Chapter Text
Tivan is good boy; he just doesn’t remember sometimes. So is very good think he had Comrade Cosmo around to remind him, da ?
Who is Comrade Cosmo?
Let Cosmo tell who Cosmo is!
But first, let’s shake.
Shake.
Shake.
Good, good Terran.
I need to warn you, though. Cosmo is Russian dog, so life story is a little long and kind of sad.
You still want to hear?
Oh, boy, Cosmo will be gettink bacon for tellink story? Cosmo will speak, Cosmo will speak!
Cosmo short for Cosmonaut. That is what scientists call Cosmo, along with somethink else Cosmo forget, when they pick Cosmo off streets of Stalink’grad. Well, not right away because Cosmo did not become Cosmonaut right away. Nobody does.
You should visit Stalink’grad, Terran, if you haven’t. Stalink’grad is beautiful. So beautiful, but dangerous. Like beautiful thinks always are.
Oh, you have?
What?
Nyet , they would not!
Really?
That is what is called now?
Such an ugly name!
Cosmo loves Stalink’grad. Stalink’grad always Stalink’grad to Cosmo. Cosmo was born there, in litter of syem , on the streets, but Cosmo does not remember much about parents or siblinks. Batya was gone before Cosmo and siblinks born. Mama was sad and often tired, but pretty. Oldest of siblinks, Bol’shoy Brat , tried to keep us siblinks together after Mama passed. We lost Mladshya Sestra , the youngest of us. We were crossink a street together and, next think we knew, she was gone. Most of us stopped lookink for her after month passed. Because we had to, not because we wanted to. Mladshiy Brat , the second younkest, didn’t want to give up. We never saw him again. Another sestra passed, drowned in the beautiful river. Another brat hit by tram. Street and River we had to avoid after. Is hard to do that in Stalink'grad. Only so many places for doggies to go. Bol’shoy Brat had cold when Cosmo last saw him, but he still tried hard to keep Cosmo and other siblink together. Cosmo hope he got better.
What Cosmo miss most about Stalik’grad is playink in snow with siblinks. It was cold, but safe. Cosmo used to like swimmink in river before we lost sestra .
My siblinks and I were sleepink on doorstep when they got me. My brats woke up when I called for them. My younger brat was too weak. Stayed down after he got first hit. Bol’shoy Brat had teeth in leg of Man-who-grabbed-me, and did not let go when they kicked him and hit his nose. I couldn’t move when they were carryink me away, because they inject me with somethink that made me sleepy like Mama. Bol’shoy Brat let go when they inject him too.
Cosmo still think of Bol’shoy Brat sometimes.
Cosmo picked with other stray dogs from all over because we were stronger, heartier than normal dog. We're used to extreme cold. That is what scientists tell Cosmo and other dogs. They put us in cages. They feed us strange thinks. They give us shots. They cut us up in places and sewed us up again. They use radiation lamps. They expose us to cold again. They repeat. Over and over. They wanted to expand our minds. Many of us dead instead.
It work on Cosmo, but Cosmo was clever doggy and didn't show right away. Cosmo knew it worked because Cosmo could hear them talk without movink lips. Cosmo heard mental-talkink. Thought I was goink crazy, at first. Cosmo hear scientists thinkink about Laika, the first Terran creature sent out to orbit the planet. And about the other dog whose head they kept. Head and nothink else. And it was still alive, poor think! Terrifyink way to live. Cosmo did not want to be like dog head. Cosmo would rather be like Laika. Cosmo obey, when told to do most thinks, but Cosmo did not show new abilities.
Cosmo had plan, but not sure if it work. So Cosmo experiment on scientists. Cosmo hear what they think, so it make Cosmo think. Cosmo think, could they think what Cosmo think? So Cosmo think. Small thoughts, at first. Cosmo new with mind abilities and needed practice too. Give Cosmo extra food, Cosmo think. Give Cosmo extra food. Give Cosmo extra food. Worked once. Then, twice. Then, many times. Cosmo try somethink else, then. Cosmo think for water. Nicer mat in cage. Walksies. So Cosmo try most unthinkable think, to make sure it’s not multiple coincidences. Cosmo think about toy. A nice, small ball. Next day, they give.
Cosmo had fun with ball for a day, but it had to end because Cosmo knew it was time to think for big think.
Make Cosmo like Laika. Even if Laika did not survive, Cosmo would rather go on this program and get out of experiments instead of windink up like dog head. Cosmo knew, after what they did to Cosmo, they would not send Cosmo back to street of Stalink’grad. That, and Cosmo wondered what it would be to float in the stars Cosmo saw each night. Hopefully like snow. Safe. So Cosmo think. Make Cosmo like Laika, Cosmo think.
And Cosmo became Cosmonaut, flyink for glory of Mother Russia. Cosmo will be good, they said. Cosmo will be good dog. Or Cosmo was told Soviet government scrub failures and after Laika they would not have another failure. Soviet government changed pictures for failed human cosmonauts, scientists say, so nobody knew they existed anymore, but Cosmo did not know if scientists only upset with Cosmo and makink thinks up. Anyway, they wanted new dog to test new propulsion system for craft before usink on humans.
Cosmo trained with three other dogs. Cosmo no longer remembers their names. Scientists brought Laika to their home, to play with their kids, because they knew Laika would not live long and scientists like her. Scientists did not do that to us. They do other thinks to us like Laika. They put us in cages, to train us. Then, move us to smaller cage. Cages shrank each day. Shrank and shrank and shrank and shrank. We’d be left days at a time, sometimes. Became hard to think. Became hard to eat. Became hard to defecate or pee. Then, they put us in centrifugal device and spun us. Had us try suits on. Fed us even softer food, which made it harder for us to defecate. Our stomachs hurt. Even if hard for Cosmo to think, Cosmo still think so they send Cosmo. Cosmo think. And think.
They send Cosmo, leave other Cosmonauts on ground. Cosmo doesn’t know what happened to other Cosmonauts. Cosmo thought of many thinks when they launch Cosmo. Cosmo mostly think of ball and siblinks.
Launch was terrifyink. More frightenink than beink spun in device. Like Cosmo was beink squeezed, beink stepped on by giant. But Cosmo couldn’t move. Cosmo was pressed down and could feel heart beat like it would have come out of chest. Cosmo had trouble breathink. Cosmo wanted to howl, but Cosmo could not move mouth.
Scientists said they fixed flaw in craft that stymied thermal control system, so Cosmo would not die same way like Laika. Flaw was fixed. Thermal systems worked. But ships fickle. One wrong number in calculations, just one, and it is enough to throw whole system off. Cosmo think somethink happened with pressure, but not sure. Cosmo is a telepathic dog, not rocket scientist, eto panyatno?
Cosmo couldn’t breath. Cosmo couldn’t breath.
So Cosmo thought. Thought as loudly and quickly as Cosmo could. For anybody.
For scientists. For Bol’shoy Brat . For my other brat . For the other dogs. For God. For anybody.
Cosmo blacked out.
Then woke up, still in suit, but out of craft and surrounded with green. More green than Cosmo seen. So many leaves. So much soft grass. So many trees. So much tender fruit growink. So many plants Cosmo could not name! And eyes, fixed on Cosmo. More eyes than Cosmo seen lookink at Cosmo. And the creatures they were attached to--Cosmo never saw creatures like them before! Beasts with so many legs, with strange colors, with odd number of organs, with organs Cosmo never saw before! So many smells! So many thoughts! And Tivan was there when Cosmo woke up. Tivan had answered Cosmo’s call!
Tivan treated Cosmo. Tivan brought yummy food and water, and Cosmo didn’t even have to ask.
Tivan told Cosmo that Cosmo was the most unique specimen of Terran-based canis lupus familiaris he had seen and that Cosmo would stay in green place with Tivan and go with him in this green place to another. (This green place was only part of his craft, you see.) Cosmo would just have to use mental gifts to help him maintain his Collection.
Cosmo know Cosmo is dog of simple taste. Don’t need much to be happy, Terran. But Cosmo was happier than Cosmo had been in so long.
That is why Tivan is good boy, even if he does bad sometimes and other people think he’s bad. And that is why Cosmo wants to be good dog and stay with him, to remind him he’s good boy.