Taterskin & The Eco Defenders: Book 2, Chapter 54
Book 2 ("Tell It to Future Generations"), Chapter 54 of 56
CHAPTER 54
“What gives you the right to destroy our land?” the mine manager demanded to know.
“It’s not your land, and we didn’t destroy it; we freed it to regenerate,” Albert said.
The mine manager ignored the last statement, merely shaking his head as if he couldn’t comprehend it at all. His only reply was, “But we bought and paid for it.”
“With what?”
“Money.”
“What is money? We don’t believe in it.”
“Then who can say who’s the owner of anything? If anybody can lay claim to any land they want just by saying it’s theirs” —
“That’s what you did, by handing some green paper to somebody who did not own the land, either. It’s ours.”
“Whose? Who do you mean by ‘ours’?”
“It belongs to everyone: All of the people, and all of the animals. We animals were here first,” Alexis said, gesturing around at all of us. “We were here millions of years before you humans were. We are now asserting our ownership.”
“You are hogging it for yourselves only?”
“No, we are not humaning it — or ‘hogging it,’ as you call it; We are sharing it with everyone who will treat it right. You were the ones who monopolized it for your own profit and that of your puppeteers. We, on the other foot, or paw, gladly welcome hikers, campers, and even settlers who will not despoil or pollute the Basin.”
The man then totally lost it. By “it,” I mean his composure, his temper, his semblance of self-control. He raised his arms in front of him, with his fingers spread out like claws, as if he were imitating Frankenstein’s monster in an old movie.
After trembling and turning red, the mine manager suddenly exploded in a paroxysm of fury. He growled incoherently at the top of his lungs and advanced toward Albert. All four of the pups had been growling, themselves, under their breath, but we hadn’t paid any special attention to them. Now, though, the whole litter, as if choreographed, rushed toward the would-be assailant. Before Rovette or I could do anything about it, our pups had leaped upon him. Two of them had clamped their teeth over the man’s kneecaps, while the other two each got a hold of one of his calves (not young bovines — the fleshy aft portion of his lower legs).
The attacker stopped his advance on Albert. We then told the pups to let go and come back to us. They did, still growling, but looking pleased with themselves. They had made their point and shown their loyalty.
“You haven’t heard the last from me!” the manager threatened, rubbing first his knees and then his calves, with a pained expression on his face.
“That’s only possible because we are allowing you to leave with your limbs and things still attached,” Rory reminded him.
Despite his frustration and bluster, the mine manager never did come back. He never was heard from again in those parts. We know that because our friends from the Basin have kept us in the loop. The former mine is not yet a paradise, but it’s gradually getting there: You can barely tell where the roads used to be, as the areas have become almost completely overgrown with vegetation.
As we climbed into our time & space vehicles, a kaleidoscope of Blue Morpho butterflies fluttered around us in a celebratory dance, thanking and congratulating us for our work on their behalf (although we had truly done it for everybody, including ourselves), and bade us farewell.
We had full confidence in the Terena warriors, New Amazons, Macaws, Jaguars, Dolphins, Bush Dogs, Caimans, Capybaras, Tapirs, Beetles, and all the rest. We knew that they would remain good guardians of the Basin.
Alexis had a few parting words for them regarding keeping the area clean and healthy so that all could thrive: “Humans who want to live within the preserve bear watching at first. Or at least they will need training. Let them know that agroforestry is the way for them to go. Cocoa beans grow wild in the forest, as you know. These they can harvest; also Brazil nuts, to be sure. Coffee can be planted right on the forest floor without any special preparation. The rubber that grows luxuriantly here can be utilized, too. All things considered, natural rubber is orders of magnitude better than artificial rubber. It has been designed to grow all throughout the region, with the trees dropping their buoyant seeds when the water is at its highest so that they float wherever the floodwaters carry them.
“And, perhaps most important of all, there is a fungus in the forest — Pestalotiopsis microspora, to be specific — that eats plastic. It can be used to clean up giant garbage dumps on land and garbage patches on the ocean. This product of the forest can be cultivated to the benefit of all humankind, animalkind, and the earth.
“The Basin, the Preserve, the Amazon Forest — however you want to refer to it — is not merely the Central Park of the world, it is also its lungs, and its plants can also help other parts of the world, and its inhabitants, to heal.”
With that, we waved goodbye, lifted off, and headed back to Mount Roraima, where we had one last thing to do before heading back home to Zenia.
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