"This place is sweltering," Mr. Hyun grumbled while fanning himself with a pamphlet that one people at New Zerzura had offered as a tourist guide.
The Egyptian colony wasn't necessarily the hottest of the Animalian colonies. As he'd traveled with the tour and keeping an eye on Ling he was able to get a better look at some of the scientific data and weather patterns that he normally wouldn't get in North Korea. New Zerzura, Vilcabamba, and Mieni all had very similar average temperatures. There might be some differences by a few degrees, but not enough to really say definitively that one or the other were drastically different in temperature. According to the website reports on some of the weather in the colonies, Vilcabamba might actually feel warmer due to higher humidity levels in the atmosphere, but certain areas there were also well shaded so that one wasn't in the sun.
New Zerzura didn't have that, and that had left Hyun and Ling out in the heat. A part of him would have preferred Mieni. At least there, there was water that was safe to swim in. While in theory sharks could swim into Mieni's central lagoon, the water was clear enough that a shark could be seen from a distance and avoided and Mieni's life guards could quickly herd the shark out. In New Zerzura, however, that wasn't possible. The colony city was build next to and around the ancient ruins and were now close to the Nile River, and there the water was not so clear, as it carried sediment from elsewhere in Egypt. The result of this was that there were un-uplifted Nile Crocodiles in the water as well as un-uplifted Nile Perch, all of which, Mr. Hyun was told wouldn't be above taking a bite out of someone if threatened. That removed swimming as an option.
"Perhaps it's a payoff for all their artifacts and things," Ling commented, "after all, their buses have taken us up to see places like the pyramids and the sphinx and even here they have ancient ruins with pictures."
"I'm sure that wasn't an issue when the Egyptians first settled the region," Mr. Hyun commented, still fanning himself and occasionally looking over to the Korean Water Deer Animalian who stood by him as they were looking at some of the monuments in New Zerzura itself, "They were probably more concerned with feeding themselves and following their own culture to figure that their civilization would ultimately fall to later powers and be left as archeological finds for later powers and even Ancient Egypt's inheritors."
"I bet you'd look cute in the special loin cloths the Jackal Guards wear for the reenactments," Ling said to him raising a groan from Hyun.
Korean Water Deer normally had their breeding season in November and December, and some of that had been considered when Chairman Kim had sent Hyun on his mission with Ling. Certain parts of that original mission looked like a failure now, as Ling's behavior did not seem like she would be too eager in fighting, but the fact that she'd seemed to be in heat in June/July was troubling. Was her being uplifted into an Animalian changing her behavior and biological cycle? None of the Horizon staff he'd visited with seemed to know, and in Maelewano and again at New Zerzura the staff running the Horizon owned and run hospitals there were more familiar with African animals rather than Asian ones, which made sense. Unless you had an animal escape from a zoo, it'd be unlikely to find a Water Deer loose in Africa.
"They have more muscle than I do," Mr. Hyun said simply, noting one of the guards nearby.
They weren't always dressed as ancient Egyptians. In many places the Jackal Guards wore uniforms and insignia of the Egyptian Army, and he'd found that most of them were converted Humans and had largely done so to better protect Egypt's historical sites from those that would do them harm. They might chase groups like Al Qaeda or ISIS if they came into Egypt, but so far as Hyun could understand, their historical rivalries with others outside of Egypt didn't seem to factor with the converted Humans.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile another couple were discussing other issues related to New Zerzura's "Guards of Anubis." Adi sat with a small salad while Xochitl had some grilled fish, likely Nile Perch based on its taste and the closeness to the river. Adi was fairly curious on The Xoloitzcuintli (Mexican Hairless) Dog Animalian as she'd never had that much knowledge on many of the various dog breeds that existed around the world. She'd seen a few before coming to America and joining Animalia, but many of them were either breeds used by the Syrian military or simply happened to roam the streets where she'd lived growing up. Thus meeting Xochitl was something new.
Learning that Xochitl was interested in one of the Guards of Anubis was something that Adi found as even more interesting and she was happy to help and provide what advice that she could. Though Adi ultimately had to make the point that as a Syrian some of what she knew on her interpretations of Islam might be different from Abbas' interpretations. Even if both of them didn't view things fanatically there could still be some differences that were a result of differences between Egypt and Syria that ultimately didn't necessarily relate to religion.
"Well it is a good thing that you've met his family," Adi commented as she chewed on her salad, "that would help with understanding what they will expect from him... and potentially from you."
"And they seemed remarkably friendly," Xochitl nodded, "though some of that may be that Abbas is not positioned to be the principle inheritor from them... though... I also think they might have some issue with my modelling and work with some of the various skin creams to protect against oils collecting and protecting against the suns UV rays..."
"That is possible," Adi said slowly, "as in general Islam largely leans against images of God and his creations, including Animals and Men. Some more moderate sects may tolerate things in certain situations, such as with Ancient Egypt's hieroglyphics or some of the imagery in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul with its past as a Church before the Turks made it a Mosque. But that's ultimately more a historical situation than anything else."
"But you went into modelling..." Xochitl pointed out.
"I did," Adi nodded, "but that's again off of my interpretation and what I personally see as important and helpful. That can work for me, but wouldn't be something that everyone will always agree to. Though... at the same time, a lot of that will be up to you and Abbas on where things go from there. Especially if you say he's not in line to be the principle inheritor from his parents."
"And what about any other things with religion or marriage?" Xochitl asked, "I really like him... and... I don't want to cause him trouble."
Adi shifted her ears forward and back for a few moments as the moved to think on some things for a moment. While a majority of the Middle East and North Africa were populated by Muslims, she'd also known that there were plenty of non-Muslims in these countries. Most of them tended to be Christians, and so far as Adi knew, countries that had been more "moderate" over the years even tolerated the existence of Christians and other religious groups, and Egypt technically was among those states. However, Adi wasn't knowledgeable enough on Egyptian Law to know how far that tolerance extended.
"That would again be something you'd want to discuss with Abbas directly," Adi spoke, "as he will be more familiar on Egyptian laws than I am."
"But haven't Syria and Egypt had close ties in the past?" Xochitl asked lowering one ear.
"Political alliances do not necessarily mean their laws are the same," Adi commented, "which is where you may need to talk with Abbas on. Be friendly and honest... and I'd even urge keeping an open mind on things and think through on what you want. And there I'm talking about more than just a sexual liaison. For if what you have is true love... religion, language, and even culture are secondary. And with Animalians... even species may not matter. While the edicts might mean you might not breed... though I cannot say on where the scientific rules will apply between you and Abbas... that doesn't necessarily apply to love. And I'm sure adoption would be an open option if it's ruled that the Animalian species that Abbas has become is separate from the Domestic Dog. It'd be something different, but wouldn't necessarily prevent you two from being together."
"And love conquers all?" Xochitl asked, wagging her tail.
"Yes," Adi nodded.