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The Turning of the Tables

By Jenifer, 14,

The date was Tuesday, August third, 3076. That was exactly one year, six months, and twenty-six days since the last time I'd seen Earth. That was how long it had been since my obduction to the planet of Creptopius.
In alot of ways, I was glad to leave my home planet. Our world was a scary place. The last of the rainforests had been destroyed, drugs were now legal, racism was on the rise, and the world was covered in pollution. That doesn't even mention the fact that almost every species known to man was extinct. The only creatures left on the planet besides man was the average pet dog and cat. Not even the annoying insects which sucked blood, buzzed in people's ears, and nearly drove us insane were in existance.
When I think back in time to all of the history discs, the world never really was that fair to the animals. Animals were always treated as lower lifeforms, or of lower intelligence. To many, animals ere just objects; possessions which could be used and discarded at Man's disposal. For centuries, animals were forced to be slaves to do work much too hard for man, pure entertainment against their will, laboratory experiments, and eaten as food. What did they receive for their back breaking labor? Nothing but being worked to death, beaten, or starved. Their natural habitats were taken away to suffice our own needs. And now, finally, on my home planet, planet Earth, the animal never walks nor swims nor flies about the land any longer.
But what if there was a place where the tables were to be turned? What if there was a place where the animals themselves overruled the land and treated humans the way they had been treated for so long? What if in this place, if it existed at all, people were enslaved, eaten, or experimented on at the animals' disposal? The truth is, there is such a place, and that is where I am, along with zillions of others of my kind.
The bright, neon orange planet, Cretopius, was solely ruled by animals of every kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, family, and species. They were the same animals we once had on Earth, only they had human traits. They could speak any language, from English to Japanese, and wore clothes just as the humans on Earth did.
Cretopius was a utopia for the animals that lived on it, but a nightmare for Mankind. On this planet, humans were treated just as the animals were several years ago when they existed on Earth. Humans were eaten for food, treated as livestock, experimented on, and forced to perform in circuses and zoos. If they failed to perform a task correctly, they were beaten or starved.
I remember when I was first obducted. I was beamed up into a gigantic steel, carrot-shaped star ship with an unspeakable amount of others. I remember first being thrown into what looked like an assembly line. In the front of the line, there was a brillant orange, black striped tiger wearing a tight, blue rubber suit, which covered his body from the neck down. As the line moved up, the tiger tapped each person on the shoulder, pointing to where he wanted them to go, either the left or the right. After about four hours in line, the tiger finally got to me. I had to go to the right.
On the right side of the room, I saw a little girl with auburn pigtails dangling on either side of her tiny head, sky blue eyes, and a terrified look on her face. Tears were dripping down her cheek, tears of fear and terror. "Hello," I said, trying to comfort the frightened child, "My name is Tabitha. What's your name?"
The child started to sniffle a little bit. "My name is Reenie and I'm eight years old. I'm scared. What is that orange fuzzy thing in the blue suit? He looks mean and scary."
I smiled. "It's okay," I said, though I had no idea if either one of us would actually be okay in the end. "Don't be scared. That thing is called a tiger. He won't hurt you. Tiger's are related to house cats." This reassurance didn't help the little girl much, but atleast she stopped crying.
The ship stopped. "Get out." shouted the tiger. All the people were escorted out of the ship and onto strange, gold/orange soil which smelled like gun powder. "Get in line." the tiger barked.
Everyone got in line, much like the one we were in when we were on the ship. The tiger was at the head of the line again, telling people where they needed to be. Only this time, the people didn't go to one or two sides, but several different sides. I didn't know what was happening, until he came to me. He was deciding at random, who would be livestock, who would be a circus performer, who would be the "lab rats", and who would be a zoo animal. Fortunately, I wasn't on the menu. I was placed as a zoo attratction.
The tiger loaded all of the people on several big trains. I figured some were going to the zoo, some to the farms, some to the slaughter house, some to the circus, and some to the laboratory. Reenie was picked to be a zoo attraction as well. We sat together.
"Where are we going?" asked Reenie, in a scared yet curious voice.
"Oh, I think we're going to the zoo." I answered back.
"What's the zoo?" Reenie asked. I had forgotten. There was no such thing as a zoo in this day and age because there was no animals. The only reason I knew what a zoo was was because I had learned about it in school.
"The zoo is a wonderful place." I said,"There's no need to worry."
I looked out of the windows. Animals were everywhere. All kinds of animals, from aardvarks dressed in brown leater suits to zebras dressed in rubber suits. I was almost afraid to imagine what the leather suits were made from, though I had an idea.
The train stopped at a humongous, fenced in area with a big sign which read, "ZOO". A hippopotamus dressed in a beautiful blue uniform jumped off. "Get out, humans." he bellowed.
One by one, each person hopped off the train, dazed at what was happening. A small, white rabbit in a baseball cap and blue shirt was standing at the gate. He escorted the people to their exhibits.
I was placed in a large, square cage. I thought I was all alone, until I had noticed a small, wrinkley old man with a big white beard sitting in the corner. "Girl," he whispered,"who are you?"
"I'm Tabitha and I'm fourteen years old."
The old man stroked his beard. "Ah, fourteen. Such a wonderful age. A wonderful age in deed. And Tabitha. What a wonderful name. A very wonderful name indeed. Tell me, Tabitha, do you know where you are?"
"Of course I do," I barked back,"I'm in a people zoo."
"Yes, I know, dear, but do you know what they do here?"
I was puzzled. "No," I said.
"Nasty things, my child. Nasty things which are unthinkable to Mankind. If you don't perform at exatly when they want you to, you don't eat for a week. But with what they serve you here, you probably wouldn't eat anyway."
"What do you eat here?" I asked in bewilderment.
"Don't know," answered the man, "but you can bet your five dollars it contains the meat from a human."
I nearly threw up. I couldn't live in a place where my own species was on the menu. I had to get out. I just had to escape.
Just then, a young panda came up to my exhibit. In human years, she would have had to have been around four years in age. "Look at those stupid humans, Mommy," she giggled. "Aren't they ugly?"
That made me angry. She had no reason to call me stupid or ugly. Who cared if animals were considered lower lifeforms on Earth. If this was how animals used to be, I'm glad they were extinct. I just sat there and did nothing. I was going to escape. I had to escape.
It was midnight, I think. All of the doors and windows of the zoo were locked. The zoo was closed. There appeared to be no way out, but I was determined. I noticed then something wonderful! The door of my exhibit was unlocked. Look whose stupid now, I thought as I peeled back the steel barred door.
Quickly, I raced down the towards the exit of the zoo. Then, I realized something. Reenie. I had to rescue her, too. But where was she? I scurried about the zoo, searching for the little girl. I finally found her sleeping on the cold, hard floor of the exhibit. "Reenie," I whispered, "Wake up."
Reenie yawned. "Where are we going?"
"We're going back to Earth." I answered.
Reenie's door was unlocked like mine. I opened the door and she jumped out. Together, we jumped over the zoo's fence and out into the open. The zoo's siren shrieked louder and louder. My heart pounded like a snare drum. I saw a small spacecraft on the lawn of the zoo. Reenie and I hopped in.
"How do you control this thing," asked Reenie.
"I don't know, but I better learn quick," I cried.
The sirens screamed even louder. Police ships started to surround the area. I noticed a big, shiny red button on the control pannel. I pushed it. All of the sudden, we were taking off. I had no idea how to fly this thing, but I needed to know soon. I saw planet Earth just ahead. Behind us was ten police starships filled with angry police animals. I noticed what appeared to be a steering wheel. I grabbed on to it and started controlling the out of control ship. Earth was only about a thousand miles away from us now. Soon, the police ships ran out of energy and had to turn back for more fuel. We finally landed on Earth with a big crash. Fortunately, neither of us were injured.
I didn't know which continent, country, or city we were on. I didn't care. I headed straight for a nearby gas station with Reenie by my side. I found out that we were in Tokyo, Japan. I told an English speaker what had happened. He laughed and thought I was crazy.
Ever since this experience, I have told people what has happened. I'm now twenty three years old. I'm studying to be the first zoologist in over a thousand years. I always stress to people,"Be careful how you treat others and the world. The tables could turn."

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Last revised: 27 May 2001