Acropolis Cats Chapter 8
In which our heroic trio passes six lazy nights on a freighter to Athens
CHAPTER 8
Time on the Obelix passed slowly. While their human hosts worked hard all day, Stephano and Benvoilo had only to kill a mouse or a rat every now and then in order to maintain their status on board. They spent the rest of the time either napping or nuzzling members of the crew, who (increasingly infested with toxoplasmosis gondii) could not resist the urge to stroke and kiss their soft fur. The dauphin had been taught about the unique symbiosis between cats and toxoplasms, but hadn’t had a chance to put his education to use until now. He found the process fascinating – how these humans grew more pliant and cooperative each hour they spent in contact with the cats, how they came to need them in order to feel comfortable. Sailors who were actively hostile to their presence on Day 1 were seeking them out mid-shift by Day 3, experiencing their parasitic domination as a growing affection for their new pets.
“How handsome he is,” the sailors would exclaim. “You’re a cute one,” rubbing their mouths and noses together. Stephano directed their hands to his neck and muzzle, where cats itch the most and carry the greatest gondii concentration. Under the influence of the toxoplasms, the crew came to place the needs of the cats as high as their own – to give them the best morsels of food and a welcome place to sleep on any warm bed in the ship.
“Stephano?” Benvolio asked one evening, curled half asleep beside him in the bed of a snoring Georgos Georgas, “Do the taco plasmas work the same on other animals as they do on humans?”
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Acropolis Cats to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.