Plot: 7/9. It told an impressive first contact with a kind of intelligent, man-made, yet cold-blooded species.
Betly was a journalist who came to ask the forester Meller about the information of the otarks. Meller seemed to be tired of those questions for the case was complicated.
They arrived at otarks’ range. At first, they intended to reach Steglich’s farm before eight. But the acute forester commanded them to hide off the road after hearing someone were galloping after them. Meller suddenly cried upon seeing the passers-by and claimed it’s all over now.
At farm’s barn, Meller told more information on otarks, including their origin:
Some scientists including a genius mathematician called Fidler made wild animals cleverer than human, and then abandoned the laboratory after Klein’s death, which let them breed and threaten the local people.
They found otarks’ footprints and Meller guessed the reason why Steglich abruptly pretended he could not hear clearly yesterday was to let the otarks in the other room hear everything. The local had to compromise for the peace of their family. The people here were too poor to have any property except the land which was valueless owing to the existence of otarks. So they had to bear the consequences of the experiment.
An otark was found by Meller but Betly stymied Meller’s further shot, since the otark asked him not to shoot like a human.
Steglich asked Meller to rescue his daughter who was just abducted by otarks. Meller successfully threatened the otark to release the girl.
As Betly spent more time with Meller, he admired him day by day. Meller told him the reason he didn’t leave was because he was the last threat for the locals to the otarks.
When the journalist watched the night, some otarks attacked them because Betly was absent-minded. Fortunately, Meller woke up in time and chased them immediately, but otarks already killed both of their horses. Meller thought it’s unusual for the otarks to besiege in group.
Betly demanded to visit the abandoned laboratory and Meller told him the tragic of Klein here. They were suddenly trapped by dozens of otarks and one of them threw a grenade at Meller.
Dying, Meller told Betly that passers-by were actually the city bandits who informed otarks immediately of their coming. Meller’s said at last that the existence of the otark indicated it was not enough to define a human by the mere intelligence or techniques.
Three days later, Betly was eaten by a otark which he thought extremely resembled Fidler. The news of the disappearance of Meller spread across the area and desperate farmers dug their hidden rifles.
Core: 7/9. I thought it somewhat criticized those intelligent scientists without sympathy and their admirers such as those who once created atomic bombs without contemplating the catastrophe it might bring about.
“Well, they take them all, the talented people, and lock them away in a closed space. And they coddle them. And they don’t know anything about life. And that’s why they have no compassion for people.” He sighed. “You need to be a person first of all. And only then a scientist.”
If otarks could comprehend several language, higher mathematics, and all manners of work, why did they still hunt people with those simple and inefficient techniques? Even if their hands were clumsy with weapons, but they could still create suitable and lethal weapons themselves. It seemed like they was still less creative than human.