Sentience 1: Storm Clouds Gathering Read Free Page B

he stood to address the council — almost as if he had been born just for that moment. Having the traditional right to speak without interruption, Drik began to deliver his report aloud, his voice firm and confident. Tzal marveled at Drik’s calm demeanor and his personal terror subsided as his heart swelled with pride, observing his squadron-master’s aplomb in such an explosive atmosphere.
    “Masters,” Drik began, “the ancient wisdom of the cub-masters who taught us from earliest age what it means to be Raknii, appears to have faded as we have grown older. They taught us the simple truths of survival, emphasizing that we must always learn the mind of our prey — to think as our prey thinks, as we must foresee its intentions to ensure the kill. We are taught to reverence our prey, for in its death do we find life. Yet, it has been so long since we have truly felt the pangs of hunger, I fear we have lost much of the instinct and cunning of our ancestors. With unquestioning faith in the invincibility of our mighty warfleets, and in complete confidence of overpowering numbers, we seem to have forgotten that even docile creatures can often become deadly when wounded, cornered and desperate.”
    Drik paused a moment in the presentation of his testimony and Tzal unconsciously stroked down the fur on his muzzle... a nervous tic that manifested itself primarily when he was under great pressure.
    “While communing in Dol trance,” Drik continued, “I recalled my earliest lessons and realized to my shame that I did not understand the mind of my prey and therefore, could not foresee its intentions. And in not fully understanding my prey, I could not offer the honor and respect that Raknii prey deserves, as taught by the ancestors. I had somehow ceased being true Raknii. I had somehow evolved into something else, which looked and resembled and prided itself on being Raknii, but I no longer embodied the essence of what is to actually be Raknii.”
    An uncomfortable feeling washed over Tzal, as Drik’s words took him back to his own days as a mere cub, when he’d learned those very same lessons. He was stunned to realize that he hadn’t thought of those lessons in cycles, and hadn’t noticed how far his daily life had drifted from the core concepts of what it meant to be Raknii. High-Rak or not, one would have to have been dead to not feel a similar shame come over him in that chamber.
    Drik’s mention of communing in Dol trance also invoked odd feelings, as that ancient practice had all but disappeared from modern Rak life. Most Raknii nowadays left matters concerning their long-neglected deity solely to the ministrations of the Dolrak priestesses.
    “To begin the process of understanding the mind of my prey, I tried to mentally place myself inside a Trakaan pelt,” Drik continued. “I pondered what I might do if I were to find myself confronted by overwhelming numbers of predators and no means of escape. I quickly discovered that in order for resistance to have any chance of success from such a strategically inferior position, I could only afford to fight whenever and wherever I possessed a clear tactical advantage. In order to accomplish this, I would have to ascertain when, where and in what numbers my nemesis would strike next.
    “Could this be established? What could I determine about my tormenters? Were there patterns in his behavior that might indicate his intentions in a way that I might turn to my advantage? Thus, I began to study the tactics of the Raknii, as though the survival of my own kind depended upon discovering a weakness that might enable me to somehow defeat them. What I discovered alarmed me considerably.”
    Tzal’s attention was heightened when Drik paused for effect before continuing, “Masters, we have become complacent in the manner in which we hunt prey! In our arrogance, we care not a whit for anything our prey might do.”
    Tzal gasped. Oh Dol, Drik is lecturing High-Rak masters like