:50:01
Hundreds and thousands
of them had to be destroyed
:50:04
in order to prevent the spread of infection.
:50:07
- There were dog bonfires.
- Yes.
:50:10
And by the time the plague was contained,
:50:12
man was without pets.
:50:15
Of course, for man this was intolerable.
:50:17
l mean, he might kill his brother,
but he could not kill his dog.
:50:21
So humans took primitive apes as pets.
:50:26
Primitive and dumb, but still 20 times
more intelligent than dogs or cats.
:50:31
Correct.
:50:34
They were quartered in cages, but they
lived and moved freely in human homes.
:50:38
They became responsive
to human speech, and,
:50:41
in the course of less than two centuries,
:50:44
they progressed from
performing mere tricks
:50:47
to performing services.
:50:50
Nothing more or less
than a well-trained sheepdog could do.
:50:55
Could a sheepdog cook?
Or clean the house?
:50:59
Or do the marketing for the groceries with
a list from its mistress? Or wait on tables?
:51:04
Or, after three more centuries,
turn the tables on their owners?
:51:08
How?
:51:10
They became alert to the concept of slavery.
:51:14
And, as their numbers grew, to slavery's
antidote which, of course, is unity.
:51:20
At first, they began
assembling in small groups.
:51:23
They learned the art of
corporate and militant action.
:51:28
They learned to refuse.
:51:30
At first, theyjust grunted their refusal.
:51:35
But then, on an historic day,
which is commemorated by my species
:51:39
and fully documented in the sacred scrolls,
:51:42
there came Aldo.
:51:44
He did not grunt. He articulated.
:51:49
He spoke a word which had been spoken to
him time without number by humans.
:51:55
He said...
:51:58
''No.''