The velvet darkness was still except for the regular, deep sound of heavy breathing, punctuated occasionally by a rumbling, contented purring snore.

Heffnss. Wake yourself, came the disembodied voice of ShipSoul, accompanied by a sudden flaring of the den's illumination.

The Sasskal priest woke with a start growling to himself irritably, his tail thumped the sleeping pad in vexation. "Between my Student's nocturnal yammering and you, it is becoming impossible for a being to get any sleep! What is it now, T'Roann?"

The equation is complete, Heffnss. I now know The Patrons' purpose for the Human.

"What are you talking about?" grumbled the Feline.

Events have transpired that have prompted one of the Ta-Kee's encrypted specification files to be unsealed.

"And what momentous event might this be?" Fatigue enhanced sarcasm tinged Heffnss' voice.

Krrfinn is pregnant.

"You woke me for that? Being female, she does that frequently, you know. You should be telling Raal about it, not me!"

He will be informed, in time. Know this, priest, He is not the sire. DNA evidence indicates the cub was sired by your Student. It has been so entered into the Dirhal studbook.

"WHAT? That's impossible!" spat Heffnss, suddenly sitting up on his pallet, now very awake.

Nonetheless, the facts are evident. There is no error.

"How could this be? He is of a different species."

The sealed specification file reveals that there is to come a Final Progenitor that will transmute the very nature of the Sennal Races. Your Student is in fact the Final Progenitor.

"How has this sequence come to exist in Humans?"

It is indicated in the new file that at the time of the Gathering, The Ta-Kee seeded Gendas III with a modified virus which added the proper instructions into the Human genome. It has waited for us from the Beginning.

ShipSoul was silent for a moment.

When I told the Child of Gendas that he had that within him which was to be our Deliverance, I knew not that my prediction would be quite so…literal.

"How will he change us? I like not the sound of this, T'Roann. Will our progeny become as Humans?" growled Heffnss.

His genes carry a segment of code that will inhibit the basest of Sennal instincts. No longer will organic Sennal be held in thrall to their violent nature. K'Aann shall be no more. When The Patrons gathered the essence of the Progenitors, they knew of the Humans and gathered that which is Human also. The Ta-Kee foresaw that in time the Humans would mature and that we would find them. The Sennal genome is keyed to this. All Sennal, yourself included, already possess significant Human genetic code. Your DNA is 71% Human. It was the Human sequence for bipedalism and brain structure that the Ta-Kee used in all Sennal species. The chromosome counts in Humans and Sennal are exactly the same. The deactivation sequence has lain dormant since the beginning, waiting for the right time. That time has come, whether we are ready or not.

"How can this be? These Humans are just a violent as us and with less reason. Having no other enemies, they rend one another without quarter!"

It is not any specific Human quality of itself, though I admit that I find some redeeming qualities in the Humans' nature. The specification file states that it is only the Human deactivation sequence that will yield our Species' Salvation.

"What will this new creature look like?" asked the priest.

Physically, as in the instance of Krrfinn's cub, it will be pure Dirhal. That will not change. The deactivation sequence and certain genes for random gender selection are all that will be passed from the Human seed.

"This indeed explains my Student's unusually strong S'trriff link," said the Feline in a pensive voice. "Will all of the Sennal Races be able to interbreed with the Humans? Will this hybrid species breed true?"

Yes and yes, came the unemotional voice of the T'Roann.

Heffnss sat on the edge of his mat, holding his head in his hands. The far-reaching implications of the T'Roann's report was making him dizzy.

"What should I tell my Student?"

For the present; nothing, said ShipSoul. He is already near-overwhelmed by the changes in his life and what is to be asked of him. This would be an unneeded complication.

After a moment, the Feline looked up, his muzzle agape with an evil smile. "Who is going to tell Krrfinn?"

Silence. There was no answer from ShipSoul.