Mufaro's Cat

"Sir," Ram called, opening the door to the time machine.

"No? I thought so!" Professor Sarvanathanan shook his head.

"No, sir," Ram said with his head down. "It didn't come back. The chamber of the time machine is empty."

"I don't know what's going on." Professor Sarvanathan became restless and began to pace around. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the lab.

"Yes, sir. Something is affecting it, right? Could it be stuck in there?"

"Let's see, Ram. What are we doing? We are sending one animal into the future through the time machine. Right?"

"Yes, sir," Ram looked at his notes on the laptop. "So far you have sent fourteen rats, eight guinea pigs, and ten dogs, all of which have returned safely."

"Right. Oh, and the two great chimpanzees. They arrived back safely. But the cats just—"

"Sir, twenty-five cats have been sent so far. We have set a period of one hundred years. That means they will be gone into 2051. Perhaps the weather there did not suit them?"

Professor Sarvanathanan rubbed his forehead. Ram was his favorite student and had been around ever since he started using the time machine. He was clever. But sometimes he didn't think straight. How long did the cats stay there? Just for a minute. We put them in that future only for a minute. What would happen to them in that one minute? And if the weather is to blame, what about other animals? If they could tolerate the weather in 2051, why not the cats?

"Ram, we have more things to think about besides the weather. Now, look at the rats. We send them out a little sedated. So, they stay put. They don't run around. Buts cats don't even have to be sedated. They stay in one place. Don't they? So, they must not be running away. Right? And we put a small electric field in that square chamber of our time machine. Don't we? That's why no animal can get out."

"Yes, sir." Ram nodded. "I don't know what's going on. The rest of the animals come back in good order. They pass all the tests that follow. So, the time travel doesn't affect them. Even if they go to the future, they're fine. But, sir, only the cats are affected."

"Yes. But if we don't get them back, we won't find the reason! They just disappear. Twenty-five so far!" Taking off his glasses and wiping them, Professor Sarvanathan began to contemplate again.

"True, sir."

"What's so special about cats? We've tried cats from our lab, experimented on the cats from the Chennai lab, picked some off the street, and the same thing happens! When the experiment is over, we open the chamber of the time machine, and every time it's empty!"

"Sir, shall we proceed with the next experiment?" Ram enquired. He was eager to get going in the defined order.

"Wait. Let's look at the records of the cats in our experiment. Let's check their weight, size, age, color, type, and everything. Let's call for more cats if there are any types left. And then let's see if there are any conclusions. I mean, it shouldn't matter, but scientific experiments say that all possibilities should be tested."

"Yes, sir. There is one last cat left. Shall we use it in the next experiment?"

"Let's give it a try and then apply it to our analysis."

"Yes, sir. Noting down - Persian cat, female, age three years, white color, weight-"

******

Mufaro was waiting eagerly near a bush. He was getting roasted in that African desert. The hot dust blowing from the parched earth was hitting his nostrils. The Sun was spewing heat from above. Mufaro was barely managing in the shade of a little shrub.

He couldn't expect more in the year 2051. If he couldn’t bear the heat, he'd go to the hut, eat what he could get, and spend the rest of the day inside. Not just Mufaro, this was the life of millions and millions of people like him. Not only in Africa but all over the world as they would say in the news!

But Mufaro didn't care. That twelve-year-old boy knew very well that whether there is a war or a famine in the world, it did not matter. Life just moved on. People just lived in whatever they could find. Houses were buried in blizzards, blown away in hurricanes, and washed away in floods. Seeing all this in the news, he in fact felt blessed that his house was still there. Baking in the temperature close to fifty.

Staying in his little hut, away from the heat of the sun, felt like ultimate happiness to him. And now that he could earn some good money, life was getting better.

Mufaro wiped the sweat from his brow. His gaze was fixed on one spot ahead. Even though he was tired of waiting, he did not move.

The dry square in front of him glowed slightly. As if drawn by silver lines. Mufaro ran like a cheetah.

What a beautiful white animal! He picked up the fluffy animal and held it close. There was a slight tingling when he lifted the animal. But that was not new. He had felt it already twenty-five times before while picking up such cute animals. This small discomfort didn't bother him when he could lift these beautiful animals.

The soft chubby animal made a small grunt like a meow. It sounded very sweet to Mufaro's ears. Who knew what this animal was, it was never seen anywhere around. Some say it used to be abundant long ago. Well, there used to be so many things abundant before, and not anymore. There was nothing special about it.

Mufaro had noticed that a lot of animals had started to appear in that square area. Twice, he did not dare to go there when they were huge animals. Wondering what to do with those animals. Rats were there many times. Sometimes dogs. They all appeared and disappeared in a minute! Who knew where they came from and where would they go?

But Mufaro didn't care. He knew well that he got a lot of money from such soft animals. Some people living in big houses in the city had a craze for keeping such strange animals. This animal was supposedly nice as a pet. Mufaro had heard from those people that these animals spend hours lying on the sofa curled up and usually did not bother much.

Mufaro hugged the animal. It was so sweet. Round face. Luscious white fur. Cute smile. Its tail was so long. What if we keep it to ourselves? An idea flashed in Mufaro's mind. It would be a nice companion for the mother. It can eat a little of what we eat. It can do meow sounds and play.

But no, Mr. Afumba in the city had given clear instructions. If Mufaro was to get such a soft white animal, he'd get paid a lot of money. Did he and his mother want money or companionship? Mufaro paused and thought for a moment. Mother would be waiting at home. When he'd get the money, he'd buy new clothes. Mother had enough money to buy old clothes. But once in a while, new clothes would be good.

It was not possible to say when the next such animal would be there. What if these animals stopped appearing as suddenly as they had started? Besides, there were some more expenses and the hut needed some repairs. Mufaro's thoughts started wandering to many more things.

Then Mufaro hugged the sweet animal close to his chest and started walking towards the city.

THE END

Bio: Dr. Meghashri Dalvi writes science fiction when not consulting in Technical Communication or teaching Management. She lives in India.

E-mail: Dr. Meghashri Dalvi

Comment on this story in the Aphelion Forum

Return to Aphelion's Index page.