After taking my leave of the old St Bernard I anxiously headed toward the Lumpenproleterian Valley. Along the way I witnessed a scene that was disturbing to say the least. A large full-grown golden striped tabby was standing with a miniature version of himself pressed up against a tree. The large cat who I assumed was the father was striking the kitten in his frightened little face and screaming at him, “Hit me back! Go on hit me! If you don’t hit me I’ll knock your head off!” He would then position his face at eye level to the kitten waiting to be struck. The kitten however, terrified out of its wits just stood up against the tree crying. The scene touched my sense of injustice to the quick. It reminded me of my childhood and how I’d suffered. The larger cat, noticing that I had been staring disapprovingly at his actions suddenly turned to me and began shouting, “What are you looking at? This is my son! This is the way my dad raised me and the way his dad raised him! If it was good enough for me its good enough for him!” He pointed at the frightened kitten. Suddenly a bizarre look of pride seemed to appear on his face as he said, “One day my son will pass on the tradition to his children.” Then without warning his look of pride transformed into a look of resentment and he turned to continue beating his son. This event left me a little dismayed as I continued on my way. This is probably the reason I found myself walking into a sparsely populated area that I had never been before. I decided to stop and try to get my bearings when unexpectedly a sound caught my attention from among the shadows of a vine cluster. “Pssst,” came the sound. I cursed my curiosity as I reluctantly walked towards the shadows. A large silhouette in the shape of a dog stood before me. A deep voice issued from the silhouette. “Are you Christopher? I thought it was you I spotted earlier talking to that old fool.” Suddenly the figure emerged from the shadows and towered over me. It was Leo the champion gladiator. “I want to offer you a rare opportunity,” he said. “I want to offer you independence. You exert your energy to try and bring about change for the common animal and what has it gotten you? Nothing but grief. What you fail to realize is that the game is fixed. It doesn’t even matter which side you choose. They will take from you all that you have to give and then they will throw you away.” At once I remembered what the old St Bernard had said to me about my personality and the type of attention I attract. I asked, “And what type of independence can you secure me?” The boxer replied, “I can offer you keys to a world that exists beyond the realms of nature. The rules that apply to other animals wont apply to you. You will be able to go wherever you want and have whatever you want.” Suspicious I asked, “And what would I have to do in order to receive these keys?” Leo’s eyes widened and he smiled. “I’ll start you off distributing nip and we’ll see how you do. Once you prove yourself, the sky is the limit.” To his dismay I turned to walk away saying, “No thanks. I’d rather be part of the solution than a part of the problem.” Taken aback the boxer exclaimed, “Wait!” and reached out his paw. He then began laughing. “I underestimated you. You’re not like any of the other animals I have working for me.” He then paused and began staring at me in a strange and intense manner. Finally he said, “I want to offer you a partnership. I currently own all of the breeding houses in Lumpenproleteria and a majority stake in the coliseum. I believe that you and I are the same. We see beyond what appears on the surface of society. It’s not about the material things. It’s about knowing the truth and rising above it. It’s about recognizing that those of the upper classes, who smile and praise you to your face, secretly despise you. It’s about having the ability to smile in the faces of those who look up to you and see you as a role model while at the same time secretly despising them for their inability to see things as clearly as we do. Join me Christopher. Let’s build an empire together.” Again the boxer extended his paw with confidence that this time I would grip it. To his astonishment I refused his offer saying, “You and I are nothing alike. You claim not to care about being despised by the upper classes as long as you have fame and fortune but I don’t think this is true. I think secretly you believe that they are justified in despising you. How could they do any less when you despise yourself?” As I was saying these words the dog began to gnash his teeth and his eyes began to become bloodshot. I noticed this with alarm but I wasn’t quite finished with him. I continued, “You have the nerve to despise those poor ignorant animals that look up to you? They are ten times the animal you pretend to be. Their biggest blunder is that they deceive themselves into seeing you as a role model instead of seeing you for what you really are and that’s…” That’s as far as I got before the infuriated canine exploded after me barking uncontrollably. “I must have hit a nerve,” I thought as I ran for my life out of the dangerous area. After doubling back and making a number of turns I finally hid under a pile of dry leaves. I could hear my pursuer run furiously past my hiding place. I resolved to remain there undetected until I could catch my breath. After a long period of stillness I emerged from my hiding place and discovered that I was not too far away from The Lumpenproleterian Valley.
The remainder of the journey to find my friends was relatively quiet except for one noteworthy event. As I walked in the direction of the Valley a Lumpen she-dog ran up to me with a litter of four puppies running behind her. Distressed she begged, “Can you help me? I’m at my wits end. For some reason their father hates little Tommy.” She pointed with her nose to the smallest pup. “I told him ‘He’s just a puppy. He’s harmless.’ But their father is convinced that Tommy is trying to take over as leader of the family. I do my best to keep little Tommy out of sight when he’s around but to no avail. I’m afraid that he wont be satisfied until he’s rid of his son. Tell me what to do.” I shrugged and shook my head sympathetically but I didn’t know what I could tell her. Dejected, she sauntered off with her four puppies trailing behind. I said to myself, “Little Tommy is going to have to grow up quickly or else he’s not going to make it.” When I finally arrived at the Valley what I saw was appalling. Acres of barren land plastered with the bodies of emaciated animals. At first sight and smell I imagined they were dead bodies. I soon found out that many had merely passed out from exhaustion. They were working in shifts to dig holes for what they described as burying cannon fodder. The work was being supervised by groundhogs who were naturally suited for digging. However the other animals that were not naturally suited for digging were given no leniency. They were expected to work as much and in the same manner as everyone else. The hole-riddled tract of land was immense although it could not be seen from the top of the canyon. I remembered the first time I had seen the colorful waves at the top of the canyon and how beautiful it appeared to me. I thought, “So this is the advanced way of life that everyone is fighting so hard to maintain?” I glanced over the weary workers as I approached. Two of them struck me as familiar but on closer inspection I dismissed it as a simple case of mistaken identity. To my great surprise one of them looked up at me and shouted, “Great one!” It was Chauncey, and the other cat was Rizzo. I had finally found my friends but they were so much changed that I didn’t recognize them. They both hobbled over to me. I exclaimed, “Rizzo! Chauncey! And you know each other?” Chauncey replied, “Yes. When I first got here I didn’t know anyone. Rizzo took me under his wing. When he found out I also knew you we became close friends.” I said, “Its so good to see you guys.” I looked over at Rizzo. A great change had taken place in him. He was even leaner than before if you can believe that was even possible but the greatest change was in his demeanor. He didn’t speak much. He just stared at me with a stern face. Chauncey continued, “I always told Rizzo that you would come back for us and here you are.” Embarrassed I looked toward the ground. “Yes. I’m… sorry I couldn’t have come sooner.” While we were talking it was noticed by the groundhogs that two of the laborers had left off working. One of the overseers rushed over to us. “What is the meaning of this?” he roared. “Who told you to stop working?” The question was directed at the two AWOL laborers but he was defiantly staring me in
the eyes. Rizzo suddenly spoke up. “Christopher if you can do anything for us, now is the time.” After a moment of pondering I nodded my head resolutely. Pointing at the groundhog I declared, “I am the Commander of Fostoria and the current Chief Ambassador for the Union of Animals!” The groundhog gave a start. “Com…Commander?” he stammered. I continued, “A mistake has been made. These comrades are not supposed to be here. Take them directly to Marshal Niccolo and tell him that the Commander requests for them to be assigned official posts.” By doing this I reasoned that I could conduct a test to find out where I stood in the eyes of Socrates. The overseer marched off with my friends towards Kliev as I headed back into the occupied lands to await my answer. A few weeks passed before I received my response. To my delight it was Chauncey that relayed the message. He had put on weight and his coat was shining. He said that he and Rizzo were both given responsible positions in communications. This was good news for me. It meant that I still had political pull with Socrates. Nevertheless I decided to stay in Lumpenproleteria for the time being. Rizzo and Chauncey could serve as my eyes and ears in Fostoria. This wasn’t a permanent solution. Sooner or later I knew I would have to deal with the usurpers in Fostoria. This day came however sooner than I expected.
Breed The Secret Design To Maintain Racial Inequality Among The Despised Classes Page 22