CHAPTER 25
Flying at our accustomed speed of 969 mph, it took us five-and-a-half hours to get from Oona-Woop-Woop, Australia to Darjeeling, India. It was a scenic ride and so the time seemed to pass quickly — we flew first across all of central Australia, then over parts of Indonesia and Malaysia — within sight of Borneo, where a wild man was reputed to have lived once — and finally over Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Bangladesh before entering India.
Once we were close to Darjeeling, we began to descend, and soon the combined smells of curry, turmeric, cardamom, and saffron rose on columns of smoke from cooking fires and assailed our nostrils — in a pleasant and appetizing way.
“I can tell we’re getting close to where Mullah is. That smells like his cooking!” I said.
“I don’t think Mullah’s the only person in India who uses those spices, Taterskin,” Albert said, smiling and patting me on the head.
I no longer cared for it when Albert did that. When I was a puppy I had liked it, and even when I was no longer a puppy in size but was still one in age (after being changed from puppy size to full-grown-Dog-size in two shakes of a Lamb’s tail) I did, but now that I was about to become a family Dog (hopefully), it didn’t seem altogether dignified to have a human pet me. I thought that I might have to broach the subject with Albert, as I didn’t want Rovette to see him treating me that way, rather than dealing with me as a friend and an equal.
I knew that he meant well, and I realized that humans often underestimate us animals. Albert is one of the best that way, but even he sometimes fails to give us the degree of respect that we deserve. But I would never do anything to offend or embarrass him — on purpose, anyway — so I will continue to try to ‘grin and bear it’ as best I can.
Anyway, shortly after our arrival, news of our re-appearance quickly spread, and in what seemed like no time Mullah was there, smiling and happy to see us.
He invited us all to join him at his home to enjoy the soup that he had made fresh that day — it was his own invention and bears a coded version of his name: Mulligatawny.
After our meal of soup and Naan bread, followed by a dessert of Laddu, Albert told Mullah of the other reason we had for coming back to India:
“We would have come here, anyway, to see how you are getting along, Mullah, but we have another reason for returning to India,” he said, and then paused to allow the suspense about whatever it was to build.
“What is it, my friend?” Mullah inquired.
“We have set in operation, in Australia” —
“Oh, you’ve been back to Australia? How is Yookie?”
“Yookie’s fine,” I piped up. “In fact, he’s helping us with our efforts down there.”
Mullah could understand me because he, too — as do most people in 2525 — was wearing a Doolittle. In fact, there was a new vanishingly small version of the device which could be sewn into a person’s clothing, and this was the type that Mullah, who was always on the cutting edge of technology, was wearing.
Anyway, Mullah wanted to know what sort of operation it was that we had implemented in Australia, and Albert told him all about it, with the rest of us chiming in here and there to give details about the segments of the animal population that each of us had enjoyed the closest association with, namely those we had coached.
Mullah was intrigued. But he didn’t know why such was necessary, as there were no problems of injustice or abuse in India that he knew of that needed to be prevented. Albert explained to him that we would be traveling into the past to do this work, to redress wrongs that had been perpetrated by the strong upon the weak in times gone by.
“But Albert,” Mullah continued, “I still don’t know what these animals are going to do — specifically, I mean. What are they going to be on guard against? Who will these animals defend, and from what?”
“Anybody who needs it, Mullah,” Albert replied. “Their mission, mandate, responsibility, privilege — whatever you want to call it — will be to defend the defenseless and the downtrodden, meaning any who are taken advantage of, whether they be humans or animals. When the rich — whether fellow Indians or foreigners — oppress the poor; when the strong oppress the weak — such as when men beat or otherwise abuse women or children — they will act.
“They will be there to prevent these things from happening in the first place. For example, when bandits are about to commit thuggee, the animals will be there to prevent it.”
“How exactly will they go about this work?” Mullah asked.
“We and our team will first warn the would-be perpetrators of evil deeds about the repercussions to them of attempting such. We will make it clear to them that they will not get away with things of that nature. When the warnings given are not heeded, the animals will then threaten them. If the threats are not believed or heeded, the animals will then be forced to act on those threats — but only to the extent necessary.
“Their goal will be to avoid killing anyone, or even causing serious injury. They will harass, they will harry, and only when this is not deterrent enough will they feel compelled to inflict physical pain.”
“In what way? What will they do, exactly?” Mullah persisted.
“They will knock the evildoers down, kick and trample them a little, even scratch and bite them if that is necessary; but they will always strictly avoid deliberately killing them. The animals will work together, proving to be an impenetrable and invincible force that cannot be denied or defeated.”
Mullah was somewhat satisfied with this explanation, but still wanted to know more specifics. “Which animals do you plan on recruiting here in India, and what will be their mandate, precisely?”
“Which species of animals would you recommend for this type of work, Mullah? You are more familiar with Indian fauna than any of us are.”
Mullah stroked his chin, looked up at the ceiling, then down at the floor, then up at the ceiling again, and made some low sounds that seemed to be a cross between a snore and a contented grunt. Finally, he looked at Albert and us and said, “Bengal Tigers, Leopards, Black Panthers, Elephants, Sloth Bears, Wolves, Cobras, Crocodiles, Mongooses and Scorpions. Their combined power and cunning will accomplish anything you need to have done in that line.”
Mullah sat, Indian style, deep in thought. Finally he said, “I will go with you. Perhaps you will need some other advice that only a native could provide.”
“Are you sure, Mullah? Your life here is perfect, and you are obviously content” —
Mullah held up his hand to stop Albert. “Yes, I am sure, my friend. I will come back here in due season — and without losing any time in the process! And besides that, I have heard the stories, passed down through generations of my family, about how people were sorely mistreated in the past. I would like to go back and have a share in preventing at least some of those things from happening.”
“Then we will be more than glad to have you along,” Albert said, and he and Mullah decided on the most suitable year to which to travel.
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