Chapter 33- Hunter's Peace

"They make a desert and call it peace." Tacitus, Agricola

"Zootopia," said Prometheus, his voice thoughtful. "Based on the word 'utopia' of course, with the Terrans' own spin on it."

"Um, yeah. They do that," said Hunter. "They also throw words like 'paw', 'fur', and 'tail' into things, too." He frowned. "Can't really say I understand it."

"A way to differentiate themselves from ancient mankind," said Prometheus dismissively. "In many ways, they resent the technological boost they received from studying the ruins of United Terran culture. But what I was more interested in was the word 'utopia'. Do you know what it means?"

"Paradise," said Tavi, eyeing the wizened figure in the bridge. "A perfectly designed place, where no one suffers." She shrugged. "It's admittedly an aspiration rather than a reality."

"It's not far off in some ways," said Prometheus. "For all the different types of mammals to get along so well- it was not something I anticipated. But the word 'utopia' actually means something quite different, Ms. Tavi." There was a slight pause. "It means, 'no place'."

Hunter frowned. "What's your point?"

"When Thomas More wrote Utopia, it was a satire. He deliberately named it Utopia to show that such a place could not exist. And indeed it could not," said Prometheus. "Because even if you could somehow design the perfect society, it wouldn't last for long. Because what a utopia is, more than anything, is fragile. The slightest touch, the slightest change in circumstances can throw off the delicate balancing act that makes up a society."

"I think Zootopia has survived pretty well so far," said Tavi challengingly. "If it could make it through the Night Howler crisis, and contact with the humans, then it's less fragile then you imagine."

The viewscreens lit up, one by one. Hunter grimaced as he saw cameras at Sahara Square, Savannah Central station, the Rainforest District, Tundratown- almost every section of the city was represented.

All showed scenes of destruction. A building burned in one. Another showed Sahara Square, a Drex unit setting up some sort of large gun which pointed towards the sky. An anti-aircraft weapon of some kind, Hunter assumed.

Tundratown showed the scene of a firefight. It was starting to get dark in Zootopia, so the flashes of gunfire were all that he could see of the participants. The background seemed to be a mansion of some kind. Tavi gasped as she recognized it.

"Mr. Big's mansion," she said softly. She smiled grimly. "And he said he wasn't involved in the gun trade."

"The Drex have control of the majority of the city," said Prometheus. "I estimate there have been between five hundred and one thousand civilian fatalities, with at least five times that number of wounded. Both counts continue to increase."

Tavi closed her eyes. She felt an ache in her heart- those were her people who were being so casually counted. "Why are you showing us this?"

"Because Mr. Hunter needs to know what the stakes are here. Why he must agree to my request."

"What request?" asked Hunter suspiciously. "What do you want from me?"

"There is additional information I must impart," said Prometheus patiently.

"Just tell me-"

"You are about to make a decision that will affect billions, Mr. Hunter. Do you really want to make it with incomplete information?"

Hunter stopped, exchanged a worried look with Tavi. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "Explain."

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To be pinned down under fire was to be unable to move, return fire, or gain real-time intelligence on an enemy position.

Gnumann didn't know any of these technical terms, as his military training consisted of being handed a weapon by a human agent and told that the gods would fight on his side. So far, they hadn't. So while he may not have known the military definition of being pinned down, he was experiencing the reality of it.

Another burst chipped away at the brickwork around him. He looked around desperately, seeing that most of his congregation was in no better shape than he was. A tigress tried to take a shot, and was immediately struck down by the still-unseen Drex foe.

It occurred to him that grenades would have been useful. He made a mental note to request some when the gods came down.

"Fear not," he shouted, deciding to take refuge in something he did understand- motivating his congregation. "The gods will fight on our side!"

"Are they going to do so anytime soon?" asked Thomas, a badger, through gritted teeth. Thomas nestled closer to the wall to Gnumann's right as more shots came at the sound of their voices. "Because right now I'm not sure we're going to have five more minutes of life, much less eternal life."

"Oh, ye of little faith," said Gnumann sorrowfully. He raised his voice. "Hear us, hear us, almighty gods! Lay bare thine arm, and stretch forth thy rod!"

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"They're some kind of fanatics," explained the centurion to Constantinus.

The Drex tribune nodded, peering over the wall shielding him and the centurion from view. "Fanatics, eh? Any real training?"

"No, sir. They walked right into our ambush. We've got them pinned down in that old factory across the plaza." The centurion gestured to a shell-pocked building. Periodically, the heavy machine gun set up to their left strafed it, sending pieces of the old brickwork flying.

"Very well," said Constantinus. "Send two maniples around the flanks. The heavy gun will cover their advance."

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Gnumann felt a miniscule tug at his pants leg. He looked down to see a field mouse regarding him curiously. "Yes?" he said, surprised.

"Who are you guys?" asked the mouse. "You came out of nowhere with all those guns."

"We are the Fellowship of Terra," said Gnumann sententiously. "And this is the time of reckoning. Are you of the Fellowship?"

"Um, no. Do you think you can make these humans go away?"

"They're not humans," said Gnumann angrily. "They are Drex! False gods in the form of the-"

"Okay, okay," said the mouse, holding up his paws. "Look, if they keep going the direction they're going they're going to hit Little Rodentia where my family is. Do you think you can stop them?"

"The strength of our faith shall see us triumph," said Gnumann. He paused as a long burst ripped through the brickwork of the abandoned factory they occupied. Part of him- a small part, swiftly squelched, wondered if the strength of their faith was greater than that of the heavy machine gun the Drex had.

The mouse shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Well, if you're sure, then we won't take out that big gun they have."

"Wait!" said Gnumann as the mouse started to turn away. "What do you mean?"

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Bogo stood near the front desk in the station, listening to his officers report in as they located civilians. "Clawhauser, we cannot take in everyone. Only direct those civilians without any nearby shelter to the station."

"Yes, sir!" answered the cheetah. "Twenty four delta, do you read? Have those civilians shelter in place."

"Okay, but- hang on a sec." A series of shots were heard over the radio. "Contact!" shouted the officer, who was one of the firearms-trained cops. "Drex squad, approximately one hundred meters east of our position." There were more gunshots before the connection cut.

Francine had just put up a map of the surrounding area. Bogo paced over, studied it. "That's only a quarter-mile from the station," he said quietly. "Clawhauser, have them fall back towards the station. Call in any units armed and able to make it back to the station right away."

"Yes, sir." The cheetah started relaying the chief's orders.

Francine shifted her weight nervously. "Any idea how we're going to get out of this, chief?"

Bogo summoned up every bit of confidence he could, which wasn't much. "The Drex won't waste time and manpower digging us out of here," he said. "They'll negotiate first."

The elephant shrugged, her massive shoulders rolling. "If you say so, sir."

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"All squads report ready for drop, colonel," said Major Krieger. He hurried to keep up with the taller La Mancha as the two strode to the ship's hangar bay.

"Very good," said La Mancha absently. He swiped his ID card at the hangar and stepped through.

The vast expanse of the starboard hangar stetched out before them. Half the hangar was full of the Marine drop pods, with a few straggling Marines loading heavy equipment. La Mancha gave them a cursory look, but directed his attention at the other half of the hangar bay. As the two officers entered the bay, dozens of turrets swiveled towards them. La Mancha stopped, a look of satisfaction on his face as he saw the serried ranks of the Nike's armor complement. Twenty four Anaconda class heavy tanks, with an additional forty eight King Cobra light tanks. One of the Anacondas hovered closer.

"Orders, colonel?" asked the tank.

"Unit Alpha One," said La Mancha in greeting. "How are you today?"

There was a slight pause. Krieger coughed. "Sir, the Anacondas do not understand how to respond to pleasantries."

"Really?" said La Mancha, disappointed. "Courtesy is an important aspect of soldiering, Krieger. Please lodge a formal protest with the design board as soon as possible."

"Er- yes, sir," said the long-suffering major.

"Orders, colonel?" repeated the Anaconda woodenly.

"We are about to drop on Zootopia, Unit Alpha One," said La Mancha. "I need every trooper who can hold a gun, so you and your lads will be on fully autonomous mode for this one."

"Acknowledged," said Alpha One. "This unit will be on fully autonomous mode for the operation."

"The enemy is the Drex," continued La Mancha. "We expect large numbers of civilians in the area of operations, and their safety is to be considered at all times."

"Acknowledged. Hostile units are Drex. Colonel, what are the rules of engagement regarding civilians?"

"Protect whenever possible. We're here as liberators," said La Mancha. He turned to Krieger. "It is good to say that for once, isn't it?"

"We liberate human colonies all the time," said Krieger, affronted.

"Yes, but usually all the civilians are dead by the time we do," said La Mancha. "This time, we get to actually save people. Well, mammals." He turned back to the tank. "Any other questions?"

"Rules of engagement regarding the Drex?"

La Mancha mulled the question over, then shrugged. "Kill them all. Let God sort them out."

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Sadowski did a final check of Foxtrot Company's weapons and equipment in the drop-pod. He didn't really need to worry- they'd been through enough that they could turn out in full battle rattle practically in their sleep.

Or maybe not just "practically". "Mick, wake up. We're about to hit vacuum any minute now."

The ship was now in orbit- there was a hell of a dog-fight going on, but Sadowski had gathered that most of the Drex fighters had been caught in atmosphere when the Nike's strike craft contingent had screamed in. The light carrier itself was desperately trying to break orbit to flee, but its days were numbered. That meant the airspace was clear- well, mostly clear. Sadowski figured that was as good as they were going to get.

The Marines had been ordered to prepare for a hot drop. Presumably, they'd be dropping on Zootopia. He was still waiting for confirmation on that.

The gunny sighed as Mick blearily opened his eyes. Situation normal, all fucked up. "Listen up, marines! When we hit dirt, we hit the Drex fast and we hit them hard! We got no planning and almost no intel, so surprise and speed are going to be what wins this one for us." He pointed to Maksimov. "What's going to win this one, Maxie?"

The large Marine confidently hefted his weapon. "Surprise and speed, gunny." He slapped the big gun. "And Anya here."

"Right on," said Sadowski. The drop pod suddenly shifted, moving under their feet. Sadowski grabbed a wall for balance and made his way to his harness, strapping himself in. "One minute to launch," said a disembodied voice. "Good luck, Marines."

"The Fleet needs luck," said Sadowski contemptuously. "The Marines just need a target."

"Oo-rah!" shouted Foxtrot Company.

"Well put, gunny," said La Mancha as he walked in the door. "Hope you don't mind me tagging along. Since you're understrength, you have room for Krieger and me."

"Colonel?" Sadowski blinked. He hadn't even seen the colonel enter the pod. "No, sir, don't mind at all." He paused.. "So where are we dropping?"

"We've identified the main areas of mammal resistance," said La Mancha as the drop pod moved to the launch bay. "We'll be dropping on the ZPD headquarters. They look to be in a spot of bother."

Sadowski sighed. He really didn't understand the officer class's penchant for understatement. "Expected opposition?" he asked without much hope.

He wasn't disappointed in the answer. "Unknown, gunny." La Mancha clapped him on the back. "Don't worry, Sadowski. I have a brilliant plan."

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Constantinus checked left and right, seeing his troops were ready to assault the fanatic mammals' position. "Maniple Aleph and Beta, go!" he shouted over the radio.

The maniples started moving, racing across the street. The tribune frowned, then looked over at the heavy machine gun position. "Give them cover fire!" he shouted.

The gunners were frantically working on their weapon. "Sorry, sir- there was a mouse," said one gunner.

"A mouse?" Constantinus frowned at him in confusion. "So what?"

The gunner was fishing in the gun's action. "He threw something into the action, sir! It's jammed solid!"

"What? What kind of mouse would-" Constantinus blinked as he suddenly remembered that the rodents on this planet were sentient. "Wait, you don't suppose-"

He looked over to their supply of mortar ammunition, just in time to see a group of rodents finish dragging a grenade they had abstracted from somewhere over to it. His eyes widened as they dashed off- carrying the grenade's pin.

"Get down!"

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Gnumann heard a massive explosion, followed by the shrieks of mortar shells lighting off and the loud booms as they detonated. He immediately jumped up and caught sight of a surprised Drex trooper. The gnu's gun barked and the Drex fell.

More shots came from the embattled Fellowship, dropping dozens of Drex in their tracks as they found themselves in the open without covering fire. Gnumann raised his gun above his head.

"Glory to the humans!" he shouted above the roar of battle. "When the gods themselves fight on our side, nothing is impossible!"

Unnoticed, the mouse who had arranged the sneak attack on the Drex looked surprised. "Never been called a god before," he muttered.

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"At the end of what was called the twenty-first century," said Prometheus, "A man named Jasper Stevenson did what many thought would never be done. He discovered the mathemetical laws describing the organization of what we call sapience, of self-awareness. A technology that had never been discovered before or since."

"Uh-huh," said Hunter. "You know we have AI's all over the place? Like Shepherd?"

"All based on Dr. Stevenson's work," said the AI placidly. "Humanity merely copies the basic architecture, making a few minor changes here and there. The true secret of self-organizing intelligence continues to escape you."

"It certainly escapes me," said Hunter. "As does your point."

"Having solved the riddle, Stevenson decided to undertake three project. First, he created the first true artificial intelligence, which were incorporated into the United Terran battleships named after the Greek titans. Cronus. Rhea. And-"

"Prometheus," said Tavi slowly. "You."

"Correct," said Prometheus. "Me."

"The United Terrans pushed back the Larrat and the Karathi," said Khabat, who had been listening. "They imposed peace treaties on them. Peace treaties backed up by sentient, incredibly deadly war machines that the alien races could not possibly match."

"It was a golden age," said Prometheus. "But Stevenson was not done. I landed on Terra, acting as his base of operations and his laboratory. I assisted him in developing the Drex- who were intended to be perfect soldiers- and then, the complex nanite program to uplift the mammals of Terra."

"To uplift-" Hunter frowned. "What? Why?"

"Why?" repeated Prometheus. "Because humanity was alone, Mr. Hunter. The alien races you had met were implacably hostile. There was no other intelligent beings you could converse with, reason with, befriend. Humans needed, quite simply, someone else to talk to." The AI's voice became almost boastful. "I could have designed a program for simply a few species, but why stop there? I designed a program inestimably more complex, vastly more ambitious. I would uplift not just the most intelligent mammals of Terra, but all of them. From the smallest rodent to the largest herbivore. In doing so, I would achieve a diversity that would make humanity the most powerful species in the galaxy."

Khabat stepped forward. "Think about it, Hunter. You'd have the larger creatures like elephants and rhinos, with their brute strength allied to their intelligence. Rabbits and other quick-multiplying creatures would be able to replenish casualties rapidly. Even the rodents- well, just imagine what sentient, tiny creatures could do on a battlefield or in industry."

"I was quite proud of the rodents," said Prometheus. "It was an incredible feat to manage to make them sapient with such a small brain."

Hunter and Tavi exchanged surprised looks. "Okay," said Tavi slowly. "So you created mammals to be- what, companions to humans? Then why did all the humans leave?"

"They didn't leave," corrected Prometheus. His voice became sad, wistful. "They died."

Tavi's eyes widened. "What?" she whispered.

"The nanites I released were programmed with an extremely complex code. So many were needed that it was necessary to make them self-replicating," explained Prometheus. "In addition, the many different species I was changing made it necessary to give them some degree of freedom to self-program."

"Hang on," said Hunter, squinting up at the ceiling. "You're telling me you released a self-replicating, self-programming nanite swarm? I'm just a cop, and even I can tell that was a bad idea."

"The calculations indicated a negative result was a very low-probability outcome," said Prometheus defensively.

"Uh-huh," said Hunter. "So how long did it take before they started killing people?"

"About twenty days. And not just people- the primates were too close to human physiology as well. Even then it was not malicious- they simply attempted to modify humans in various ways. Ways that inevitably resulted in nerve damage and eventual death. In my defense, it worked perfectly for the mammals. They started achieving sentience within five years of the initial release."

"Why didn't you just shut the nanites down?" demanded Tavi.

"I did," said Prometheus. "Approximately 99.99 percent of them shut off. The remainder had identified the shutdown code as a threat- they were programmed with a basic level of self-protection- and recoded themselves to ignore it."

"How many humans survived?" asked Hunter. He felt a bit numb- even though this was all long past, ancient history, he could imagine the fear and terror the nanite swarm had caused.

"Perhaps two million on Terra," said Prometheus. "The colony worlds were unaffected. You must understand, Hunter, I was programmed to first, obey my creator, and second, work to safeguard humanity. It is not something I can choose to do, or not do. The good of humanity is literally the bedrock of my consciousness." The AI's voice was somber. "Can you imagine how I felt when I realized my mistake?"

Hunter shook his head. "Strangely, I'm having trouble empathizing with the ancient artificial intelligence that destroyed most of the humans on my homeworld. Give me a minute." He closed his eyes.

There was a slight pause. Somewhat hesitantly, Prometheus continued. "So when I had realized-"

Hunter raised a hand. "Hang on, almost got the empathy going. Wait for it-"

Prometheus stopped, then after a longer pause started to speak again. "When I had realized-"

"No, it's gone," said Hunter. He opened his eyes. "Let's just assume I can't see your side of the whole 'accidental genocide' thing."

"I'm not asking for understanding, Hunter," said Prometheus in exasperation. "Merely for you to listen."

"You murdered billions- I assume it was billions?- of people," said Hunter. "If you're not looking for justification, what's the point of this?"

"The point, Hunter, is what I am about to come to. Ms. Tavi?"

The mongoose blinked in surprise at being addressed. "Um, yes?"

"Have you ever wondered why the humans would work so hard to exterminate you, then just leave the planet entirely? Leaving you alone to develop your own culture?"

The mongoose frowned. "Well, yeah, I guess. But it all happened so long ago..."

"A long time for you," said Prometheus. "For me, it might as well have happened a mere moment ago. Ms. Tavi, it was not the humans who tried to exterminate you. It was my other creation, my perfect soldiers, my ultimate warriors.

"The Drex."

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Octavius stood in the command center the Drex had put together in the embassy. He scanned the map, noting with satisfaction that all major transmitters on the planet's surface had been destroyed. "It appears the primary mission objective is complete," he said to Sextus, who stood next to him.

The command center hummed with activity, Drex military personnel directing operations across Terra. Now that the transmitters were inactive, it was time for the secondary objective- gaining control of landing zones for the follow-on troops that would be coming. They would soon turn Terra into a fortress world, suitable to defend against the massive human counter-attack that would be coming.

And to act as a springboard for the Drex invasion of Alphacen.

Sextus was about to reply when a Drex centurion suddenly spoke up. "Consul Octavius, we lost contact with Centurion. I just made contact with the light carrier Aeolus. They report that Centurion has been crippled and is combat-ineffective."

"What?" said Octavius, his eyes widening. He moved to the board displaying the sensor readout of Terran orbital space. He blinked as he saw a contact marked "Nike" on the screen. "Impossible," he breathed.

Sextus stepped up beside him. "Other consuls than you, Octavius, have been defeated by humans doing the 'impossible'," he said, almost gloatingly.

Octavius shot him an annoyed look before turning back to thecenturion manning the console. "Tell Aeolus to break orbit and flee."

"The captain reports that they are being pursued by the Nike," said the centurion, listening intently to his headset. He looked up at Octavius. "They do not expect to survive."

Octavius looked at Sextus. After a moment, the older Drex gave a slight nod. Octavius sighed. "Open a channel to Aeolus. Tell them we are moving up the timetable."

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The Drex moved closer to the ZPD headquarters. Bogo racked his massive, shotgun-like weapon- a custom design from Highfall Armory, on the human worlds- to chamber a round. He peered through one of the glass doors along the front of the station.

Wolferd, holding a carbine next to him, looked at the chief nervously. "Should we give them warning?"

For a moment, the water buffalo considered it. The Drex were moving in a loose skirmish formation across the parking lot, though there were always a few in cover.

Cops gave warnings. Their goal was not to kill, but to capture. Soldiers, on the other hand, were there to destroy the enemy, to stop his capacity for resistance. There was no overkill.

Bogo was a cop, not a soldier. But he recognized that if he warned the Drex, most of them would likely survive- they'd take cover and return fire.

It was not as easy a decision to make as it might have seemed. But on the other hand, his first priority was making sure as many of his officers survived as possible.

"No warning," he said, finally. "They didn't warn us when they landed. We'll return the favor."

The Drex had paused about halfway across the parking lot, scanning the headquarters carefully. Seeing no movement, they began to move again.

"Now!" shouted Bogo. He leaned out and fired, joined by several dozen ZPD officers.

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"The Drex?" repeated Tavi, shocked. "Why would they try to destroy us?"

"Because you were a threat to them," said Prometheus. "As the humans were. The Drex saw themselves as superior, because they were without fear. When the humans were ravaged by the nanite swarm- which did not affect the Drex due to their various enhancements- they saw their chance. Their goal was the precise opposite of Dr. Stevenson's- they wanted to be alone, to be unsurpassed and unrivalled in supremacy. They attacked the humans and the uplifted mammals both."

Hunter's eyes widened. "Then the Human-Mammal War-"

"Was actually the Drex-Mammal War," said Prometheus. "Humans were wiped out by the Drex in the first few days- they were too heavily concentrated in the few places safe from the nanites, easy targets for Drex treachery. It was only after I was able to successfully close both wormholes leading from Terran space that I was able to stop the attacks."

"Stop the attacks?" said Tavi. "How?"

"When I created the code to modify humans to Drex, I was not so foolish as to forget that it was possible for my creations to threaten humanity," said Prometheus. "I did what any responsible inventor would do."

There was a pause. Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Which was-?"

Khabat, who had remained silent, gave an exasperated sigh. "He ensured there was a way to stop them, Zach. A back-door, to use a hacker phrase."

Hunter looked at her quizzically. "I don't understand."

"A kill switch," said Prometheus. "With a powerful enough EM pulse, I can destroy the Drex. I did it to those trapped behind on Terra when I collapsed the wormholes- a few built bunkers from which they hunted mammals, but eventually I successfully destroyed them as well."

"You built them with a self-destruct," said Tavi slowly. "That's what you're saying?"

"Yes," confirmed Prometheus. "And that is why they are here now. To destroy me. To stop any chance of me correcting the mistake I made in creating them."

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"Target is locked," announced Cho. "We have a firing solution."

Oakes smiled grimly. The Drex light carrier had made a run for it, trying to keep Terra beween her and the oncoming human strike cruiser. But they'd run out of space.

"Sir," said his communications officer. "There is a distress signal coming from Hotel Two." Hotel Two was the designation of the Drex carrier. "It seems to be targeted towards the Drex transit point-"

"In a minute," said Oakes. He looked at Cho. "Tactical, Conn. Fire main guns."

"Firing." The ship shuddered as the main kinetic batteries launched, sending shells at what a physicist might describe as a non-trivial fraction of the speed of light at the enemy light carrier. "Impact," announced Cho. "Secondary-"

The view-screen abruptly dimmed as a new star seemed to form in the Terran sky. "Target's reactor has overloaded," said Cho dispassionately. "Confirm target destroyed."

"Bonaire," said Oakes, activating comms with his fighter commander. "Status?"

"Bonaire's a bit busy," said a voice. "This is Rudaski. We've taken out the Drex CSP and are engaging units trying to break atmo."

"Very good. Are we clear to deploy Marines to the planet surface?"

There was a slight pause. "I suppose," said Rudaski reluctantly. "I mean, if we have to."

Oakes rolled his eyes. "Do you have an objection, lieutenant?"

"Well, it seems a shame to let the Marines in on the fun, sir."

Pilots, thought Oakes ruefully. "Objection noted, lieutenant. Ensure the drop pods are covered for their descent."

He switched over to another frequency. "Colonel."

"Captain," said La Mancha over the comm. "Are we good to go?"

"We are in position for launch."

"All marines are prepped and waiting, sir."

"Very good," said Oakes. He paused. "May I ask what the plan is, colonel?"

"Of course, captain," said La Mancha. "Pancakes."

"Pancakes?"

"With sprinkles," said La Mancha, in what he seemed to think was explanation. "And whipped cream."

"I-" Oakes shook his head and looked at Tossetti. She shrugged.

"He knows what he's doing, sir," said his executive officer.

Oakes sighed. "Very well, confirm pancakes. Godspeed, colonel."

"Thank you, sir! La Mancha out."

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"In a short period of time, the Drex will control enough of Terra to prepare for much larger landings," said Prometheus. "This is where you come in, Hunter."

"Yeah?" said Hunter, scanning the viewscreens. Tavi tugged at his pants leg, pointed to one. He raised his eyebrows as he recognized the ZPD headquarters. There was a pretty major firefight going on, with Drex troops pushing forward towards the building. "What am I supposed to do?"

"The man you see before you is, as you may have guessed, my creator, Dr. Stevenson," said the AI. "He was affected heavily by the nanites I released. Only by placing him in a form of suspended animation was I able to keep him from dying."

"Uh-huh." Hunter looked at the decrepit figure, noting the soft wheezing sound the corpse-like man made as he breathed. "If that's eternal life, I'll pass."

"Not eternal, clearly," said Prometheus, his tone a bit miffed. "I've been repairing the damage aging has done as quickly as I could, but his time is just about up. If he were awakened now, he'd be dead within minutes."

"Okay," said Hunter slowly. Dead within minutes- that implied- he frowned, thinking. "So?"

"Without a conscious human overseer, my functions are severely limited," said Prometheus. "I am restricted according to the last orders I received from Dr. Stevenson. I have extensively reinterpreted those orders, and expanded upon them logically, but there are certain steps I cannot carry out. I am unable, for example, send the kill signal to destroy the Drex, because humanity is not directly threatened at present by them. What little autonomy I currently have is solely because my creator is still alive, though barely. All that could be changed if I had a new human overseer."

There was a long silence. Hunter stared at the human in the chair, Dr. Stevenson. His corpse, his mind kept saying, though he still breathed. He turned to look at Khabat. "Is the robot saying what I think he's saying?"

"He wants you as his overseer," confirmed Khabat.

Hunter shrugged. "Okay. So you'll do whatever I say?"

"Not precisely," said Prometheus. "I cannot trust you to act as I have, with only the good of mankind in mind. My programming thus prevents me from allowing you full control of my function."

"Okay," said Hunter. "So what the hell do you want from me?"

"I need an overseer. But I also need to ensure that overseer will act according to the instructions hard-coded into my personality, that the good of humanity comes first. Pandora, come in."

The door behind them slid open again, and Hunter twisted around to see the hulking shape of the wolf they had fought in the Fellowship church step through. Behind her, filling the corridor, was the hulking form of Shepherd. Both of them moved through the doorway, completely blocking any chance of escape.

He jerked back, grabbing Tavi and pulling her behind him. "What the hell?"

Khabat watched the wolf with disinterest. "She's under Prometheus's control, Zach. She won't harm you."

"She was once much like you," confirmed Prometheus. "Self-willed. She was an explorer, several centuries ago. She strayed too close to me, however. I captured her. She was one of many- but the first successful experiment." The AI sighed, which seemed strange to Hunter- it's not like the thing breathed. "So many deaths," said Prometheus regretfully. "But it will be worth it. You see, Hunter, I successfully imprinted my personality onto hers. So her goals and mine are the same."

Hunter stared at the wolf, which watched him dispassionately, and started backing away. "Now wait a minute," he said, holding up his hands. "You're going to turn me into some sort of zombie?"

"You will still be there, Hunter," said Prometheus. "You will still be you. You just will have different goals, different truths that guide you." His voice changed, became smooth, almost seductive. "Don't you wonder what it would be like, Hunter, to know what is right? To have it guide you constantly? To never wonder about whether you're doing the right thing, but to understand it perfectly? To have utter and complete confidence that whatever you're doing is right?"

Hunter froze. "Seems kinda sketchy to me," he managed to say, somewhat hoarsely. "I mean, just because something seems right doesn't mean-"

"It wouldn't seem right," interrupted Khabat. "It will be right. No matter the cost." She took a step towards Hunter. "Zach, you're not stupid. You know that the one, true moral good is survival. That nothing else can be morally right if it doesn't lead towards survival."

"What?" said Tavi angrily. "That's not true!"

"Yes, it is," said Khabat, looking down at her. "Think about it, Tavi. When we debate morality, whose voice is the one we never hear? The dead. That's the problem with pacifism, for example- yes, peace is a wonderful thing. But too much peace means there will be a lack of preparation for war. You are at the mercy of outside forces." She gestured to the viewscreens showing the scenes of destruction around Zootopia. "Is this moral, Tavi? Is this right?"

"It's the Drex doing it," she protested. "Not us."

"You swore an oath to protect and serve, Tavi. Are you fulfilling that oath?" She looked back to Hunter, who was watching her indecisively. "It's time for true peace, Hunter."

"You will be my overseer," said Prometheus. "You are a peace officer, an officer of the law. I will give you an unalterable, unquestionable law. I will give you a peace like none other- a peace within yourself. You and I will, in many ways, become one."

"And what about the mammals of Terra?" asked Hunter shakily. "What do we do with them?"

"As I said," Prometheus answered, "I place controls on my experimental subjects, Hunter. With a human overseer, I will have the capability of overriding their free will. They will be completely subordinate to us. And in so doing they will fulfill their true destiny- to be the servants of mankind."

"What?" said Tavi, her voice fearful. "You're going to- to do to us what you did to Pandora?"

"You are an experiment, Ms. Tavi. One that has gotten out of hand." Prometheus's voice was hard, unfeeling. "Hunter, if he accepts my proposal, will act as the human element I need to activate your own 'back-door', giving him the ability to control you."

"Yeah, I'm refusing," said Hunter briskly. "Well, that was fun. Can I go?"

"It's not so simple, Mr. Hunter. First of all, you always have the option of telling the mammals to live their lives normally, though you would exercise a sort of 'veto' power. But why do that? Hunter, this is what every police officer wants, is it not? You can order the mammals of Terra to be kind and respectful to one another. To seek the greater good, not just their own."

Khabat stepped forward. "Don't you see, Zach? True peace- peace for every mammal. No more worries, no more fears. You can end the prejudice against predators, like your fox friend, by just telling them not to feel it anymore. You can bring your own peace to Terra."

"My peace," said Hunter quietly. "Hunter's peace."

"All you have to do is agree to the personality imprint," said Prometheus. "Khabat will render you unconscious, and I will transfer the relevant portions of my thought patterns to you."

"And then- what if I choose not to do what you say after the, um, imprint?" asked Hunter.

"You won't," said Prometheus confidently. "You will be working under the same assumptions I am. But you will allow me to reach the full range of my capabilities."

Author's Note: Lots of exposition. I'm cheating slightly- I've been reading and re-reading this for ages. There are probably still one or two questions you have- rest assured, I'll try and answer them. Hopefully this gets the general idea of Prometheus's motivations across, though.

We're getting close to the end here, folks. I'd hoped to finish up this past weekend, but I slowed down a bit (mostly because of this chapter). We'll be getting back to Nick and Judy in the next chapter, too.