Mayor said. ‘We can very easily kill you.’
‘Please, it’s too late for such hard-talk, Mr Gio. I’m sure you’ve killed lots of people, but I’m tired and I haven’t even had a cup of coffee tonight. Besides, you’re incorrect on both counts.’ Santiago turned to the glass panel, peered into the other room. ‘They’re not Qe Falta.’
‘Santiago, I see muskets. This isn’t the time for you to turn into a professor,’ Manolin whispered. Santiago smiled, winked as if to say, It’s okay, it’s all a game. Just tough guy talk.
‘Mr DeBrelt,’ Mayor Gio said, ‘you seem confident. Let me remind you that because of your political activities you’re constantly being watched. Your little band of Collectivists may be underground now, but we still watch you.’ Then, ‘So, may I ask why I’m wrong on both counts?’
Manolin frowned. He knew Santiago was against the capitalist mechanisms of Escha-always said so in late night rants over a beer-but not that he was an active Collectivist. That political movement was forced underground years ago. The word was rarely heard these days. You more or less did what you were told in this city-for a quiet life-and being a Collectivist was far from that. Pure communism didn’t sit well with a right wing government, such as the one Gio led.
‘You may,’ Santiago said. ‘You see, you’ll not fill me with shot, as I’m the only one who has the faintest idea what these creatures actually are. And on the second count of your wrongness, sir, they are not Qe Falta.’
Mayor Gio turned to his entourage of several broad men. A couple of them shook their heads at him, shrugged.
‘Not Qe Falta, you say?’ the Mayor asked.
‘No. Everything on these creatures is natural and has evolved for a reason. Nothing has been grafted on by weird science. You do of course know why they’re called Qe Falta, Mr Gio?’
The Mayor was silent, his eyes perfectly still, regarding Santiago.
‘They’re called Qe Falta since the accurate translation is the false people. They live in the desert, with whatever poor features that have been bolted on by crack-pot genetics. Wings where there shouldn’t be, four arms where there should be two-that sort of thing. Genetic freaks, and labelled so. What you see here is totally real, even though you’ve sliced them open to discover this. Trust you to think them outlaws. Not that there is anything wrong with the Qe Falta anyway. Unlike you they actually look after our lands, our environments.’ His eyes turned to the window that faced the chimneys.
‘Please, shut up. The Qe Falta are evil, everyone knows that.’ Gio’s face reddened. ‘Plain and simple ghouls. So, what are these things then?’
‘Ichthyocentaur, I think,’ Santiago said, excitement clear on his face. ‘Men and women who lie somewhere between a dolphin and a human, in the great tree of life. You can see that they possess a tail suitable for a marine habitat and a skin ideal for diving. The rest of their body is like you and I, Mr Gio, like you and I. And you have butchered them. I wouldn’t imagine anything else from fascist fellows, such as yourself.’ He smiled.
There was a pause while everyone took in this information. Manolin nodded. He remembered an old book or a lecture or something. He rested his elbow on his hand to prop up his chin. Santiago and Mayor Gio still held each other’s gaze.
Santiago broke the silence. ‘One thing puzzles me though. They’re meant to be extinct. They should’ve died out during the Rebellion to Science, during the last age. Then, too, they were suspected of being Qe Falta. Where’d they come from?’
‘We were hoping that you could tell us that,’ the Mayor said. Santiago turned around and nodded. ‘Did they come with anything? Clothes or food? Anything of that nature?’ ‘All they came with is on the table on the side of the room. There were a couple of fruits and little else. The only thing to note was a
‘Please, it’s too late for such hard-talk, Mr Gio. I’m sure you’ve killed lots of people, but I’m tired and I haven’t even had a cup of coffee tonight. Besides, you’re incorrect on both counts.’ Santiago turned to the glass panel, peered into the other room. ‘They’re not Qe Falta.’
‘Santiago, I see muskets. This isn’t the time for you to turn into a professor,’ Manolin whispered. Santiago smiled, winked as if to say, It’s okay, it’s all a game. Just tough guy talk.
‘Mr DeBrelt,’ Mayor Gio said, ‘you seem confident. Let me remind you that because of your political activities you’re constantly being watched. Your little band of Collectivists may be underground now, but we still watch you.’ Then, ‘So, may I ask why I’m wrong on both counts?’
Manolin frowned. He knew Santiago was against the capitalist mechanisms of Escha-always said so in late night rants over a beer-but not that he was an active Collectivist. That political movement was forced underground years ago. The word was rarely heard these days. You more or less did what you were told in this city-for a quiet life-and being a Collectivist was far from that. Pure communism didn’t sit well with a right wing government, such as the one Gio led.
‘You may,’ Santiago said. ‘You see, you’ll not fill me with shot, as I’m the only one who has the faintest idea what these creatures actually are. And on the second count of your wrongness, sir, they are not Qe Falta.’
Mayor Gio turned to his entourage of several broad men. A couple of them shook their heads at him, shrugged.
‘Not Qe Falta, you say?’ the Mayor asked.
‘No. Everything on these creatures is natural and has evolved for a reason. Nothing has been grafted on by weird science. You do of course know why they’re called Qe Falta, Mr Gio?’
The Mayor was silent, his eyes perfectly still, regarding Santiago.
‘They’re called Qe Falta since the accurate translation is the false people. They live in the desert, with whatever poor features that have been bolted on by crack-pot genetics. Wings where there shouldn’t be, four arms where there should be two-that sort of thing. Genetic freaks, and labelled so. What you see here is totally real, even though you’ve sliced them open to discover this. Trust you to think them outlaws. Not that there is anything wrong with the Qe Falta anyway. Unlike you they actually look after our lands, our environments.’ His eyes turned to the window that faced the chimneys.
‘Please, shut up. The Qe Falta are evil, everyone knows that.’ Gio’s face reddened. ‘Plain and simple ghouls. So, what are these things then?’
‘Ichthyocentaur, I think,’ Santiago said, excitement clear on his face. ‘Men and women who lie somewhere between a dolphin and a human, in the great tree of life. You can see that they possess a tail suitable for a marine habitat and a skin ideal for diving. The rest of their body is like you and I, Mr Gio, like you and I. And you have butchered them. I wouldn’t imagine anything else from fascist fellows, such as yourself.’ He smiled.
There was a pause while everyone took in this information. Manolin nodded. He remembered an old book or a lecture or something. He rested his elbow on his hand to prop up his chin. Santiago and Mayor Gio still held each other’s gaze.
Santiago broke the silence. ‘One thing puzzles me though. They’re meant to be extinct. They should’ve died out during the Rebellion to Science, during the last age. Then, too, they were suspected of being Qe Falta. Where’d they come from?’
‘We were hoping that you could tell us that,’ the Mayor said. Santiago turned around and nodded. ‘Did they come with anything? Clothes or food? Anything of that nature?’ ‘All they came with is on the table on the side of the room. There were a couple of fruits and little else. The only thing to note was a
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