Order Comes to the Meeting

In the silence, each creature listened raptly as the deep voice of Madame Lion resonated to the farthest reaches of WEarth.

“Once upon a time,” she began, “there were no Domesticates, nor were there any Wilds. We were Beasts alike, free to move where the food took us. All animals followed Wild Ways, eating according to needs, keeping Co-species pacts intact, honoring each other in life as in death.

“But when the two-leggeds known as Who-Mans left Wild Earth, certain four-leggeds followed them, giving up Wild status in exchange for food and ease of mind, becoming forever Domesticated and forever changed. They separated themselves from the rules and protocols of WEarth, and, perhaps unwittingly, began their collaboration with the Who-Mans in creating Rectangular World, a realm that continues to expand and infringe upon our homelands and autonomy.

“The animals have been irretrievably divided--now we have Wilds on the one hand (or hoof, or paw), Domesticates on the other, and Halfwilds with a foot (or fin, or claw) in both realms.

“Traditionally, Wilds have been patient and generous with Domesticates, or Doms as we know them; forgetting much, forgiving more. In spite of their Rect-World connections, we let them return to WEarth for meetings--and while the strictures of domesticity limit participation, a few Doms always manage to join the meetings where their numbers are tolerated if not always welcomed.”

The lioness hesitated for a moment, as if an errant thought had snagged her speech. “To be fair, I must say that some Doms have extraordinary gifts--perhaps some of you remember the small creatures with the odd poofy coats--poogles?...no...poodles!...that was it--whose jumping tricks and tales of the “Big Top” so amused us during the last cycle. Of course, not all their stories were so amusing...to think of my lion-kin forced to jump through fire at the snap of a whip... frightful...frightful...”

Pausing, the lioness shook her head as if to clear it of all small leaping dogs and lions. “Indeed, the poodle-tale is simply more evidence that as problems worsen in WEarth, Dom-distractions no longer entertain. Many Wilds have registered complaints regarding the lack of discipline in the Dom ranks--noise, strange food, messes left behind, piles of ugly things that blow about and refuse their rightful return into WEarth’s welcoming soils...it seems we in WEarth become more and more enmeshed in their tangled webs.”

Concluding her complaints, Madame Lion stated, “It is ever more incumbent upon us to address WEarth’s accelerating disappearances. First, however, we must frame a Wild response to the growing Dom-disturbances. Therefore let Meeting One of Cycle CCCXCVI come to order, wherein all present will consider banning Domesticates from WEarth meetings, now and forevermore. I open the meeting to comments.”