text:
News Capsule
Patanjali has launched 'Coronil and Swasari', its Ayurvedic medicine, which it claims can treat COVID-19. There is no official confirmation on the same by any scientific or government authority.
Sangeeta Nair
CA in short
Saudi Arabia to hold limited Hajj pilgrimage in 2020
• Saudi Arabia announced that it will hold a "very limited" Hajj this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only those people already living in the kingdom will be allowed to take part in the pilgrimage that begins in late July.
• The decision comes in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases around the world, the lack of a vaccine and difficulty in maintaining social distancing among large numbers of pilgrims coming from overseas.
• Over two million people perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca every year, including many pilgrims from abroad. The Hajj is considered a must for Muslims at least once in their lifetime.
• The Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi informed on June 23 that India has honoured Saudi Arabia's decision to ban international pilgrims to perform Haj. The Minister stated that the Muslims from India will not go to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj.
Patanjali launches Ayurvedic medicine to treat COVID-19, claims 100 pc recovery within 3-7 days
• Patanjali on June 23, 2020 launched 'Coronil and Swasari', its Ayurvedic medicine, which it claims can treat COVID-19. There is no official confirmation on the same by any scientific or government authority.
• Patanjali stated that the medicines showed 100 percent favourable results during clinical trials on the confirmed coronavirus patients. Two clinical trials were conducted, the first clinical controlled study that took place in Delhi and Ahmedabad and many other cities.
• Around 280 COVID patients were included in the trial and as per Patanjali, 100 percent of those recovered.
• However, the efficacy of Patanjali's medicines has not received any backing from any medical body as yet. The World Health Organization (WHO) had recently said that though many drug trials are going on, there is currently no proof that any drug can cure or prevent COVID-19.
WHO suggests usage of dexamethasone for critical COVID cases
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) on June 21, 2020 emphasised on a rapid increase in the production of dexamethasone. WHO suggested the usage of the drug on critical COVID cases.
• Dexamethasone is a cheap steroid which after clinical trials has shown life-saving potential for critically ill COVID-19 patients. The preliminary clinical trial was conducted on random 2,100 hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
• According to researchers from Oxford University, a low dosage of dexamethasone, which is typically used to treat certain forms of arthritis, severe allergies, asthma, and certain types of cancer, for 10 days can reduce the risk of death by a third among the critical coronavirus patients requiring ventilator support.
• However, the findings are still in their preliminary stage and are still being compiled and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
US Congressman urges Trump to reverse H-1B visa suspension order
• US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has written to US President Donald Trump urging him to roll back his order to suspend H-1B and other work visas for one year.
• The Congressman expressed disappointment over the new restrictions on work visas, including H1-B visas, which are used widely in the tech industry.
• He urged President Trump to roll back the order to ensure a broader economy and more jobs that could combat the next phase of the pandemic and pave way for economic recovery.
• Raja Krishnamoorthi stated that the H-1B program, in particular, plays a crucial role in addressing the shortage of health care professionals in the US and also provides other key sectors of the economy with talent from around the world to not only fill jobs but create new ones.
• He argued that suspending the programme will only weaken the economy and health care workforce at a time when the US needs to strengthen both.
Telangana HC issues notice to Twitter, Centre, State government over communal tweets
• The Telangana High Court has issued notices to social networking site Twitter, Centre as well as the state government seeking explanation on why posts allegedly linking COVID-19 to the Muslim community and the religious event held in Nizamuddin in the national capital in March 2020, have not been removed.
• The High Court bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen issued the notice after hearing a petition filed by advocate Khaja Aijazuddin seeking direction against the social networking site to stop the alleged "illegal" trending of some posts that were linked to religion and the pandemic.
• The petitioner urged the court to direct the state government to register criminal cases against Twitter and the users who were involved in allegedly spreading hatred messages under Chapter XV-Offences Relating to Religion of Indian Penal Code and other relevant laws prevailing.
• The petitioner also urged the court to direct Cabinet Secretary and Telangana Home Secretary to restrain all online social media networks operating in India from carrying any "Islamophobic" posts or messages targeting the feelings of the community.
• The petitioner alleged that posts with hashtags #Islamiccoronavirusjihad, #Coronajihad,#Tablighijamat, #Nizamuddinidiots, #TablighiJamatVirus, were allegedly trending in social media.
UPSC CISF AC Interview Date 2021 Released @upsc.gov.in, Admit Cards on 17 January
Top 5 Govt Jobs of the Day- 8 December 2021: 3000+ Vacancies in Police, Bank, Forest Department & Others
UPSC CISF AC DAF 2021 Released, Apply Online @upsc.gov.in
KPSC Group C Admit Card 2021 Released @kpsc.kar.nic.in, Here's Direct Link Here
SBI CBO 2021 Exam on 23rd January 2022: Practice 20 Important Banking Awareness Questions with Answersjust now
SBI CBO 2021: Check Job Profile, Vacancies, Salary, Allowances, Training, & Career Path for 1226 Vacanciesjust now
UPSSSC Recruitment 2022: उत्तर प्रदेश में 2504 ITI इंस्ट्रक्टर की निकली भर्ती, 8 फरवरी तक करें आवेदनjust now
OPSC Odisha Civil Services 2021-22 Exam Notification: Apply Online for 405 Vacancies before 9 Feb @opsc.gov.injust now
CBSE Class 10, 12 Term 2 Datesheet 2022: To Release Soon! Check Previous year CBSE Time tables (2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015)45 mins ago


This Commercial property offers several income producing businesses. Currently a barber shop that was completed in 2014 is on the main level with at least 7 parking spaces. There is a restroom, and a appliance area on the main level. The upper level offers a one bedroom apartment, with kitchenette, living and bathroom. There is a private entrance for the apartment. Apartment currently rented at $500/mo with all utilities included. The property also offers 6 storage units that rent from $40 to $80 a month. The storage units all have concrete floors. Lots of possibilities with this commercial property. Located right off Route 16.


text:
Dr Jane Mcgregor
MA, MB BChir(Cantab), MRCP, MD
24 years as a specialist
"LOVELY kind and reassuring doctor no question too much trouble thank you"
New appointment: £300
Follow-up appointment: £250
The Harley Street Clinic
35 Weymouth Street, london, United Kingdom, W1G
Dr McGregor is a renowned Consultant Dermatologist working at Barts Health NHS Trust and is a member of the Royal Society of Medicine, the Royal College of Physicians, and the British Association of Dermatologists. She a highly qualified specialist whose work investigating the development and treatment of skin cancer, especially that in inmmuno-suppressed patients, has greatly improved her field of medicine and impacted dermatology education.
Dr McGregor graduated from Cambridge University with a first class honours degree and completed her clinical medicine and pharmacology training at Guy's Hospital before specialising in dermatology at the prestigious St John's Institute of Dermatology.
Dr McGregor's work is regularly published in leading medical journals and she is recognised as a global authority in the field of skin cancer and also the ethics of the treatment of cancers. Alongside her clinical work, she is currently Director of undergraduate dermatology education at Barts and The London, a senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and an examiner for the University of London Final MB.
Mole Check
Mole Mapping
Nose Cauterization
Skin Cancer Screening
Blistering Disorders
Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (CLE)
Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis)
Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis
Verruca
Warts (Viral)
MA MB BChir(Cantab) MRCP MD
• The Royal Society of Medicine
• The Royal College of Physicians
• The British Association of Dermatologists

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Artdori by Aireescreates. Notebooks are both corporate giveaways.
I adore maps. As you can see in this flatlay, I've incorporated some map-themed elements in my #desklife essentials. So when I saw today's #15daysofwritingtrue challenge, I knew I was in for a treat.
I set my timer for 15 minutes and just started doodling. I mapped my inner thoughts. Most of them were about my new blog. I've always wanted my own website but I was hesitant to get a domain name because I wasn't financially capable to do so. Fast forward to 2017. While I cannot say that I'm already stable money-wise, I figured out that I cannot delay this blog journey any longer. I just have to embark on building my online home now while I still can.
I still maintain that reading is the best form of nourishment when it comes to blogging. When it comes to background music, I prefer classical music and whatever is on the radio. I also like listening to The Beatles Hour from 5AM-6AM. Yes, I'm a morning person!
Self-expression is a form of self-care, and I look forward to growing as a writer through journaling. I hope that you will also find reasons to express yourself along the way!


text:
Loireng is een bestuurslaag in het regentschap Demak van de provincie Midden-Java, Indonesië. Loireng telt 3029 inwoners (volkstelling 2010).

Plaats in Midden-Java

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
<?php

namespace ShootProof\Cli\Test;

use \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase;
use ShootProof\Cli\Utility\OptionTransformer;

class OptionTransformerTest extends PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
{
    public function testTransform()
    {
        $input = [
        	'optionA' => 'valueA',
        	'option-b' => 'valueB',
        	'--option-c' => 'valueC',
        	'--option_d' => 'valueD',
        ];

        $expected = [
        	'optionA' => 'valueA',
        	'optionB' => 'valueB',
        	'optionC' => 'valueC',
        	'option_d' => 'valueD',
        ];

        $transformer = new OptionTransformer($input);

        $this->assertInstanceOf('ArrayObject', $transformer);
        $this->assertEquals($expected, $transformer->getArrayCopy());
    }

    /**
     * @dataProvider dataProvider
     */
    public function testUntransform($input, $expected)
    {
        $transformer = new OptionTransformer;
        $this->assertEquals($expected, $transformer->untransformKey($input));
    }

    public function dataProvider()
    {
        return [
            [ 'Option', 'option' ],
            [ 'optionA', 'option-a' ],
            [ 'option-b', 'option-b' ],
            [ 'option_c', 'option_c' ],
            [ 'OptionD', 'option-d' ],
        ];
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Why are Chinese people obsessed with numbers?
In China recently found out that I can't change my phone tariff to a cheaper one because the digit 8 appears too many times in my phone number. The number 8 (bā 八) is considered lucky in China because in some dialects it has the same pronunciation as the first word in the phrase fā cái 发财 which means to get rich. This apparently makes my phone number a "lucky" one that I have to pay more for. For me it seems pretty damn unlucky that I have to pay more money for basically no reason at all.
Some numbers are considered unlucky not just by me, but by the rest of China too. Like the number 4 (sì 四) which has a similar pronunciation to the word for "die" (sǐ 死) and so people try to avoid phone numbers, car licence plates and other things with the number 4.
The number 1 is an interesting one because it's pronounced yī when indicating the amount of something but is pronounced yāo when read as a digit in things like phone numbers and bus numbers. Since yāo sounds like the word for 'want' (yào 要) the digit 1 is often used to indicate "want". This means 18 sounds like "want to get rich" and is extra lucky. By contrast 14 sounds like "want to die" and for most people that's not so auspicious.
Similarly, in many parts of China the number 2 is pronounced è. This is the same as the word for hungry. 24 therefore sounds like "starve to death", which makes it a pretty unlucky number in a country where a famine killing 50 million people is still in living memory for the older generation.
The correct Mandarin pronunciation for 2 is èr and this is a sort of funny way of calling someone stupid. You can use it as an adjective. nǐ hěn èr 你很二 (you very two/ you're an idiot).
The numbers 5 (wǔ 五) and 0 (líng 零) mean "me" and "you" so 510 means "I want you". If you say it out loud in Mandarin it doesn't really sound anything like "I want you" so this use of digits is really more like a code that only works in written form. You might see it used in web and email addresses. For example, the estate agent called wǒ ài wǒ jiā 我爱我家 (I love my home) uses the number 5 in their web address to represent the words "I" and "my". They also use the letter "i" to represent the word ài 爱 (love) because they also sound similar.
Unfortunately I'm not getting paid for this free advertising, I'm just including it as an example of how numbers are used this way in web addresses. If you'd like to advertise on this blog please contact me with a large amount of money, or just make clever use of some numbers on your website.
Other digits that are often given a secondary meaning include 6 (liù 六) which is perhaps second only to 8 in terms of how lucky it's supposed to be. Prices in China often finish in an 8 or 6 because that will obviously make you feel better when you waste a huge amount of money on something. The number 9 (jiǔ 九) is also an exact homophone for the word "long time" (jiǔ 久) and so that one crops up occasionally. There are also regional use of numbers based on local dialects and, strangely enough, Chinese people seem to love insulting each other with numbers. Calling someone èr (two) is just the tip of the iceberg and the rest will require a whole post of their own.
This entry was posted in living in China, Word of the week and tagged lucky, numbers, unlucky. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Iran and China to produce electric vehicles
Iran's private sector, backed by the Department of Environment will share experience with Chinese industrial units in manufacturing different kinds of electric cars.
The cooperation will beging under agreements signed by an Iranian delegation and Chinese officials on the sidelines of the Iranian delegates visit to several industrial units engaged in production of electric vehicles in Shanghai.
Mr Ali Mohammad Shaeri acting head of the DoP said that "Vehicles account for more than 70% of pollution in metropolitan cities such as Tehran. So we will do our best in cooperation with the country's private sector to support production of electric vehicles that will help minimize pollution."
He said that during visits to several industrial units that have the technology for production of electric vehicles in Shahghai, an agreement was signed with the Chinese party for development of technology for building electric buses and minibuses in Iran in the next year.
He added that presently, more than 10,000 worn out minibuses are plying Iranian roads and streets. To this end using new technology for mass production of electric public transportation vehicles is of high importance.


The Team – Novelogics Biotechnology, Inc.
Dr. Cheney has over 28 years of combined R&D experience with 18 years in the biopharmaceutical industry and another 10 years performing research in academic and government labs in both Canada and the U.S. Significantly, 12 years of his R&D experience have focused directly on oncology. Dr. Cheney was principal scientist and project leader for several successful discovery/pre-clinical development phase compounds for epilepsy, as well as for gout and cancer, while at Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Ardea Biosciences, respectively, and significantly helped translate these compounds into the clinic. Specifically, Potiga®/Trobalt® (Valeant/GSK) is now a marketed drug in the U.S. and EU for treatment of epileptic partial on-set seizures, while Ardea Biosciences' (now Astra Zeneca) gout drug Zurampic® is marketed in the U.S. (now by Ironwood), and EU, and their oncology drug BAY 86-9766 reached phase II clinical testing with partner Bayer Healthcare AG.
Dr. Cheney received his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Wyoming (U.S.), a BSc in Biology from the University of Waterloo (Canada) and has performed post-doctoral research at Temple University (Fels Institute for Cancer Research) in Philadelphia, and at Canji, Inc. (a Schering-Plough subsidiary, now Merck) in San Diego. He has published a number of peer-reviewed scientific publications and has been named as co-inventor or inventor on four patents, and has others pending.
Ms. Allison has over 25 years in corporate leadership roles in a variety of industries. She has built and ran successful businesses since 1999, which have been marketed globally, and has worked with Fortune 500 companies that span the globe. She has assisted companies to raise capital during both early and late stage phases. As a co-founder, Elaine has helped take Novelogics from an idea through to proof of concept during the discovery phase. She has been successful in pitching, raising capital, involved with ongoing patent strategy as well as conducting project management activities while working with labs and contractors. With a human resources background, Elaine will also be instrumental in moving the Company forward to its next stage of growth.
Dr. Bazett is an experienced immunologist who specializes in preclinical drug development in oncology and inflammatory diseases. Previously, Dr. Bazett was the Director of Preclinical and Translational Research at Qu Biologics, a Vancouver based clinical stage biotech company, where he led the R&D team with a focus on oncology and inflammatory bowel disease. His research experience ranges from basic science, to IND enabling studies, and to translational research. Dr. Bazett obtained his PhD in Human Genetics from McGill University and a BSc in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the University of Victoria. His PhD focused on investigating the link between the bacteria that reside in the intestine, and the lung immune response in cystic fibrosis. Dr. Bazett research has led to numerous publications and patents in a range of different diseases and therapeutic areas including cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis.
Mr. Cormack is an accomplished board member, executive and venture capitalist with almost three decades of experience in the biotechnology industry. Having served in executive positions for public and private life sciences companies, Mr. Cormack adds deep experience in the design and implementation of strategic growth plans, including mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Cormack has seventeen years of board service with multiple companies and organizations and seventeen years of CEO experience in four companies, including 8 years as a public company CEO. He was a co-founder of three biotechnology companies and has negotiated and completed multiple M&A transactions, dozens of strategic partner and licensing agreements and has raised hundreds of millions of equity capital through public and private transactions.
Mr. Cormack currently serves on the Board of Directors of Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHV), The Vancouver Prostate Centre at Vancouver General Hospital, and The Prostate Centre's Translation Research Initiative for Accelerated Discovery and Development. Mr. Cormack holds a B.S. degree from the University of Alberta.
Chief Medical Officer, Renovis , Inc.
Managing Director, International Capital Management, Inc.


Definition at line 24 of file test000092.h.
Definition at line 38 of file test000092.cpp.
Definition at line 46 of file test000092.cpp.
Definition at line 51 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), load_cps_model_from_stream(), MODEL_STRING1, and pCOPASIDATAMODEL.
Definition at line 232 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), load_cps_model_from_stream(), MODEL_STRING2, and pCOPASIDATAMODEL.
Definition at line 426 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), load_cps_model_from_stream(), MODEL_STRING3, and pCOPASIDATAMODEL.
Definition at line 481 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), load_cps_model_from_stream(), MODEL_STRING4, and pCOPASIDATAMODEL.
Definition at line 667 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), load_cps_model_from_stream(), MODEL_STRING5, and pCOPASIDATAMODEL.
Definition at line 862 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), load_cps_model_from_stream(), MODEL_STRING6, and pCOPASIDATAMODEL.
Definition at line 916 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CModel::getCompartments(), CCopasiDataModel::getCurrentSBMLDocument(), CModel::getKey(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), MODEL_STRING7, pCOPASIDATAMODEL, CRDFGraphConverter::SBML2Copasi(), CAnnotation::setMiriamAnnotation(), and CCopasiVector< T >::size().
Definition at line 1148 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CModel::getCompartments(), CModification::getDate(), CBiologicalDescription::getId(), CModel::getKey(), CAnnotation::getMiriamAnnotation(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CBiologicalDescription::getPredicate(), CBiologicalDescription::getResource(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), CMIRIAMInfo::load(), MODEL_STRING8, pCOPASIDATAMODEL, CBiologicalDescription::setId(), CBiologicalDescription::setPredicate(), CBiologicalDescription::setResource(), and CCopasiVector< T >::size().
Definition at line 1461 of file test000092.cpp.
References CCopasiDataModel::exportSBMLToString(), CModel::getCompartments(), CModification::getDate(), CBiologicalDescription::getId(), CModel::getKey(), CAnnotation::getMiriamAnnotation(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CBiologicalDescription::getPredicate(), CBiologicalDescription::getResource(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), CMIRIAMInfo::load(), MODEL_STRING9, pCOPASIDATAMODEL, CBiologicalDescription::setId(), CBiologicalDescription::setPredicate(), CBiologicalDescription::setResource(), and CCopasiVector< T >::size().
This test will most likely fail until we have a workaround for the SBML one modification limit.
Definition at line 1776 of file test000092.cpp.
References CModification::getDate(), CModel::getKey(), CAnnotation::getMiriamAnnotation(), CCopasiDataModel::getModel(), CCopasiDataModel::importSBMLFromString(), CMIRIAMInfo::load(), MODEL_STRING10, pCOPASIDATAMODEL, and CCopasiVector< T >::size().
This model has complete MIRIAM compliant annotation, so of of it should be exported by libsbml and in addition to that as annotation in the COPASI namespace.
Definition at line 40 of file test000092.h.
Definition at line 49 of file test000092.h.
In this model the Model history is incomplete because there is no creator and no modified date so libsbml 4 will no longer write the model history. Nevertheless the annotation should be written in the COPASI namespace.
Definition at line 41 of file test000092.h.
"<!-- generated with COPASI 4.5.31 (Debug) (http://www.copasi.org) at 2010-04-21 14:00:12 UTC -->\n"
"<COPASI xmlns=\"http://www.copasi.org/static/schema\" versionMajor=\"1\" versionMinor=\"0\" versionDevel=\"31\">\n"
" <Model key=\"Model_0\" name=\"New Model\" simulationType=\"time\" timeUnit=\"s\" volumeUnit=\"ml\" areaUnit=\"m²\" lengthUnit=\"m\" quantityUnit=\"mmol\" type=\"deterministic\">\n"
" <Compartment key=\"Compartment_0\" name=\"Compartment\" simulationType=\"fixed\" dimensionality=\"3\"/>\n"
In this model the Model there is no MIRIAM annotation. There should be no annotation in the exported SBML model.
Definition at line 42 of file test000092.h.
Definition at line 43 of file test000092.h.
Definition at line 44 of file test000092.h.
Definition at line 45 of file test000092.h.
" <model metaid=\"COPASI1\" id=\"Model_1\" name=\"New Model\">\n"
" <compartment metaid=\"COPASI2\" id=\"compartment_1\" name=\"Compartment\" size=\"1\">\n"
This SBML model already contains an annotation. We load it and add some MIRIAM annotation and write it out again to check if MIRIAM annotation is correctly written even if another annotation exists.
Definition at line 46 of file test000092.h.
Definition at line 47 of file test000092.h.
This SBML model already contains RDF annotation and other annotation. It also contains COPASI RDF annotation. We load it and modify the MIRIAM annotation and write it out again to check if MIRIAM annotation is correctly updated and COPASI annotation is correctly replaced.
Definition at line 48 of file test000092.h.
Definition at line 50 of file test000092.h.
Referenced by setUp(), test_miriam_export_1(), test_miriam_export_2(), test_miriam_export_3(), test_miriam_export_4(), test_miriam_export_5(), test_miriam_export_6(), test_miriam_export_7(), test_miriam_export_8(), test_miriam_export_9(), and test_miriam_import_1().


If you've been given formal notification that a complaint has been filed against you, report the claim as soon as possible. The sooner our legal professionals can intervene, the better chance they have to improve the outcome of the case.
Do you have knowledge of an event or situation that could become a formal complaint against you? Has someone indicated that he or she is planning to file an employment-related complaint or lawsuit against you or your business?
Call 1-877-310-3343 to report this situation. Early intervention by legal professionals can greatly reduce the likelihood that the situation will become a formal complaint. If the situation does rise to the level of a lawsuit, our legal team will be prepared to react quickly.
It's easy! Contact your insurance agent and tell them you'd like to add to your policy. No application needed.


Thanks to the always mighty Yoiko for pre-reading.
The mannequin looked like one you might see outside a restaurant. It sailed through the air at Jusenkyo, then landed, kicking up a cloud of dirt as it skidded along a weedy embankment. A voice called from inside it, "Charge!" It came to a stop with one of its drum sticks wedged into a rock and its floppy pointed hat smushed into a clump of weeds.
Pu Lanmu watched with mild curiosity, straining to see in the fading dusk light. "What's the big idea, Lord Sa Fulan?" she said.
A head popped out of the mannequin, followed by the body of what looked like a petite young woman. Definitely not who Pu Lanmu had thought it was. "You are good?" the person said in barely intelligible Mandarin. "My name is called Kurenai Tsubasa. I am Japan person."
"Japan, huh?" Pu Lanmu said, switching languages. "I speak pretty decent Japanese myself. That was a neat trick with the statue."
"Thanks," Tsubasa said. "I can get inside things, and make them move. I don't know how it works. Everyone needs a hobby, I guess. It's a good thing you speak my language. I took some Chinese in school, but I can't say I remember a lot of it."
"No problem." She offered a hand. "I'm Pu Lanmu. Pu Yichi, that's my dad, and I are sorta the caretakers for Jusenkyo here. We have some Japanese friends, the Saotomes, who send us DVDs and video games, so I've learned a lot of the language from them."
Tsubasa shook her hand. "I know the Saotomes. I came to China with them along with some other friends."
"I'm glad to hear that," Pu Lanmu said, "'cause that means I don't need to tell you how bad it would be for you if you fell into one of the springs. Right?"
"Actually, I came here looking for one particular spring. The spring of drowned girl."
Pu Lanmu peered closer at Tsubasa. "Um, aren't you already—"
"I'm all man." Tsubasa lifted up his frilly shirt to flash a glimpse of his scrawny, flat chest. "Don't let the way I look fool you. Deep down I'm dirty, rude, unpleasant, just like all guys. I want to change."
"You wanna become a woman?"
"Yeah. A woman." He smiled to himself at the thought. "Sugar and spice, all that is nice. And what's even better is that when I become a woman, I'll be a lesbian. Their relationships are always tender, loving—"
"Yeah." Pu Lanmu snorted. "I've seen the same animes you probably have. Okay, mister girly man, I'll show you where the spring of drowned girl is..."
"Hooray!" Tsubasa jumped up. "Let's go! No time to—"
"Look, you can go creeping around the springs at night if you wanna," Pu Lanmu said. "But don't blame me if you slip and fall into the spring of drowned warthog instead. It's not a video game. If it doesn't happen the way you wanted, you can't just hit the reset button and try again."
Tsubasa paused to think for a moment, then slumped down. "Okay. I'll wait. It's only for one night."
"That's the spirit." She pointed in a direction away from the springs. "You can camp out for the night in that field over there. Don't do anything dumb, and in the morning you can get what you came for."
Tsubasa took off his backpack, rolled his sleeping bag out onto the ground, and settled inside it. Stars glistened overhead like lights on a Christmas tree as he lay his head back on his pillow. He could wait. One more day is all it would take. Finally.
Back at the Amazon village, Ti Pi paced down pathways dimly illuminated by pale lantern light, Tatewaki Kuno at her side. She followed along, occasionally glancing back at Lieutenant Amar of Mongol Military Intelligence who skulked behind the two of them with gun in hand, ready to shoot one of them if they were to offer any resistance.
"What is the purpose of the building on our left?" Amar asked.
"That's the library," Ti Pi answered. "We have a good collection of older books, plus some modern stuff. Though it got ransacked pretty thoroughly when your men were occupying our village."
"Ah, 'tis an uncouth business, this," Amar said. "Would that such atrocities weren't deemed as necessary. Truly I commiserate with you, madam. But war is war, and all of us must play the roles to which we're assigned."
"If I may, sir, you do not seem like the typical soldier," Kuno said. "Clearly you have a touch of the poet in you. Rarely does one encounter that, especially in combat."
"Your perceptiveness does you credit, my good man," Amar said. "I was a student of the arts at university when war broke out. I decided that my dream of becoming a thespian would need to wait. When one's country calls, one must serve."
"You're serving General Ha, not your country." Ti Pi stopped and turned to face him. "He's a madman who's usurped control of your country and is using its armies for his own benefit."
Amar sighed, saying nothing. Then he pointed. "What is that building to my right?"
"Combat practice hall," Ti Pi answered. "Both Tatewaki and I have trained there."
Amar smiled, and looked at Kuno. "It mystifies me that a people would let the fairer gender engage in fighting to such a degree."
"Tatewaki is perfectly qualified in combat," Ti Pi said. "I'd put him up against most any of our junior warriors."
Ti Pi noticed a white bird standing on its two legs, regarding the three of them with what looked like curiosity. A duck, she thought. I know that duck. Casually she maneuvered herself so that Amar would be between her and the fowl. "How long are you going to keep us held up at gunpoint?" she said, a little louder than usual so that you-know-who would hear it.
"It will all be done soon," answered Amar. "My apologies for such brusque treatment, but I must fulfill those duties that were assigned to me, gathering information on your village for those I call my superiors. After that I will gladly go and leave you alone."
Ti Pi nodded. Sure he'd leave them alone — after shooting them and burying their remains where they wouldn't be found. The intelligence he was collecting wouldn't do him any good if they were still around to warn the Elders. Somehow she doubted that Amar carried a supply of Formula Nine-One-One Shampoo with him. Therefore, she and Kuno would have to die. Nothing personal. Terribly sorry. Nasty business, this.
But with any luck, it wouldn't come to that. From the corner of her eye she saw the duck morph into a very naked Mu Si, who raised an arm and crept up behind Amar. Ti Pi fumbled for something to say, to keep Amar distracted long enough that he wouldn't see the blow coming, and hopefully keep him talking so that Mu would be able to find him even without glasses.
Suddenly, a figure came running down the street, screaming "Aaaaaaiiiiiieee!" It was Gosunkugi Hikaru. What the...?
Amar whirled, gun in hand, as Gosunkugi's hands wrapped around Mu Si's throat.
Kuno grabbed Gosunkugi by the rib cage and pulled him away. "What do you think you're doing?! Cease this behavior at once!"
"Are you threatening me?!" Gosunkugi smacked Kuno's arm several times in rapid succession, and was released. "I am Gosunkugi!" he exclaimed.
"Have you gone mad?!" Kuno said, eyeing him warily.
Good question, thought Ti Pi. From the look in his eyes, Gosunkugi was clearly crazed, as if under some malign influence. Had something he'd found in Elder Ke Lun's secret storage affected him this way? What had she been thinking, letting him stay and search on his own? She moved silently behind him and reached around his back to jab it with a finger. While far from an expert on pressure points, she knew a few basic ones. This one was supposed to accelerate the body's natural processes for eliminating toxins.
Gosunkugi pitched forward, grabbing Ti Pi around her midsection and pressing his lips into hers. "Aaaa!" she screamed. Her fists flailed against his back.
Kuno's staff crashed down onto Gosunkugi's head. He looked up momentarily and then slumped to the ground.
Amar smiled. "I do thank you for this bit of impromptu entertainment, my friends. A bit mystifying, but aren't many of the great works as such? In any case, I'm afraid we must return to the business at hand." He raised his handgun. "Kindly stand together, and walk that way."
Azusa's cries echoed through the Kuno mansion. "Dominique, please stop!"
It wouldn't do any good, obviously, but Ukyo felt like screaming too. For a few brief moments, she'd held hopes that Konatsu might be able to do something where she and Mikado had failed. The ninja had set up papier-mache duplicates of himself that exploded on contact, and attacked with a bewildering variety of thrown objects including everything from razor-sharpened coins to ordinary saltine crackers. But all of this only managed to confuse. Zipping and bouncing around the room at random had so far kept him from being hit. But he seemed unable to press an attack; Kodachi's animated weapons blocked all of his strikes no matter how unexpected a direction they came from.
What would Ran-chan do? she asked herself. But there was no answer. Maybe she could hustle out of the house with the Golden Pair in tow while Konatsu kept Kodachi busy. Ranma might do that. But Ukyo wouldn't leave her friend in the lurch, and she didn't see much point in it anyway. Kodachi would just catch up with her later on.
A club finally caught Konatsu in the stomach. "Oof!" He flew through the air and smashed into a wall. Well, that's it, Ukyo thought. Kodachi had beaten them all. There was nothing to do now but take what was coming to them.
The ribbon rose menacingly in Ukyo's direction. "Please, Dominique!" Azusa said to it. Ukyo privately wished that she'd give it a rest. What was the point?
Kodachi hovered over Ukyo as the ribbon twirled patterns in the air. "Whatever shall I do with you? You dumped my special water, so I can't use that. It seems I'll have to get creative."
"Whatever," Ukyo said. "Akane was still right. You were Ranma's last choice. Anything you do to me won't change that."
The ribbon cracked through the air. Stinging pain shot through Ukyo's shoulder.
"Dominique, you're hurting my friend!" Azusa said.
"Wouldn't... wouldn't matter if you did turn all of us into Ke Lun," Ukyo gasped. "He'd... he'd have even married her before you. Even though she's dead."
The ribbon cracked again. Ukyo's back screamed out in agony. At least she knew how to make Kodachi lose her cool, although exactly what this was supposed to accomplish, she hadn't quite worked out yet.
"Dominique, I'm your friend... I want you to be my friend too! You're so nice and cute... I know you don't really want to do this!"
The ribbon wobbled in mid-air. Ukyo braced herself for the next hit. It never came.
Kodachi gaped wild-eyed at her weapon, as if unable to believe what she was seeing. It refused to move.
Azusa threw up her arms like a cheerleader. "Yay! Dominique!"
"Azusa!" Ukyo called out. "Kodachi's leotard wants to be your friend too! And her— Oof!" She barely managed to roll with the blow as Kodachi's fist struck her in the chest.
Ukyo picked herself off the floor. The ribbon — Dominique — had interposed itself between Kodachi and the others. Kodachi stared up at it in disbelief.
For a few seconds, Kodachi and Ukyo eyed each other from opposite sides of the hallway. A Mexican stand-off.
Finally, Kodachi begrudgingly spat out, "Go."
For long minutes after the door slammed, Kodachi silently eyed the ribbon which now lay in a heap on the floor, as if it were a predator lying in wait in preparation to pounce on her. It was, as far as she could know, back under control, but for how long?
Dominique. That's what the girl had named it.
She began to back away, not taking her eyes off the ribbon. If this one could be made to defy her, then surely the others could as well. Even the one she wore on her back. That thought made Kodachi want to take off her clothes and run into the shower. Before, her animated leotard had seemed like an invincible suit of armor. Now it seemed like a bear trap that could close on her at any moment.
Kodachi had thought she'd understood this game called life. One simply needed to learn the rules — the real rules, not the ones that so-called civilized society imposed on itself — and work them to one's advantage to triumph over one's competitors. Sometimes one had to adjust one's understanding to reflect new understandings, as was the case when she had discovered the existence of magical curses and animating spirits. Still, the basic principles remained.
But this... this made no sense.
Just shoot me now, Gosunkugi Hikaru thought to himself as he walked through the outskirts of the Amazon village. Behind him and his three companions, the Mongol officer followed behind, gun at the ready. Every step he took felt like a well-deserved bludgeon to his head. No, he didn't really want to die. But if this guy — Amar, he'd said his name was — if Amar shot him now, at least it would make the headache stop, and at least he wouldn't have to explain to Ti Pi what an incredibly stupid blunder he'd made by drinking that potion.
Hikaru felt inside his pocket. He still had the other item that he'd found in Elder Ke Lun's secret stash. The gem. Would it help him escape? From what he'd heard, Ranma had experienced a few of the items made by the Amazons, and most of them were lemons that were likely to fail in comical ways. But this one, if it was the one they'd been looking for, was supposed to be different.
Anyway, it wasn't like he had a lot of options. He furtively pulled the gem from his pocket, hoping that Amar wouldn't see what he was doing, as he continued to follow in line behind Mu Si, Tatewaki, and Ti Pi. As before, a deep red light shone from within the gem. Hikaru stared into it. Can you get me out of this?
The red light coalesced into an image of Ti Pi. Clad in a skimpy satin negligee, she smiled as her outstretched finger beckoned him to her.
"What the—?" Hikaru pulled back. He was still outside the village. His arm bumped into something next to him. It was a super-sized Happodaikarin, about twice as tall as Hikaru. The fuse at the top was burning; he had only moments before it would explode.
Did I do that? he wondered. But there was no time. He shoved it in Amar's direction. It rolled into him, knocking him down like a bowling pin.
"Run!" Hikaru said, and he hurried forward, hoping he could get away before Amar could put a bullet in his back. The three others looked around and quickly followed. Then the Happodaikarin exploded. Hikaru flew through the air, stopping abruptly as his head collided with the trunk of a tree.
Konatsu led Ukyo as they slipped through shadowy streets and alleys to arrive at the Tendo home, with the Golden Pair following behind. He knocked on the door, Tendo Soun answered, and within minutes the four were sipping sake, relaxing in the relative comfort of Soun's living room, Ukyo and Mikado clad in a pair of spare practice gis.
"Should we expect Kodachi to come looking for you?" Soun asked.
"Hard to say," Ukyo said. "But with her transformation water down the sink, and her weapons starting to defy orders, I'm guessing she might want to rethink what she's doing. At least we should be okay for the next day or two."
"It's late." Mikado stood. "I should take Azusa home."
"Thanks for what you did, Azusa," Ukyo said. "You too, hon. If the two of you hadn't come for me I'd probably still be locked up in that house."
Mikado nodded, then turned and stepped out of the room, Soun following behind him. Ukyo had no doubt that Mikado would've come to the rescue of any other damsel in distress. Of course, tomorrow she'd have to go back to trying to deal with the faux engagement that the two of them had invented. He was still a jerk, even if he had other qualities that she could appreciate.
She turned to Konatsu. "Shouldn't you call your wife, sugar? I imagine she'll be pretty worried by now."
"Sorry, did I say something wrong?"
For a few long seconds, Konatsu hesitated. "I don't have a wife, Ukyo-sama."
"I know." He stared at the floor. "I lied."
"Why?" Ukyo asked, with more anger in her voice than she would have liked.
"You... you were always so nice to me, Ukyo-sama. And I was just a burden. When I found out that you didn't feel the same way that I... well, I figured you'd be better off without me around, and this was a way of getting away without making you feel guilty about it."
Ukyo shook her head, barely able to believe what she was hearing. "You figured wrong," Ukyo snapped back. "You were a friend, Konatsu. I could always use a friend."
"Sorry," he mumbled, and turned to go.
"No, wait." Ukyo took a breath. "I'm sorry. Look, things got screwed up. But I could still use a friend. Let's talk, okay? Not tonight. We're all tired. Maybe tomorrow."
Konatsu looked back, nodded, and smiled.
Kui Ziling lay prone on the ground, her squad of warriors concealed behind her, staring ahead at the field on which the bomb had obviously fallen. In the fading dusk light she could make out a wide circle of blackened grass, with several figures sprawled out unmoving at its outer edge.
It had been about fifteen minutes since they'd heard the blast at this location. Were more Mongol soldiers about to invade their village? She didn't know the answer, but so far there had been only the one bomb, with no apparent follow-up attack.
For moments that seemed to stretch into hours, she watched. Then, satisfied that there was no one else there, she stood and stepped forward, motioning to her squad to remain as they were.
From what she'd learned, it was a common tactic of modern armies to bomb an area, then wait until other persons showed up to retrieve the victims of that attack and bomb the same area again. If that was going to happen here, at least this way they would kill only her, and no one else. There was a certain irony there; Kui had collaborated with the enemy to help open the way for their first invasion in a perhaps ultimately vain attempt to prevent a total bloodbath. If her sisters were to find out, they would surely put her to death. And now the other side might kill her anyway, not knowing who she was and not likely to care even if they did.
She bent down to examine the persons on the ground. Kuno Tatewaki groaned as his head began to turn. Nearby, the other Japanese youth — Gosunkugi, she remembered, was his name — lay unconscious but intact, his fingers clutched around some small object.
"Over here!" she called to her warriors, who rose from their hiding spot. "Bring stretchers."
A flicker of moonlight reflected from the item in Gosunkugi's grasp. Kui looked closer. It was a gemstone, in the shape of a tiny egg that seemed to glow from within; she had never seen it before, but it was familiar. Could it be...?
"This one is bleeding from the chest, Elder," one of the squad said.
"A stranger, Elder. I've never seen him before."
"Put him on a stretcher and take him to the healers," Kui said. "This one here as well."
Two warriors approached bearing a stretcher. Kui eased Gosunkugi onto it as she surreptitiously slipped the gem into her own hand. Was this the famous Linghungbao? Did the stranger somehow manage to steal it from Shan Pu's hiding place, only to have it blow up in his face when Kuno and the others confronted him? Perhaps when the youths recovered they would be able to provide some answers. But for now, she would take custody of the item, and no one else needed to know.
"Mmmm." Hakano slurped down the last noodle from his bowl. "This is most excellent ramen." The evening crowd had began to thin, and the noise level of the restaurant died down to a low hubbub.
"Yep," Fukumi answered. "Good stuff for sure."
Nodoka drew a breath. "I don't wish to seem impatient, but you gentlemen said you had something to discuss with me? A matter of family honor concerning Kuonji Ukyo?"
Hakano wiped his mouth with a napkin. "That is correct."
"I'm surprised you chose to meet here," Nodoka said. "Why not at Ukyo's restaurant? She could certainly use the business."
"She always chases us out when we show up there," Fukumi said. "She said we annoy her paying customers."
Hakano shot his associate a disapproving look. "Never mind. There is indeed a matter of honor here, Mrs. Saotome, and once you have heard what we have to say I believe you will see a need for decisive action on your part."
"I'm listening," she said, hoping they would at last get to the point. If this was all nothing more than a ploy to get her to buy them free ramen, she would find a way to make them regret it.
"Here," Hakano said, producing a manila envelope stuffed with papers and slapping it onto the table. "This is a compendium of information relevant to the history of Kuonji Ukyo and your son, Saotome Ranma." He smiled self-approvingly. "It took many months of hard work to obtain this."
Nodoka picked up the envelope. "You spent months researching Ukyo and Ranma?"
"Not exactly," Fukumi said. "He worked for months at the gas station, to get enough money to buy this info from Tendo Nabiki."
"Fukumi, please." Hakano pushed his glasses up to the top of his nose. "Madam, this material clearly documents the fact that Kuonji Ukyo has the superior claim to your son's hand in marriage. Your husband," he said with some disdain, "accepted the Kuonji family okonomiyaki cart years ago as a dowry."
"You do realize that Ranma and Akane have already been married for nearly five years?" Nodoka said. "Do you really want to—"
"What I want is entirely beside the point, madam. Personally, I don't even particularly like Ranma. Ukyo is clearly far too good for him. Er, no offense intended. But it would be my hope that she would forget about him and instead choose someone better."
"Fukumi!" Hakano glared at his associate, then turned back to Nodoka. "No, my own opinions do not enter into it at all," he continued. What matters is the obligation that your family owes to Ukyo. It is, as I said, a matter of honor. Honor trumps all other considerations, does it not?"
"It does." Nodoka stood, sighing slightly as she stuffed the envelope under her arm. "I will read your compendium and do what needs to be done, whatever that turns out to be. Good day, gentlemen."
The men nodded, stood, bowed, and stepped toward the exit. Nodoka lingered for a few moments then walked to the door.
Briefly, she considered simply dumping the papers in the trash. With most of her family in China fighting to save the Amazon village, reopening a dispute that was settled years ago was not at all helpful. These men had no connection to her family, no business involving themselves in its affairs, and from what they'd said about Ukyo it seemed that she didn't welcome their involvement either.
But honor trumped all other considerations. Whatever problems she had with Hakano, he had been absolutely right about that. And as she walked home, she prayed that there would be a solution to this dilemma that would satisfy the Saotome family's obligations to Ukyo, if any, without breaking that family apart.
Tsubasa noticed someone staring down at him. "Uh, hi," he said.
At first Tsubasa thought it was Pu Lanmu, but the face outlined in moonlight wasn't hers. The face resembled that of Ranma's female form, but somehow Tsubasa knew that wasn't who it was.
"I hear you're looking for the spring of drowned girl."
"Yeah, I am," Tsubasa said. His head felt foggy, sluggish. Why couldn't this person let him sleep and talk to him in the morning? "Pu Lanmu is going to show me where it is."
"Why wait?" she said. "I can take you to that spring."
On the other hand, there was no time like the present. Tsubasa bounded out of his sleeping bag.
"Follow me," she said, and strolled unhurriedly towards the springs.
A full moon dimly lit up the area as Tsubasa walked behind the woman. The bottom of her Chinese-style dress flapped in the wind, exposing her somewhat scrawny legs. "Look," Tsubasa said, "I don't want to seem ungrateful, but are you sure you're taking me to the right spring? I wouldn't want to accidentally end up as a warthog or something. I mean, nothing personal, but anybody can make a mistake."
She glanced back at him without slowing down. "I know exactly which is the spring you want. It's been my home for about the last fifteen hundred years."
"I'm Feng Lili. My body drowned here all those years ago. Now this is my home. I'm a ghost. I have to stay here, except when someone lets me out for a little while."
"Yes. That was a good union. Together we were strong, vital, powerful enough to challenge anyone. We even gave birth to our child. Ririko, he called her. She was beautiful."
"I remember. Still is," Tsubasa said. "But you abandoned him?"
"I left. I was tired of staying where I wasn't wanted, wasn't welcome. But you can give me a new home." She stopped in front of one particular spring, gesturing broadly at it. "The niangniquan. Spring of drowned maiden. At your service."
"This is it?" It was all too much for Tsubasa to take in. He hovered over the pool, staring at the moon's reflection in it. Okay, here I come, he thought. "Sorry about this."
"Why should you be sorry?"
"I mean for what this does to you. You have to share your existence with a man, and be in a man's body about half the time. I bet that makes you want to barf."
"Of course it does. How could it not? Men are filthy, disgusting creatures. I know. I am one."
Lili laughed. "I actually prefer being in the body of a man. I always secretly wished I'd been born one. Girls are weak. Men are strong. All my life I've stayed home and cooked and sewn while the men did the important work."
"You— you can't be serious!"
"It's not important. Jump in the spring, Tsubasa. You'll get what you want. As will I."
Tsubasa took a step closer.
A voice suddenly screamed in his ear. "Sir!"
"Mister girly man, sir!" A flashlight was shining in his eyes, and he felt his arm being pulled. "Wake up, sir!" It was Pu Lanmu.
Tsubasa blinked, looking all around. "I was... sleeping?"
"Not only that," Pu Lanmu said. "You were sleepwalking. You must be the luckiest guy in the world to be able to do that around here without falling into a spring."
"Nah. I had a guide."
Tsubasa looked where Lili had been, but nobody was there. "A ghost," he finally said.
"Go back to your bed," Pu Lanmu said, shoving her shoulders into his chest to emphasize her point.
Tsubasa started to protest, then decided there wasn't much point, and stepped away from the springs back towards his campsite.
Pu Lanmu walked alongside him. "I think maybe you did find the spring you wanted. Tomorrow I'll check the maps to make sure."
Tsubasa settled back into his sleeping bag. Pu Lanmu trudged off. He would see her again tomorrow and he could jump into the spring then... maybe. Then again, he might just forget the whole thing and go back to the Amazon village.
He still wanted to turn into a woman.
The man stood. implacable as a statue. She reached at the dark fitted cloth that covered his head, and yanked it off. Finally, here was the face of the person who had betrayed Ranma and the others by giving their position away to Zhen Biaozi. It was Mu Si. But Nabiki didn't even get a Curses! Foiled again! for her troubles; Mu Si merely stared blankly ahead, not even reacting as she waved her hand back and forth a few centimeters in front of his eyes. The lights were on, as it were, but nobody was home.
"His soul has been taken," came a voice from behind.
Nabiki whirled around. Another man, this one a bit shorter and bulkier, but dressed in the same black body suit and mask. Was this the true culprit? Nabiki pulled off this man's mask, fairly sure what she would find. Sure enough, Mr. Saotome's face lay underneath, showing the same empty gaze.
Still, it hadn't been his voice Nabiki had heard. Then who...?
As if in answer, another figure appeared. This one had a woman's build, dressed in gray robes with a hood that only partially obscured her head. The subtle but definite movements of her torso and slight curling of her lips told Nabiki that this one was not like the others. So who was it? Zhen Biaozi? Feng Lili?
"Er... you stole their souls?"
"Stole? Goodness, no." The figure laughed. "I don't steal. I took them as payment for services rendered. For Mu Si, I helped him get away from his Mongol captors. I guess he didn't know that I was the one who told them where to find him in the first place." Her head reared back, and her hood fell open.
"Surprised? I don't know why you should be. I'm a trader, just like you. A player in the free market. I just deal in a higher grade of commodity. But don't worry, I'm not going to bargain for your soul."
A hand jostled Nabiki. "We're landing in Chicago O'Hare in a few minutes," a flight attendant said over the whistle of jet engines. "Please put your seat up."
"Oh, right." Nabiki pushed her chair, and herself, back to their original upright positions, marveling at the bizarreness of the dream she'd just had. The lesson, she supposed, was never go to sleep after pigging out on airline food.
She'd been mulling over in her head the question of who had betrayed the location of Ranma and the others to Zhen Biaozi. Obviously her subconscious was trying to suggest ideas. That Kasumi could be a traitor was just ridiculous, but the other suspects her mind had picked out were worth serious consideration. The story Mu Si had told about meeting Zhen Biaozi had some major holes. If an Amazon Elder had a way to make herself look eighty years younger, why would she bundle up her face on top of it? Why put a disguise on top of a disguise? And Mr. Saotome... there was very little that Nabiki would put past him. The only question was how he expected to get away with it. As soon as he started spending whatever bribe he'd gotten from the Mongols, it would take about ten minutes for everybody to figure out what he'd done, and then the only thing the money would pay for would be his funeral.
Whoever it was, it certainly wasn't Kasumi. But Nabiki remembered something she liked to tell her subordinates at work: If you believe in something so strongly that it seems like the whole universe would end if it weren't true, but you can't articulate a rational reason why it's true, then it's probably a load of manure; and if you can get somebody else to believe something, anything to that degree, then you can use it as a lever to manipulate that person into doing what you want.
The truth was, dealing with the magical-spiritual aspect of these things gave Nabiki the creeps. Too often it took things way outside her area of expertise. Sure, it had been there in the old days, but back then it had always been the kind that you could avoid by exercising a little common sense and not doing anything stupid. Stupid things like letting yourself be knocked into a cursed spring after being told what it was. But as Shan Pu had just proven, it wasn't like that anymore, if it ever really had been. The bad weirdness can get you even if you don't screw up, and there was no reason to expect that it wouldn't.
By now the plane was already on the ground and taxiing past rows of parked jets. It wasn't that deeply held beliefs were always wrong, she thought. The real lesson was that they were worthless as an indicator of what was true. All that really mattered was information.
Soon she would go through customs and then catch her scheduled connecting flight which would get her to Philadelphia around ten in the morning local time. Then a hot shower and a nap. Meeting with Mr. Kane could wait until tomorrow when she would hopefully be fresher. In the meantime, she could get word to her people and ask them to do a little research.
"Get up, everybody." Ranma scrambled from tent to tent, shaking bodies awake. "We gotta get outta here."
Ryoga's head popped out from underneath his tent's flap. "What's going on?"
"There's somebody on the way here." Ranma pointed into the distance. The sun still hadn't risen, and the sky was only beginning to light up on one side. "I saw a light beam sweeping the area. A little later, there it was again, but closer. A few minutes later, closer still. Whoever it is, they're headed straight here."
"Good work, son," Genma said. He and the others emerged and hurriedly began folding down tents and packing up belongings.
Except one. "Hey, Doc," Ranma called. "Didn't you hear? C'mon out! We need to be gone before—"
The pale glow of a lantern suddenly lit up the area. Ranma whirled. The man was unassuming, middle-aged with a thin build and weather-beaten face.
Crap, Ranma thought. Too late. "Look, pal," he said. "We don't have to do this. I dunno if the people who sent you told you what we're capable of. If it comes down to a fight, I promise you you'll hurt for a long, long time. So maybe that doesn't need to happen. Maybe we left five minutes ago, and you didn't see us, and your Mongol superiors won't know the difference. I don't know how you found us, but—"
"I told him where we would be," Tofu said, finally coming out of his tent.
What the hell? Ranma crouched into a fighting stance. Was the doc working for the other side? If this guy had been tipped off, no way was he going to be scared away; he surely knew exactly how tough Ranma's group was and would have something ready to deal with them.
Tofu stood up. "It's okay, Ranma. He isn't with the Mongols. I mean, he's Mongol, but not working for the government."
The man raised a hand then extended it forward for Ranma to shake. "You can call me Tsakhi," he said in passable Japanese. "I'm part of what you might call the resistance. My group is organizing in secret to oppose General Ha's regime."
A short walk later, Ranma and his group hung on to seats as Tsakhi's jeep rambled over bumpy ground.
Ranma broke the silence. "Give us a little heads up next time, Doc."
"Sorry, Ranma. But I promised Elder Lan that I wouldn't tell anyone. If Ha Bu found out how to reach Tsakhi's group, he'd infiltrate and set them up to be wiped out. So the fewer people who knew anything about it, the safer."
"Okay, when you put it that way, I guess it was a good call." Ranma crouched lower and gripped tighter as the jeep sped over some particularly rough ground.
"I am sorry we have had to be so secretive," Tsakhi said. "Thank you for caring about my country's problems."
"Your problems are our problems," Ranma said. "Unfortunately."
"When General Ha usurped power, members of opposing political groups were systematically slaughtered." Tsakhi looked back at Ranma, who pointed forward as if to say please watch where you're driving. "I lost some very good friends. I don't know how any human being could have ordered such an act."
"Ha isn't strictly human," Ranma said. "His people, the Musk Dynasty, years ago, well... let's just say they brought a whole new meaning to the phrase 'animal husbandry.'"
Tsakhi braked hard and his jeep jerked to a stop in front of a run-down cottage. "Here you will find food and clean clothes. There is a water tank and makeshift heater with which you should be able to clean yourselves up. There are maps which will show you the way into the city. There are also pre-paid disposable phones in case you need to get a message through to your comrades. What you do with all of this is your own choice, and I don't want to know."
Ranma shook Tsakhi's hand as he began to climb out of the jeep. "Thanks, pal."
"You are welcome. When General Ha took over the country, there were many who spoke out against him. I said nothing. Those people are gone and I am still here. This is the least I can do. After all, one of those people was my brother."
"We won't let you down," Tofu said.
Tsakhi nodded as he started up the jeep again. It sped off into the distance. Akane pulled open the door to the cottage.
Captain Janibek stared down the road that led to the Amazon village. "Scout patrol, report."
"Yes, sir," the corporal who had just returned from reconnaissance said. "They've posted extra guards, but apart from that it's pretty much as expected." He handed over a small digital camera.
"Thank you, corporal." Captain Janibek began flipping through slides on the camera. "Were you spotted?"
"Good." A photograph caught the Captain's eye. "This tank must be left over from the occupation."
"I think so, sir. Its engines appear to have been completely wrecked. I assume it was left there because no one in the village had any way of moving it."
"I don't suppose we do either. That's unfortunate. We could've used that extra firepower on our side." He set the camera in his pocket and peered through binoculars at the Amazon village where it lay nested among craggy peaks and valleys. Then he turned to Zhen Biaozi, who had been put in overall command of the mission by special order of central command. "I don't like this, ma'am. According to HQ, the intelligence agent they sent inside yesterday never even reported back. My force is considerably smaller than the original one, and this time they'll be expecting us. With all due respect, are you sure you've thought this out long enough?"
"I've thought this out for years, captain. I don't plan a frontal invasion like last time. Your forces, at least initially, are only here as a diversion. In twenty minutes, you'll bring your troops into range and begin shelling the village. Meanwhile, I'll be sneaking in to infiltrate it."
"My apologies, ma'am. I didn't mean..."
"That's all right. I have no desire to waste your life nor those of your troops, captain. If you encounter opposition that is more formidable than you're prepared to deal with, then withdraw. Otherwise I'll return disguised as one of them and take you into the village, ostensibly as prisoners. Once we're inside the belly of the beast, as it were, we'll have no trouble taking control."
"Yes, ma'am," the captain said as Zhen edged away. "But you said they know you there. Won't they recognize your face?"
"I'm counting on it," she said over her shoulder, and smiled.
Janibek sighed as Zhen vanished behind an outcropping. Here he was, taking orders from a woman who from all appearances wasn't even thirty, but who swore up and down that she'd lived with the Amazons for almost a century. But that wasn't the crazy thing. The crazy thing was that he was starting to believe her.
Back in Ulan Bataar he'd spent months working in administration. When the war started he'd practically begged for the chance to get out from behind his desk and into the field. But while the prospect of a field mission was a lot more interesting, the problem was you never quite knew whether you'd be coming back, and if so in how many pieces.
He turned towards his convoy of trucks and jeeps that snaked down the road. "Corporal, tell the convoy to stand by. We move..." He glanced at his watch. "...in exactly eighteen minutes."
Ranma, Akane, Tofu, and Kasumi sat cross-legged in a tight circle around the small phone. Nearby, Genma and Ryoga kept watch, standing crouched behind a dusty knoll. "Hello?" Akane said. "Are you there, Karina?"
Nabiki's voice came through, faint and slightly distorted. "Er, hello?"
"Karina, it's us! Cousins Henmei, Urana, and Imyo! Oh, we're really enjoying this vacation in Mongolia! The scenery is just breathtaking! And that, er, hostel service we hooked up with was just marvelous. They helped us get this pre-paid disposable phone. We're in one of the national parks now, but we expect to hit the big city by tomorrow."
"Er, I'm glad to hear that you're all right. What about that young Chinese man who was with you as a guide? You know the one I'm talking about?"
"Oh yes. I think he's gone back home. We never saw him, but Urana got word that he had left the area."
"I thought I was Henmei, Akane," Kasumi said.
Ranma shook his head. "No, Akane is Henmei. You're Urana, and I'm Imyo. I wrote it all down."
Akane slumped as she banged her forehead into the palm of her hand, again and again.
"Akane, don't worry about it," Nabiki said.
Akane blinked. "Er, I... that is..."
"Look, I get it. You're worried about somebody listening in on the call. I don't think that these guys have the technology to sort through a multitude of voices on four different carrier networks. But if they can then this little charade isn't going to fool them. If us speaking Japanese isn't enough of a dead giveaway, they can just check my number and look up who owns it. It's okay. Just don't mention any specifics about your plans, and ditch the phone after you're done so they can't locate you by tracing the signal."
"Ukyo is safe. She said the whole story was too much to explain over the phone, but she and the others got away from Kodachi and she thinks she'll be safe at least for the time being."
"Thank gods... kami... whoever," Ranma said.
"The Amazons are expecting an attack but it hasn't come yet. I'm back in the states. Tomorrow morning I'll talk to my boss and try to get some answers. But in the meantime, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you."
"I have certain associates who are very good at tracking down information through computers." Nabiki paused to take a breath. "I asked them to do a search and they came up with some results that I find... interesting."
"I was curious as to who had given away your group's location to the Mongols so that they were able to capture Kasumi and Mu Si. My people, through a rather unlikely bit of dumb luck, discovered what might have been the payoff made in exchange for that information. A secret international bank account with ninety million Yen, in the name of Saotome Ranma and Saotome Akane."
"Huh?" Ranma gaped. "We never— It's a trick! I didn't tell them where to find us and I don't know nothin' about no ninety million yen. Obviously they planted it to get us to fight with each other."
"I rather doubt that it's a plant. Like I said, we were very lucky to come across it. If they expected us to find it then they've got a lot more faith in my team than I have. But I never thought you had anything to do with it. Let's face it, brother-in-law, you're just not that great at keeping a secret."
Ranma let out a breath of relief, then his heart jumped as he saw where the others were looking.
Akane fumed. "You can't seriously think that I would ever do something like—"
"I don't know," Nabiki said. "You tell me. Did you sell us out, Akane?"
Kui Ziling crouched inside a small copse of trees that lay within a shallow ravine. The carrier bird chirped softly as Kui looped the leather carrier straps around its body. And she paused. Kui, the consummate Amazon warrior, always sure of herself, had no idea what she should do next.
It had seemed so simple just a few minutes ago. Ha Bu had made it clear that he wanted the Linghungbao. It was a primary reason, if not the reason, why he was intent on taking over her village. If she turned it over to him willingly, he might take it and go on his way and leave the Amazons alone.
But what if he didn't? What if he decided to conquer or destroy the village anyway? As things currently stood, the Amazons would have very little chance of defending themselves against an all-out attack. With their most powerful artifact in the hands of the enemy, they would have none at all.
The Linghungbao was a conduit into the wielder's true feelings and emotions, much like its sister artifact, the Reversal Jewel; but while the latter item turned those energies inward, affecting the wearer's behavior, the Linghungbao brought them outward. It worked as a ki amplifier, capable of producing impressive force even when used by someone like the Gosunkugi youth. In Ha's hands, there would be no telling what it could do.
For long seconds Kui stood, as if waiting for something to happen. Had she felt that she had the right, she would have prayed to the goddesses for divine inspiration. But she had never really been a believer in such things, always of the opinion that reason and logic were better guides than any sort of supernatural power.
Without warning, an explosion rocked the area. Kui stumbled, then pushed herself to her feet in time to watch the bird soaring into the distance. For a moment she considered chasing after it, but it was already a shrinking dot in the northern sky.
Kui sprang out of the ravine. The decision had been made. She could only hope it would turn out to be the right one. But there would be more bombs, and she needed to join up with her warriors.
The ground shook and bits of stone fell from the ceiling. A wave of force knocked Shan Pu from her chair. With one fluid move she pivoted and landed squarely on her feet.
They're back, she thought. Her eyes darted to the door of her storage closet in which her weaponry was stored. She just needed a sword or even a club and she'd teach these Mongols a very hard lesson they had obviously failed to appreciate the last time.
Another bomb exploded, this one sounding closer than the first had been. Shan Pu bounded across the room, not bothering to slow down. She felt eager to finally have another chance to get back at the men who had ruined the lives of so many of her friends, but fearful of the damage that those men's bombs and guns might do to her village.
She swung open the closet door and unexpectedly caught a faceful of a greenish gas that came out. She spun around and tried to back away. But her legs no longer seemed to work, and the room was spinning, fading.
Looking up from the floor, she was vaguely aware of a figure entering the room, smiling, laughing at her.
But, she thought as the last trace of consciousness left her, this had to be a hallucination. It couldn't be real.
Because the figure's face was her own.


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The standing committee of the Inter-State Council (ISC) on Friday completed deliberations on recommendations of the Punchhi Commission that dealt with the responsibility and jurisdiction of the Centre during major outbreaks of communal and caste violence.
A Home Ministry statement said the standing committee, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, examined various recommendations of the commission. Friday's meeting completed the task of deliberations on all 273 recommendations of the Punchhi Commission, the statement said.
The recommendations will be submitted before the next meeting of the ISC, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief ministers of all states are members of the council.
A three-member commission, headed by former Chief Justice of India Madan Mohan Punchhi, was set up in 2007 by the previous UPA government to take a fresh look at relative roles and responsibilities of various levels of government and the Centre-state relations.
The commission had submitted its report in 2010 to then Home minister P Chidambaram. The mandate of the commission was to examine what could be the role, responsibility and jurisdiction of the Centre during major and prolonged outbreaks of communal violence, caste violence or any other social conflicts, and to review other aspects of Centre-state relations, including taxes and linking of rivers.
It also examined whether there is a need to set up a central law enforcement agency to take up suo motu investigation of crimes with inter-state or international ramifications with serious implications on national security, role of a governor, among others.
In his opening remarks, Home Minister Singh recalled that during the previous two meetings held last year, thorough deliberations were held on the recommendations contained in Volumes I to V of the report.
He said today's discussions were focused on the remaining two volumes i.e. VI and VII, that contained a total of 88 recommendations. The recommendations in Volume VI were related to environment, natural resources and infrastructure and covered the subjects of environment, water, forests, minerals and infrastructure.


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My love affair with cranberries started years ago when Trader Joe's was an upstart company and I'd buy dried cranberries every chance my minimum wage job (and poor savings skills) allowed. Around that time, a friend gave me a recipe from a magazine for pumpkin cranberry bread. I think I've modified it enough to call it my own. This is my go-to gift item for friends and collegues at Christmas. One year I made 18 mini loaves. I've scaled it back since then.
I've made two double batches this year, the last batch last night, during the Winter Solstice. We spent the evening with all the lights off and the tv off. We listened to music and just relaxed in a candle lit house.
This recipe is pretty fast and loose. The ingredient list is what you need to make two 9x5 inch loaves or four mini loaves. I've also made a couple notes to help if you want to double it. My pictures are all of a double batch.
covered the mix in a layer of cranberries in the bowl you see above.
Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
that this ensures it's mixed better in the final product.
Combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin and vegetable oil in a samll mixer bowl. Beat just until blended.
* I use a hand mixer.
Spoon batter into greased and floured pans.
* When I need it, I used the baking spray from Trader Joes that has both combined.
and the loaves pop right out.
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on the top. It really does taste better to do this before you bake the bread.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake 55 - 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
* In my mini loaf pan, it takes 55 minutes, in the 9x5 pans, it takes 65 minutes.
I haven't been able to eat the bread because I've been doing a gluten free diet. Partner claims that this batch was my "best yet."
I'm thinking after we are back from Christmas festivals, I may try to make a single batch with gluten free flour. I'll let you know how it goes.
From our solstice living room... I hope you're ready for the holidays!
Please excuse the lack of pictures today. We went skiing this weekend; apparently the camera download cable didn't want to travel and stayed home. There is not too much to report regarding the March change since my last update. I had two sub goals from the organization and cleaning change, which was to find everything for taxes and flexible saving account reimbursement. I'm quite happy to say that both were accomplished and taxes should be done in the next day or two. The silly thing is that it was all quite easy, once I had the receipts in order. I have some fun pictures to show, including our fine collection of nail clippers.
Our February and January changes are going quite well also. And, just a couple days ago, I received four upcycled fabric produce bags that I'd ordered from Gypsy Forest. Beautiful! The high thread count of the vintage fabric and the construction look very durable. I'll get a couple pictures up in a few days.
Our April change, as you may have guessed, was to start our own garden. We started a few weeks ago when the weather was nice enough to make us think spring had sprung. The backyard of our rental property was over run with an insideous, grass-choking form of oxalis. So, the picture from before was the day we started raking up the oxalis (and our yard :( ) that we'd killed and the day that we planted our garden. I don't know anything about gardening, but partner is an old hand at raised-bed gardening. We are starting slow, to see what takes, but we have lettuce, cilantro and three varieties of tomatos started. But, for Easter, partner got me the latest addition of Mother Earth News. After reading their article Start a Quick and Easy Food Garden, I'm thinking I might want to through some onions in the ground. I don't know how many beets we'd eat, but now is the time to get those started as well. Seriously, if you are interested in a garden, but don't know where to start, check it out! If all goes well, we'll be eating lettuce from our garden by the end of April.
I hope to have pictures for you next time. Of changes, knitting, and snow!
We are currently doing a modified diet trying to get our digestive systems working better. Our Naturopath recommended a blood test which results in an intensive 30 day restrictive diet to eliminate foods to which a person is reactive. As luck would have it, we were both highly reactive to all dairy, refined sugars, and most flours. My system is apparently really out of whack because there were some bizarre foods that I'm restricted from -- garlic, aspargus, carrots, and pineapple, to name a few.
But the bread stuffing was out, so I did a couscous stuffing from the Joy of Cooking with dried apricots and pistachios.
Yum. Verdict: A+ for the turkey (in a roasting bag) and A for the stuffing.


Joshua Davis East Village boutiques have thrived by offering low priced merchandise to its customers. Still House, 117 East Seventh Street, sells artwork and jewelry by local artists.
With reports of hard times for struggling Lower East Side boutiques, The Local paid a visit to merchants on East Seventh Street to see how their businesses are faring. But rather than echoing the frustrated voices of Lower East Side merchants, many of whom have closed or moved to Brooklyn, the East Village is holding steady and even opening new stores.
Here is what some local shopkeepers had to say about starting up and surviving in the East Village.
Two newcomers to the block, both stores opened within a week of another last month, and both specialize in selling goods from local artists and designers. Rena Reborn, which sells new and recycled jewelry and clothing for women, draws many of its customers with $5 and $10 racks.
"Low prices keep us in business," says owner Rachael Rush.