Breed The Secret Design To Maintain Racial Inequality Among The Despised Classes (15 page)

The next day Vlad awaked me early.
“Christopher,” he said. “I would like permission to accompany you
to the conference. We didn’t seem to get on very well yesterday but
I want you to know that I harbor no resentment towards you. In fact
I would like for us to be friends.” I needed as many friends as I
could get so of course I accepted Vlad’s olive branch. “Are we not
all heading out together?” I asked. He replied, “The various
delegates move at different paces. The important thing is that we
all arrive on time. For safety’s sake it’s recommended that we
travel in groups of two or more. It’ll take some time to pass
through Lupenproleteria so we should probably get moving.” I agreed
and after some brief preparation we were on our way. While we
advanced toward our destination I had an opportunity to get to know
Vlad a little better. His personality was a little rough around the
edges but he turned out to be a really good guy. I decided to get
his opinion on speciest thought. It was too dangerous to directly
ask him so I started off by getting his opinion of Darwin. Since
Darwin used to work for Socrates I figured this could be a
relatively safe topic for conversation. As we crossed the
Lumpenproleterian border I asked, “Vlad, what are your thoughts on
Darwin’s theories?” He replied, “Someone’s been researching their
modern animal history.” He suspiciously smirked at me then asked,
“What exactly do you want to know?” I said, “Well, I know you have
strong opinions about nature. Are you confident that Darwin has a
correct understanding of animal nature?” Vlad’s mood slightly
darkened as if he were bothered by the question. After a pause he
gave a deep sigh. “I don’t know,” he said. “I sure hope so. If he’s
wrong then animalkind is in a lot of trouble.” I thought, “So I’m
not the only one who is bothered by this.” Vlad continued, “I’ve
repeatedly gone over his theories in my mind and to be honest with
you it doesn’t make complete sense to me. When Darwin used to speak
at animalist rallies I tried to pay close attention to his line of
reasoning but I often got lost in his complex prose.” All at once
my eyes began to burn. The overpowering smell of petroleum in the
air alerted me of our proximity to the tar pits. I shook my head
and tried to refocus on our conversation. I asked, “Has anyone ever
challenged his position?” “No one,” replied Vlad matter of factly.
“I wonder why that is?” After a brief pause, Vlad replied, “Well, I
have a theory.” He peered at me intently. “Its not a theory on the
origin of species but rather on why no one dares to challenge the
old cat. You see, his ideas ushered in a whole new way of thinking.
He is thought by many to be the father of the modern age. Before
Darwin, animalkind was in mental darkness. We were lost. Even those
who question Darwin’s theories agree that they do not want to go
back to the old days.” Vlad stopped and shrugged. “What are we
going to do? Darwin is the only scientist we have.” The
conversation inflamed my urge to hear the opposition. Niccolo
warned me to never listen to the speciests. But how could I fully
understand my own position until I had a thorough understanding of
every side of the issue? I noticed that we were now crossing the
large plaza where the slave trade was held. I was reminded of the
plight of the common animal. My conscience began to prick me. If I
listened to the speciests would I be turning my back on the common
animal? I reassured myself that everything I did was in behalf of
the common animal. I was fighting for him. Interrupting my thoughts
Vlad suddenly said, “Its my turn to ask you a question. Are you in
love with Molly?” Much like yesterday, the suddenness of the
question left me flabbergasted. Was I so obviously affected by her?
Had everyone noticed? I stammered, “No, I… Who told you that?” Vlad
grinned. “No one had to tell me anything. I have eyes. You could
barely string two thoughts together while she was speaking to you.”
I thought, “I guess that answers my question. Everyone had
noticed.” Vlad continued, “Well, I think you made a good choice.
Molly is a first rate comrade. I wish you the best.” Vlad’s words
had a pleasing effect on me. This was the third impression in only
two days that Molly and I as a couple were not absurd. I remembered
Russ’ assurance that he would hook me up and gradually I began to
harbor the idea that Molly was to be mine. Inadvertently I began
daydreaming about our life together in the future when all animals
were to be equal and at peace. I pictured family reunions where I
would introduce my mate and our cluster of children to Vincent,
Josie and my mother. Despite deep feelings of betrayal that I was
harboring, I still felt that eventually I should present my future
family to Jeffery and Josephine Chambers. They played such a key
role in my development. Thoughts of a future reconciliation with
the Chambers often intruded upon my mind but I suppressed them.
“Before reconciliation could take place, they had a lot of serious
questions to answer,” I brooded. I wasn’t even remotely ready to
begin formulating these questions let alone ask them. For the time
being I pushed back any thoughts of reconciliation. As we walked
passed the breeding houses I noticed a minor scene beginning to
unfold. Some Cuyamongan dogs had been conversing with a Lumpen dog
and apparently they were secretly making fun of him. He must have
somehow become aware of the insincerity of the Cuyamongans because
he all at once began barking in anger, “You’re not better than me!
You’re filthy mutts! If Cuyamonga is so great, what are you doing
here? I’ll teach you to make fun…” The Lumpen’s sentences became
incoherent and he began to bark a chain of obscenities at the
Cuyamongans. What stood out to me about the confrontation was not
the overreaction by the Lumpen but rather the response of the
Cuyamongans. Although the Lumpen was exerting himself vigorously to
insult the Cuyamongans, they did not seem to be insulted. In fact
it seemed as if the angrier the Lumpen grew, the more pleased the
Cuyamongans seemed to become. At last the Lumpen looked as if he
were about to begin foaming at the mouth. Content with this outcome
the Cuyamongans tossed some money on the ground by the paws of the
Lumpen and they trotted away laughing amongst themselves. After he
calmed, the Lumpen picked up the money and looked at me in
humiliation. I quickly looked away to avoid making eye contact.
When I casually glanced back he was gone. This scene produced in me
a mix of feelings that I didn’t quite understand at the time. I
felt sorry for the Lumpen and I longed to intervene but at the same
time I felt a slight desire for the humiliation to continue. It was
the strangest mix of feelings I had ever experienced and it
frightened me. Noticing my preoccupation Vlad remarked, “See how
those Cuyamongans treat the common animal? They feel they paid him
for his humiliation. They don’t realize that the masses will
require a much larger price.” Once again I began to pity the common
animal. I hoped I would be effective in my efforts at the
conference. I hoped I was worthy to represent this noble creature.
As we were about to leave Lumpenproleteria I began to feel a strong
urge to give a donation to someone less fortunate than myself. We
were nearing the border so I had to act fast. I spotted an old
Lumpen St. Bernard dog sitting off to the side of the road staring
off into space. His eyes were glazed over and his mouth was
slightly open which gave him a very stupid appearance. A stream of
drool was steadily streaming out of the left corner of his mouth. I
ignored my first inclination that this creature was anything but
noble and I approached him. We all received funds to aid us on the
journey so I had a little money to give. Extending my arm I said,
“Here comrade. This is for you.” The Lumpen gave a start. His eyes
were first drawn to mine and then toward my outstretched paw.
Gradually his bushy brow began to wrinkle. He slowly turned his
back on me. I was astounded. I put away my money in as dignified a
manner as possible and walked away. As I ran to catch up with Vlad
I thought, “Stupid Lumpen. What is the matter with him?” I felt
strange. For some reason my worries about not being worthy to
represent the Lumpen had vanished.

We were now on Cuyamongan soil. Much had
transpired since the last time I was in this territory.
Nevertheless a tremor of fear swept through my body as I was
reminded of the past. Vlad must have noticed my condition because
he suddenly remarked, “You don’t have to be nervous about being on
enemy soil. As an ambassador you are safer here than anywhere else.
If our enemies were going to try something they would never do it
while we are on their turf.” I thought about what Vlad was saying
and felt better. I also noticed his relaxed demeanor and this put
me at ease. This being my first conference, I had no idea where the
meeting place was. I just followed Vlad’s lead. At first the route
we were taking bustled with other animals traveling to and fro.
However as we took various turns the passersby seemed to gradually
dwindle. Eventually we found ourselves walking in an area that
seemed to be deserted. The question, “Are we lost?” entered my mind
but the confident manner that Vlad pushed forward quieted my
doubts. Suddenly my companion stopped at a fork in the road. His
brow bristled. He looked to the left, then to the right. He turned
and looked behind at the path we had taken. He shrugged and turned
onto the right side of the fork. All of a sudden the nervous
feelings I had when we first entered Cuyamonga began to reemerge. I
now thought of how strange it was that there was no escort to greet
us at the border. I said to Vlad, “This seems like a very solitary
place to hold a conference. Are you sure we took the correct
route?” He responded, “I was thinking the exact same thing, but
this is the route I always take to reach the conference when it is
held in this territory. Is it possible that they changed the
location?” We walked on until the path became narrow and covered
with brush. Finally we were prevented from advancing as a large
barbed wire fence obstructed our path. We peered through the fence
and could see movement from a great distance. All at once I gave a
start as a skeleton like creature walked into view near the fence.
It had the slow gait of a cat but there was no fur. This creature
was literally just skin and bones. Startled we jumped back and
decided we had obviously taken the wrong path. We practically ran
back to the fork in the road. Upon arriving, there was a number of
Cuyamongan guards waiting for us with angry faces. They seized us
and began shouting angrily at Vlad, “You are not authorized to be
in this part of the territory! What were you doing before we
spotted you running down that abandoned path?” Vlad just stared at
them with a confused look on his face. I didn’t understand why he
didn’t respond. The guards were losing patience fast and I didn’t
want them to resort to violence so I interjected, “We are delegates
from the Union. We were headed for the conference when we lost our
way.” My response seemed to surprise the guards. They immediately
released us and the lead guard said to me, “You speak Cuyamongan
very well.” I didn’t even realize I was speaking Cuyamongan. Upon
learning that we were delegates, one of the guards ran off to relay
the message. After being detained for about an hour, the guard
returned accompanied by a wheat colored striped tabby. The tabby
who I assumed would be our escort, entered with a large smile that
appeared to be glued on. In a professional tone he announced,
“Welcome to Cuyamonga! I apologize for having you detained. I hope
you weren’t put out too much. I heard you undertook a self-guided
tour. For your own safety I would advise against that in the
future.” Our escort said all of this with a smile, which made it
difficult to tell if we were being threatened. Vlad exclaimed,
“This is the route I took the last time I attended a conference
here.” The escort responded, “Much has changed since the last time
a conference was held in Cuyamonga. Where did you enter by the way?
I was awaiting your arrival at the entrance point newly opened for
this conference. I was worried I had somehow missed you. Imagine my
surprise on hearing that two foreigners were spotted trespassing on
state property.” Vlad scowled disapprovingly. The walk over to the
conference was an awkward one. Vlad didn’t open his mouth the
entire time so I followed his lead and remained silent.

Chapter 7
-
Extreme positions are not succeeded by moderate ones
but by contrary extreme positions - Friedrich Nietzsche

Upon arriving at the site where the
conference was to be held I was astounded by what I saw. First of
all, the immense size of the structure we were about to enter
greatly impressed me. Up to this point the largest animal made
structure that I’d seen was the coliseum in Lumpenproleteria. But
this edifice was at least three times as large. The other detail
that took my breath away was the large number of animals entering
and leaving the building. Despite the large numbers and the great
diversity among the crowd there appeared to be order. I would never
have imagined it possible to gather this many animals together
without a stampede breaking out but here it was. “Come this way,”
said our escort as he entered the building motioning for us to
follow. “I’ll take you to the section that has been reserved for
the Union of Animals. We’re arriving late so you won’t have much
time to rest from your journey. The conference begins in just under
fifteen minutes.” We were given agendas and directed into a large
hall where most of our comrades had already been gathered. After
greeting everyone, asking about their journey and relating our
unexpected detour the time had come for the opening of the
conference. According to the agenda Darwin was scheduled to give a
speech that day. I was surprised to find out that not everyone was
expected to attend the first day. Vlad said, “I think I’ll skip out
on today’s activities. It’s not mandatory that I attend and I’m too
tired to listen to Darwin today. I’ve already heard enough of his
claptrap when he used to work for Socrates. You should go though
Christopher. As our representative you will be expected to attend
the entire conference.” Although Vlad and others decided to skip
the opening day of the conference, Russ, Murk, Attila and Nathan
accompanied me to the main auditorium. As we walked through the
busy hallways we garnered much attention. Animals halted in their
conversations to watch us pass by. The attention was exhilarating.
As members of the Union we were considered to be non-conformist. We
were the bad boys and everyone knew it. When we entered the main
hall I was given a better impression of the size of the place. Rows
of seats surrounded a platform located on the main floor. Our
section was near the platform because the Union was expected to
give a statement of our positions at some point during the
conference. I looked around to see how far up the rows extended.
The expanse seemed limitless. I wondered how many territories would
be represented. Their appeared to be room enough for every animal
in the world to attend. As the conference started I was anxious to
hear from Darwin. I had been imagining what he must be like and I
wanted to see if my assumptions were correct. According to the
agenda, he was to give the final speech before lunch. I waited
patiently through opening comments by one of the organizers of the
conference. This was followed by an hour-long speech on the need
for better communication between territories given by an
enthusiastic black cat with green eyes. This speech was followed by
a rather boring two-hour speech that I struggled to stay awake for.
I don’t remember the theme but it had something to do with the
responsible disposal of waste products and environmental
footprints. Finally the chairman introduced Darwin to the stage and
I straightened my back giving him my full attention. His appearance
was much different than I had imagined. He was extremely old with
long grey and white fur. He was overweight for his age with
overlapping rolls of fat drooping off his frame. With difficulty
the old cat slowly maneuvered his way to the platform. Putting all
his weight on his haunches he lifted his body up to be visible to
his audience. After gazing over the audience, Darwin opened his
mouth and began to speak. “As we look around the auditorium, what
do we see? We see various organisms with differing characteristics.
Some have long drooping fur. Others have short fur. Some have green
eyes. Others blue. There are in fact a wide variety of
characteristics in all of us cats. We take these differences for
granted because we are so used to it but they do exist. It is also
hard not to notice that there exists an even greater variation in
colors, structures, organs, and physical traits that differentiate
a multitude of species from one another.” Immediately I noticed
this elderly cat had a very scholarly way of speaking. Each word he
spoke seemed to have been carefully selected for preciseness. He
continued, “During the process of domestication the more
intelligent animals have performed an artificial selection with
these varieties, choosing the ones that they saw best fit for their
purposes, and making sure that they multiplied.” He paused and
looked around the auditorium to make sure everyone was following
him. He went on, “For example we use gophers to dig our holes and
ditches, being that their paws are more suited for this purpose. We
use badgers to build our dams and fortifications. We use pigeons as
messengers and so on and so forth. As a result of this artificial
selection process, the animals that are the most useful to us are
the animals that thrive.” He smiled, almost to himself and
reflected, “It is sometimes overwhelming to think of how far the
domesticated animals have come in such a short period of time.”
Reverting back to a countenance of earnestness he continued, “Now
lets consider the world outside the borders of domestication. There
are many species in nature, and many breeds of them as well. It is
hard however to make a clear delimitation between what you could
call a "species" and what you could call a "breed". Why do I say
this?” he asked searchingly. “Well what is a breed? It is nothing
more than an incipient species. In other words it is a subspecies
that is in the process of becoming permanent, and thus changing to
a true species.” He made an inquisitive gesture with his paw and
asked, “What is a species?” Answering his own question, he replied,
“It is nothing more than a well-settled breed. Hence, there is
actually no clear delimitation between the two, but they only
represent a process that is going on continually right before our
very eyes. If species were once simple breeds, it means they
descended from other classes, which in turn descended from others.
This brings us to an important question.” He paused for emphasis.
“Which breeds succeed in becoming well-established species, and
which do not? Well we’ve already answered this question when it
comes to artificial selection. The breeds that are more useful to
society are the breeds that will survive. This is as a result of an
outside influence i.e. the intelligent animal manipulating nature
for his own means. If the intelligent animal were able to
successfully select the best variations of his domestic animals,
why would nature not be able to do the same? This brings us to a
new concept. It is the concept of natural selection. What is
natural selection you ask? I would like to direct your attention
once again to the wild life in the areas outside of domestication.
You no doubt will observe that generally the species that is the
most dominant has the most numerous number of sub-species and
breeds. It is likely that the most dominant class had a few
features that distinguished it from other classes and gave it an
advantage over them. Heredity is the mechanism that perpetuates
variations, as traits are passed from parents to offspring. Hence,
by reproducing the most, it is more likely to transmit these traits
to its descendants, and thus preserve itself.” Darwin paused
suspiciously darting his eyes to the left then to the right. “The
question is why would it need to preserve itself? The answer,” he
said, raising his voice. “In order to survive the struggle for
life!” This ‘struggle’ was a new concept to me but after reflecting
on my past I heard the ring of truth. He continued, “Organisms in
nature reproduce themselves at extremely high rates. If nothing
would stop this process, than in the end they would suffocate all
earth's reserves. Hence, I conclude…” Darwin proudly placed his paw
on his chest. “I conclude that there is always, at some time in the
development of a species, a period of extermination, that checks
its numbers. Also, since the resources upon which a being can feed
are limited within one area, and the most related classes live
generally in close proximity, there is a keen competition between
parent species and their offspring. This competition creates what I
call the ‘struggle for existence,’ in which species must fight to
survive to avoid extinction. Any small advantage that an organism
might have—the ability to run away quickly from predators, coloring
that allows it to hide from predators, physical adaptations that
allow it to gather food more easily—will give it an edge over other
organisms, bettering its odds of winning the struggle over others
and surviving. In short, nature is not the idealistic harmonious
environment as portrayed by some. Rather it is a brutal battlefield
where life survives by destroying life. Out of this incredible
struggle all cannot survive. This means some will be eliminated and
some will be preserved. Natural selection is the process by which
the best organism, the most fitted for survival, is preserved, and
all the weaker ones are eliminated. I have identified two ways in
which species can win the struggle for existence. First, they can
simply survive and live longer than other organisms. Second, they
can leave more offspring than other species do, ensuring that their
traits will be passed on to subsequent generations more frequently
than will the traits of organisms that reproduce less. These
methods of perpetuation are interrelated: An organism that survives
over others is also more likely to produce more offspring in its
longer span of life. The struggle for existence, then, is not just
about individual survival; it is about the survival of groups of
related organisms over other groups. Organisms are related through
the variations they share, and it is the advantages these
variations give to the group that allow them to survive over other
organisms. Natural selection is the mechanism that leads to a
process I like to call ‘descent with modification.’ Organisms will
continually give birth to offspring that carry variations, some of
which are advantageous and some of which are not. As advantageous
variations are naturally selected and become perpetuated through
successive generations, organisms carrying these advantageous
variations will diverge from the original species, eventually
becoming a species of their own. Continual modification and
divergence, then, create a branching scheme of evolution, in which
new species continually branch off from old ones. The ‘branches’
help us to link later species back to an original parent species,
identifying the point at which different species are related to one
another.” Darwin hesitated. “Now, classification systems showing
the relationships between species is nothing new. However, what is
unique about my theory of descent with modification is that it
provides an explanation for why many species seem so similar.
Either they evolved from one another, or they both evolved from a
common parent species.” So far, all of Darwin’s theories sounded
probable to me but I wondered how it was he could be so convinced
that he was right. As if he were divining my thoughts he suddenly
said, “You may be wondering how it is that we know this process is
taking place? You want proof. Well I’m pleased to announce that we
have absolute and concrete proof that natural selection is
occurring!” I became even more alert. I definitely wanted to hear
this. He continued, “I have studied thirteen species of finches in
Cuyamonga. After a year of drought, finches that had slightly
bigger beaks survived more readily than those with smaller beaks.
Since observing the size and shape of the beaks is one of the
primary ways of determining the thirteen species, this discovery is
groundbreaking! Just think! If droughts occur about once every ten
years, a new species of finch might arise in only about two hundred
years!” Darwin’s eyes had a look of intense excitement as he
pondered the possibilities. Suddenly this look turned to one of
embarrassment and he appeared flustered. He stammered, “True, in
the years following the drought, finches with smaller beaks again
dominated the population but this strange occurrence hasn’t
discouraged us. We are confident that eventually we will be able to
make sense of it.” He paused meditatively and added, “It’s also
true that as climatic conditions in Cuyamonga changed, finches with
longer beaks were dominant one year, but later those with smaller
beaks were again dominant.” Darwin appeared to be lost in thought.
“Something else that has us puzzled is that some of the different
species of finches are interbreeding. This is a cause for concern
because according to our methods of defining a species, they should
not be able to do this.” Suddenly Darwin appeared transformed from
someone who had all the answers to a creature that was just as lost
as the rest of us. This only lasted a moment, however. Lifting his
head and puffing out his chest he soon reverted to being the super
confident scientist. He continued, “You may be wondering ‘how is it
that variations occur in species in the first place, driving
natural selection and the creation of new species?’ I’m glad you
asked. Let me explain. It has to do with geographical isolation.
All of the existing species in the world have descended from one or
a few primary forms that originated in one part of the world. As
these original organisms multiplied in subsequent generations,
their descendents migrated throughout the world. The surface of the
earth changed, due to the Ice Age and the subsequent period of
re-warming, which raised water levels and cut off previously
connected lands and populations from one another. Suddenly there
were barriers such as oceans and mountain ranges that restricted
the ability of organisms to migrate, and the few that managed to do
so played a large role in shaping the evolution of species on
islands and in geographically isolated areas. The geographical
isolation of species from one another allowed different variations
to be perpetuated in different species, depending on which
variations proved advantageous in the environment in question.
Moreover, the ease with which birds migrated to and from isolated
lands also haphazardly spread species to isolated islands, as birds
could carry from place to place seeds, plants, eggs, and food in
their beaks, feet, and stomachs. The migration of various species
to new, geographically isolated locales allowed for their
proliferation in new places, but also their divergence from other
species, as whatever traits were apparent in the few species that
migrated would be perpetuated in the new population. Geographical
isolation accounts for the overabundance of unique species on
islands, as well as the wider distribution of species across
continents.” Darwin paused then started excitedly, “This brings us