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Chapter 2- Lumen's Story

“I was born the same way we all are I guess. Small, hairless, clawless, defenseless. Completely dependent on others for survival. I was raised by Grandmother Bear outside of Iceburgh, just to the North. Tiny town called Trapper's Keep. We had a cozy little cottage den. It was bear-sized. Everything was. Her whole family were bears, she'd had two daughters before me, both bears. And plenty of grand-cubs. They all embraced me as part of their own. She wasn't really my grandmother, she found me. Abandoned and alone. And she took me in and loved me. Raised me. She was the only family I ever knew. She died a couple years back.

Any way, I didn't realize I was different. Sure, some kids show signs of who they'll become when they're little, but plenty don't. And then we all came of age and one by one all my friends and classmates went through their transition. And I didn't. Grandmother took me to some doctors. I was growing up, becoming an adult, but I never changed. They didn't know why, small town doctors… you know."

Lumen sighed deeply. Her eyes had been fixed on her small hands the whole time. She fiddled with a ring, it was a heavy silver piece with a bear claw stamped into it. She didn't look up as she continued.

“Later she took me to a specialist in town here. He took some blood and tested it. Everything was normal enough. It was a week after that They showed up. They came at night, it was the cold part of the year and Grandmother was sleeping. They said I had to come with them. They said I was an abomination. I was theirs I was… I don't even know what. That's when I ran. I've been running ever since. Her daughters begged me to come back, and eventually told me that if I didn't want to come back, that I should stay away. Forever. It's been three years now, I wasnt-"

She made a small choking sound, like a hiccup caught mid way. She tilted her head up to the ceiling and inhaled, shaking.

“I wasn't there when Grandmother died. Eventually I got word from one of my old friends from town. She was sick. But I didn't make it back in time. And They were waiting". Lumen looked back at her hands.

Vincent did the only thing he could think to do and got up to make Lumen some tea. He turned on the electric kettle and fiddled with the selection of tea bags on the side desk. Eventually deciding on a nice herbal brew. She was silent as he brewed the tea and added a spoonful of sugar. He placed the teacup and saucer in front of her. With a quiet whisper of thanks Lumen picked it up and took a small sip.

“Anyway. That's when I started researching. I came across your book, the one about Anthropolis"

“Anthropolis?" Vincent asked “Where ever did you find that? I didn't think it was widely published. I mean, outside of the academic sphere".

“It wasn't. I made my way here and snuck into the University library. I found it there. Human Studies. I figured, maybe that's what I am. I know it sounds crazy but… here I am right? Humans have been extinct for a thousand years, but there was a line in your book. You said that it could be possible that maybe, somewhere, some humans had survived the great war and that maybe they were still out there. So I thought maybe you might know something and maybe you could help me find them. Maybe that's who I am."

Vincent was aghast. That line had been pure speculation. A nice way to wrap an otherwise tragic tale of genocide. A way of relieving some of the guilt that he and other Anthro academics felt about the fate of humanity, of their creators. It was patently impossible. Laughable in serious academic circles.

“My dear child, Anthropolis was a book about the first Anthro civilization, founded under the cruel reign of humans. And about our uprise. I've never found any possible evidence that-" He caught himself “Well, before today I'd never found any evidence. I study early Anthro-history. Not Human history. I'm sorry but I don't know if I can help you".

Lumen nodded, quietly sipping her tea and looking particularly small in his office chair. Vincent had never noticed how large the furniture in his office was. He was large for a badger, and there were plenty of his co-workers that were larger than he. But seeing a full grown human sit in his chair, he wondered how it was that such small weak creatures had at one time enslaved his people. She looked so small and helpless. On top of that there was something strangely intimate about seeing her face and hands, hairless and fangless. It was hard to put his claw on. That was when his academic wheels started turning.

Here, sitting in his office, drinking his tea, was a lead to what could be one of the greatest scientific discoveries in his lifetime. Maybe in a hundred life times. He'd be famous. He'd be published. He could even get tenure.

Vincent took a few deep breaths to steady himself. He needed a place to start. He needed to establish credibility first. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. And this was an extraordinary claim if he ever heard one.

“Did any of those doctors do a genetic test for you? To find out ancestry, maybe if you have any abnormalities?"

Lumen shook her head.

“Then I have a place for us to start".