Phoebe and the Hydrant by Randy Cockrell
“It’s been over sixty years,” Level 7 Representative Howard Wainwright, protested to the Gulliver Station Manager, Egan Cavenaugh. They were in the conference room reserved for the Council meetings. The room was plain, it had been given a new coat of the same boring beige, upon the appointment of Egan to the Station Manager’s position by his father, Art Cavenaugh, and the conference room table had been replaced but otherwise, the same art work hung on the walls.
Howard, Representative to the Station government for the richest residents of Gulliver Station had been getting an earful from one of the wealthiest and most excentric of the Level 7 elite, Gloria Rothschilde. She wanted a pet, a Chihuahua, to be exact, and station law forbade pets.
“You know why the law is in place, Howard,” Egan sighed. “No one on the station has pets. They consume water and air and place an undue burden on the waste recycling systems.”
The Level 3 Representative, Megan O’Malley, spoke up. “Until we can find homes and work for the Displaced on the station, we shouldn’t be importing useless creatures that negatively impact the station.” The homeless situation was primarily a Level 3 issue and Megan, newly elected by her Level, had the Dispossessed on her mind. Something had to be done to find these people apartments and jobs.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Megan,” Level 5 Representative Ian Patrick interrupted. “The Disposessed situation has no bearing on whether or not the station should allow pets.”
“Other stations allow pets,” Howard interjected. He held up a data device. “I have all of the facts from three other stations on how they handle pets. And besides, pets are known to assist people emotionally. Why shouldn’t our residents benefit from the therapeutic value that pets bring?”
“Let’s take a vote,” Egan said as he rapped his gavel on the end of the conference room table. “All in favor?”
The Representatives from Levels 7, 6 and 5 raised their hands. “All opposed?” Only the Representatives from Levels 3 and 4 raised their hands. “Motion carried. We’ll allow pets.” The winning representatives cheered.
“Not so fast,” he reached out to Howard and picked up the data device. “Not until I review these files and see how the other stations do it.”
Six months later, the first cargo ship to carry pets docked at Gulliver Station. The freighter’s cargo no more that hit the registry when bids for the three small dogs, four cats and six guinea pigs began rolling in.
Gloria Rothschilde sat at her desk in her living room. She had the ship’s sale board on her monitor and watched while the bidding went up by thousands of credits for the fawn colored two kilo Chihuahua on board the ship. She typed her fifth bid into the system, one million credits. She was determined to be the first person on Gulliver to own a pet. This dog, a female, would be an excellent breeder for the male Chihuahua she had coming to her in another month. With luck, the female would be able to carry a litter to term and a new business would be born on the station.
She watched the bidding on the other pets. The cats were each also commanding a high price. Even the guinea pigs were getting hefty bids. She noticed her ersatz friend, Minnie Ojibwe, was bidding on two of the rodents. Gloria thought seriously about bidding for those as well, just to put the woman out. After a moment, she discarded the idea. She didn’t want the rodents; she’d just have to resell them at a loss.
After three hours, the bidding slowed to a stop. The female Chihuahua was finally hers at two million four hundred and seventy-six million credits. She noticed that Minnie did not get the guinea pigs. She was out bid by Nathan Po. She smiled. Nathan would have those little fur balls breeding in no time and selling the offspring to everyone on the station.
By then end of the day, all of the animals were purchased by the elite of the station. Complaints flooded into the Station Manager’s office. Many of the middle class residents were angry that the animals weren’t sold at reasonable prices to the first bidders. Egan massaged his temples. There was nothing he could do. The sale of the animals went the same way that the sale of any other good coming onto the station did, to the highest bidder.
That evening the station news media covered the hand-over of the Chihuahua to Gloria. “I’m so pleased,” she beamed into the camera. “It’s a great day for Gulliver Station,” she cuddled the tiny dog whose ears lay plastered to its head as it clearly shivered in the cold air of the dock outside of the cargo ship. “Now I have a companion for my lonely days.”
Egan watched the broadcast from his office. “Pfft,” he blew at the monitor on the wall. “The old bat will have that dog breeding before the end of the year and selling off the pups at top dollar,” he muttered at the screen.
And so it came to be as Egan predicted. Pets entered Gulliver station but they never trickled down to the poor of the station, not even the guinea pigs which would have at least provided food for the Dispossessed. Animals remained a perk of the wealthy.
The End
903 Words
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