Story 1, Entry 4

Story 1 Entry 4

 

“The mouse and the bunta”

 

     The governor then gestured for me to sit down at the corner of the large conference table. He took a seat next to me and pushed a drink to me. He then seemed to pause in thought before looking straight at me with the same purpose he had done when I first entered the room.

     “You live on one of the boarder systems. You know that we, I can not stop what the humans have done. They have unique qualities Koreth like the general will never see. Our people’s interest in them can not be changed. Despite the disruption from small extreme groups on both sides all the information I receive draws me to the same place. The humans have influenced our people with there ideas in ways no other species has been able to. It goes against five hundred years of tradition, but it won’t be stopped.” He started, looking down at his drink.

     “Sooner or later the Emperor will find out and his reaction will be swift, predictable and most likely violent. If I am to save my people and the humans, we need them. We need their unwavering support and despite what the general thinks we need their military. It’s the only chance we have to change the Emperor and the council’s thoughts on the matter.” He continued with a short taste from the glass.

     “Governor, I am a little confused or not properly informed. If you want, feel you need the humans political and military support, why did you refuse to allow them to send their own warships as escorts?” I asked after a moment to realize he was sharing with me thoughts not many others knew of.

     “Are you familiar with a small fur covered animal among the humans they call a mouse? It is a lot like the buntas we have on our home world, and others.” He said, looking at me with a smile. I shook my head no; I had not heard of this mouse.

     “They, like the buntas are small scavengers that hide and reproduce at a rapid rate to survive. This mouse animal has the most basic of instincts, it is very cautious of any thing new. They thrive in buildings with a water and food source and just like buntas are difficult to get ride of. Do you know the best way to capture them, all of them?” The governor asked, although the question seemed to just be a pause in his thoughts not intended for me to really answer. Again, I just motioned my head no.

     “They are over cautious and suspicious of anything new to their environment. If one entices them with a treat but then traps them. You will catch one or a couple, but the rest will learn that the treat means death and is to be avoided. So, you will have the remainder still in your house, still unable to catch or control them.” He continued with small color changes in his skin as he looked past me.

     “So, you offer the treat with out a trap. After they take it you give them more. You do this for a certain length of time. You allow them to become accustom to the treat. You teach them to become even dependent on it. Soon all the buntas in your house will come to the same spot, at the same time, expecting the same treat.” The governor said with a smile, turning his look back to me.

     “At that time, you set out the trap. At that moment you catch them all, at one time, you have them. You use patience and time. Two things the Imperium practices with reliable consistency. The humans know enough about our traditions to know that allowing military access from the very beginning would go against hundreds of years of policy. I think they are smart enough, have enough instincts just like the buntas, their mouse animals that they would be overly cautious, suspicious perhaps become hesitant. So, we will offer them the treat first. Then another. We will wait as they become comfortable with what we offer. We will wait until they come to expect it, want it, perhaps even feel they have earned the right to demand it.” The governor took another quick drink. He then leaned over to me. Looked into my eyes. It was then I saw the intense face of a Koreth that had been deep in planning for a long time.

     “Then we will let their military in. We will let them set up limited bases, in secrete. We will let them make a military commitment to us and we will let them think it was their idea, their wise planning. Then we will have them, all of them, all their support. They will be unwilling to give up the treats they have become so accustomed to and they will be willing to fight to keep them. We will have trapped them all.” He finished with a slow nod. He allowed a small smile and color change to a soft blue as he rose from his seat.

     The meeting was over, the purpose of it had already begun and I just now learned of my part in it.