Conversations with Critters Presents The Case of the Jumping Gene Chapter 11
Walk with the animals. Talk with the animals. And the highly anticipated release of Chapter 11 of The Case of the Jumping Gene!
Today Critters! We are pleased to present the highly anticipated release of Chapter 11 of The Case of the Jumping Gene! Brought to you by yours truly, the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency! Hooray! Hooray!
Previously! Our incredible Critter Detectives sat down for a hypnosis session which yielded a new found identity and sense of freedom plus! an ever deepening of the mystery.
Now! In today’s enthralling episode, we are naming names. From. One. To. One. Hundred.
Please! Get your field notebooks ready and set to go go go with our Core Community Critters, Jasper Kitten, Chris and Jojo as we embark bark bark in excellent duly noted critter commentary and conversation. Take it away!
Jasper: Greetings Dear Gentle Critters and Dear Gentle Readers! What’s in a name? That. Is. The. Question.
Chris: Question mark. Question mark.
Jojo: My friends, let’s read all about it!
THE CASE OF THE JUMPING GENE
BOOK 3 FROM THE J KITTEN, SLEUTH & PURVEYOR OF BRIGHT SHINY OBJECTS DETECTIVE AGENCY
BY JASPER KITTEN, CHRIS, JOJO AND STAR IN HEAVEN FUREVER AND EVER
DEDICATED IN LUVLUVLUVING MEMORY OF STAR
CHAPTER 11
NAMES NOT NUMBERS
When the last of the dishes and the last of the spoons had been dried and stacked and stored back in the travelware duffel bag, Clementine and Petal hung their dish towels out to dry over a geothermal vent in the Lava Caves.
“KP duty complete,” they saluted Jojo.
“At ease, Officers,” Jojo saluted in return.
Star clasped and grasped a field notebook in her cinnamon brown paws and studied the sleeping Ginormous Group of cats as they began to rouse from their slumber. She shifted her gaze from them to the page, her progressive lenses making for a smooth adjustment, and she wrote her first note, carefully capitalizing each letter.
NAMES.
Jasper Kitten paced next to her and glanced over her shoulder.
“Excellent, Star,” he mewed. “We have ninety-eight more names to keep track of after Fiona and Charlotte. This is truly a large scale rescue operation.”
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten,” barked Star, the light flashing in her eyes, “do you think each and every one of the Rufus Subsets will be able to come up with a personal individual name for themselves?”
“Yes, I do believe so, Star,” replied Jasper Kitten, scanning the cats as they stirred awake.
“Then I am at the ready,” confirmed Star with her can do Chihuahua attitude. She continued to write a precise and numbered list from one to one hundred in the field notebook.
“The Rufus Subset transition and transformation from numbers to names is set,” agreed Jasper Kitten. “Now it is time for a new chapter in their lives.”
Star ran a cinnamon brown paw in a vertical line down the page, from beginning to end.
“Two numbers are already known to us, so it will be a formality to specify and fill in the blanks. Rufus Subset One. Fiona. Rufus Subset One Hundred. Charlotte. The numbers two through ninety-nine are ready to be specified, identified and recorded,” apprised Star.
“Why, Star, your Field Notes and Checklist sure make a big difference with the identification of the Ginormous Group,” growled Chris, low and slow.
“Gosh, thank you, Chris, thank you very much,” replied Star.
“You’re welcome,” he tapped a toebean on his phone screen. “How bout if I take a pic of each Rufus Subset as they proclaim and claim their names and then we can coordinate this with your written compilation?”
“Good thinking, Chris,” the light flashed again in Star’s eyes. “This cross reference visual method utilizing your phone camera should prove most helpful both in the near and long term.”
Chris gave a nod in the affirmative and tap tapped the camera icon on the screen in coordination with Star’s field notes for identification and tracking of the Ginormous Group.
Slowly slowly the awakening of the Rufus Subsets unfolded in the Lava Caves and one by one, they sat up and stretched and arched their backs and extended their paws, toebeans spread wide.
Fiona led them in a grooming session, but when they spotted Charlotte still sound asleep, curled up in an Orange ball, they startled and hopped around her.
“Please, my friends,” purred and reassured Fiona. “All is well.”
“It can’t be,” they cried at once in a state of rapid cognition recognition. “Is it really her?”
“Yes. It really is. We have been reunited with our long lost friend, our one and only, Charlotte, thanks to the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency,” commended Fiona.
Charlotte stirred in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open. She sprang onto all fours, surrounded by the group, and cowered as they crowded around her, pressing in.
Jasper Kitten strode forward and patted his white glove paws in the signal for them to calm down. He inserted himself between them and Charlotte and a narrow gap opened. The group rocked back on their toebeans and she relaxed with the new found space.
“Please, remain calm,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “We have been able to recover your long lost companion and she is on the road of rescue with you now. Please, say hello to Charlotte.”
A purr grew in the Lava Caves and Charlotte warmed to it. While he stood in their midst, Jasper Kitten addressed the Ginormous Group.
“For the very last time, my friends,” he began, “we will ask you to line up according to your Rufus Subset number. But please, Critters. Know that this is a new beginning. From now on, you will be known by your name and not your number. Furever. Please. Proceed,” Jasper Kitten gave a definitive swat of the air.
Fiona stepped forward first and approached Star with her field notebook.
“My name is Fiona,” she said for the record. “Previously and formerly, I was known as Rufus Subset One. Those. Days. Are. Over. Furever.”
The flourish of a cinnamon brown paw streaked across the top of the page as Star duly noted the change from a number to a name. Fiona then turned to face Chris who snapped the shutter on the camera.
The Rufus Subsets lined up in an orderly fashion on their own in small groups, without the need for any assistance from Clementine and Petal who stood at the ready. The first group stepped forward in single file. Star filled in the page, row after row, individual after individual.
“Vinnie. Oscar. Smokey. Charlie. Alfonse. Armando. Millie. Oliver. Lucy. Angel. Bella. Stella. Chloe. Sophie. Baby. Eddie. Maggie. Lily. Patches. Violet. Felix. Felicity. Gismo.”
Chris clicked away at the camera shutter. The next group filed past Star and the flourish of her pen.
“Luna. Gira. Nigel. George. Leo. Bianca. Tilly. Kai. Peaches. Smooch. Mooch. Seymour. Luke. Lance. Spot. Henry. Mimi. Carmine. Buddy. Jonny. Percy. Jimmy. Timmy. Tommy. Teddy.”
The next group stepped up and Star continued to keep pace with them, a slight writer’s cramp in her cinnamon brown paw no impediment to the incredible progress being made. Chris also felt a slight cramp in his toebean, but kept pace with shooting the pics as well. They pressed on.
“Lala. Sabrina. Coco. Mojo. Milo. Brewster. Frankie. Cooper. Boo. Pepper. Ziggy. Wiggy. Biggy. Figgy. Jiggy. Tiggy. Merlin. Rocky. Gus. Phoebe. Olive. Marley. Maya. Binky. Basil.”
The final group, having waited with patience and pride, could barely contain their excitement as they called out their names to Star and their voices filled the vast acoustics of the Lava Caves, a chorus, a catalog of new beginnings.
“Nala. Winston. Freddy. Reddy. Toby. Ruby. Sage. Petunia. Flower. Monty. Aster. Callie. Alley. Benny. Lenny. Penny. Gigi. Taylor. Tyler. Autumn. Primo. Cole. Muffy. Buffy. Tuffy.”
Star looked up from her field notebook and all of the names now etched and sketched on the page. One line remained. And Charlotte stepped forward. Star, with a final flourish of her cinnamon brown paw, made the last recording at number one hundred and gave a resounding final tap of the pen on the page. Period.
“Charlotte,” she said her name out loud to Star for the record, but then stopped short of Chris and the camera.
Chris hesitated, his toebean a tap away from clicking the shutter.
“What’s the point?” she mewed, downcast. “I’m still Orange.”
Jasper Kitten padded over to her and rested a white gloved paw on her shoulder.
“The point is that we can all clearly see your own process of transformation, Charlotte,” he advised.
“But Jasper Kitten, that’s easy for you to say. You are Orange by nature. I. Am. Not.” She turned her face away from the camera.
“Yes, I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “Your feelings are completely understandable given the experimental situation and manipulative circumstances which you have been subjected to at the Bio Lab. Still. However. Charlotte. If my instincts serve me correctly, I will in fact, and as previously promised, restore your coat pattern to its natural condition as soon as we have access again to a legitimate laboratory. I. Give. You. My. Word.”
“Thank you for your good counsel and encouragement, Jasper Kitten,” replied Charlotte, reassured.
“I promise,” he swore. “We will wait until that time to take your photo i.d.”
Charlotte padded away and mingled with her friends who called out her name to join them.
Chris detected a subtle nod from Jasper Kitten and put the camera away. Star closed her field notebook, but continued to clasp and grasp it in her cinnamon brown paws. She made eye contact with Jasper Kitten.
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten,” she gave a hushed bark. “The information contained herein is of the utmost, and dare I say, critical importance to this investigation. We now have all of the names of what can only be characterized as the former Rufus Subsets.”
“Your point is well taken, Star,” verified Jasper Kitten, the furrow of an Orange stripe deepening in his brow. “We must proceed with all due caution to protect this highly confidential identifying information. May I?”
“Of course, Jasper Kitten, of course,” Star said with an implicit keen awareness of his impending next move. She passed the field notebook to him and then folded her cinnamon brown paws close to her chest.
“Why, Jasper Kitten, are you going to secure the field notebook in the Attache Case?” growled Chris, low and slow, also with the dawning realization of Jasper Kitten’s investigative intentions.
“Correct, Chris. Furthermore. We must continue to protect our Clients at all times. This secure location must be well guarded and known only to the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency. No. One. Else. Needs. To. Know.”
The Ginormous Group celebrated with each other, purrs and names and laughter blending into the ambience of the Lava Caves. Jasper Kitten concealed the field notebook in his pocket and strolled past them, casual, calm.
He glanced back at them when he reached the stash of gear and then made a surreptitious move with the Attache Case, entering the security code with a swift silent and clandestine application of a white gloved paw and popped the latches. He stashed the book and closed the lid fast fast, then wheeled back around, skirting the group hugs and conversations on his return to the Critter Detectives who stood huddled together.
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten,” whispered Star, her bark hushed, “no one noticed that you performed a security based operation with the field notebook of noted names. You did an amazing covert job and secreted the intel in the Attache Case. Nicely done.”
“Thank you, Star,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “We must move on to the next critical phase of the investigation. We can’t stay in the Lava Caves for much longer. We need to keep moving.”
“Jasper Kitten,” barked Jojo. “I have spoken with Sir Skipper.”
“Go on, Jojo, we’re all ears,” replied Jasper Kitten.
“There’s a safe haven further to the North,” relayed Jojo. “Sir Skipper and the sled dogs often overnight there when training for the racing season.”
“I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “And is this of a temporary nature like the Lava Caves?”
“It’s more permanent. Possibly even a Furever Home,” confirmed Jojo.
“A Furever Home for the whole Ginormous Group?” probed Jasper Kitten.
“Yes, it’s a farm with a big house and several outbuildings. Barns. Stables. Workshops. Bunkhouses,” enumerated Jojo.
“Why, what about a Catio?” growled Chris, low and slow.
“Good question, Chris. This could be a dealbreaker,” surmised Jasper Kitten.
“A Catio is doable, but it’s never been done before on this type of farm. If Chris is willing to build it with his extensive handycat experience, we can make that a reality,” informed Jojo. “I’m quite sure the resident farm Critters would be more than accommodating in that department.”
Chris flexed his DIY skilled toebeans.
“I can do it. I’ve seen a few Catio designs that are geared toward farm houses and barns, maybe the bunkhouses too,” he agreed.
“Jojo,” commented Jasper Kitten, “what kind of farm is this exactly?”
“An Alpaca Farm, Jasper Kitten,” bark bark barked Jojo.
“I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “Alpacas. A most curious Critter. And when you say that they would be more than accommodating in terms of building a Catio specifically, would you also say that they are of an accommodating nature generally?”
“Roger that, Jasper Kitten,” confirmed Jojo. “The alpacas are absolutely of an accommodating nature.”
“Thank you for the clarification, Jojo,” asserted Jasper Kitten. “The Alpaca Farm does seem most promising for a Furever Home.”
“You’re welcome, Jasper Kitten,” barked Jojo. “Sir Skipper recommends that we depart from the Lava Caves under the cover of darkness once again. The moon will be bright under cloudless skies.”
“Then we shall travel as he suggests. Thank you for speaking with Sir Skipper, Jojo, on our behalf. At this time, I would like you to confirm the arrangements. Please. Proceed.”
Jojo saluted and headed outside while Jasper Kitten stood in silence and thoughts of the journey ahead churned in his mind, his brow furrowed in consideration of the best possible outcome for his Clients, of a Furever Home. Furever. Furever.
And yet. And still. Jasper Kitten felt a suspicion begin to sneak up on him, gnawing and vague, but unshakeable.
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Poetry with Pets
Start a new chapter
Etch and sketch in a notebook
Curious Critter
By Jasper Kitten, Chris and Jojo
Critters! Catch up on all of the mystery and adventure with The Case of the Jumping Gene! Book Number 3! Brought to you by the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency!
Chap. 1🐾Chap. 2🐾Chap. 3🐾Chap. 4🐾Chap. 5🐾Chap. 6🐾Chap. 7🐾Chap. 8🐾Chap. 9🐾Chap. 10
The Case of the Bowled Over Bowler Hat! Book Number 2!
Chap. 1🐾Chap. 2🐾Chap. 3🐾Chap. 4🐾Chap. 5🐾Chap. 6🐾Chap.7🐾Chap. 8🐾Chap. 9🐾Chap. 10🐾Chap. 11🐾Chap. 12🐾Chap. 13🐾Chap. 14🐾Chap. 15🐾Chap. 16🐾Chap. 17🐾Chap. 18🐾Chap. 19🐾Chap. 20
The Case of the Misplaced Priority Envelope! Book Number 1!
Chap. 1🐾Chap. 2🐾Chap. 3🐾Chap. 4🐾Chap. 5🐾Chap. 6🐾Chap. 7🐾Chap. 8🐾Chap. 9🐾Chap. 10🐾Chap. 11🐾Chap. 12🐾Chap. 13🐾Chap.14🐾Chap. 15🐾Chap. 16🐾Chap. 17🐾Chap. 18🐾Chap. 19🐾Chap. 20
The Case of the Misplaced Priority Envelope
A fun chapter, Heidi and I like the inclusion of the 100 names! Very nicely done haiku as well - especially the mention of the Etch and Sketch. ;)
Wonderful!🐾❣️