Lion, Tiger, Bear | 401 Bea felt a primal genetic urge from times long past, a deja-vu of sorts, to descend to her knees in devotional respect as she had done in a former lifetime, but also fought strange feelings of projected avarice and dominance with a determined grit of modern-day defiance. Nice try, but no genuflect, Apollo and Aphrodite, you majestic twats. What a mess youve made ofour history with your pathetic patriarchal master, slave, and enemy sensibilities. I may be part of your hybrid elite, but I wont be a two-bit mindless god devotee. Nor Dolly here. ‘The hissing grew louder; the crowd backed off. Kunchen arrived, and telepathically spoke. Please be polite, Uta, they hear every thought. They, Alalu, are a royal-line couple from 6750 BC in your time scale, and are here in peace to do business for their master Enki. They will not harm anyone, nor do they aspire to. All they wish for is some quality Green-Gold from Lyra, a very rare commodity indeed. Bea crossed her arms tight. Time traveling for basement bargains? Ill just bet. The crowd calmed. Stew opened his briefcase and handed her a red leather binder. Ah! Finally. Fair and square. We always honor our debts, ladies. Adieu and farewell. Bea and Alice smiled when they saw the signed and red-sealed parchment agreement. The brothers followed their valued herculean customers. Lew turned to the girls. Hope you enjoy the gazelles. Days passed with many lectures, diplomatic feasts, meditation retreats in the mountains, farming exhibitions, and genetic plant laboratory visits much appreciated. Shafer and Geer were given bags of seeds for the surface world of agriculture. Rice, bread, fruit, and food were loaded onto the Bear, the ship repaired, cleaned, and readied for flight by gangs of Shambalan engineers and specialists with vacuums. Lavender toilet paper made from naturally antiseptic vines was stowed away; laundry was pressed; water tanks were filled; the quartz crystals in the electric motor re-vitalized with sound resonance tuning equipment. Gerlach fumed in his apartment mostly, only going out for meals to meet with his friend before the man left for Germany. The Shambalan officials in charge of Herr Flugelrads mission refused passage for Gerlach on the freighter, but a letter to his wife was granted. Permissions, agreements, contracts, and protocols were tightly observed