The Nature of Predators - Omnivore Miniseries (5/8)

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Memory transcription subject: Wullara, Iftali Priesthood of the Consecrated Order

Date [standardized human time]: November 9, 2136

A grating noise, like the scraping of two stones, jolted me from my slumber. A predator was curled up on the floor, and his vicious mouth hung agape. Bright pink gums surrounded his teeth, which sported a worrying amount of saliva. The airflow sounded like the beast was growling in his sleep.

Was Jordan dreaming about hunting? Perhaps it smelled my blood in its slumber? The human’s throat tissue vibrated thunderously, and I gasped in alarm. His eyes snapped open, before his head jerked up on reflex. Whether his soul was gone or not, this was a hunter incarnate.

“Wullara?” the predator groaned. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

I raised my aching head. “You w-were growling…w-while…”

A cacophonous roar shook Jordan’s chest, while he bared his canines. The translator implant decided the human was laughing, but his barks sounded threatening. My legs spasmed with terror, and I rolled off the couch in a panic. His amusement died down.

“Sorry! I wasn’t growling,” he said quickly. “I was snoring.”

I shuddered. “T-that forcefully? You sounded like you were evacuating your lungs!”

“Well, we can’t all be perfect. Didn’t mean to scare you off. Are you alright?”

“…splendid.”

Jordan struggled to his feet, and indulged in a slow stretch. The predator arched his spine, extending his arms toward the sky. His binocular eyes squeezed shut, and he pressed a fist in front of his opening maw. The beast exhaled a lethargic hum; I warily determined this was a yawn.

Even killing machines need to rest. Carrying me must’ve tuckered him out.

The human knelt by my side, and I flinched as his hands helped me up. The nagging question of why he traveled to Jild returned to my mind. There was no doubt the Terran had shown kindness, beyond what I’d have ventured he was capable of. Didn’t the predators just want fodder for their anti-Federation, anti-life army?

Maybe his sapient side was entranced by our beliefs, and he felt compelled to seek purpose. Humans could be taught to emulate morality, which meant it was worth humoring the beast.

“There you go.” Jordan moved me back to the couch, and sat beside me. His proximity was both mind-numbing and unsettling. “I assume you still want to know why I’m here?”

My fur tingled with discomfort. “Yes.”

“Okay then. I’m a priest like yourself. I’m here on behalf of the Catholic Church, which is one sect of a religion called Christianity.”

“…auras. Humans have faiths?”

“Of course we do! I mentioned a scripture verse while I was protecting you. Did you forget?”

“I…I guess, Jordan. D-does your religion encourage d-death and power?”

“My faith is radically pacifist and non-violent, I assure you. It also takes a disparaging view of greedy individuals and murder.”

“Okay. W-well, you have a religion already. W-why learn about ours?”

“Proper outreach requires understanding other beliefs.”

“Outreach? You’re s-seeking converts for predator dogma?!

“I’m here to spread the tenets of my faith to your world. However, I’m not intending to force my beliefs on anyone; only people who wish to hear my teachings will.”

Jordan was serious in his declaration, and his pupils scanned my reaction. While I had no interest in adopting any Terran faiths, I was darkly curious what predators believed in. The humans must’ve cultivated a morality system around hunting together; their ideologies couldn’t be non-violent in our sense of the word. Earth’s wars reflected that pacifism wasn’t their dominant belief.

I cleared my throat. “And these ‘faith tenets’ are…?”

“Love and forgiveness,” he answered. “Pretty much every human religion is based around love, duty, purity, good deeds, or obedience.”

“You have multiple religions on your world?”

“We do. I encourage anyone to research all beliefs, and decide for themselves. Faith is a deeply personal journey, that we all must come to our own conclusions on.”

“But one of these faiths must be dominant. One must appeal to a common belief system or need above the rest.”

“Wullara, humans agree on very little. Even within my own faith, or other religions’ umbrella, there are different customs and interpretations. Supplementary texts with debated canonicity…levels of orthodoxy…holidays and rituals.”

“That’s nonsensical. To look at the same belief system, and rather than working together to reach a consensus, fracturing your faith?!”

“Humans cannot reach consensus with our peers, more often than not. That’s why we break down on the geopolitical scale too. Most wars were fought over ideological differences. Call us stubborn, or predatory, if you like.”

Jordan’s explanation left me dumbfounded, though it was more reassuring than innate bloodlust. As someone whose religion played a pivotal role in her life, I could understand why it was a sensitive subject. How heated would my Order get with constant in-fighting? Humans’ political fracturing meant they took every belief as a serious matter.

It was remarkable that multiple faiths could maintain hearty followings, on one world. Also, the Terrans’ core principles weren’t predatory as I assumed; purity and love were values my religion would espouse. Jordan was not the slavering beast I imagined humans to be. His viewpoint was both reasonable and non-confrontational.

“I expected you to be…hungrier. Meaner,” I admitted. “Singing the praises of war, and mocking the weak.”

The human’s lips curved down. “You’d be surprised by the peaceful messages that you’ll find in my beliefs. Such as…love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you?”

“Ha. You’re making these up. That’s not in a predatory religion.”

“I assure you, it is. We’re not that different. There’s a human belief called Jainism that views food very similar to you, as I understand it. They’ll even go as far as to avoid stepping on bugs.”

“Now you’re just mocking me.”

“On the contrary.”

“Whatever. What other beliefs are there on Earth, predator? Why aren’t they here like you?”

“Others are here, of course. This is a missionary’s dream! Schools of Islam and Buddhism have sent teachers to Jild and other alien worlds. Us Catholics aren’t the only sect of Christianity you’ll encounter either.”

“That’s a lot of starbound factions. It’s odd that we never heard about humans like you from your sla…friends.”

“Various churches wanted to spread our truths from the start. It’s, um, a long story why aliens haven’t heard about our beliefs before now.”

I snorted. “I have time.”

Jordan’s beady eyes darted back and forth, and he debated his next words. Come to think of it, there were unusual aspects to this moral teacher’s approach. The predator had been non-specific about his faith, using generic values as a descriptor. He hadn’t specified their practices, or how their faith was founded. It was like he was dancing around a particular caveat.

Why is he so dodgy? A priest should be falling over himself to share his mythology.

The Iftali were all too quick to warn people of hedonism’s perils; the afterlife played a crucial role in our beliefs. The supernatural element was what was missing from the human’s discussion. Were Terrans a species that had deities, or one that took a cyclical view of the universe like us? Why hadn’t the Venlil learned of such diverse philosophies?

“The United Nations viewed religion as a subject that could harm our standing with the Venlil.” Jordan narrowed his eyes, which sent a shudder down my spine. “At first, they banned all ‘proselytizing’ from the exchange program, and barred anyone with known religious employment from traveling.”

“W-what?! Why?!” I squealed. “Earth d-doesn’t allow…religious expression?”

“Freedom of religion is patently in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 2115 Nairobi Accords too. UN Emergency Order 56 transcended all other concerns, however.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“That order prohibited anything ‘predatory’ from being shown in alien communications. Including fundamentally human drives, culture, and yes, religion. The SecGen denied all requests for religious expeditions.”

“S-so you’re here illegally, and your government is angry and hunting you, and they’re going to have bombs and guns—”

“Slow down, Wullara. Religious entities worked together to mount an appeal, and of course, we won. It was a violation of our basic freedoms. I wish the stall tactics ended there.”

“They tried to ban your mission again?”

“It’s complicated. The UN wanted us to submit religious materials, and have them censored of all ‘violent themes.’ Given that the central tale of my religion is our holy figure dying for our sins, you might see the problem.”

I took a moment to digest the predator’s account. Jordan predictably mentioned something about his religion centering on death, but the reason given was odd. Did humans think they were just as depraved and monstrous as the wider galaxy saw them? That was an impressive level of self-awareness, if so.

Even ancient, fallen predators regretted their sorry state, and their twisted evolution. I wonder how old that…Jainism group is?

“Your government sounds oppressive,” I decided.

Jordan blinked. “Sometimes, it’s like Meier saw his own people as a threat, for existing. I’m glad that we won our case.”

“Me too. You’re, um, not as horrible as I expected.”

“For all that predator talk, I’m decidedly harmless. The most dangerous thing I do is lighting candles, and apparently, snoring.”

I laughed in spite of myself, and the human released a teeth-baring roar again. His gruff cackles renewed my fear, but it was less petrifying this time. The Terran priest’s gaze twinkled at my improved trust. While this expression was identical to hunger, for once, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Jordan did look harmless enough, if his facial extremities were concealed. Those hands specialized in object manipulation, not ripping out throat flesh. The human nose was long and full of cartilage, lacking skill at sniffing out prey. The absence of fur made their skin look babyish, and perhaps was the reason the Venlil warmed to them.

The creature shifted on the couch, and tilted his head. Growing up with Sulean neighbors, I was used to reading the body language of another species. This Terran priest was noticeably more relaxed than before. Had the predator worried about frightening me? Why would he care what I thought of him?

“I think I was meant to be here, to save you,” Jordan said. “You still have a purpose, Wullara. For some reason, I feel like you needed to hear that.”

“I did…actually,” I murmured.

“You’re having a crisis of faith; I can see it in your eyes. It’s natural to question your beliefs during hardship. When Earth was bombed, I was deeply hurting. I asked God how he could let such a thing happen.”

“Billions of humans dead…it must have been inconceivable. I…I know what it’s like to have everything crash down in an instant. How could you come to terms with such loss?”

“I accepted that I don’t have all the answers. I choose to believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe that tragedy brought me here, so I can help someone else with their suffering. Do you want to talk about your pain?”

“Oh, Jordan, I feel so alone. The entire community despises me and blames me, but I know as much as any of them. All of my friends have deserted and discarded me. I have nobody left!”

“Everyone hasn’t left you. I’m your friend. I’ll be here as long as you need me.”

A tremor passed through my skin, but I gently pushed my snout against his chest. Strong bone constituted his ribcage, along with fabric that wrinkled beneath pressure. The massive predator moved slowly, keeping his fleshy appendage in my periphery. Jordan patted my shoulder, with quiet affection.

Would it be strange to refer to humans as sweet creatures? This predator’s actions were nothing but thoughtful and compassionate. He’d outright explained his disagreeable, violent ancestry to me, yet I was starting to feel safe in his presence. He’d saved my life, and there was no ulterior motive I could find for his empathy.

Cilany’s revelation didn’t mean as much to me, for the first time in awhile. Lying to myself wasn’t going to shake the doubts in our legitimacy. There had been no social safety net to fall back on, if my religion was proven a falsehood. Jordan’s friendship brought tears to my eyes. It was the solace I didn’t know I needed.

The human reclined back on the couch, keeping my head nestled firmly against his chest. He yawned again, but I diverted all my brain power to quelling the fear. It was just teeth, of a creature that must have a soul. Maybe it would be alright to let the sleepy Terran rest, and soak in his comforting warmth. I dozed off in Jordan’s arms, hoping he wouldn’t snore.

Something jostled my shoulder from the serene darkness; whatever was ripping me out of this blissful reverie was unwelcome. I felt groggy, unwilling to relinquish my rest. The muffled barks of a beast persisted, which forced my eyes to blink open. An acrid scent tickled my nose, and gray wisps swirled around me.

Jordan shook me harder. “WULLARA! WAKE UP!”

“S-stop yelling!” I screamed.

“The church is ON FIRE! I think this calls for yelling!”

“W-what?”

“The chapel is completely ablaze! Back door’s been set off by some sort of accelerant, too. There’s gotta be another way out…a window?”

My eyes processed the flames dancing across the curtains. The meditation room door was being melted from the other side, blackening to a crisp. Heat closed in on us, as fire began to hop across the furniture. Smoke coalesced near the roof, like a sickly vapor. I had the awareness to tug Jordan onto his hands and knees; crawling should limit our inhalation.

“The l-loft access in the consultation hall. A room away from here, but I don’t know if it’s safe!” I coughed.

Jordan gulped to steady himself. “Okay. We go together.”

Soreness clamped down on my muscles, as the predator herded me out of the room. Smoke tendrils curled up around us, shrouding our surroundings in grayness. What could have started this inferno? It was unlikely both exits had simultaneously gone up in flames, mere hours after the protest. This must be a deliberate act of arson.

The Iftali with the flamethrower, maybe. Or the Sulean that picked it up…

The human labored down the hallway, and ignored my yelps from his vicelike grip. Sweat was dripping down his forehead; wetness was staining his black chest-pelt as well. We were both overheating from the environmental conditions. What if his head was getting dizzy from the smoke too?

“I’ll climb up to check it out, then pull you up.” A brief glint of fear flashed in Jordan’s eyes, before vanishing. That emotion must’ve been a figment of my imagination. “We’re going to get out of here.”

The Terran struggled to his feet, and I noticed his breathing had become erratic. His knuckles whitened as he latched onto the access ladder, and climbed toward the loft area. He moved with urgency; his foot covering almost slipped off a rung. The predator hauled himself up with a grunt, and ducked back into the alcove.

Jordan scurried around, searching for an object to extend down to me. Perhaps he was looking for a way to bust out the skylight behind him as well; the glass barrier wasn’t going to break itself. The human secured a fire poker from the mantle, and circled back toward the ladder. His white teeth were visible through the smog.

A deafening crackle arced through the roof, and a support beam plummeted from its perch. Horror consumed me, as the wooden debris landed right where the predator was standing. Sparks leapt from the rubble, and the loft was turned ablaze.

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A/N - Part 5 of the miniseries! Jordan details his religious beliefs, while also giving us an overview on the UN's handling of the topic. Wullara reacts positively to the priest's insight, and begins to warm to him. However, someone hostile to the Church opts to burn it down...with our duo inside...

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