CHAPTER 20
“I will need to go forward in time, secure some more Doolittles, and bring them back here,” Albert told Dolly one day. “I will then locate a trustworthy person to take my place as your adviser and leave the interpreting devices in his or her care. They can later pass them on to others, who will work with future generations of animals, and so on.”
And so it went. Albert went back to Zenia 2525, stayed only long enough to grab a handful of Doolittles, stowed them in the Zephyr’s hold (which was basically more like a car’s trunk, located at the tail of the time & space travel aircraft), and then returned with them to 1788 Australia.
A counsel of the animals was convened to consider nominations for a successor to Albert. Several names were submitted. After lengthy discussion, the candidates were narrowed down to three, then two, and finally an overall favorite was nominated. Albert met with her, found her suitable, and then turned over the Doolittles to her (a quick tutorial was all that was needed).
Just as Dolly would eventually pass on leadership of the operations in accordance with a meeting of the counsel of animals, this woman (Lori Gallagher happened to be her name) would also pass on stewardship of the human side of the operation and the Doolittles to a trusted friend whose integrity was unimpeachable and who valued the welfare of all, both human and animal, over the temporary enrichment and aggrandizement of an ‘elite’ few psychopaths, megalomaniacs, and narcissists.
And so it would continue, generation after generation, as long as such work was necessary. In this way, there would always be someone to carry on the work started by my friend Albert Spartacus Joad, Dolly Poise Hayduke, myself, and all the rest of the animals who comprised our group.
It was now time for Albert, me, and the others to travel forward in time 737 years, returning to 2525 again, to visit our old friend Yookie the Koala Bear.
As we were all climbing aboard, a Duck-billed Platypus named Rinky approached the Zephyr and requested to be taken aboard as a passenger. He had been part of Terri’s team. We had two extra seats, left and right of Tubthumper, and nobody had any objections to Rinky joining us.
So, after having the Compressor/Decompressor wand passed over him, inflating him to a size a smidgen larger than a breadbasket, Rinky joined the band, quacking as he climbed in and then slapping his flat beaver-like tail with a sharp ‘thwack’ sound on the seat, signaling that he was settled in and raring to go.
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