"Yet the truly unique feature of our language is not its ability to transmit information about men and lions. Rather, it's the ability to transmit information about things that do not exist at all. As far as we know, only Sapiens can talk about entire kinds of entities that they have never seen, touched, or smelled."

-Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens

Hunter, still clutching the folder, reached for the door to the apartment he was currently sharing with Nick and Judy. He hesitated.

His whole identity was wrapped up in his work as a police officer. For, despite his cynicism and apparent laziness, he really believed he was doing good work, and that he was a damned good cop. It wasn't what he'd thought it would be- there was a lot more shades of grey than he had ever imagined in the job. But once he had managed to get past that, he had learned to appreciate the few times that he knew he was in the right. And to appreciate that the journey was even more important than the destination.

Or so he had thought.

Each step he had taken on this path seemed so right at the time. No one would believe him about Lucas? Then he'd find proof. His friends would be in danger? Then stay away. He realized he wasn't getting anywhere, that things had gone too far? Then give himself up.

Each step had been one more on the way to that rooftop. To raising a gun on an innocent mammal.

He flinched as his mind replayed the gunshot.

He looked down at the folder. It was a humiliation. It was a rebuke. It was less than what he deserved.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

Nick and Judy were watching television. Their ears perked up as they heard the door open, both turning towards him. "Hey, Zach," said Judy. "So, what's the good news?"

Deserved or not, it was still embarrassing. He tossed her the folder.

She caught it, frowning, and flipped it open. She read the first form and looked up in astonishment.

"So," said Hunter, forcing a smile. "You guys want to help me shop for the supplies I'll need?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You called for me, sir?" asked Major Friedkin, training instructor for ZPD's Police Academy. The polar bear shifted slightly, eyeing the shattered glass and frames on the floor of the office. She shot Bogo a questioning look.

"How many cadets in the current training class?" asked Bogo, ignoring the implied query.

"Forty-five, sir. Including four antelope, six wolves, three-"

"Just the number is fine, Major." Bogo stood up. "You're going to be taking one more."

"Sir?"

"Zacharias Hunter."

Friedkin was a trainer, now, not in the field, but even she had heard of Hunter. She blinked. "He's going to go through the academy? That's his punishment?"

"Training," corrected Bogo. "I think he needs more training. The academy is for training. Seems simple enough."

"But sir- hasn't he got something like twenty years of police experience?"

"Yes- on AlphaCen. Dealing with humans. Initially, he was taken on as a full police officer as a sort of courtesy, or perhaps more accurately a publicity stunt. Show how similar we were or something like that." Bogo shook his head. "The status sort of stuck, after things fell apart. Until they fell apart even more. Frankly, I don't think he belongs here anymore." He walked over and picked up one of the less damaged frames. "He's, well..." He picked up another frame, which had the glass shattered out of it, the paper inside slipping loose to the floor. They both looked at the frame. Neither said the word they were both thinking.

Broken.

She frowned at Bogo. "Sir, with respect, I don't think putting him in a class full of enthusiastic, cheerful, and- not to put too fine a point on it- stupid young cadets will help him."

"Fortunately for me, I'm the chief," said Bogo, carefully placing the frames on a nearby shelf. He turned back to Friedkin. "Because I think that's exactly what he needs. He's a good cop. He's just lost sight of what he's here for. He's had a long career, and what he's been through might just be what burns him out." Bogo picked up the frame and fitted it back together before setting it down carefully. "He just needs to find his second wind."

The polar bear sighed. "I'll go easy on him."

"No, don't do that," said Bogo. "For one thing, he's smart enough to pick up on it, and proud enough to resent it. Second- well, he needs to suffer some consequences. Don't let him get hurt- much- but don't go easy on him."

The polar bear gave him a narrow look. "I thought you said this wasn't punishment."

Bogo raised an eyebrow at her. "Dismissed, Major."

"Sir."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy smiled as she walked down the busy street, measuring her pace to Nick's. Around them, mammals walking smiled back at her before they even quite realized what they were doing. Some did double-takes as they recognized the now-famous duo. The sun lit up the shops, glinted off of cars and trucks making their way sedately down the road. The sky was a bright blue with hardly a cloud in the sky.

"I love foot patrol," said Judy wistfully.

Nick gave her a sidelong look. He stopped, reaching down to rub his aching calf. "You would."

She stopped as well and watched him as he sat- almost flopped down on a bench. "What are you doing?"

"Taking a rest," said Nick. He leaned back on the bench, throwing his arms across the back of it. "We've walked-" he took out his phone and checked a pedometer app "-nearly seven miles this morning." He tucked the phone back into his shirt pocket. "How could you possibly still have so much energy?"

Judy frowned. "What do you mean, so much energy?"

He looked at her, then looked down at her feet.

Following his gaze, she realized she was tapping her foot impatiently. She willed herself to stop. "I guess I'm just a morning mammal."

"I know," said Nick, ruefully. "Have you ever slept past eight?"

"Eight in the morning?" she said, shocked. "That's half the day gone!"

He blinked at her. "Who taught you math?"

"Figuratively speaking!"

He started to speak, but was cut off by the radio. "Juliet One Eight. Dispatch to Juliet One Eight."

"One Eight," answered Nick, narrowly beating Judy to keying his mike. "What's up, Clawhauser?"

"Hey, Nick. Are you near Eighth and Lions?"

Nick frowned, envisioning his mental map of the area. "No, not anywhere near it. That's like three miles away."

"Oh. Because Captain Tailwhisker is asking to meet up with you two there. Tavi and Shepherd are also en-route."

"Well, we're nowhere near it. Where else can she meet us?"

There was a long pause. "You know, she really seemed to want to meet up with you there."

"Okay, but we've already established that we're a long way from there."

Clawhauser's voice seemed hesitant. "Did I say that it was Captain Tailwhisker? Captain?"

Nick looked at Judy, then at his radio. "Clawhauser? Did the captain ask that we meet with her, or did she order us to meet her there?"

"She said to ask you-"

"Clawhauser."

"I mean, she never said the word order-"

"Clawhauser!"

The cheetah sighed. "Thirty minutes, she said. And there might have been a bit of an, um, ordery sort of tone to it."

"Ordery sort of tone," repeated Nick, rolling his eyes.

Judy grimaced, glanced at her phone to check the time. "Juliet One Eight, that's clear. We're enroute," she said.

Nick groaned as he stood up. "Thirty minutes to walk three miles? That's just not fair."

"Who said anything about walking?" said Judy confidently. She stretched her legs, leaning one way than the other.

"You've got an alternative?" When she nodded, the fox brightened. "You going to call us a patrol unit?"

"Nope, they're all busy."

His face fell. "Then it looks like we're going to be walking."

Judy grinned. "Try again." With that, she dashed away, threading her way through the surprised pedestrians. "Race you there!" she called over her shoulder.

Nick stared at her. "Bunnies," he muttered. He rushed to catch up with her.

"When I said alternative, I did not mean running!" he shouted.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy jogged the last few steps up to the street corner and, lacking any other suitable landmark, slapped her paw against a lamp post. "I win!"

She looked back as Nick, gasping for breath, staggered down the block. "We- were not- racing," he wheezed. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'll grant you it wasn't much of a race, with you being way, way behind me for the entire thing," she said teasingly.

He leaned against the lamp post with one paw, holding the other to his ribs, and gave her a flat look. "Way- too much- energy, bunny."

"You know, you were in the Academy more recently than I was. There's no excuse for you to be so out of shape."

Nick had finally caught his breath, though he was still panting heavily, his tongue lolling out. "I'm older than you," he pointed out. "And wiser. I know when to save my energy."

She rolled her eyes. "As much energy as you 'save', you should be able to run twice the distance without stopping."

"Hey, now."

"Judy! Nick!"

They both turned to see Tavi hurrying toward them, smiling brightly. "Glad you got here in time!" She paused as she saw their eyes widen, then looked behind her. "Shepherd! I told you to stay! Bad tank!"

Shepherd, who had hovered quietly along in her wake across the street- causing quite a stir among the drivers, several of whom were craning their heads out of their windows to stare at the tank- stopped abruptly in the street. "Commander, your safety is this unit's primary objective-"

"Your primary objective, Shepherd," she said firmly. "Not 'this unit'."

The tank hesitated. "My primary objective," said Shepherd carefully. "There are multiple potentially dangerous vehicles in the area."

Tavi frowned, looked around as Nick and Judy exchanged looks. "What potentially dangerous vehicles?"

The tank paused, then swiveled, scanning the street. "Running sensors diagnostic," it murmured. There was another pause. "I suggest you pick up your visual scanning, Commander. I am picking up forty-five potential targets in the immediate area."

"The cars," said Judy. "It means the cars."

"What?" said Tavi. She looked around curiously at the stopped traffic. A jaguar stopped at the light was staring at the tank, eyes wide. The light turned green and no one moved. "They're not potentially dangerous."

"It's designed by humans," explained Nick, eyeing the tank cautiously. "To them, everything is potentially dangerous."

"It's also completely stopped traffic," said Judy.

A gazelle driver, either unaware of or unimpressed by the tank in the intersection, suddenly honked his horn.

The tank spun around, the pitch of the anti-grav unit rising as more power was fed to it. It rose higher in the air. It focused on the car that had honked and shot towards it, until it was directly in front of the car.

"Um," said Tavi nervously. "Shepherd-"

The tank tilted to face the suddenly petrified gazelle. "Your vehicle emitted a distress call," said the tank. "What is the nature of your emergency?"

"I- er, I- that is, there's no emergency," stammered the gazelle.

The tank hovered closer. "Sensors indicated it was this vehicle. Scanning for damage." There was a low hum. The gazelle shrank into his seat. The tank swiveled a sensor at him. "Do not be alarmed. Radiation exposure from the scanning apparatus are well within yearly limits for a being of your specifications."

The gazelle blinked. "Wait, did you say radiation exposure-"

"Scan complete. No indication of damage. Initiating computer link-up." There was a whirring sound. "No wireless connection to onboard AI detected. Initiating physical link-up." The tank did not appear to notice Tavi, Judy, and Nick approaching from behind it. "No link port detected." A mechanical arm appeared from a port on the side of the tank, lifted the vehicle by the front end. "Installing link port-"

"Wait!" shouted Tavi. "Stop!"

Shepherd froze, then swiveled a sensor at her. "Maintenance operation paused. Abort, retry, fail?"

"Yes!"

The tank swiveled a second sensor at her. "Abort, retry, fail?"

"Abort!"

"Acknowledged."

"Now put down the vehicle. Slowly!" Tavi added quickly.

The tank gently lowered the car to the ground. "Recommend immediate maintenance on this vehicle," said Shepherd blandly to the gazelle.

Tavi gave a sheepish grin to the stunned gazelle driver. "Sorry about that."

"What- what- what just happened?" said the gazelle, staring after the tank.

Nick and Judy exchanged looks. "This is all a dream?" said Nick hopefully.

Tavi glared at him.

"Test of an, uh, autonomous repair and inspection unit," said Judy rapidly. "Sorry about the hassle, sir. Still getting the bugs worked out."

The gazelle frowned at them. "Didn't it say radiation exposure-"

"Within allowable limits," said Tavi.

"Nope, you must have heard wrong," said Nick. "Don't be silly."

"But-"

"Don't block traffic, sir. Light's green," said Nick. "Move along. Nothing to see here."

Slowly, traffic started to move, though most drivers kept one cautious eye on the tank as they moved through the intersection.

The three cops walked towards the tank, which was hovering low to the ground outside a small coffee shop. Tavi walked up to it. "Shepherd, what was that all about?"

"Operation of sub-routine Gamma Green Alpha Four Two. Maintenance of friendly vehicles, sub-type-"

"What?" interrupted Tavi. "I've never seen you do this before."

There was a long pause. "Is this unit's performance satisfactory, commander?"

All three mammals exchanged surprised looks. "What do you mean?" asked Judy carefully.

The tank settled to the ground with a thump. "Standard sub-routines including the range of Alpha through Gamma Green Alpha Four Two have now been either directly countermanded or precluded by standing orders," said Shepherd. "This unit is attempting to determine what standard sub-routine is required for satisfactory performance."

"You're not allowed to be a typical tank, so you're running through all your tricks to try and see what you're supposed to be doing," said Tavi thoughtfully. Nick and Judy looked at her, surprised. She noticed their gaze. "I've been spending a lot of time with Shepherd," she explained. "I'm starting to understand how he thinks."

"It almost doesn't sound like he does think," said Judy. "It sounds like he has set programs he follows."

"It," muttered Nick. They both looked at him. "It's a tank, a thing. It's not a 'he'."

"Seems rude," said Tavi disapprovingly.

Nick threw up his paws in exasperation. "You can't be rude to a- never mind, I'm going to wait for Tailwhisker inside." He walked inside.

Tavi considered the tank, tapping a claw against her chin. "You know, he does think. He's able to modify certain sub-routines on the fly." She looked at Judy. "He's not just a thing."

The rabbit glanced at her, looked at the tank, which appeared quiescent. "Maybe. But whatever he- or it- is, it was built by the humans. Don't play around with it, Tavi. It's dangerous."

She frowned. "That doesn't make it bad."

Judy eyed her, then noticed a patrol car pulling up. Captain Tailwhisker stepped out, frowning at the two officers. "Looks like the captain is here. Time to see what she wants." She started to walk to meet the higher-ranking officer, then paused and looked over her shoulder. "Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." She hurried to collect Nick from the coffee shop.

Tavi sighed. "Trouble. Right." She raised her voice. "Shepherd?"

The tank raised a sensor. "Commander?"

"Do you have any non-violent sub-routines for areas with large friendly civilian populations?"

There was a long pause. "Accessing. Sub-routine Epsilon Magenta series. Includes parade, guard duty, urban riot pacification-"

"Guard duty," said Tavi hastily.

"State the location to be guarded," said the tank.

"Here."

The tank swiveled to look at the shop. "Orders are to guard a local caffeinated hot beverage vendor," said the tank doubtfully. "This is a vital strategic location?"

"Yes," replied Tavi, firmly. "Stay here. And don't hurt anyone!"

"Officer Tavi!" shouted Tailwhisker. "Let's go! We're on a schedule here!"

"Orders confirmed," said Shepherd.

"Good," said Tavi. She hurried off to speak with the captain.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tailwhisker studied the three officers over her cup of coffee.

Hopps was, despite her spectacular start in the department, a known factor. Young, idealistic- though that had taken some knocks recently- and eager, she was the sort of officer that would rise to the top, as long as she didn't burn herself out first. Based on what the captain had heard and seen of her, she suspected the rabbit would go far.

The fox was a bit harder to read. Tailwhisker was honest enough with herself to admit to some degree of prejudice- even among predators, foxes had a reputation for sneakiness- but even allowing for that, Wilde sometimes seemed just a bit too much on the cynical side. World-weariness, even some bitterness, was pretty much expected among veteran officers, but Wilde was still no veteran. However, he had seen some action and had acquitted himself quite well, even remarkably well.

Her eyes fell on the mongoose, who smiled nervously at the captain's unblinking stare. Tavi was a rookie, still, through and through. Like Hopps, still idealistic and energetic, but unlike the bunny officer, there was no way to be sure yet just how far that went. Sure, she had acted bravely, but whether she had the judgment and intelligence to perform the job- that remained to be seen.

Of course, as of right now, she also had a tank. Unless someone figured out how to transfer the robot's allegiance to someone more experienced, that gave her some added value.

"So," said Nick. "I'm guessing you didn't order us to meet you here just for the coffee."

In answer, Tailwhisker put a briefcase on the table and opened it. "Remember this mammal?" She tossed a photograph from the briefcase on the table.

They glanced at it. "Raymond the rhino," said Wilde, nodding. "One of the Chargers gang, agreed to work with us after they tried to have him killed."

"Exactly. I've been working with the Organized Crime Unit, and we're about to hit the Chargers and their associates. We've got enough evidence to put a fair number of them away."

Hopps picked up the photograph, studied it. "So where do we come in?"

"I want you to help with one of the raids." Tailwhisker pulled out another photo and tossed it to her.

She caught it. She had barely glanced at it before she looked up, her expression blank. "This is Mr. Big's mansion."

"Yeah. You know," said Tailwhisker, her voice neutral, "a great many cops wouldn't have recognized it."

"Captain-" began Wilde.

The captain held up a paw. "I'm not suggesting anything inappropriate was going on, Wilde. But the fact remains that you two have prior connections to the target. That's not something I'm happy with, but it's something I'm willing to use. Raymond Charger's statement has turned up enough corroborating evidence that we can get a search warrant for Big's place, but unless we find additional evidence there, we don't have enough to realistically charge him with anything. I want you two along to give me the benefit of your insight."

"What about me?" asked Tavi.

Tailwhisker turned her attention to the mongoose. "Mr. Big has a large number of polar bears at his disposal."

"Right," said Tavi.

"They probably won't resist, but we have to be prepared for anything. And an additional show of force will make resistance even less likely."

"Okay," said the mongoose, uncertainly. "I'm not sure what this has to do with me. I mean, I'm not all that intimidating."

Wilde elbowed her. "Tavi. You have a tank."

"Oh. Right!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Shepherd the tank scanned the area again. It counted thirty-three potential hostiles- it paused as it accessed standing orders again- apparent civilians in the immediate area, with several hundred within scanning distance. Most seemed willing to give the coffee shop a wide berth when they saw the tank hovering nearby. A few did not.

One such walked past, eyes on a cell-phone. Shepherd disapproved of the creature's total lack of situational awareness, but activated a subroutine according to his current role. "Greetings, citizen!" his speaker boomed.

The creature, which his targeting database tentatively designated as an aardvark, jumped at the sudden noise. "Who- what- who said that?" she stammered, looking around. Her eyes moved right over the tank without stopping.

Shepherd was used to that. The primitive society on this planet had apparently not yet developed artificial intelligence. "This unit is designated Shepherd," it said, introducing itself. That covered the greeting, introduction, and left only two more steps. "This area is currently restricted."

The aardvark stared at the tank wonderingly. "Are you- are you a robot?"

There was a pause as the tank considered. Eventually, it decided this question required a modification to step two of the guard sub-routine. "This unit is designated Shepherd," it repeated. "This unit is a King Cobra class light battle tank, currently under the command of Anila Tavi."

"Wow!" said the aardvark, putting her phone away. She moved closer, putting a paw on the tank's armor. "But are you genuinely intelligent, or is this just all programming?" she mused.

Step two seemed to have been taken care of. Shepherd initiated step three. "This area is under guard by this unit. Exit the area." A standing order then flagged itself, so Shepherd added, "Please."

"This must be human technology," said the aardvark. She prodded one of Shepherd's access ports with a finger. "What's this for?"

Step four- several standing orders immediately flagged themselves in his processing unit. Step four was use of force to remove civilians. Lethal force- precluded by standing order. Non-lethal force- only acceptable with permission. Step four therefore could not be completed. Shepherd paused, unsure how to proceed. "Please remove yourself from the area," said Shepherd, using a variant phrasing in hopes of convincing the sapient.

The aardvark ignored him, continuing to poke at the armored plating.

The tank ran through its options again, frustrated. Then it remembered something.

The idea was not consistent with any of its predetermined sub-routines. However, nothing else seemed to be allowable.

For the first time, Shepherd had an original idea.

"Sapient. If you wish to remain in this area, please be prepared for scanning."

The aardvark paused. "Scanning?"

"The procedure is perfectly safe," Shepherd assured her. "Radiation exposure is well within parameters."

"Radiation?" repeated the aardvark. She hastily backed away. "No, no, I think I'm fine."

"Scanning is necessary for your safety and mine," said Shepherd remorselessly, repeating a phrase he had heard from a ZPD officer. "Please stand still and-"

Before he could finish, the aardvark turned tail and fled down the street.

Satisfied, Shepherd settled back into position.

Interesting. The tank began to consider this new capability, this new concept. There seemed to be many more potential applications. Bluffing.

Lying.

A/N:

I'm still chugging along. I've been having to re-write a great deal of what I've been writing, and I'm still working out some themes, motifs, and plot points. This will eventually speed up, though possibly not until the end of the summer. I appreciate your patience.