Kala bears, wicked mutations of Australia's koala bears (marsupials), are on the rise.
Humans were destroying the koala's whole world, their trees. They were powerless to resist until, under pressure, a mutation occurred. Their eyes went from brown...
On the morning of day two, we entered the soma fields. Looking down on the scene from the pass the troubles were immediately apparent. What Green Dog had described was:
"An endless carpet of red soma flowers, with seasonal addicts and weekend users roaming group to group in the sun, chatting and laughing."
That was the soma fields she remembered, before the decay set in. What we saw was a dusty plain of dead greys and browns, with an occasional pocket of red.
Invisibly chained to these last pockets of red huddled the remaining soma addicts.
We approached the first group.
They were all clearly ill; sweating, trembling and thin. Silverfox and Green Dog had personal friends among this group and they went to them, nuzzled them.
They told us the soma was sparse now so groups were constantly on the move, seeking adequate supply and never finding it. They gather what they can and share it out according to need. Each member of a group sacrifices as best they can so the sickest will suffer a little less.
Day in day out they live on the razor's edge, wracked with panic and pain, never knowing if they will find enough to hold off the sickness. In their weakened state withdrawal often means death. Some brave souls choose to walk away, to suffer a horrible lonely death rather than burden their group.
I shivered as an empathetic panic ran through me, the bodies memory of withdrawal, but I was powerless to help.
Commander Winnie sprang into action. He organised our wolves into groups and sent them out to a hunt for pockets of Soma. They could cover more ground in a few hours than these poor sick folk could in days.
He promised the addicts, within the hour they would all have soma. Not just a minimum for survival either. No, they would have enough to fully meet their needs.
The relief that swept the group was palpable. They wept and nuzzled Winnie.
Soon the long-suffering addicts were freed from their torment and pain. They had enough soma to go on the nod for the first time in months, to forget altogether the horrors of their existence.
Winnie further showed his compassion and foresight when he brought out the healing crystals he'd brought with him. Being part of Earth, not Sirius, they still held their potency. He made an offer to every addict there. For those who wanted he would use the crystals to channel healing, just as the healers of Sirius had always done.
He told them to relax and enjoy the afternoon. Tonight he would free all those who wanted, from their addiction. The tears of relief flowed and every addict signed on.
That night Winnie went to each of the group, laid on his paws and his crystals. For the first time in months the soma eaters slept without horror and in the morning, they woke free from compulsion and junk sickness.
So, we are not completely helpless here.
Winnie has a plan.
He asked Marie-Clare to join him in healing the addicts that night, passing on to her the lineage of the Sirius detox method. He gave her the crystals he had charged for this function and in the morning she left with an entourage of wolves, to travel among the soma groups and repeat the healing process wherever there were addicts seeking release.
The rest of us continued on our journey to Crystal Mountain.
Kaz: Good for you Winnie.
Neil: Hi Kaz. 😊 Nice to see Winnie helping the Sirius addicts. He never did anything for me. Told me to pull up my socks.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
