Therefore I am

Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adult or adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.

Chapter Seven - Lunch Break.

Ramiela:

They left the room and I heard the soft click as they locked the door behind them, probably to insure no one else would come in, the odds of me getting out were slim to none, after all I was locked back in my own cage. There was a bowl of water and fresh papers in the cage. I just sat in the corner ignoring the water bowl, listening to the hum of the many computer monitors, the soft tick of the clock on the wall, and I longed to go home. I so wanted my family to come find me and take me out of this place.

I bowed my head and in doing so noticed the small print on the front of one of the newspapers. I blinked and felt a sob rose up inside of me. I bent and picked up the paper holding it closer, maybe hoping I had read it wrong. But I hadn't considered anything like this. Frantically, I tossed down the paper I was holding and scrambled through other papers that were in my prison, all of them said they were Connecticut papers. I shook with the realization that I wasn't even in New York any more.

How in the world will my family find me now? I wondered, I was in a different state from where I belonged and while Connecticut wasn't all that far it was still miles away from where I needed, wanted and longed to be. 'I may as well be in California, Mexico or some place on the other side of the country for all the good, it will do my family.' I realized bitterly, that I was going be stuck in this prison for the rest of my life, and subject to the scientist whims.

" Rama, don't give up hope. You have to keep trying and you can't give up fighting either. Remember you can lose a battle but still win a war.I know you are scared right now, and feeling very much alone. I also know it is easy getting down but sometimes when you get down too far, it is far more difficult to get yourself back up again, and then you just give up all together. Remember you are a kunoichi girl."

Those words came to me, it was clearly dad's voice, and I swore I could almost see him standing before me a warm but serious smile on his face and feel his reassuring touch. In a way it made me feel all the more home sick.

I couldn't recall him actually, ever saying those words, but he had said things similar to me at other times in my life, so, it wasn't really that difficult hearing him tell me this now. He would keep my spirits up and give me a pep talk if he was here with me, that is if the scientist didn't keep us separated he would.

I nodded my head, I was a kunoichi, and a true kunoichi would find her way out of this, and so would I somehow.

It was good advice, no matter where it came from, whether it was real or not didn't make it any less of a valuable insight, I may as well take it and use it. I needed to cheer myself up and decided to sing a little since no other music was provided for me. I first sang a song dad had sung to me when I was little, and I sang it a few times over and then decided I needed something powerful and strong, something that would see me through the difficult days ahead. Call it a battle cry, a boost of morale whatever, so I picked another song, this one about being free and fighting for freedom and most importantly about not giving up.

I laughed a little, 'Freedom, like ninjitsu is of the mind, they can trap me physically but not mentally. I'm a long shot from being beat yet.' I declared, quietly to myself. I decided then in there that I would sing that song as often as I felt I needed to, that it would indeed be my battle cry and reminder of where I was and what I needed to do. I needed that song to help me get through this.

Catherine:

I was an animal behaviouist, one of the top ones working in the labs of the building, and of course I had a keen interest in mutations. With animals the smallest difference however small could be a mutation, many animals learn from adults in their family group. So, certain things may be passed down so when a youngster did something different -say washing food before eating it, when it had never seen or shown how to, then in many cases it was considered a mutation of the genetic trait, especially if the youngster continued to do this action. Then one had to wait and see if such a trait would then be passed on to a future generation.

David had liked my work with chimps and other apes the labs had used before and he had called me in to assist with their new specimen. I had been instructed to set up a cage for a humanoid reptilian chelonian mutation. I didn't know much about chelonian mutations, most of my work had been with mammals, but I knew a chelonian was for the most part an instinct driven animal, it didn't problem solve, it merely did what it had to do to survive and it's based purely on instinct.

While the apes had a large capacity to learn, problem solve and had a good communication they were an intelligent animal, able to use instinct to some degree but also use their minds to figure out things that went beyond simple instinctive forces.

I wished we had a cage or room suitable enough to provide the chelonian with water, but David had insisted that the cage had to be set up in the main room, where everyone could keep a close eye on the mutant when we weren't running tests, which limited the space so a pool of water was low priority. Figuring out a diet was the next problem while I had heard many sea turtles were specialist feeders, feeding exclusively on certain items, most turtles were omnivores with a need for more fruit and vegetables, though protein was still needed in smaller amounts.

I had been impressed when they brought A-23 in, noticing the hard leathery soles of the feet, the thick leathery skin was hard and that along with the muscle content in the legs assured me that A-23 was used to traveling on two bare feet.

This morning though I couldn't help but notice that A-23 had rearranged her furniture, so to speak, as the scattered papers had been piled into certain areas, one clearly marked as a waste area, the other for sleeping. Now, this really got my attention. Turtles were not an animal that I would normally consider as a species to move things to suit their surroundings. Sure, it was possible to pick one paper up and put it down elsewhere any animal might pack a stick carry it for the fun of it, then drop it only to ignore it. The set up of the papers assured me they had been moved for specific intentions.

I then watched A-23 as she tried to interact with anyone who drew close to her. Turtles didn't have any form of vocalization other then simple noises like a hiss, or snapping of jaws. A-23 obviously had picked up on words, and through mimicry or some other means repeated and echoed these sounds with great accuracy. I had no idea if she had any knowledge of what she was saying, for all I knew A-23's speech might be some form of fluke. Though if it was a fluke, the sentence structure and voice inflection seemed to hint that A-23 had full comprehension of what she was saying.

In the exam room, where certain smells, can't be disguised I was expecting problems. Yet, again she surprised me at least, and I wouldn't doubt some of my colleagues too, when she pulled free and moved to the table to be examined. Making me wonder all the more how much the specimen really understood of our language.

Of course the morning had been difficult on A-23. We had caused her a fright, that was clear by the way she went and huddled into a corner of her cage on her return. Small whimpers and the agitated shaking of her body assured me that the morning was probably more stressful for A-23 then perhaps what should have been allowed. But the tests had been necessary, we needed to find out all we could. While upset at the treatment she would most likely be quick to forget.

As I ate lunch, some soup and a salad I recalled many animals liked special treats and since A-23 had suffered a difficult morning I obtained special permission from David to bring back something. I decided since I was finished and the others were talking about other tests to do later, I opted to slip back upstairs so I could watch the specimen and perhaps see how A-23 acted when not harassed by others. I needed to know what was normal behaviour for her, before I could learn what could be considered abnormal.

As I neared the door to unlock it, I swore I heard singing and as I entered the room, I saw the sudden disarray of papers, as if A-23 had thrown a temper tantrum- similar to what some apes would throw when something upset them. I also noted her bold haughty look as she stood with arms crossed and a firm hard but determined look in her face. I smiled gently, at least she didn't seem depressed, depression wasn't good in any animal.

She glared at me, after this morning, I couldn't begrudge her any hard feelings but it amazed me the sense of intense hatred I saw in those green grey eyes of hers. As one of her main handlers, who'd be working with her on a regular basis it might be a good thing to try and get on her good side. I was almost glad I had brought the treat. I pulled it from a plain brown bag and unwrapped the plastic off the treat, I then sliced the blueberry muffin and put butter on it.

I doubted a turtle would eat butter but I figured it might be neat to see her reaction I then placed the muffin back in the bag and shoved it through the flap. She didn't pounce on it, but warily approached taking the bag removing the treat, her eyes gleamed a little as she bit into it.

" Thanks," She replied as she finished the mouthful. " My name is Ramiela and you are Catherine, right?" She asked as she took another bite as if to savour the taste.

I found this interesting most animals would jam as much into their mouth as possible, cramming the food down, but she seemed to prefer eating her treat slowly. " You know how to sing huh?" I muttered.

She shrugged, " I like music. I listen to all kinds of things back home." She admitted, " So where in Connecticut are we?"

Connecticut? I blinked wondering how she had known there was no TV, or radio on in here, then it dawned on me that there was only one place she could have gotten that information " The papers!"

" Yeah, I can read, and write" A-23 informed me with a small smirk on her face, as she continued to enjoy her muffin.

I blinked at that and went to retrieve a sharpened pencil and a small note pad, I pushed both through the flap. Then turned on the video cameras, " Okay, if you can write then do this sentence. The dog hopped on one foot over the tree, and into the shark infested lake." I announced, purposely making up some nonsense, but clearly a sentence that A-23 was not likely to have seen anywhere before. The pencil scratched across the paper and she then ripped off the paper and handed it to me.

She did have neat penmanship and even her punctuation was correct. The pencil continued to scratch and in a moment A-23 handed me another note.

My name is Ramiela, I'm thirteen years old. I'm not an animal and I want to co-operate but you scare me when you do things I don't expect. Thanks for the muffin, best food I've had in this joint so far.

I felt a strange tingle go through my body as I read the note she had offered without any promptings. " You are an animal though."

" Humans are classified as animals too. I'm a mutant turtle and let me tell you, this is no place for any intelligent being to be." She stated in a matter of fact way gesturing to the cage that confined her. She then spouted some stuff about Koko the gorilla.

" Apes are considered to be intelligent animals." I replied, " as are dolphins and pigs."

" Okay, what about Alex the Congo African grey parrot who actually responds to various questions about things correctly. Alex proves he isn't mimicking or he wouldn't get the right answers as often as he does." A-23 shot back. " Parrots might be intelligent but most people don't think they have much upstairs."

I had heard and paid attention to the studies surrounding Alex, I know there had been things on television and other media about the parrot obviously A-23 had seen one of these programs. Yet it seemed to me as if she was trying to draw me into this conversation, and not just draw me in but debate about the intelligence or lack thereof concerning animals. I chuckled inwardly to her reference of birds being dumb. "Scientist hope to understand and learn more about the mysteries and so called intelligence of animals."

She arched an eye ridge, " If you talk to the animals, they will talk to you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them and what you don't know you will fear. what one fears, one destroys."

Those words sounded familiar to me, as if I had heard or read them from somewhere, and even the way she said it sounded very much like she was quoting it, but if it was a quote she spoke with such conviction as if she truly believed and accepted that statement as true. " Right, and become Dr. Doolittle I suppose." I snorted slightly, not knowing if she would even understand that fictional doctor.

"What is wrong with Dr. Doolittle? See, he is proof of what I said, he talked and he understood the animals he talked to, assisting and learning from them as best he could." She countered, " There are many so called horse whispers who seem to understand horses, I hear there are some people who understand dogs in the same fashion and help owners train them to become better pets," A-23 sighed a little, " Most people seem to accept that violence towards people is wrong, but when it comes to animals it is different." She scowled, " Violence is always wrong, no matter who does it and no matter who the victim turns out to be. Causing pain to another is a terrible crime."

" We haven't hurt you," I said.

" That is a matter of opinion isn't it?" She countered sharply, " I'm no longer free. I'm willing to comply but you don't give me a chance to know what you want, you don't explain anything and you think keeping someone like me confined to a cage and treated in such a fashion is charitable?" She demanded, her words sounding bitter, " Don't tell me, you haven't hurt me!" She snarled.

I know David had warned us to remain objective, and yet to me it was hard to classify this as mimicry - it was a conversation,- I tried to deny that, and yet, she had answered questions, had responded appropriately to certain things I had said. Tones of voice and facial expressions seemed to match all that she said. If I didn't look at her body shape, if I looked past the fact she was a giant turtle I could almost believe I was talking to another person.

"All right what can we do to make things better for you?" I asked suddenly. I wasn't exactly sure why I had asked it, " It is part of my job description to keep things suitable to you, and keep you happy while you are here."

As if she had been preparing for this she began to tick off her wants, " A real bed for one, a toilet and sink to wash in. Stuff to care for my hair and teeth. Books to read, music to listen to, and let me use kitchen utensils to eat with," She continued, " Oh, and speaking of eating I want real people food, and the occasional junk food with it. I love pop, chips, candy those are a definite necessity," A-23 insisted.

" Human habitation" I muttered, " Not chelonian.

She must have heard my low words for she smiled, " I'm not exactly your typical turtle."

Suddenly I felt I was floundering, and I realized we might have to change our views about A-23 quicker then I expected. Had she grown used to human habitation and just felt more at ease with those things? If she had come from another laboratory there was no mark to verify it. But if it made her significantly more at ease and comfortable then it might help to see to it that she had some of these things offered to her. The others were returning and I removed the video tape from the camera and placed another fresh one in.

I took the video and written notes over to David, " David, I know you want to save intelligence tests for later with this specimen. But if she is an intelligent species she might become depressed or have other behaviour problems while we wait and do other higher priority tests. It is a proven fact that the more intelligence an animal shows the more stimulation or variety they need to be happy, and when these things aren't offered the animal's health and well being is often in jeopardy." I informed him of the facts, "I have a few theories based on the few minutes I was alone with A-23 and I would like to discuss them with you."

David nodded his head, " Of course Catherine, we can do that."

Ramiela:

Here, I'd just been about to give up and then Catherine had come in, this time though the scientist seemed to listen to me. She didn't ignore me or look over, or around me, as if what I was saying was just random gibberish all strung together. I knew to get my point across I had to come up with good solid arguments of intelligence based in animals. I had learned about many of the animals scientist had studied through school lessons with Uncle Donatello.

He had started those lessons by giving me a paper of different animal species and I was to rank them to what I thought their intelligence was. After the test he had told me that people tend to rank animals based on their so called intelligence." Some people may treat an animal better if they are aware it is highly intelligent, while others which they deem of lesser wisdom they treat in more harsher degrees. I want to see how you view these animals based on what you know now, then we will see if you are right." He had smiled a little, " Many people may consider us dumb slow stupid reptiles due to our looks."

Humans were an intelligent animal, one who no longer had to live by instincts. In fact people didn't have to hunt for food, or only let the strongest or suitable mate, they didn't have to store body fat for long cold winters with little surplus. Being intelligent they seemed to relate better to other animals that showed a concept of reasoning or problem solving.

We had studied animal intelligence, instinctive, and true reasoning intelligence. Why it was humans thought more of intelligent animals and a lot more. I had actually, enjoyed those studies, and paid close attention to it. Now, I was kind of glad I had. After that Uncle Donatello gave me the list of animals to rank for a second time. I was surprised how my views had changed for so animals I had learned of, there were some animals that remained the same too.

Uncle Donatello had approved, " You are learning Ramiela, and not so stubborn to hold to your opinions about something once you are aware of the truth of the matter and that is a very good thing. A lot of people refuse to change their mind or opinions even when faced with cold hard facts."

I crossed my fingers and hoped that I had changed Catherine's views enough that she could now look at me as not a dumb animal, but at least an animal with some intelligence.

TBC