— You're not real —I turn my back on my father's hallucination— you're dead.
— Of course I'm dead —he chuckles— we both know you're hallucinating —with his cane he points to my original body— It's not your most respectable side.
— Don't pretend that you care about me What is this about?
— That's what I came to ask you, what will you do now? Will you share the power with the other four? Do you think they really did that to you? Will you sit like a dog waiting for instructions from its master? I didn't raise you to be a vassal.
— Raise me? I would call it more of a training —I turn to face it— you molded me to be a replica of yours —I slowly approach him— the culmination of your frustrated ambitions and even after death you keep trying —my father's annoying expression tells me I'm right— but I won't give you the pleasure.
— Then don't expect to live too long.
After that warning fades away, everything turns dark, in the midst of the dense darkness I notice the feline eyes of a lion, I know that this is all a hallucination so I'm not afraid of it— Then we will be in this together —I stretch out my hand to touch His head, when I rest it on the animal, it sits down — we will make sure to bring order to this country.
When I regain consciousness I raise my head slowly, when I sit down I look at my hands, they look normal but I feel that I see lines in them that I did not perceive before, when I sniff I perceive more smells, several of them are disgusting no matter how much I try I can not stop inhaling them, so I cover my nose with my hand, I touch it sooner than I expected What is this? my mouth is wider, I begin to feel my face I have hair on my face, I opened my mouth which is longer my teeth are still the same but the distribution is different, when I look at my chest I notice white hairs, I do not have a mirror to look at me, but I think I know what has happened to me.
I don't know how long it took after I finished my transformation, but when the door was finally opened the first thing I saw was three soldiers pointing a gun at me, I raised my arms to indicate that I have no bad intentions.
— I'm Eusebio Iustitia, I just transform myself.
— Lower your weapons —orders the representative of the ANC— so it seems that he retains his cognitive abilities, but he lost part of his human features.
I get up still with my arms up— Now I'm one of you.
— One of us, in appearance yes, let's see what will happen next —he turns around, turning his back on me— come with me, we will meet with the other four.
— So Octavio didn't die?
— Fortunately not —answers the person in charge of the whole process— but without a doubt mixing genetically with clams is something that we still have to work on, everyone is waiting for us at the "Los leones" Golf Club, the rest will go there.
— Yes, it's a busy day —I comment as we walk out of the mental hospital.
— Day? Two days have passed since you entered, I was in charge of informing your family that you would not arrive.
I can't help but run my hand through the hair on my neck— How am I going to explain this? I expected to see myself more ... human.
— Until we discover what makes vaccines perfect, it will remain a gamble.
— What's the worst that can happen? We got into a car with tinted windows.
— Some lose most of their human form, if they are able to preserve their conscience then they are given the right to live, otherwise they must be executed.
— I suppose we will not have to talk about this detail when we offer the opportunity to cross.
— I notice some annoyance in your comment.
I scratch my forehead— It's just that ruling with a lie will only cause mistrust on their part.
— Whatever they do, they will have opposition against the government, the fact is that they prepare to respond, preferably not by force.
A grunt of annoyance escapes me— How have you handled this change in other places? Information about what we will do is unavoidable.
— The others also asked me questions about how to handle this news, they worry too much, remember that they have our full support, just let us know what they will do first.
On the way, I can confirm that after two days of occupation the tension between humans and animals is increasing, some people walk down the street looking with contempt at the soldiers who are around, the walls already have scratches that demand the withdrawal of the forces military, there is no doubt that the streets have become a field of gunpowder, it only takes a small spark to ignite everything.
On the other hand, the Las Condes sector does not seem to be affected by what is happening, the military surveillance is lighter and as usual the people who roam the streets are few, most use cars to get around, I cannot help wondering how they will react them with the announcement of the wall.
At the entrance of the golf club we only found a group of security guards who work for the building, which surprises me, to be an animano meeting point I expected more security from them, already inside the installation my He doubts what happened with the transformation of old Octavio, at the reception of the building I am greeted by silence, the only one present in the place is the old man, his body is totally twisted, his arms are drawn up to his stomach, his legs are bent, his head inclined touching the chest with the chin, it would be necessary to look at it from the ground if it were not for the handcart to which it is tied.
Octavio blinks— I know it's disturbing, but now death doesn't worry me, my body is immune to blows and my life expectancy is like that of a Ming clam, I can live for 500 years.
— But you can't move anymore
— I couldn't do it long before I transformed either, so don't feel bad for me.
— It's not easy to get used to seeing you like this.
— And that you haven't seen your face —he laughs— now help me move, the last thing I want is to enter the room where the other three are, but we have a meeting to discuss.
I take Octavio with the handcart to the room where we will meet.
— He's selfish! —The abrupt movement of Leticia's arm causes some of the wing feathers that are linked to her limb to fly away— your proposal is a serious damage to the country.
— Damage to the country? —Samuel knocks on the table that echoes throughout the room, causing us all to recoil, surprised he realizes how he has just dented a wooden table— I'm sorry about that, look at his pale hand— I forget that I have the strength of a rhinoceros, I said, what you are looking for is to abolish curfews, so that your nightclubs can generate income, but I assure you that if we do not re-establish them, things will get violent.
— And to think that I would have to agree with you —Verónica sways in the chair— the streets are a time bomb, we just need someone to press the trigger and we have to deal with a national revolt.
Leticia notices our presence in the room, she makes a face of discomfort when she sees Octavio's condition, but she recovers quickly— Tell these two that governing with a curfew will only generate distrust in the public.
—I'm only thinking about their safety —Samuel clarifies— When the wall is finished we can dissolve the curfew, so we can work quietly at night and watch during the day.
— You treat them as if they were a threat —I warn—we should appeal to the trust between the two sides.
— That's what we need —the leader of the Metum family approaches me as if she has found the key word— what we need is to build trust, show that we believe in them.
— Do we believe in them? Verónica asks— Leticia, Would you let your lands be expropriated by strangers? Eusebio —she points to the television screen that is off— What would you do if they announced live that they had just lost sovereignty over half of your country?
— The same thing I did when the military formed curfews and people began to disappear, to find a way to overthrow the government in power.
— You only talk about doing things in a bad way —Octavio interrupts— what we need is a lie that justifies our measures, even the worst news can turn into something positive, we just have to look for the focus —with his eyes he studies the room— now we must decide how much news we are going to sweeten.
We hear footsteps of someone coming running— Turn on the TV! —The voice belongs to the representative of the ANC, we have never heard him so upset.
Veronica turns on the screen, the image I see freezes me completely, my daughter is in a television studio— My name is Rosa Duarte, but my family is currently named Iustitia, I am the daughter of one of the five new rulers of the country and I come to warn the entire nation of what is about to happen.