Taterskin & The Eco Defenders: Book 2, Chapter 11
Book 2 ("Tell It to Future Generations"), Chapter 11 of 56
CHAPTER 11
“Who has the next suggestion?” Albert asked.
Rovette and I had been talking about it. We looked at each other, and at our pups, and nodded our agreement. “Vivisection,” I said.
“Vivisection? What’s that?” Terri asked.
“Surgical experimentation on live animals,” Rovette told her.
“Experimentation? I like experimenting. Sometimes I mix Grey Poupon with French’s to see which one tastes Frenchier. I do like German mustard best, but sometimes I experiment with French mustard. I might even try an experiment mixing Brown Mustard with mustard gas one of these days.”
“I would advise against that, Terri,” Drako said.
“That’s not the kind of experimentation I’m talking about, anyway, Terri,” Rovette said. “I mean operating on living animals — not to heal them or cure them of a disease, but simply to experiment on them and see what will happen when the surgeons mangle them in this way or torture them in that way. Being used as a ‘Guinea Pig’ isn’t something that’s only suffered by literal Guinea Pigs.”
Half of the animals unconsciously took a step backward on hearing of such a thing. The other half, angered and ready to go on the offensive against those who engaged in this vicious practice, did the opposite and stepped forward. It was their way of volunteering to be a part of the effort to eradicate such dastardly deeds.
Stripes and Rory roared, the Elephants trumpeted, and the Rhino and Hippo grunted. Ooga the Gorilla bounced up and down and swung his arms around, like a pugilist preparing for a bout. They were all quite worked up, to say the least.
“Where do we go, and when, to put an end to these acts of deviltry?” Stripes asked.
“Hartford, Connecticut, 1903,” I answered him. “We want to save one puppy in particular, and put the world on notice that the animals on it will not tolerate any animal anywhere being experimented on in this diabolical way.”
It was obvious to all that Hartford, Connecticut in 1903 was in our future. Or, it was in our past, I guess, as that was over six hundred years ago. It would become one of our memories after going there, doing what needed to be done, and then returning to where and when we were as we discussed this.
“1861 Charleston, South Carolina to prevent the Civil War and then 1903 Hartford, Connecticut to put an end to Vivisection,” Albert summed up. What else? Who else has a pet project (no pun intended)?”
“We owe it to mankind, animalkind, and to the earth itself to end the unwise and selfish polluting of the environment which leads to global warming, or climate change, which leads to disaster and death,” Alexis said. “I say we go to the Amazon rainforest to prevent large-scale ranching, farming, mining, and logging operations there.”
After a prolonged discussion on why this was necessary, and why the Amazon was to be our focal point in this endeavor, the group agreed with Alexis that protecting the Amazon rainforest was indeed a very high priority.
“When, Alexis?”
“1978.”
“1978? Why 1978?” Albert asked.
“It is from that year that rapid deforestation there became especially bad. After that, four hundred thousand square miles of Amazon rainforest ended up being destroyed.”
So it was settled; three destinations and times were known.
“We need to go to Wounded Knee,” Stripes added.
“When? Why? What happened at Wounded Knee, where is it, and why do we need to go there?” said Drako.
“In 1890, at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, defenseless Native Americans of all ages and genders were slaughtered by the army using heavy artillery.”
“Why?”
“Confusion, racism, revenge; choose one or more; all three, probably. I want us to put an end to the genocidal pattern of governments, institutions, and people who view others as inferior or even subhuman and violently attack them. I want us to make a statement there — in both senses of the word,” Stripes resolutely said.
And so, another time and place was added to our itinerary.
Next, Tubthumper said she wanted to do something about exploitation of workers. She had a particular time and place in mind to make a stand and effect a change: The Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City, 1911.
“What is a shirtwaist and why should we waste our time on it?” Terri wanted to know.
Nobody noticed the homophonic pun she had made.
“It’s no waste of time, at least not in my opinion,” Tubthumper replied, flapping her ears and snorting. “I’ve seen what it’s like for both humans and animals to be made slaves, and for the slave drivers to care more about the equipment and machines they use than for the people and animals they force into servitude. At the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, over a hundred were killed in a fire due to the tight-fisted, hard-hearted attitude of the owners of the company.”
“OK, OK, you don’t have to get all up in ears about it. Lead the way and I’ll back you up,” Terri said. “But you still haven’t answered my first question: What in tarnation is a shirtwaist?”
“It’s a blouse; a woman’s shirt,” Alexis said.
“You wouldn’t catch me dead in one!” said Terri. “That’s another strange human custom I’ll never understand. Disguising themselves in a new way every day with patterns and colors that are sometimes downright off-putting and clashy.”
“Clashy?” Yukyuk asked, chuckling.
“Yes — their duds, or togs, or whatever they call them, often clash with each other or with their skin tone. Take me, for instance: As splendidly beautiful as I am, I feel no need to camouflage myself, and my wings always match my beak and feet. Why would I hide my hide? I am the best-undressed critter in all of animaldom — the most elegant, chic, and natural beauty the world has ever seen! I should be on the cover of GQ!”
“GQ? Isn’t that a rag for male humans?” Ocero asked.
“Not hardly!” answered Terri. “Ginormouspteradactyl’s Quarterly is for the most refined flying Lizards — and anyone else who wants to keep up with all the news and gossip and fashion tips about us, the royalty of the skies.”
“Enough of that,” Albert said, again growing impatient with the sidebars and soapbox ranting. “Who’s next?”
All of us looked at each other and shrugged.
“I think that’s it for now,” I said.
Albert then suggested that — for no reason in particular except perhaps to avoid the appearance of preferential treatment — we go to the various locations in chronological order, namely:
1861 Charleston, South Carolina (Ft. Sumter, to ward off the Civil War)
1890 Wounded Knee, South Dakota (to prevent the genocidal massacre of Native Americans)
1903 Hartford, Connecticut (to put an end to the practice of Vivisection)
1911 Manhattan, New York, Triangle Shirtwaist factory (to prevent the deadly fire and the exploitation of workers)
1978 Amazon (to keep the rainforest, the earth’s ‘lungs,’ intact by disallowing large-scale commercial ranching, farming, mining, and logging)
The seating arrangements in the time & space vehicles started out as follows:
12 souls in the Zephyr (4 pups in 1 seat):
10 souls in the Androcles:
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