Breed The Secret Design To Maintain Racial Inequality Among The Despised Classes (12 page)

want you to go over and try and converse with that Lumpen. Maybe
then you will understand what they are.” As I walked towards the
young Lumpen I couldn’t take my mind off of what I experienced at
the coliseum. It had left a strong impression on me. I still
believed in the equality of all animals including Lumpens but I
have to admit that their reaction to the violence we had witnessed
forced me to slightly change my views on Lumpens. A slight feeling
of aversion toward the Lumpen began to emerge. “I will have to
control that.” I thought. As I approached the young Lumpen he
looked up at me menacingly. “Hey there youngster.” I said. “My name
is…” “I know who you are.” Interrupted the puppy. “Yes. Well I just
wanted to get your opinion on something.” The young Lumpen glared
at me aggressively. “How do you feel about your life here in
Lumpenproleteria?” I asked. The Lumpen meditated and said, “I feel
like somehow this disorder is planned. I blame the felines for
everything.” His response surprised me. “What up mutt?” he said,
bumping paws with a young cat that had just approached. Noticing my
confusion he said, “Chacho here is not a feline. Just because he is
a cat doesn’t make him a feline. Being a feline has more to do with
your thoughts and attitudes. He’s a mutt just like the rest of us.”
I stared inquiringly at the Lumpen. “And you are not offended by
this expression ‘mutt’?” The young Lumpen smiled. “The word ‘mutt’
is not offensive because we have retaken the word from the felines
and changed its meaning. We have taken the negative power away from
this word by using it ourselves.” The two Lumpens then turned their
backs on me and began their own conversation. Every now and again
one of them would look in my direction angrily but for the most
part I was being ignored. Stepping away from the young ones I
pondered, “They have their own way of seeing the world.” As I
approached the threshold guardian he inquired, “Did you learn
anything from that conversation?” He didn’t hear the conversation
because we were out of his earshot. “Yes,” I replied. “The only
lesson that needs to be learned…” fired back the guardian, “is that
they are a dangerous element that needs to be kept down and in the
dark.” Unexpectedly a messenger pigeon fluttered up to us.
“Commander! You are being summoned by Socrates!” exclaimed the
messenger. I looked at the threshold guardian. He shrugged and
said, “We’re done here anyways. You’ve seen all you need to see.
Better run off to your master. You don’t want to keep him waiting.”
All of this was said in a sincere voice but with a sarcastic smile.
Remembering what had happened the last time I was summoned by
Socrates I decided not to interrogate the messenger. As I
accompanied the messenger back to Fostoria, my mind was troubled by
all that I had witnessed in Lumpenproleteria. Upon arriving I was
somehow not surprised to meet not Socrates but Niccolo.

As I crossed the border into Fostoria, the
air never smelled as sweet. Niccolo was pacing up and down
impatiently. When he saw me walking up to him he stopped pacing and
smiled warmly. “Christopher my boy! Its nice to see you again!” He
extended his paws and embraced me. This unexpected display of
emotion caught me off guard and eased my agitated mind.
Nevertheless I was still greatly disconcerted. He said, “I’ve been
hearing good things about you. Socrates is very pleased with your
progress. So you’ve observed Lumpenproleteria. Tell me what are
your thoughts?” “Marshal,” I declared. “We need to talk.” Sensing
the seriousness of my tone, Niccolo changed his demeanor. His smile
disappeared and he wrinkled his brow. With a look of concern he
placed his paw on my shoulder but noticing my anxiety as I
nervously flinched, he quickly removed it. “What’s on your mind
Commander?” I didn’t even know where to begin. “Things are not
unfolding as I expected them to,” I began awkwardly. “I think
perhaps you’ve placed too much confidence in me. I don’t think I’m
the right animal to lead the march of history toward animalism.”
Niccolo interrupted, “Nonsense! You’re doing a fine job.” And he
swiped his paw dismissing my concerns. Indignant I exclaimed, “But
what if I don’t fully understand the animalist philosophy?” Niccolo
wrinkled his brow and squinted his eyes. “What I mean is…” I
stammered. “I definitely believe in the equality of all animals and
I want for all animals to live together in peace but…” “Well!”
interrupted Niccolo, “that’s all there is to understand!” He smiled
and had a look of relief on his face. “You scared me a little. For
a second there I thought you had gone over to the dark side.” “No,”
I said. “But speaking of the dark side, something has been weighing
very heavily upon my mind. I have been feeling very guilty about
the way Fostoria joined the Union of Animals. They put all their
trust in me and that is the only reason they did not put up a
struggle.” “Would you have rather they struggled?” Niccolo asked
sardonically. “No,” I said. “It’s not that. I just feel that if we
would have told them about animalism and explained the virtues of
such a society, they would have accepted it of their own accord.
The way we did it feels almost like we deceived them.” Niccolo’s
ears perked up. “And what if we did deceive them? Is that so
dreadful? When you were a kitten did your mother have to explain
everything to you in detail before you obeyed her? No. She knew
what was best for you according to instinct and you accepted it.
The same principle applies here.” I protested, “But the methods
Truth and Justice have been using to purge Fostoria don’t seem to
coincide with what we spoke about that first time in Kliev. I don’t
understand why they need to be so brutal with our comrades. Do you
know…” I was getting worked up. “Do you know what Justice said to
me when I questioned him about his techniques? He actually said
that suffering was necessary in order for us to accomplish our
goals. He actually said that!” Niccolo peered at me for a long time
thoughtfully. I observed that he wasn’t shocked by Justice’s
remark. Finally he said, “I will look into it. Don’t worry.” He
paused, meditated, then said, “At the same time Christopher you
need to grow up and realize that we’re not running a popularity
contest. In creating a perfect society we are liable to step on a
few paws and stroke someone’s fur the wrong way. We needn’t
apologize for that. Remember, the end justifies the means.”
Exasperated I cried out, “Do the means include slavery? Are those
means justified as well?” Puzzled Niccolo stared at me curiously.
“Slavery? Who is justifying slavery?” He laughed. I declared, “The
threshold guardian showed me the slave trade that goes on in
Lumpenproleteria.” Niccolo protested, “That’s the Speciest’s doing.
You can’t blame the Union of Animals for that.” “Yes,” I fired
back. “But why should the Union participate in the bidding? Isn’t
it a violation of our core principles?” Niccolo stared at me
attentively. “That’s one way of looking at it,” he said. “But
here’s another. Should the Union of Animals sit idly by while
millions of our future comrades are shipped off to Cuyamonga as
slaves? Of course eventually when we win the war all of them will
be freed. But what about in the meantime? By bidding for slaves and
later freeing them as comrades some would say we are gaining a
victory for the cause.” I paused briefly to consider the Marshal’s
viewpoint. Before I could develop a counter argument he seized on
this opportunity to scold me. “Christopher!” He said, raising his
voice. “You need to understand that the world is a whole lot more
complicated than you imagine it to be. Now, you need to listen to
those who have more experience than you. I have confidence in you
but you need to get your head in the game. I’m not going to baby
you. I need you to step up and do what needs to be done! Do we
understand each other Commander?” I saluted and exclaimed, “Yes
Marshal!” “Good. Now maybe we can get down to business. Socrates
called you here because you have been chosen to represent the Union
of Animals at the United Territories Conference to be held in
Cuyamonga.” I stared at Niccolo apprehensively as I was unsure what
this new development meant. Niccolo grinned widely baring his
teeth. He then laughed heartily and said, “You should be happy.
This is a great honor for you. You will not only be representing
your territory of Fostoria but you will be representing all of the
territories in the Union as our spokescat. I usually represent the
Union as spokescat but this year Socrates decided that it should be
you.” I wasn’t sure about how to feel about this new development,
especially considering that I was having doubts about my faith.
Nevertheless I smiled and said, “Thank you very much. I would be
honored to represent the Union.” “Very well,” said Niccolo. He
appeared satisfied that my faith in animalism was restored.

“At midday tomorrow you are to meet in Kliev
with the delegates from the other territories. There you will be
briefed with everything you need to know for the conference. Take
advantage of this opportunity Christopher. Being a leader is more
than just making decisions and acting. You need to know how to
maneuver diplomatically as well.” Niccolo looked me up and down
then sighed. “And don’t worry,” he said reassuringly. “It gets a
lot easier.” He then turned and walked away leaving me alone with
my conflicting thoughts.

It was late and I had endured a long day. My
mind and body were exhausted but I couldn’t force my mind to rest.
As I walked towards my bed, the wooden milk crate insulated with
newspapers, I couldn’t help but try and reason out my mental
conflict. “Maybe Niccolo’s right,” I thought. “The world does seem
to be more complicated than I imagined. Perhaps I will need to make
certain compromises. As long as my core principles remain in tact,
that’s what is important. All animals are equal… Even Lumpens? I
have to admit that I am disappointed by what I saw in
Lumpenproleteria. Did I witness the true nature of animal or is
there something missing from this equation? I must not act rashly.
I still have much to learn. Niccolo and by extension Socrates is
teaching me that.” Entering my sanctuary I stretched out my tired
body and collapsed into the corner of the crate. The thoughts
continued to flash through my mind at lightning speed. “But what
about this feeling of imminent dread that has been emerging in me?
Can all my instincts really be that off? No. There seems to be
something significant about these feelings I have been having. I
must know for sure whether I’m following the right path. Niccolo
said, ‘the end justifies the means’ but do I really need to wait
until the end before I judge the means? No. I must know. Tomorrow
I’ll take Justice up on his offer. I’ll sit in on an interrogation
and then we’ll see if all my instincts are off. Everything will be
decided tomorrow.” Having made this decision I closed my eyes and
finally went to sleep. My sleep however was not restful. I tossed
and turned all night long as strange dreams plagued my mind. One
dream in particular left me in a state of anxious confusion. I was
sitting in judgment over a number of different animals. They would
line up before my judgment seat and I would render a favorable or
unfavorable judgment. Some were condemned while others were shown
mercy and pardoned. They’re fate lay entirely in my paws. Certain
details of the dream were vivid. I remember for example putting a
great deal of mental effort into ensuring that each case was
handled justly. Suddenly in my dream Hannibal was the next in line
to be judged. He walked up before me and unlike the other
defendants who humbly stared at the ground; he boldly glared at me
with those terrible arctic blue eyes. His gaze filled me with
absolute terror. I tried to maintain my composure as I could feel
everyone noticing my discomfort. But just as I was about to open my
mouth to render judgment, Hannibal pointed at me sternly and
proclaimed in a loud voice, “You are an imposter!” I drew back in
alarm. Suddenly the ground was taken out from under my feet and I
found myself falling into some sort of dark abyss. I fell for what
seemed to be ages when finally and without warning my body struck
something. The force of the impact woke me up. I found myself lying
outside of the crate with my heart beating rapidly and my fur
soaked with sweat.

It was morning. The sun had just come up.
Disoriented, I looked around myself. At first I didn’t know where I
was. Then I remembered my dream. “What does all this mean? An
imposter?” I thought. All at once I remembered my resolution. I
stood up and determinedly set off to find Truth and Justice. Upon
entering the purge site I could see Justice standing along side the
tent with his back facing me as a groundhog exited. “Truth must be
inside,” I thought. Approaching the tent I called out to him.
“Justice! I need a word.” He turned around angrily and declared,
“I’m not Justice. Thanks to you Justice is not here and I have a
double work load.” I looked at Truth in amazement. “What do you
mean ‘thanks to me’? Where is Justice?” Truth glanced to his side
and a large Rottweiler was staring at him with a serious face.
Truth looked at me and wrinkled his brow. “I’ve said too much
already.” He pondered a moment then a look of irritation covered
his face. “What do you want Commander?” he exclaimed. “I have a lot
of work to do!” I responded, “That’s why I’m here. Justice said I
could sit in on an interrogation.” “Did he?” asked Truth irritably.
“Yes. That’s not going to be a problem is it?” I looked at the dog
and he still had his eyes locked on Truth. Truth grinned. “No. No
problem at all. Follow me.” We entered the tent and there was a
small table with a chair at each end. There was a third chair set
off to the side. That was no doubt where Justice would have been
sitting. I sat down at the table and Truth sat across from me. He
looked up at me and said, “Commander. I am aware that you do not
approve of our techniques and possibly do not even understand the
purpose of purging but believe it or not there are enemy combatants
among us.” I smirked. Truth continued, “The purpose of the purge is
to flush out these enemy combatants and detain them. Niccolo told
you the history of Animalism? Remember the part of the story about
the masters who enslave the poor animals? Well these enemy
combatants are working for these same masters and are working to
bring about that enslavement as soon as possible.” I objected,
“Certainly there are no animals working for those cruel masters
among Fostoria’s inhabitants.” Truth countered, “On the contrary,
we have found many enemy combatants among Fostoria’s inhabitants.
Animals that share the same master mentality as our enemies.” This
was unbelievable. I had to see this with my own eyes. Truth
continued, “You’ll see what I mean on the next interrogation. Now,
first we’ll need to put the animal at ease. Once he feels
comfortable he will speak naturally and if there are traces of
master mentality in his mind it will come to the surface.” I didn’t
quite follow him. “What exactly do you mean by master mentality?”
Truth rolled his eyes and said irritably, “Let’s keep this as
simple as possible. We believe in the equality of all animals.
Right? Our enemies believe that some animals are superior to
others. Those who believe in their own superiority are ingrained
with a desire to have more than their comrades. If we identify the
desire then we’ve identified the enemy. Is that fair?” I thought
about it for moment. “If they believe that we are all equal then
they wouldn’t desire to have more than us. Why would they? As long
as everyone has enough for himself why would he care about having
more than his comrade? That makes sense,” I thought. “All right,” I
said. Truth motioned for the next animal to be sent in. A thin
black and white cat walked in nervously and scanned the room. Truth
smiled at him and motioned for him to have a seat. Truth arranged
the seats so that he and I were sitting next to each other while
the cat sat across the table from us. Truth shuffled some documents
in front of him. “You are Bruno?” he asked, as he read one of the
documents. Apprehensively the cat stuttered, “Y-yes.” Truth tossed
the papers on the table. “How has your day been so far Bruno?”
asked Truth. The cat just stared at him uncertainly. Truth
continued, “Put your mind at ease. We just want to ask you a few
questions. There’s nothing to worry about. You are not in any
trouble. These interviews are standard procedure.” Bruno sighed
deeply and a look of relief registered on his face. Truth picked up
the papers and appeared to be reading them. “According to our
records you have attended all of the elements of animalism classes
and your test results are above average.” Bruno smiled. “Tell me,”
continued Truth placing the documents on the table. “Do you like
animalism?” The cat enthusiastically declared, “Oh very much so!”
Truth smiled. “What in particular do you find appealing about the
philosophy?” “Well,” stammered Bruno. “I like the part about
equality.” Truth’s eyes opened a little wider. “What do you mean?”
he asked. “I mean,” continued Bruno. “It’s not like that right
now.” Truth wrinkled his brow and squinted his eyes a little. “You
mean others have more than you?” “Yes,” responded Bruno. Truth
continued, “And you would like to have more than what you have?”
“Yes,” responded Bruno. Truth continued, “Let’s talk a little about
this desire you have for more.” Bruno meditated and wrinkled his
brow. He then looked up at Truth. The inquisitor’s smile had
disappeared. Bruno stammered, “I wouldn’t call it a desire. It’s
just sometimes I want…” “Well that’s what a desire is,” interrupted
Truth. “It’s a want, a craving for more. Do you disagree?” Truth
looked seriously at the cat. “No I suppose your right. It is a
desire. But it’s harmless,” said Bruno smiling sympathetically.
Truth’s eyes widened and a look of surprise registered on his face.
“So it’s your contention that a desire for more is harmless?” Truth
picked up one of the documents and began writing something down.
Bruno’s eyes shot over to the documents and a look of worry
registered on his face. Bruno looked over at me pleadingly. I
didn’t know what I could say. I was as surprised as he was at the
sudden change in direction the interview was taking. Truth stood up
and began pacing in front of the table. Looking down at the floor
he spoke in a subdued voice to Bruno. “Although this interview is a
standard procedure, we do need to take its results very seriously
because believe it or not there are enemies among us.” A look of
absolute terror spread across Bruno’s face. “Sir,” he stammered. “I
am a loyal comrade. I would never…” Truth raised his paw and
motioned for silence. He then smiled. “Bruno we know you didn’t
mean for this to happen but you need to understand that we are here
to help you.” Truth walked over to his side of the table and placed
his paws on the cat’s shoulders. “It starts with a desire but the
desire grows into a world view. We are dealing with an epidemic
here. When an animal gets sick do we blame the animal? No. It’s not
his fault. It is just an unfortunate situation that he finds
himself in. However that doesn’t make the sickness any less
dangerous or the need for immediate action any less urgent.”
Bruno’s eyes began to water. I was astonished at this turn of
events. “Now we all want the same thing. Right?” With lips
trembling Bruno nodded. “Good. Now before we can help you, you have
to take the first step.” Truth walked around to the side of Bruno.
Bruno looked up at him. “You must be honest with yourself Bruno.
The desires that we identified earlier, you really do have them?”
Bruno nodded slowly. “I need to hear it from you,” said Truth.
Bruno blubbered, “I have a desire for more than what I now have.”
The cat buried his face in his paws and began sobbing
uncontrollably. “So,” continued Truth in a stern voice “You have
been infected.” Truth walked back over to our side of the table and
began pacing. All at once Truth turned towards Bruno and loudly
slammed both paws on the table shouting, “Who have you been
conspiring with? If you cooperate with us, things will go easier
for you!” Bruno gave a start. “I… I have no co-conspirators.” Truth
countered, “And this desire? Where did it come from? You must have
been influenced by someone!” Bruno grimaced and began to ponder in
anxious perplexity. He stuttered, “But… I don’t remember…” “So,”
interrupted Truth. “You refuse to cooperate. Guards!” he shouted.
At once two large dogs appeared. “We have another enemy combatant.
Place this prisoner with the others. We’ll see if a little change
in his environment won’t motivate him to talk.” Bruno was ushered
out of the tent in a state of absolute confusion. Truth glanced at
me victoriously. “Do you see what we’re up against? Many of these
poor animals don’t even realize they are infected until it’s too
late.” I wanted to make an objection but I couldn’t quite find the
words. “Now are you satisfied?” asked Truth. Doubtfully I nodded my
head. “Now if you will excuse me, I have a lot of work to do and I
believe you have a conference to attend.”