CHAPTER 45
The coaching of the animals began at second light the next day (in other words, at sunup, not at dawn). The same instructors were assigned to the same species of animals as when we prepared to confront the Belgians, and our tactics remained the same, too. For that reason, our coaching consisted basically of a walk-through without much new having to be taught.
So we ‘broke’ early that day and all gathered together for what is called a team-building exercise. For us animals, what that meant was conversing around the watering hole, which in this case was the banks of the Congo River. We then laid in the grass, swapped tales while swishing our tails, caught up on all the savanna and mountain and forest and jungle gossip and — something which may surprise you to find out — discussed at length the topic of humans. The big question that was debated on that subject was, ‘Are humans basically good, or fundamentally flawed?’
Not to be wishy-washy, but the final verdict, which we all more-or-less agreed on after much animated discussion and debate, was simply: It depends. Albert and Ward, and even Warble (as well as Mary and Sojourner and people like that) we trusted and even loved, but humans in general? We agreed to be wary and leery of them; at least of those in this period of time prior to the pristine world we knew in the year 2525, when all living things coexist in harmony. Well, admittedly, Drako and some of the Insects didn’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, but for the most part, life was absolutely perfect in 2525.
We spent the next day practicing our joint exercises. The camaraderie, which had been good already, but had been enhanced by the half-day we had spent lounging and talking, was superb. It definitely helped and made our work more pleasant. We enjoyed an esprit de corps that surpassed anything we had experienced before or that we had ever even heard of. Our unity and solidarity were unsurpassed.
For that reason, everything went smoothly, and we felt that we were ready for action.
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