[Vfw-times] Critter-Man: Interlude

[Oren Otter]

Critter-Man
interlude

	Lady Tieren stared in disgust at the specimen which lay in the nutrient
tank before her.  Humans were miserable creatures, really.  Horrible,
wretched creatures with bare skin and weak senses, who insisted on covering
themselves with layers of ridiculous fabrics.  The one she had captured was
respected among his species as a scholar and a healer, and yet his
intelligence paled in comparison to her own.  Pathetic, really, like all
humans.
	But there was one thing Lady Tieren loved about humans.  Those 23 pairs of
chromosomes were so incredibly adaptable.  At times, she felt inclined to
believe the old stories about humans being used as the templates for all
the sentients in the galaxy.  Almost, but not quite.  She wasn't ready to
believe that such a wonderful being as she might be descended from such a
pitiful wretch as this.
	Of course, there were those here on Earth who did pose some small danger
to her plans.  Not to herself, personally, of course.  She could never even
conceive of that possibility.  But there were a handful.  There was that
metallic refugee from the newly extinct planet Teknar.  There was the
energy being and his tiny little companion.  But there were two who
threatened her more than any.
	The yuan-ti were not much individually, but they had their disgusting
tentacles in every center of paranormal activity on the planet.  If they
ever learned of her experiments or her plans, they would most certainly
become an insurmountable obstacle requiring a rather messy elimination
which would result in unwanted exposure.
	Then there was that one paranormal.  The one they called Critter-Man.  He
was beautiful, of course.  Even Tieren had to concede that she herself
could not have designed a creature more awesome.  Human and alien DNA
locked in a dance of balance and counterbalance to the elimination of any
outside manipulation.  She marveled at how the human healing process
metabolized the alien metabolism, diverting the energy and nutrients used
for budding into rebuilding the body, and how the alien side would prevent
the return to humanity by constantly reasserting itself, maintaining that
crucial balance.  Oh, yes, he was a beautiful piece of work.
	But more than that, he was intelligent.  That half-human wonder possessed
a capacity for reason beyond most of his species.  He could deduce things
others could not even guess at, and he specialized in the paranormal, much
like herself.  This was of course, augmented by the fact that he had become
telepathic.  Oh, it wasn't a true telepathy.  It was the alien part of its
mind seeking to link with its collective, which of course did not exist on
this planet.  It did, however, enable him to link minds with those who ARE
telepathic, and to learn things to which normal humans were not privy.
	"Oh, but you'll take care of that, won't you, my pretty?"  She purred as
she ran a claw along the glass of the nutrient tank.  She smiled as she saw
that the DNA she had stolen from Paradox on Gamma Epsilon was taking hold.
Oh, yes.  This would be just the thing to get both of those obstacles out
of the way.
	And no one would ever know she was involved.


-Oren the Otter
8=-3
tlhaQ biQ Ha'DIbaH
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