…1958, starring John Agar, Richard Denning and Zelda the trained duck
Sasha Explains It All
Sanctuaries: Part 2
Hi, folks. This is the second part of my discussion on the various sanctuaries that the NHTA has established around the world. Last time I told you about the main sanctuaries in North America, so this time we’ll cover some of the big, and in most cases huge, ones that you’ll find on other continents.
I should also mention that there are a lot of smaller facilities around the planet, some of them only a few acres in size. They all are a place for both sapient and non-sapient NHT to be safe and free from human foolishness.
The first, and the oldest, sanctuary of all is Gorilla City. Yes, the name was taken directly from “The Flash” comic books, because My sister, Silky, and Gomba (the great gorilla leader), both loved their little jokes and because, well, it was a city mostly inhabited by gorillas.
Gorilla City, unlike the big Sanctuaries in North America, does not exist in the past. Instead, the entire city and the surroundings for about 55 miles out are located in a spatial sub-layer. Okay, you can call it a pocket dimension if you really want to. It is built upon two mountains in Burundi and on the three level, 1 mile wide and 3.25 long bridges between them.
If you can imagine a city that looks like a cross between a landlocked tropical San Francisco and the Emerald City of Oz, but with both set in about the Star Trek 23rd century, you’d be close to Gorilla City. It is clean, crime free and full in equal parts of Art & Science.
The NHTA Council is housed there, as are all of its various ministries and such. Gomba University, home to 3,000 students and both the Silky Dawn Cross College of Trans Species Relations and the Sasha Jane Cross College of Mad Science, are located there. You’ll also find many farms spread around both inside and outside town.
There are 32,507 gorillas living in the city, along with 12,000 individuals from other species. About 52 of those are humans. Gorilla City is a shining monument to what we NHT can do if we put our minds to it.
Staying on the African Continent, we have Ngorongoro Crater. Yes, the same Ngorongoro Crater that exists in Tanzania right now. The difference is, the NHT living there are 11,000 years in the past and the sanctuary encompasses both the crater and a 7 mile wide zone around it. Most of the NHT live in compounds outside the actual crater. As sanctuaries go, it’s a fairly natural place. The majority of the NHT population are African species, in particular lions, elephants and hippos. It is a favorite vacation spot for many NHT.
Heading over to India, the big sanctuary there is Tiger Cavern. It’s a huge cavern about a mile under the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. When I say huge, I’m not shitting around, folks. Tiger Cavern is 80 miles long and 10 miles wide. From floor to ceiling it is 450 feet high. It contains forests, fields, rivers, streams, small hills, lakes, and a swamp.
The whole place is maintained by an AI, varied nanotech and bots. It’s a pretty amazing place. It’s also very dangerous, on a par with Wolf Island. Like wolves, most tigers prefer the old ways. There are very few amenities here and most outsiders are encouraged to do their business and get the fuck out. Humans will be killed and eaten on sight, with the notable exceptions of my Dad & Mom.
The largest of all the NHT sanctuaries is Grand Lake, located smack in the middle of Australia, way out in the desert. It covers parts of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. Why? Because it measures 300 miles across! Like Gorilla City, it’s in a pocket dimension.
This sanctuary is perfectly round, with the equally round Grand Lake at its center. To the north are hills and mountains, while to the south are forests. East and west of the lake are vast fields dotted with light woods. The average temperature year round is 80 degrees Fahrenheit. There is one town, Kakora, on the western shore of the lake. Five villages are dotted around the rest of the lake.
Grand Lake is the only NHT sanctuary governed by birds, in this case Cockatoos and other parrots. Now, their style of governing is a bit more chaotic than most NHT, but they are still WAY more efficient and fight less than humans. Like other NHT governing bodies, they realize they are there to serve and protect, not get all up in folk’s shit. All told, Grand Lake is a noisy, but nice place to live or visit.
Well, folks, I have once again failed to talk about all the sanctuaries, so I guess I’ll be doing a Part Three sometime in the near future.
Thanks for reading, and until my next rant, I am…
Sasha Jane Cross, PhD X 8
(Note from 2025: In the 5+ years since Sasha wrote this, several new Sanctuaries have been created, several of which saw work done by her daughter, Cupcake, and her son-in-law, Buck.)
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