Adam’s Atoms

As we have discussed elsewhere, the Kumárans are born as felines and spend the first century of their lives in a feline form. Even though they transform into humanoids at the age of 100, and are even welcomed to their humanoid form with a special ceremony, they never forget their original feline form.

We have also discovered that they can shift into the feline form at any time during their lives. And shift they do!

You already know one occasion when adult Kumárans shift to the feline form: Teachers of the Kumáran cubs take on the feline shape whenever they need to teach their pupils anything feline, such as running at high speeds without getting lost.

Running in the feline form is a popular form of fast transportation on Kumára. Not that the Kumárans do not have advanced transportation technology, they do, and they use it when they have to travel to distant places for which feline running would be unfeasible. Also, if they need to use their hands, for example to carry something, it would be impractical in the feline form. But at any time feline running is practical, it is a perfect excuse to assume the native feline form.

It is, therefore, not unusal to see a fast running red tiger, or a group of tigers, on Planet Kumára.

The felines are not dressed in any clothes. For one, it would be virtually impossible for a tiger to dress up, someone else would have to do it for him. Secondly, it would be completely unnecessary. When in their tiger shape, the Kumárans have the same medium long fur as they did before turning humanoid. The fur is usually of the same color as their hair. So, if a young Kumáran who has just recently turned humanoid assumes the feline form, his fur will be golden blond, while any adult tiger’s fur is usually bright red. I said usually because while all adult Kumárans are redheads, they can switch to a silky black feline. They, however, tend to save this option for very intimate and private moments with their partners.

Now, while the tigers do not wear any clothes, the Kumárans never take out their earrings, not even before shifting to the feline form. Thus, you could easily tell a Kumáran who has shifted into the feline form from a Kumáran cub who has never had the humanoid shape yet. The cub will be smaller than adults, will have red fur (the blond tiger may still be small, after all he is a child). Most importantly, the cub will not have earrings, while a shifted Kumáran will.

The Kumárans are also capable of a partial feline shift. That means that they have the ability to shift any part (or several parts) of their bodies into the feline form, while keeping the rest of their bodies in their humanoid form). Thus, a Kumáran could give himself a feline head, or a feline paw, or grow a tail.

Rumor has it that there are several places on Kumára which are strictly out of bounds for alien visitors. This is because every so often someone somewhere learns that there is plenty of gold on Kumára and would like to take it away (apparently, gold is considered a precious commodity on many worlds). While no Kumáran will ever stop anyone from taking a little gold that he happens to find on the surface of the planet, some strangers are rumored to have tried to take it by truckloads from gold depositories that are rumored to exist on Planet Kumára.

So, allegedly, these places are supposed to exist and are off bounds to aliens. And it is rumored that the security asks any visitor to prove that he really is a Kumáran. They allegedly pick any part of his body and ask him to switch it—and only it—to its feline form. Generally, they pick something that does not require the visitor to undress, such as an ear, eye, his nose, mouth, hand, and such.

But then, this is only a rumor!

Sometimes a Kumáran shifts feline so he can run fast to meet with another Kumáran or a small group of Kumárans, but when he arrives it would be inappropriate to remain in his feline form. Yet, he cannot shift back because he would be naked, and that would be just as inapropriate. In that case, he switches his upper torso (head, neck, and a small section underneath the neck) into the humanoid form, while leaving the rest of his body feline. He looks just like a sphinx, even if his body resembles more a tiger than a lion, which is how a sphinx is usually depicted in human mythology.

Naturally, if the Kumáran needs to meet with a large group of other Kumárans, the sphinx form would be impractical, since a sphinx takes up more space than a humanoid. Also, if he needs to use his hands or feet, or to bring something to the meeting, going sphinx is not an option. In that case, of course, the Kumáran will use a different mode of transportation.

There are other occasions when the Kumárans may choose to switch into a feline. For example, parents of a Kumáran cub may want to spend some quality time playing with their cub, so they switch into a form similar to his. Or, if two Kumárans want to be intimate, one of the ways of doing it is in the feline form.

There are no exact rules for when a Kumáran may switch feline. While the Kumárans are very social, they also are strong individuals, so different Kumárans have different habits and practices.

That said, the Kumárans spend most of their time after the age of 100 in the humanoid shape. It is certainly easier to accomplish many tasks when you have two hands and two feet. Plus, it is just natural for the Kumárans after the age of 100 to be humanoid.

Finally, I would like to emphasize something: There is nothing feline about the look of the Kumárans in their usual humanoid shape. They do not have whiskers, they do not have pointy ears, they do not have cat’s eyes, or a feline nose. As described before, they can be easily mistaken for humans until you start noticing the shape of their freckles or the length of their armpit hair. If you want to get an idea of what a typical Kumáran’s face may look like, take a look at the death mask of the Paharaoh Tutankhamon. The shape of his nose, his big eyes, his thick lips, even his cheeks represent a classical Kumáran face. Nothing feline about it.