Wolf & Coyote Mercenary Services [Looney Tunes AU]

Episode 32: Digging Deeper

Keys clack to a rapid rhythm over the background noise coming from the TV. Neither Wile nor Cal utter a word until the text files are fully downloaded and converted. For hours after, they read through the texts until slivers of daylight are piercing through the window blinds.

"Any luck, Cal?"

Calamity shakes his head and resumes his search. He tries out various keywords-'ACME', 'Roadrunner', and so on-with nothing of note other than the usual basic trivia. ACME Corp was founded with the intent of improving quality of life for Sapients, then shifted gears to weapons when nationwide conflicts resulted in many Sapient casualties. But little has been revealed about them otherwise, let alone its connection to the Roadrunner Sanctuary.

Wile points at one name among the extensive list of files: 30X_LT_ACCLPress_ANON.pdf. "We haven't checked that one yet, have we?"

"Not yet." He opens the file, revealing the title Who Were the Loonatics? An Extensive History of Sapients. "Hold on. Wasn't this the book you read when we first met?"

"Yeah, but the title's a bit different." He mouths it under his breath, fixated on one word in particular. "Loonatics... Hey, didn't Aset call herself a Loonatic at one point?"

"It certainly sounds like it." Cal stops to turn to him. "You're not suggesting that Sapients came from space, are you?"

"Of course not! But I'm thinking there's a history between us and that 'Loonatic' race. A history mutually connected by ACME."

The two coyotes linger on the notion for a bit. Then Cal types the keyword 'Loonatic' into the search bar. Immediately, he finds a curious excerpt within the document.

While the Roswell incident was recorded in human history as nothing but sensationalist conspiratorial drivel, Roadrunner Sanctuary's Sapientology researcher, Dr. ■■■■■ Jones, claimed that extraterrestrial activity did actually occur during that time in New Mexico. Further north, in Albuquerque, a UFO crash-landed in the premises of Roadrunner Sanctuary. The UFO, Jones went on to say, belonged to an alien race who referred to themselves as 'Loonatics'. Hidden from the eyes of the human press and government, he formed a coalition with the Loonatic race, using their knowledge and technology to further his own research.

After Jones' passing, the Loonatics disappeared from Earth and Roadrunner Sanctuary was bought out by ACME Corporation and converted into a research branch to continue his work.

"I don't remember reading that in the physical copy," Wile points out.

"Nor have I. Though we have an idea of where Roadrunner fits into all this. But if ACME already existed when the Sanctuary was running, then when was it truly founded?" Without hesitation, he searches for text relating to 'ACME Corp'. The keywords bring up no shortage of results, so he skims through each one until he stumbles across one of interest.

ACME Corporation's origins began in 18■■, during the period of Manifest Destiny. As human U.S. settlers journeyed westward, one Sapient, a ■■■■ named ■■■■■■, gathered an army of Sapients to fight against those who intruded upon their land. Realizing that they were outnumbered and outgunned, ■■■■■■■'s army resorted to building their own weapons using resources taken from enemy forts and fallen soldiers. Through a combination of animal-like strength and human-like resourcefulness, these Sapients turned the tides against their enemies and earned their rights to property, safety, and sovereignty.

"'Property, safety, and sovereignty'. That must be in reference to the Beast Sanctuary Act."

"Ralph mentioned something about Acme City being a 'beast sanctuary' once, but I don't know the details."