Chapter 5 - Education is dangerous - every educated person is a future enemy - Hermann Goering
The following day I was awakened by the sound of crying. I ran to the creek to find two dogs roughing up a familiar looking cat as Justice stood off to the side supervising. The cat locked eyes with me and screeched, “Great One! Help me!” It was Chauncey. I couldn’t believe it. What was he doing in Fostoria? I shouted to the dogs, “What is the meaning of this? This is my friend. Release him at once!” One of the dogs looked over to his supervisor. Justice nodded and Chauncey was released. I ran up to Justice and yelled, “Why were you beating up on my friend?” With tired eyes Justice looked at me and patiently replied, “Your friend, is an illegal alien trespassing from an enemy land Commander.” He said ‘Commander’ with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “As the ruler of Fostoria I am officially granting him asylum. Let’s go Chauncey,” I said, motioning for Chauncey to follow me. Justice quietly but sternly replied, “I can’t allow that. We’re not finished with the interrogation sir.” Immediately both of the dogs began to growl. I approached the Siamese cat looked him in the eyes and said, “Am I or am I not in charge?” Justice replied, “You are in charge Commander but no one can interfere with the purge not even Socrates. If he is who you say he is then he has nothing to worry about. We will leave you alone with him but until we can confirm that he is not a threat we cannot release him.” The dogs tied a rope around his neck and then tied the other end around a tree. The interrogators departed leaving us alone. I said, “Chauncey I am so sorry about all of this. I will have you released as soon as possible. What are you doing in Fostoria?” Still panting heavily from the interrogation Chauncey said, “Zarathustra found out that I had a part in your escape from Cuyamonga so he had me banished to Lumpenproletaria. Living conditions there were unbearable. I quickly became a refugee and decided to enter Fostoria. I should be surprised to see that you are running the show in such a short period of time but I’m not surprised at all. I would expect no less from the Great One.” I looked sympathetically at Chauncey. “If it weren’t for you I’d still be locked up in one of Zarathustra’s cells. If anyone deserves this title it’s you.” Chauncey smiled and said, “There can only be one Great One and your him.” Chauncey’s unwavering belief in me was astonishing. What made him so certain that I was this Great One? As we were talking, some citizens… I mean some comrades approached and began to exclaim, “Commander we need to speak with you. It is urgent.” I excused myself from Chauncey once again assuring him of his eminent release then stepped to the side to speak with the comrades. One of the comrades, a porcupine said, “Sir we trust you completely. However, these foreigners are causing us a lot of trouble. What you described in your speech sounded nothing like what we are witnessing at the hands of Truth and Justice. With all due respect sir we don’t think you should trust them. My friend Lucky said he saw them seize a piece of property from his uncle. When his uncle said he would report them to the Commander they had him arrested. They laughed and said that the Commander was a joke. They said you didn’t have the stomach for real revolution.” I sighed heavily and said, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Have you told anyone else about it?” They shook their heads. I said, “See that you don’t. Leave these newcomers to me.” Addressing the porcupine I said, “You are willing to bear witness to what you just reported?” He nodded. “I may also need to speak to your friend Lucky. Where can I reach you when I need to call you as a witness?” The porcupine responded, “I live on the east side of Fostoria just by the creek. I’m always there.” All his comrades nodded in agreement. They smiled and ran off satisfied in having delivered their message. They were hopeful that positive change would soon come. As I went off to look for Truth and Justice and to demand an explanation I was greeted by a carrier pigeon. “Commander! You are being summoned by Socrates!” Was it true? Was I finally going to get a chance to meet the Great Socrates? He would definitely be able to shed some light on the strange activities of Truth and Justice. I began questioning the pigeon as to whether or not he had been sent directly by Socrates himself. However I didn’t get very far. The bird seemed to have a mild case of brain damage. I asked, “What were Socrates’ exact words?” The pigeon replied, “He said, ‘Tell the Commander that Socrates is summoning him. Tell him that he’s to meet Socrates at the edge of the Lumpenproletarian Valley.’” I said, “Were those his exact words? He was talking about himself in the first person?” Misunderstanding, the bird replied, “Yes. He was the first person talking.” I scratched my head. “No.” I said, “What I mean is, was it Socrates speaking to you or was someone else giving you the message on his behalf?” The carrier pigeon looked thoroughly confused. He closed his eyes and his wing began to twitch. Suddenly he opened them and said, “It was the Commander. He said to deliver the message to Socrates.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m the Commander!” I shouted. “How could I have sent you?” I was getting irritated. The pigeon smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry sir. I’m not the brainiest animal in the forest. I spend so much of my intellect trying not to forget the message that there is not much left over to process the answers to the questions you are asking. Plus, to be honest with you sir, all cats look the same to me.” I sighed deeply and said, “Very well. Take me to Socrates.”
Upon arriving at the edge of the woods near the Lumpenproletarian Valley I felt anxious. “Am I about to meet my mentor or not?” I wondered. However as we approached the location indicated, it was not Socrates but rather Niccolo that greeted me. “Christopher” he said, “I’m glad you could make it. Socrates needs for all of his commanders to have field experience so you are going to accompany me on a campaign. You shouldn’t be in any real danger. Just stay close to me and try and take in as much as you can.” Without even giving me a chance to accept the mission Niccolo turned and headed down a path that descended into the Valley. I was expected to follow him. I felt agitated. With my mind focused on the challenges I would confront on the battlefield I completely forgot about my comrade’s complaints about Truth and Justice. Niccolo quickly but stealthily descended the path. His agile body snaked its way between trees and around rocks. He was moving so quickly that I had to sprint just to keep up with him. Finally we stopped just along side a large boulder. Niccolo peeked around the corner then looked back at me. As I finally caught up to him I was panting heavily. He whispered, “Have a look at this Christopher.” I peeked around the corner and saw at a distance an entire battalion of troops. “Those are Hannibal’s cats,” whispered Niccolo. “That sly fox is trying to set an ambush for my troops. He wants to get a foothold on the higher ground.” The troops were on the move. According to Niccolo, they were climbing the rocks so as to be able to surround our comrades. I felt anxious. Hannibal’s cats were advancing so rapidly it appeared that their plan would have success. I looked at Niccolo to see if he was worried. With a swift sweeping movement of his paw he calmly dismissed the plan as destined to fail. Worried, I exclaimed, “How can you be so sure? Did you see the way the troops are advancing? They have such a determined look in their eyes.” Suddenly Niccolo looked at me with wide alert eyes. Astonished he said, “Christopher, you surprise me. After everything you’ve seen are you still without understanding?” He paused as if he were expecting me to answer him. He continued, “We are on the correct side of history. It is our destiny to be victorious!” Revealing my lack of faith, I asked, “But what about those advancing troops?” Niccolo just gave me a large grin bearing all his teeth in his signature manner. “Don’t worry about them,” he said. I’ll throw some water on their parade. I have a plan but in order for it to work I’ll need your help.” He placed his paw on my shoulder and said, “Commander are you up to the challenge?” As the now familiar warm feeling spread throughout my body I realized that I was being manipulated. Nevertheless I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was the feeling. I think I would have done anything Niccolo had asked of me just as long as I could maintain that feeling. It wasn’
t just the feeling of comradeship that I craved. After completing my tasks I felt as if Niccolo and more importantly Socrates were proud of me. I don’t know why it was so important to me that Socrates be proud of me especially considering that I had never even met him. But there it was. I needed his approval. I said, “Yes Marshal. What do I need to do?” Pointing with his paw to the woods just outside of Fostoria’s northern border Niccolo said, “ I need for you to create a diversion and draw them in that direction. Don’t worry. I have a little surprise awaiting them.” Later, as I walked closer to the camp of the opposing troops I felt terrified. I couldn’t believe what I had been talked into. I rehearsed in my head the words that I was supposed to say to the soldiers to draw their attack. Finally I reached the spot indicated by Niccolo to put our plan into effect. I was still at a safe distance from the camp but at this location I could be clearly seen and heard by the troops. My heart was beating a mile a minute. I took a deep breath and yelled, “Down with all tyrants! Down with Zarathustra! Down with specieism! Long live animalism!” As soon as the first words left my mouth the entire battalion sprang into action and charged in my direction. I ran as if my life depended upon it, because in actuality it did. I thought, “If this is Niccolo’s idea of ‘no danger’, I’m in a lot of trouble.” After climbing uphill for a considerable period of time, my legs began to feel as if they were about to give out. But when I looked back and saw the advancing soldiers just behind me, life spread through my body and I found the energy to continue running. As I headed for the entrance to the woods as indicated by Niccolo something briefly caught my attention. I could have sworn I saw out of the corner of my eye, Hector and his cats marching single file along the border of the Lumpenproletarian Valley. They were being led by one of Justice’s soldiers. “It couldn’t be,” I thought. “They were supposed to have been freed.” My mind quickly focused on the task at hand as I could hear my pursuers quickly approaching. I darted into the woods and ran until I saw one end of a long freshly dug ditch. Standing tall and majestic inside the ditch about halfway across its length was none other than Niccolo. As I passed him, I caught his eye and he gave me a wink. I continued running until I found a large rock to hide behind. My part of the mission was over but my mind was still bubbling over with suspense as I peeked around the rock to see what Niccolo was going to do. The battalion paused briefly upon entering the woods but then on seeing the solitary figure standing at a distance they charged in his direction. Niccolo didn’t budge. He stood with his front legs firmly planted on the ground and his hind legs slightly bent ready to spring into action. What was most significant about the scene was Niccolo’s eyes. His large green eyes projected an angry stare at the approaching army. Suddenly recognizing whom it was that stood in their path the entire battalion came to a screeching halt and just stood there, as if they were staring down the barrel of a cannon. I was overwhelmed with feelings of awe as I watched an entire battalion frozen in place out of fear of just one cat. The soldiers began whispering among themselves and building up their courage to act. After all even if it was the great Marshal Niccolo, he was just one cat versus an entire battalion. The troops once again began to advance. At the same time, the Marshal also began to advance. As the two opposing forces rushed towards one another picking up speed I covered my eyes with my paw unable to watch. However my curiosity got the better of me and I peeked through the fingers of my paw to watch the impending collision. The Marshal shouted, “Now!” and unexpectedly the ground began to shake. Just as Niccolo was about to collide with the front line of soldiers he jumped to the side and climbed out of the ditch. The battalion however, too slow to realize what had happened collided with a force more powerful than they were. The entire battalion was swept out of the woods and over the edge of the canyon by a gigantic surge of water. Niccolo approached the rock where I was hiding. He looked in the direction of the oncoming waters and shouted, “Well done comrades! You can dam her back up now.” Slowly the waters began to subside. Niccolo looked at me smiling as I slowly emerged from my hiding place. He said, “We diverted the waters of the Cuyamonga River. The specieists talk about the natural order of things but according to what you just witnessed whose side do you think nature is on?” Suddenly five or six beavers began to make their way towards the Marshal. One of them said, “Was operation ‘Clean Sweep’ a success sir?” the Marshal nodded. He then ordered, “Return the waters back to their natural course and cover up the evidence of this operation.” All of the beavers saluted the Marshal and the lead beaver said, “Right away sir!” As Marshal Niccolo and I walked back towards Fostoria, he talked about various battles he and Hannibal had waged against one another. They seemed pretty equally matched. Sometimes Niccolo won. Other times the victory went to Hannibal. Despite the hatred Niccolo felt for his nemesis’ philosophy, you could tell that he harbored a deep respect for him. Although I had never met Hannibal, something told me that he shared this mutual respect for Niccolo as well.
As we were heading back home a rabbit came running up to us. He exclaimed, “Marshal! Commander!” Addressing the both of us he said, “We have word that Hannibal is advancing with his troops!” Looking bored Niccolo responded, “What else is new? We have enough troops to meet his advance.” Excitedly the rabbit continued, “Sir, that’s not all! We have reports that he is using the secret weapon.” Niccolo’s countenance changed from boredom to anger. He turned on the rabbit and began shouting, “How many times do I have to tell you animals? There is no secret weapon! Stop spreading rumors that could lower the morale of the soldiers!” The rabbit looked to the ground in silence. Looking at me Niccolo was calm once again. He said, “Christopher, have you ever seen Hannibal?” I said, “No. I almost spotted him marching with his troops through Cuyamonga, but he passed before I could see him.” Addressing the rabbit he commanded, “Take the Commander to the plateau facing the western front. From there he should be able to see the battle from a safe distance.” He then looked at me and said, “Observe all you can about your enemy. In this way you will be in a better position when you finally have to face him. You did well today Christopher. I will report your actions directly to Socrates. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.” At that Niccolo disappeared into the woods. The rabbit said, “If you follow me Commander, I’ll take you to the plateau.” I said, “Wait a minute. I want to ask you something.” The rabbit looked up at me inquisitively. I looked in the direction that Niccolo had exited to make sure he was gone then I asked, “What do you know about this secret weapon?” Embarrassed the rabbit looked down to the ground and said, “I’m not supposed to talk about that.” I reassured him. “It’s ok. It will be our secret.” He hesitated. “But the Marshal said…” “I am your commander.” I interrupted. Taking a leaf out of Niccolo’s book I placed my paw on his shoulder and said, “It’s alright soldier. You can trust me. I just need to know what we are up against.” The rabbit’s demeanor changed to one of excitement. His eyes lit up as he explained, “I’ve never actually seen the weapon. From what I’ve heard in fact no one has ever seen the weapon and been able to talk about it.” I asked, “It’s that deadly?” “No. That’s just it,” he responded. “The weapon doesn’t kill its victims, but it leaves them changed. There have been attempts to interview the survivors… if you can call them survivors, but it’s been pointless. Their brains are scrambled. Some hypothesize that the weapon reveals some unbearable truth to the onlookers leaving them incapacitated. But that’s only hearsay. No one knows for sure.” I was perplexed. What exactly did this weapon reveal to its victims leaving them in this state? And why does Niccolo refuse to believe that such a weapon could exist? “Are you ready sir?” asked the rabbit. “Yes. Lead the way,” I responded. And we headed for the plateau.
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