"Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter," began a greeting lieutenant, who then stopped - not sure what to make of the other three.
"Daniel Jackson," offered the guy in spectacles.
"Doctor Janet Frazier," offered the foxgirl.
The big guy with the odd symbol in his forehead merely inclined that head a fraction of a degree. "Teal'c."
"Okay..." said the lieutenant. "I'm Lieutenant Tezuka, I'm actually with the Japanese Self Defense Forces and I'm frequently used as a liason. If you have any questions - I'm the guy paid to have the answers."
"Ah," said Jack. "Well, we're here to investigate the goings on in Nerima, particularly the Plague."
"It's being investigated pretty thoroughly already," said Tezuka. "The mutations began in the Furinkan section of Nerima ward. That place has had a reputation for weirdness, but it's always been rogue martial artists and the like prior to this. I have some classified data on the plague that might interest you."
"Classified?" asked Jack.
"Yes, we Japanese believe rather strongly in saving face," stated Tezuka, leading them towards a limousine. "Details are being kept from the public as a result. I've prepared dossiers on the suspects. So far we have not been able to positively link those individuals with the -"
POUNCE! THWAM!
Jack blinked at the sight of someone besides him getting pounced on by a catgirl. "Sympathies for your back."
"Ah, 'instinct'," said Daniel, nodding wisely.
"Indeed," said Teal'c.
"This is our driver, Sergeant Miyuki Matsudera," groaned Tezuka. "(You can get off now, Matsudera-san.)"
The driver slowly and apparently with great embarassment got off of the liason.
"Waitaminute," said Jack with skepticism weighting his voice. "Chinese curses? Chinese Amazons? 300 year old perverts?"
"Yes," said Tezuka. "The Amazons are cooperating with the investigation, sharing much of their non-martial arts lore. One of them even threw in an individual cursed to turn into a duck as an experimental subject."
"Do you even know how many laws of physics this contravenes?" asked an also skeptical Doctor Frazier.
"You're a foxgirl," pointed out Tezuka. "Have you tried shapeshifting or illusions?"
"What?" asked the doctor.
"Many foxgirls have minor ESP abilities," said Tezuka. "They can make minor alterations in form, OR they can project telepathic illusions about themselves. Either apparently takes a great deal of effort and leaves the foxgirl ready to drop from exhaustion, and not all foxgirls have such talents. Catgirls have increased strength, flexibility, and agility. Angels can negate most of the effects of gravity upon them, such that their wings can carry them aloft. There are a number of psychic gifts among the other transformed."
"Well, that could be explained as brain reconstruction, neural pathway reconfiguration," began Doctor Frazier. "You're talking about shifts in mass and radically different physiologies."
"If you come up with a working theory that accounts for such, you'd make the physicians and physicists and geneticists and even a few politicians a lot happier," admitted Tezuka.
"(How is Japan coping with the changes?)" asked Daniel. "(Don't you have the saying 'the nail that sticks out gets pounded down'?)"
"(Your Japanese is excellent,)" admitted Tezuka. "However your companions clearly don't speak my native tongue. As for the Japanese tendency towards cohesiveness, it's still there. As is Japanese stoicism. We are weathering this as we always have. It's just that now we have a large number of catgirls, foxgirls, angels, succubi, bunnygirls, elves, doggirls, and so on."
"The United States is just getting the disease in many areas," said Daniel. "We haven't seen the full variety of transformed."
"Well, you are familiar with catgirls and foxgirls," said Tezuka. "All the varieties seem to have special 'gifts' that they can tap into - apparently unlocked in time of great need."
"Such as your statement about shapeshifting," said Doctor Frazier, staring at her hand and apparently willing it to change shape.
"Yes," said Tezuka. "Angels appear to be psychokinetic. Succubi telekinetic but also telepathic. I can prepare some files for you detailing the varieties."
"We're not even sure how many varieties there are," admitted Samantha. "Things are a little chaotic where this has gone through."
"Yes, 'a little'," said Janet, rolling her eyes. "There was a newscast where the perky little catgirl reporter broke off a report about anti-transformee mobs in West Virginia to go wailing about how she hadn't found her 'special one' yet."
"There are areas where the flu hasn't struck yet, and they've locked down a quarantine. Anyone approaching is being shot at," said Samantha. "Mainly in the southern states in the United States, some Islamic countries, and parts of Africa. It's actually not spreading through the Third World countries very quickly because it's mainly spread through the more advanced and well traveled segments of the populace."
"It reacts to common antibiotics," stated Tezuka. "It eats a number of common antibiotics, accelerating its development."
"Oh dear," said the physician.
"What about these... why are we stopping?" asked Daniel as the limo stopped.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sun, 01 May 2005 10:03)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.