Green Canyon Magic - Ch.29 - Troubling Talking Points

"I think Hannes is mad at me," Theo commented quietly as he rested his chin on his front paws and wrapped his tail around his side.

Stef responded softly, "I don't think he's upset with you personally. It's Gaia's message that's got him on edge."

I agreed then added, "I'm not sure what sort of negotiating he was expecting to do today, but it definitely didn't help his cause having Agent Kofler undercut him like that."

"Good point," my enbyfriend nodded slowly. "I think Hannes was expecting to open things up with the 'good news' about our families, so we'd be in a better mood when it came to the actual discussions. Except that backfired on him pretty badly since we didn't know our families were arrested in the first place. Then Pierer's agent rubbed salt in the wound and made the whole situation even worse."

Our wildcat friend sighed, "Hannes only just got here. I hope this doesn't mean he's going to leave again already."

"I'm sure they'll want to talk with us some more," I replied in an optimistic tone. "I think they're just regrouping, maybe reviewing the rest of their notes to make sure there aren't any more surprises."

After Theo relayed Gaia's latest announcement our human counterparts retreated to talk with Lt. Renner. They ended up standing near the horses, and their guide Mr. Theyer soon joined in the quiet conversation. Their photographer Werner Seidl moved to where he could take some pictures of the group as they continued their discussion.

Meanwhile the soldiers stayed where they were, and they were all focused on us. Most of them watched us warily, they obviously didn't trust us and probably didn't like us. The only exception was the one tending the horses, Private Meinl. He was watching us too, but like before he seemed curious rather than suspicious or distrusting.

Eventually Hannes and Alina left their little huddle and returned to join Theo and Stef and I. Ms. Schüssel had her notepad in hand like she was ready to take notes again, while Mr. Huber had a slightly troubled expression on his face.

"Sorry for keeping you all waiting," he apologized. "We weren't expecting such a proclamation. I was sent today with authorization to negotiate on behalf of Austria, but it's going to be difficult for me to convince the rest of the government that these meetings are worthwhile if that's the sort of message I have to bring back from the first round."

Stef pointed out, "This is the third round, isn't it? Or do you mean, the first round where the Austrian government actually means to negotiate?"

Hannes didn't reply to that, but from his expression it was clear our catkin's observation was correct. On the other hand Theo's ears drooped a little, he obviously didn't like seeing his friend squirm. So I decided to try and help out a bit.

"To be honest Gaia's announcement sounds a lot worse than it is," I commented. "The reality is nothing's actually changed. She hasn't claimed or taken any additional territory, she only said she might. But that was always a possibility, so all she's done is made her intentions clear."

I continued, "Meanwhile she's promised to compensate all those private citizens who were displaced by her no-tech zones. And she's offering compensation to anyone else who's been affected but is still toughing it out rather than leave their home."

"Maybe if you spin your report to focus on those positives that'll help when you get back?" I suggested.

My enbyfriend chimed in, "Right. I imagine there's been a lot of uncertainty there, about whether or not those people would be able to return to their homes or businesses. That's been cleared up, now the affected people will get reimbursed so they can move on with their lives."

"Maybe," Hannes replied with a thoughtful frown. Then he sighed, "Alright, I'll have to think about that before I deliver my report tomorrow. In the meantime I suppose I should try and cover the points I was actually sent here to discuss."

He paused there and took a deep breath, before diving in with his first talking point.

"The number one item is we need to do something about all the people who've become sick. As of today our most recent figures suggest approximately ninety thousand Austrians are currently suffering from the effects of Gaia's illness. And according to my briefing this morning there have already been one thousand and forty-one deaths. So I'm sure you can understand why this is our single biggest concern. What can we do, how can we fix this? How can we stop this pandemic from claiming any more lives?"

My first reaction when hearing those numbers was shock. After all it was only a couple days ago that the news reported people were starting to fall ill in Vienna. And even that was kind of abstract in a way.

Stef and I were both on board with Gaia's plan, we both loved nature and were all about saving the world and everything. But having a government official look us in the eyes and tell us that our new boss had made almost a hundred thousand people ill, and that she was responsible for over a thousand deaths... That suddenly put things in a different light. At least for a few seconds.

After the initial shock wore off I started thinking again, "Last I heard the population is around nine million? So ninety thousand is about one percent. That's a lot lower than the fifty percent Gaia mentioned in her initial announcement."

"And it sounds like the mortality rate is just as low," Stef pointed out. "One thousand out of ninety thousand is about one point one percent, I think?"

They added quickly, "I'm not trying to downplay it, a thousand and forty-one is still a lot of people. But it's nowhere near the figures Gaia mentioned."

"I know that," Mr. Huber sighed. "It's still a thousand families in mourning. And another ninety thousand more wondering if they might be next. So what is the fastest way to stop this?"

Stef and I both looked to Theo, who finally stopped moping and sat up straight.

Our wildcat friend addressed the human diplomat, "Gaia outlined her requirements at the same time she made her initial demands. Stop using fossil fuels. Stop poisoning and polluting the planet. The sooner you do those things, the sooner humanity will recover."

"In the meantime," he continued, "Individuals who are sick can still help themselves. The same advice I had for Mr. Pierer applies to all the others. The key to recovery is to heal the sickness in their hearts."

Ms. Schüssel had been quietly jotting down everything up until that point, but she suddenly stopped there and looked at Theo. "What does that mean exactly? How are they supposed to heal their hearts? Are you talking about some sort of medical procedure or treatment, or is that a metaphor for something else?"

Theo tilted his head to one side as if he was considering the question. Then after a few moments he replied, "It's that second thing, the metaphor. The humans who are most at risk are the ones who actively seek to harm Gaia's children."

"That means those who directly profit from destroying the environment," the wildcat elaborated, "But it also includes those who actively harm other humans. In fact that's probably the largest group right now? The greedy, the thoughtless, the cruel, the inhumane. People who care only for themselves, who have no empathy or compassion for anything beyond their own skin. That's the real disease which plagues the Earth. All Gaia's done is bring it into sharper focus."

Stef and I exchanged a glance, then the catkin summed it up pretty succinctly. "In other words, all folks need to do is stop being assholes. Then they'll get better."

"Sounds pretty straightforward to me," I commented. I was trying not to smile, but I couldn't stop my tails from wagging.

Meanwhile Hannes and Alina both looked torn at the news.

"That's it?" Mr. Huber asked nervously. "I appreciate what you're saying but you must know the government isn't going to accept that. They were hoping for something more... tangible. They can't just tell almost a hundred thousand sick people to just be nice and hope they'll get better."

After another brief pause he added, "Isn't there something more actionable? There must be something clear and concise they could do, or that the government could do on their behalf?"

Theo flicked his ears and swished his tail in a feline equivalent of a shrug, "Not really. I've told you how they can help themselves. It has to come from them, nobody else can do it for them."

"What if they donated to some sort of ecological charity?" Ms. Schüssel asked. "Or sold their cars and switched to public transportation? Or swore off eating meat?"

I shook my head, "If you tell people that sort of thing will heal them then of course they'll do it. But odds are they won't mean it, they won't actually change their ways."

"They'll do it to try and save their own skin," Stef added, "Not out of any real altruism or change of heart."

Hannes sighed and his shoulders slumped, "All right. Thank you for clarifying that. I don't know how they'll take it when I deliver the news back in Vienna, but that's a problem for tomorrow."

Ms. Schüssel finished taking down a few more notes then quietly prompted her boss with the next item on his agenda.

"Ah right," he nodded slightly.

Then he grimaced as he addressed Theo and Stef and I, "Apparently two individuals illegally entered this area on Wednesday October thirteenth. We know they bribed a bus driver to let them off in a restricted area, and that was the last anyone saw or heard from them. Minister Pierer's people want me to ask what you did with them, but my understanding is they may be friends of yours?"

Hannes glanced at Alina's notebook again then added, "Their names are Charlotte Beck and Flora Rasch."

My ears and tails all drooped slightly when he read out their names. We already figured the government would be monitoring our friends, or keeping track of who we talked to on social media, but it was still unsettling to have our suspicions verified.

On the other hand I wasn't sure if we should confirm or deny the fact. And I was positive Charlotte and Flora wouldn't be very happy when they found out the government was definitely tracking them, and basically just asked about them by name.

I glanced over at Stef in time to see them looking back at me, and it was clear from their expression they were thinking the same things I was. They weren't sure what to say or how to respond either.

Unfortunately Theo wasn't on quite the same page as the two of us. He broke the silence and answered his friend's question, "Flora and Charlotte are here as our guests. Why do you ask?"

The human diplomat sighed, "I suppose you should probably warn them they'll likely be arrested when they try and leave the area."

"On what charges?" I asked with a frown, while my tails all twitched in irritation. "They're Austrian citizens, and this is a national park."

Hannes explained, "They deliberately circumvented security procedures, and entered a restricted area without authorization."

"And I hate to say it," he continued, "But as per your earlier announcement this is no longer an Austrian national park. You've made it clear this is now Gaia's sovereign territory. At best the government will want to set up proper border controls and customs checks but..."

He paused to glance at the lieutenant and the other soldiers then grimaced again, "I suspect at least some ministers and a sizeable part of the population will want us to treat Gaia and her territorial claims as land seized by an invading hostile power."

Hearing that, Stef and I exchanged an uneasy look, and once again I was sure they had the same thought as me. Gaia wanted us to invite more friends and other like-minded folks to come and join us, but from the sound of it that was about to become a whole lot harder. Especially if they'd have to try and sneak across some sort of militarized 'no mans land' or something to get here.

Theo must have been thinking the same thing as he pointed out, "We are a diplomatic team and this territory is home to our embassy. We are not soldiers, and the only military representatives here are those of the Bundesheer."

"That's right," my enbyfriend agreed. "So what's the problem if we invite some friends to come and visit us? We don't have any passport or visa requirements, at least not for folks we've specifically asked to come here."

I added, "For that matter Gaia hasn't expelled any of the people who stayed put after the power went out. Are you going to treat them as foreigners now too? Or try and arrest them if they decide to leave?"

Hannes frowned, then grimaced, then finally sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I honestly don't know. I'm just a junior bureaucrat with the Ministry of Climate Action and Energy, and I'm only here because Theo asked for me specifically. This situation involves multiple ministries, and ultimately the chancellor will probably be making the final decisions."

Our little wildcat friend's ears drooped again and he asked in a sad quiet tone, "I know we're on opposite sides of all this Hannes, but I still hope you and I can be friends?"

"I was also hoping," Theo added in that same uneasy voice, "Maybe after all the official talk is out of the way, you and I could also talk about other things? Like friendship things, I mean?"

The human bureaucrat obviously wasn't expecting that, and his expression jumped through a few more emotional shifts. There was definitely some surprise, and maybe a little confusion. I didn't see anything to suggest he was opposed to the idea though. In fact I was pretty sure Hannes was about to respond positively to our wildcat's request, but before he could we were all distracted by a commotion over by the horses.

Mr. Theyer the guide was still there, as was the lieutenant and another of the soldiers who'd been on guard duty, and they all seemed fine. The source of the disruption was actually Private Meinl.

In place of the quiet but curious young man we'd seen tending the horses for the last three visits, everyone was now staring at a surprised looking ponygirl clutching a canteen and wearing Meinl's uniform. Although the military fatigues were several sizes too big on her, and her long fuzzy equine ears had already knocked the cap off her head.

With all eyes on her the transformed private visibly cringed under all the attention. Or rather they cringed, I mentally corrected myself. I didn't want to make any assumptions about their gender, after all.

Then I noticed, despite their obvious discomfort at suddenly becoming the centre of attention there was definitely a little smile on the ponygirl private's face.

** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of Lucy who commissioned it! **