little as she brought a hand up to wipe the tears from her face. “Nice..." she said with a sniff, “I... am... what... am I going to need to do once I'm there? I don't... think I'd do well with a lot of jobs... and I'm not strong... I'm not really a... people person..."
“What you do is up to you. We don't force anyone to do a job that they aren't happy with. We've got plenty of food to go around... and lots of resources, so none of us need to worry about anything... and you don't have to worry about where to live," she said, just pouring calming energy into her voice.
There was another little sniffle, “It's... not going to just be... some tiny little... dingy apartment, is it?" That had been her worry for quite some time now, given what rents were like in LA, and what starting salaries were like, even for engineers.
Cadi smiled and shook her head, “No. We've got pretty nice houses, and you can even get them to make it the way that suits you," she said, holding her hand out to the mouse, “I'm Cadi. It's nice to meet you. I've even got a place you can stay while you get used to things on the island."
The mouse reached out and shook Cadi's hand, visibly much calmer than before. “Tamora-Lynn... but usually just Tammy," she said with a little smile, feeling the gentleness in Cadi's hand was making things... a lot easier. “So... how are you getting me out of here... and how did you get in here? I just... did you have some kinda secret tunnel you're going to use to get us out of the prison and then... what... to a car? A plane? A boat?"
Cadi smiled broadly at that, chuckling as she let go of Tammy's hand and stood up, turning toward the door, where she took hold of a door handle that hadn't been there before and opened the door. On the other side... oh that salt breeze and the smell of nature... the singing of birds and other small animals, and the very beautifully lit courtyard that had a weird kind of standing stone in the middle as some kind of an art installation, or something like that. “We go back the same way that I got here. With a bit of magic," Cadi said as she stood in the doorway there, holding her hand out to Tammy.
Tammy couldn't help but shiver a little at how nice it all looked on the other side of the door. She took a little breath as she reached out and took Cadi's hand, gripping it firmly, and letting the tigress lead her through the doorway into the cool night air of Tropico. She didn't even think about the door as it swung shut behind her, and she just looked... like a noose had been taken from around her throat. “Thank you..." she whispered.
As they stood there a moment, Dawn came up to the pair of them, beaming at Tammy, “Welcome!" she said before giving the mouse a great-big hug, just completely full of bubbly happiness.
Tammy squeaked and blushed a bit, but after a moment of processing what just happened, she returned the hug... and even leaned into it, nestling in against the sweet deer, who was doing a lot to help Tammy calm down and relax. After a long moment, the hug was interrupted by a loud growl from the small mouse's stomach. She blushed, and they all giggled as she looked up at the other two, her ears folded back, “I guess... I could do with something to eat... they don't really feed us that well in prison, and I haven't had much of an appetite," she said, taking a deep breath before she corrected herself, “Didn't."
Cadi smiled brightly, lifting her head to sniff at the air, “Smells like Carla's got some good food cooking for dinner tonight," she said with a little smirk, and Tammy found that she could pick up on the smell.
She didn't even ask where the food was or excuse herself, her little nose wiggling away as she wandered off, making her way toward the dining area, where Carla was just finishing up food for the little clifftop community of furs who needed to heal. There weren't very many right now. There was a very beautiful parrot, with vibrant colors, an otter, and a goldie already sitting at the table. When the goldie looked up and saw Tammy coming into the room, her face lit up and she waved the mouse over to the table.
Tammy blushed just so sweetly and came to the table, finding a spot to sit at it, “H...hi... I'm Tammy... and I'm... new here..." she said, her voice just so adorably meek. However, even that was just met with an overwhelming sense of warmth from the others at the table. The others quite happily introduced themselves as well. The parrot was Claire, the otter Lottie, and the very excitable goldie was Shawn. However, their introductions were cut off as Carla wheeled in a cart loaded with food.
Now, Tammy hadn't seen food this good in a long time. Even before she'd turned into a fur and been put in prison. This was an honest-to-goodness feast from her perspective. With the trouble she'd had with jobs, she'd not exactly thrived on food options. She made sure that everyone else had enough to dig into before she helped herself (an old habit that she would break with time), and she just... lost herself in how good the food was.
While Tammy ate with Dawn and Carla to look after her, Cadi stepped over to the palace to meet with the techies, pulling out the scanner to let them start analyzing what she'd found with Tammy's magical signature.
They quickly determined that, yes, Tammy's transformation was magical in nature, and even without ever having had direct contact with Tropico, her signature followed the same pattern. That was cause for a round of cheers among the magitech team, though... how to put this knowledge to good use was another big question.
They puzzled and struggled with it for hours until there was a soft knock at the door. Cadi got to her feet and went to see who it was. “Tammy! What brings you over here?"
The mouse smiled shyly, “I wanted to thank you... and Dawn said that you'd be here at the palace," she said, her eyes wide with wonder, “The town is so beautiful, I love it!" She was giddy and excited... which filled Cadi's heart with happiness.
But that wasn't it. As she started to take in her surroundings, her eyes took on a new sense of focus. “A computer lab like this here? That's some serious lifting power... what'cha need that for?" Her question was directed at the room in general, rather than exclusively to Cadi.
The lead tech, a black dog, replied, “Well, Cadi'd grabbed a scan of your magical signature when she picked you up, and it matches the magical signature of the other furs and the island. So, there's a recognizable signal that we could use to find other furs as they appear... but... we're having trouble figuring out how actually use that information in order to be able to get to them before the authorities."
Tammy pushed past Cadi to the whiteboard wall, looking over what they'd been playing with, silently taking it all in for a long moment. When she was done processing it all, she turned and looked at Cadi, “Dawn and I were talking... and she said you knew where to look for the island by looking at a map, yeah? So... something about the magic... can recognize maps..." she said, flipping a pen in her hand as she thought.
She turned to face the board, starting to sketch out an idea. “What if we were able to... set up a globe that we could put a filter tuned to the magic to scan... and then had the ability to pull up local maps for wherever flags on the globe to hone in on where we need to go?" She turned around, her face just so bright and lively.
The head tech raised his eyebrows, “That... is a lot simpler than getting satellites into orbit... which was my next best idea... I like this idea a lot... so, Tammy, think you'd be up to helping us figure out how to actually pull it off?"
The mouse was grinning from ear to ear as she rolled up her sleeves, “Just try to stop me."
Tammy quickly got to work with the team, showing a strong aptitude for tech as she chugged away. It was like she was even more attuned to the language of computers... and magic to a significant degree than she was overly skilled with communicating with other people. Within just a few days, they had a prototype ready to go. When they fired it up, the hyperwall they'd prepared to help process it just seemed to glow.
Christine's jaw dropped as she stared at the display, showing dots all over the world of matches to the magical signature. She took it all in as the computer processed the data points, the dots becoming accompanied by more detailed location data. She brought her hand up to rub her mouth. “So... even the governments didn't find everyone... there are... so many..." she said with a little laugh before she turned to look at Cadi, a lopsided smile on her face. “I think we're going to need more than just you and me to deal with this..."
Cadi was just as dumbfounded, her brain racing through how to get all of those furs taken care of and to safety. But, once again, it was Tammy to the rescue. “I've not only been working on the mapping. I've been working on how to interface with the magic for those who don't have the connection that you have and I've had a few good breakthroughs."
She turned and walked over to one of the tables, picking up a bracelet with a series of small gems along it. She brought it back over to Cadi and slipped it on, “This will allow people to tap into Nothing's magic without being tied more directly to him," she said as she was suddenly holding a cup of coffee in her hands, sipping gently on it before she set it down, looking very happy with it. “The crystals are the same kind of gem that we've used as filters for the surveillance system. They're attuned to the magic here. For the first batch, we had Christine channel Nothing's magic at for a while, but once we had one set of them attuned, we were able to use those to attune more crystals, ourselves."
Cadi was quite impressed, and as she internally turned her attention to Nothing, there was a sense of pride, so this clearly had Nothing's approval. She took a deep breath and looked at the screen with a much greater sense of peace. They could have a squad of agents to go handle all of that, and it wouldn't all be on her. She was very happy that she'd been able to get Tammy here safely. She was proving to be a truly invaluable member of the team.