Good morning Dr. Oeming. As I’m sure you’ve already been informed, we had a possible security concern when some of the escaped R2137 or “Brisby” rats were discovered in the small town of Pine Bridge, Georgia. I’ve just completed a tour of the facility in which they had been living, recovered our animals and have left personnel to tie up any loose ends. Before I go more in depth, let me allay any concerns you may have about the incident. I am sure that I recovered all our assets (including some new pups), and I am confident we won’t be hearing anymore about the matter.
After the robbery of our Seattle facility and theft of some of the R2137 animals last Fall, you’ll remember that the decision was made to move all the rats from that lab to other, more secure locations. The process went as planned except for a group that was veiled to our Atlanta location. At some point in the move approximately 8 individuals escaped their boxes. An intense sweep of the building and the grounds yielded nothing and an alert was put out to our government partners to monitor the area. After continued searches of the facility found nothing, and no reports about large white rats acting strangely came from surrounding areas, we assumed they had fled outside and fell victim to natural predators. It appears that was an incorrect assumption.
Within a month the town of Pine Bridge, about 30 miles North of Atlanta, began to experience a rash of chicken disappearances. While it’s not unusual for a number of animals to prey on chickens, there was none of the usual signs of predation. They were simply vanishing. Despite the lack of blood, bodies, or feathers, the local Wildlife Resource Division took measures to cull the surrounding coyote population, thinking they were responsible. Even though they took in very few animals, the disappearances soon stopped and not much more was thought of it. None of the reports mentioned anything about rats and since chickens are taken all the time, it didn’t tip off any government monitoring software.
Then neighbors around the recently closed Murphy Poultry Farm began to call officials about strange noises coming from the property. Eventually the police responded when they received a call that the processing plant had started up one night. The responding officer drove up to the building but after a thorough search didn’t find any suspects. What he did find was over a hundred chickens and a number of large white rats. It was his call into the station that night that caught the attention of our partners and triggered the alert to us.
I was in Pine Bridge that following morning and began my tour of the facility around noon. The locals were told that the farm was being used by wanted Gaia Guard terrorists to hold stolen lab animals. They seemed happy with that explanation.
What I saw was truly amazing. In only a few months and without any tools, the rats had gathered enough chickens to start operations again. They even picked up a small gaggle of geese from somewhere. They had reconnected the water and electricity. Even the recycling and automated disposal systems were online, and most of the processing machinery was operational again.
I could see that a large female recognized me and was eager to show off what they had done. Not having enough feed for all the fowl, the rats would take turns herding groups of chickens into the vast fields outside so they could forage for food. I spent an hour watching groups of rats take turns escorting their wards to various foraging areas and keep watch over them like sheep dogs tending a flock.
I’m not an expert in animal husbandry or the raising of chickens, but to be honest, some of their innovations were remarkable. They made some improvements to the water recycling system to better accommodate the geese. I don’t fully understand it all but my guide seemed very insistent that I take copious notes. Her whiskers were a frenzy of excitement when we got to the chick sorting area. They had fully automated the process by chewing differently sized holes through the table screen. To be honest, it’s the most well run and efficient free range operation I’ve ever seen. If they were provided with the proper support, or were human, the business would be a huge success.
Of course after the tour we shut everything down, caged the rats, and disposed of the fowl. The responding officer doesn’t seem to know what he saw. Even if he did know the truth, I don’t think anyone would believe him. However, just to be careful, I’ve asked that his and all the communications from everyone in his station be monitored for the next several months. I honestly don’t think we have anything to worry about here.
I’m going to bring this bunch back to Lahaina with me just so there is no further trouble or mix ups. I think we might have to consider starting a little farm ourselves here. I’ve never seen the rats so happy.
