The Nature of Predators

Memory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic

Date [standardized human time]: December 7, 2136

The war activities occupied the vast majority of my schedule, which was packed with diplomatic meetings. Even this stand-offish version of the United Nations sought as many allies as possible; humanity was determined to spin the narrative in their favor. There was a battle being fought on every communique, and every broadcast sent out over the airwaves. The liberation of millions of cattle, ironically from the sector that included the Krakotl, was a great victory.

Springing an Arxur Chief Hunter from a Sol-based prison hadn’t been my plan for the past week. The recollection of sharing a shuttle with Isif sent shivers down my spine. But in the moment, confronting him had been natural and easy. The knowledge that he possessed empathy for prey species further disproved what the Federation said about predators being unable to feel. It also meant the gray had done horrible deeds, with a conscience.

Somehow, that was the easiest discussion that I’d had all week, politically. The Sulean-Iftali alliance, self-declared speakers for converted “neutral” voters, had scheduled call-after-call with Federation species. None of these dialogues had gone anywhere, besides noncommittal agreements to reconsider their allegiance. Noah mentioned the bright idea of winning some species over with returned cattle.

Humanity had remarkable persuasion abilities, but I was losing hope. My only bet for a potential convert was the Thafki, a race which as of two days ago, had 12,000 members alive out of captivity. The sudden return of millions of cattle, swiped from under the Arxur’s nose in the battle sector, would bring them back to the bargaining table. Secretary-General Zhao mentioned helping them re-establish their society, and gifting them an independent settlement under UN protection. The idea was ingenious.

The Terran stampede and the sabotage caused us to lose two of our original allies. With the Thafki’s numbers, one individual getting blown up on a shuttle was important. As for the Sivkits…Ambassador Axsely left and never returned.

Noah waited at the hospital entrance, his helmet tucked under his shoulder. There hadn’t been much availability in my docket, to spend one-on-one time with the cattle rescues. The sight of the broad-shouldered human brought energy to my weary brain; unmistakable feel-good chemicals entered my bloodstream. When I was around the Terran ambassador, it was like all my troubles melted away.

“Noah!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him. A gravelly laugh gripped his chest, and he returned the gesture. “It feels like it’s been months.”

The predator smiled. “You saw me yesterday at the meeting with the Duerten.”

“You kicked me under the table the entire time.”

“Heh, sorry. Politics bore me, Tarva. I’m an astronaut, who loves studying the stars and the evolution of life.”

“And me.”

“And you, of course.”

The human placed one of his muscular arms across my shoulder, and I circled my prosthetic tail around his leg. It was hysterical to me that his ship’s arrival once had me ready to surrender my planet. Knowing Noah, those initial words would’ve horrified him and caused him to leave. Sara, meanwhile, would be the calming presence; her scientific curiosity would’ve prevailed long enough to ask us why we feared them.

I can’t imagine first contact with a different ending. I won’t let myself consider what would’ve happened if the astronauts disappeared and Earth…

The predators had become an integral part of my life. The galaxy would’ve never been privy to the Kolshians’ deceit in my lifetime, without humanity’s unwavering push for acceptance. I thought that I could never find someone who made me happy, after my marriage failed following my daughter’s death.

Noah’s emotions were indistinguishable from my own, at times; I cared about and experienced his feelings. The Terran occupied my thoughts at every waking moment. He said the sweet nothings that made my heart flutter, and did all the chivalrous things from his own culture. Our dynamic was proof that humans could feel love and be loved.

“How is Glim? You told me when you were riding back from Celgel Falls that he was warming up to you,” I said.

Noah’s face fell, and he steered us into a break room. Glim was the only Venlil rescue on this side of the hospital, where the humans wandered without concealment. I had no idea how we were going to share the news with the other cattle. The Gaians would have more lapses in their covers soon, if we didn’t divulge the truth. No offense to our friends, but they floundered at not acting predatory.

My beloved human had suggested that Glim could determine our delivery method, but I wasn’t sure the former exterminator was up to the task. He had screamed at Noah’s appearance, mere days ago at the train station.

“Haysi happened. Glim got her to open up, since she was unresponsive to us,” the Terran ambassador said. “Sara and I watched on a security feed, and Haysi seems to have…studied us. Our exterminator pal’s been detached and unforthcoming since. I could address Glim’s concerns, but I want him to ask me himself.”

I blinked in confusion. “What exactly did Haysi say?”

“That she ran some exhibit on humans called ‘Pure Evil.’ Tarva, we did all the things she mentioned. Abuse, cruelty, slavery, murder, and a thousand other things. Perhaps even you would recoil at Haysi’s compilation there.”

“…ah, that exhibit. I know the one, Noah, but I decided I didn’t need to ask about it. Humans came here trying to be better, and I commend that. The rest of the galaxy has our dark secrets too, which we don’t have the honesty to be open about.”

“I thank you for that understanding. But to Haysi, she has irrefutable proof that the human race is rotten. The Federation only recorded us at our worst; that’s well-established. How do we fight that? How do we win?”

“Show her the best side of you. As long as it takes, no matter how she treats you. It’s exactly what you’ve done with all of us. Despite everything that you’ve lost, you didn’t lose yourselves. I feared that you would.”

“What about Glim? I showed him everything already.”

“Now Glim needs to see the worst of you. He needs to reconcile those lows with what he was starting to believe. He must accept humanity at its ugliest, to love you at your best.”

“Fuck…it’s exhausting to be blamed for everything any of us has ever done wrong. To know that I am one wrong word away from all of my efforts unraveling.”

I peered into his brown eyes. “Not with me. Now as for the Duerten, I might have my speechwriter draft you something. Maybe portray humanity as shepherds of the cattle…hm, at least they agreed to a second talk. You’re the face of Earth, so—”

“Tarva. I don’t want to talk about politics, or Glim. I want to talk about us.”

My heart skipped a beat, as the predator squeezed my paw. His eyes had taken on a pleading quality, and I could see the lines on his forehead. When Noah was focused on me, the rest of the world faded into the background. Who knew that a human could be so hypnotic?

The Terran cleared his throat. “I know we’ve gone out a few times. Hell, I even cooked you dinner at my pad, and you pretended the canned asparagus tasted decent. Those are good memories, but I want something more.”

“N-noah, I’m busy. I’m sorry that I talk about work so often, and that I’m not more available.”

“You’re the leader of an entire planet. I understand that…but I want to be official. I want to take you to Earth, and use the UN’s bottomless diplomatic funds on a fancy dinner, for us. I want to whisk you around the city in a posh car, and share my culture with you in style. The two of us, as an item.”

“Official? People would laugh at us…”

“I don’t care what anyone thinks. Let them laugh! I had to travel across the galaxy to find someone who understood me, who was driven and compassionate. I want to spend my life with someone who completes me.”

“There’s so much going on, Noah. The war, everything at home, the galaxy upended...”

“That’s why I don’t want to waste a second. I want to show you where I trained to be an astronaut, and the park where I found constellations with my dad. I want to put a hammock on the beach, and watch a sunset together. Mostly, I just want to be with you.”

Noah’s hand drifted to my shoulder, and the other cupped my head. I didn’t understand why humans loved face-biting, but those predator instincts were old news to me. There was no fear from him moving closer, even as his warm breath set my heart on fire. For all the death that humanity’s arrival heralded, it was their bonding ability that defined their species to me. Love and emotion helped them triumph against adversity, as the entire galaxy opposed…

A mortified scream traveled from the doorway. “H-HELP! Noah is eating Tarva’s face! He’s b-biting her!”

The predator leapt backward, and raised his hands in confusion. Glim was parked at the doorway, having watched enough of our private moment. The Venlil’s ears were pinned in horror, and tears swelled in his eyes. His legs skittered on the tile, as he backed away.

Glim thinks he just saw proof that humans want to eat us. Clearly missed the context. Great.

“Noah and I are together. Humans bite on the mouth to show affection,” I said flatly.

“W-what?! You’re…d-dating him?” A series of emotions flashed across the exterminator’s face. He seemed more mortified than before. “But he looks like a shaven runt!”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Venlil flattery is as strong as ever. You know how to make a man feel special.”

“T-tarva, h-human…h-human males hit the females of t-their species. You c-can’t trust his ‘love.’ It’s all in Haysi’s archive…”

Glim slumped his shoulders, and his ragged body quivered from head to toe. Noah narrowed his eyes, before moving toward the exterminator. A pitiful squeak came from the Venlil rescue, and his crying escalated to a downpour. Haysi’s shared atrocities had left Glim terrified of the Terran ambassador; it felt like regression, right after improvement was attained.

Despite how frustrating it should be for him, my Noah was as patient as ever. He stopped in his tracks, and gestured for me to join him. I knew this human wouldn’t physically harm me; it was absurd to imagine that Noah Williams would even think of hitting anyone. His long-suffering demeanor and concern for others were enough, but he also cared about me deeply.

Noah would take a predator’s bite for me if he had to. He’s never done anything but place me on a pedestal.

“Glim, you hear about one human doing something and apply it to all of us.” The “Gaian” ambassador pursed his lips, and flared his nostrils. “Abuse is not societally accepted; it’s illegal and considered disgusting to normal Terrans. Even if it weren’t, I’d rather have my nails peeled off than have anything happen to Tarva.”

I perked my ears up. “Noah and I went to a boardwalk here, and it started raining. He gave me his jacket to put over my head, so I could stay warm and dry. I told him not to do it, but he made sure he got soaked—not me.”

“T-they’re just pretending to b-be nice to manipulate you. Haysi t-told me…about humans t-trading each other like property.”

Something changed in Noah’s expression. “My ancestors were the ones treated like goods, and shipped across the globe inhumanely, with no regard for basic dignity. Worked, beaten, and raped to the breaking point for centuries. Don’t you dare bring my name into that.”

“What?” I tilted my head at him in concern. “I didn’t know any of this.”

“Of course not, because look where I am today, Tarva. I am proof that we’re not the species from Haysi’s capsule. Things can change. Humanity has changed, and admitted the barbaric mistakes of our past.”

“H-how can you just accept that…was done to you?” the rescue stammered.

“Oh, you shouldn’t accept injustice, Glim. You should feel sick and angry at everything in Haysi’s exhibit; I do too.”

“But w-why? Why would humans treat your own people like p-possessions?”

“It wasn’t dissimilar to the Federation’s spiel. Wrapped in a veneer of ‘science’ and morality, to infer lesser attributes on people who looked like me. Rationalized bigotry isn’t an Earth-exclusive ideology.”

Glim recoiled. “What are you t-talking about?!”

“The omnivores deserved to be ‘saved’ and ‘cured’, right? Predators’ lives are worth nothing? I’m not engaging in whataboutism; it’s horrible, and that’s unequivocal. I’m just saying we’re all guilty of this savagery.”

The Venlil exterminator’s shaking had ceased, and a tinge of relief dotted his gaze. I wondered to myself if Glim thought he’d face punitive actions for touching these subjects. Noah’s points had struck a chord even with myself; humans weren’t the only ones who could be blind to their own hatred. Evil was rooted in a web of complex lies that transcended the individual.

“I don’t want to be manipulated!” the Venlil wailed. “I don’t want you to be pretending…using me.”

A frown stretched across Noah’s face. “I just want to help you, Glim. I wish it wasn’t so hard for you believe that.”

“W-we’re scoring you points in the war.”

I swished my tail. “The humans wished to end the Arxur’s cattle farming, long before they were at war with the Federation. Their generals had plans to free you, which were sidetracked by constant plots against Earth.”

“Exactly. Haysi thinks we’re vicious pretenders, and she won’t let us tell her otherwise. But even if you don’t trust me, you know there’s more to us than…pure evil.”

The rescue fell into stony silence. “You knew.”

“Of course we did. We were worried about Haysi, and we couldn’t risk her hurting herself.”

“Noah hoped you would trust him enough to ask him. You did well,” I jumped in.

“I want to feel safe,” Glim croaked. “I…I can’t convince the other cattle when I haven’t convinced myself.”

“It took all of us a long time to trust them. You’ve had a few days, from knowing only that predators are evil. I can tell you Noah has the deepest sympathy for you.”

The predator chuckled. “And Noah can vocalize his own emotions. I’m here to support and comfort you, Glim. You can talk to me about anything, and I want you to know that. I will never lie to you, so listen now. You are safe.”

“…even if I d-don’t help the other cattle?“

“If you want to help us, that is your decision. You are in control of you—stop calling yourself cattle. You are a person with autonomy to us, and no human is planning to subjugate you. Not now, not later, not ever.”

“Okay. N-not cattle. Gaians…c-caretaker.”

Glim was desperate for Noah not to be proven a monster; I could see it in his eyes, plain as day. The human advanced once more, and the rescue allowed himself to be embraced. Haysi was another issue, but one rescue was willing to see through the ugliness. It mirrored my own realization, on that first interaction, that the Terrans had a beautiful side to them.

If the predators could work past their worst moments with a former exterminator, there was hope to get through to other rescues. To me, this was a positive omen for the program’s future success. It would be an enormous boost for Earth’s diplomatic standing to get these liberated souls on our side.