Danny's Advise

I just married a good, bad man. I look down at the massive set of diamonds on my finger and suddenly have a pressing desire to see my new husband. He had urgent business to attend to immediately after the wedding, three days ago and I haven’t seen him for more than a few hours since then. There is no question about a honeymoon, as we are on a space station and there is nowhere to go. It was a whirlwind courtship and a very quick marriage proposal, once I tested positive for a high possibility to bear children. I had always been taken care of by my parents or their servants up to three days ago. Now Marcus will take care of me. I’d known Marcus since we were kids and he always treated me with respect and kindness. I grab my brown handmade sweater that I had just finished knitting, and head for the shop where I hope to surprise my husband, by taking him out for lunch.

Getting anywhere on the station takes patience and a strong sense of direction, as all the halls are painted the same calming blue, and every door looks exactly the same. Of course, each door is marked with a symbol to differentiate it from the thousands of others, but the symbols are Lemurian and learning Lemurian was never my strong suit. This station was forcibly taken when the earth was incinerating. Like any large city of the now vacant planet, people tended to stay in their own districts. It’s the same here, and the citizens are discouraged from venturing too far. Sections are run by different groups, both officially and unofficially and it’s very prudent to stay loyal to your caregivers.

This is going to be my second time in the East Wing and I’m not all that confidant about my directions. I grab the shuttle to the east wing and get off at stop 1. It only took a few turns to realize I am lost already. Nothing is looking familiar. Frustrated and feeling somewhat inept, I try to find my way back to the shuttle. Calling Marcus was not an option as I clearly remember his instructions. I had better be dying if I call. I make another turn and face another door. I can smell a musky scent that is permeating through the door. The scent is strangely intriguing since the station is mostly sterile and spotless, despite the population of twelve thousand inhabitants.

I cautiously open the door and discover the animal reserve, which I had heard of, yet had never seen. The first thing I notice is the huge front glass wall that is reinforced with wire inside the glass. As I approach the glass to look closely at it, an extremely large animal throws itself at me, bouncing back off the glass wall which shudders at his weight. In a much-delayed reaction, I back up as quickly as possible and end up tripping on the edge of my sweater. I fall back, a sea of flaming red hair and brown sweater, ungracefully sprawled on the floor.

Sitting up, I look and see a large male lion staring at me. The glass affords me a closeup of his fangs and drool. The glass was starting to fog over from his breath. A concerned looking man inside the enclosure softly calls the cat and then looks at me, as if to apologize. I notice him take a second look at me and then motion me to a door on the side. Caution is my go too, although my logic suggests I can justify stopping to talk to a stranger because I am genuinely lost. Still, I approach hesitantly. The man in the lab coat ushers me into a small corridor and offers me a hand.

“I’m Dr. Harding, you must be Julia Perez.” Startled that he knows me, I shake his hand with what must have been a quizzical look. He nods toward my ring finger, Now I understand, he must have seen our wedding, as it was broadcasted through the ship.

“Do you want to meet old Danny? That lion sure put on a good show for you!”

“Yes, if he’s really not interested in me for lunch,” mostly from nerves and not humour, I laugh. I glance at his nametag and learn his first name is Jack. Somehow, he looks like a Jack.

“Danny is a sweet guy; we just don’t get many visitors here.” He says as he leads me through a door and into the interior chamber.

I watch Danny yawn, showing a row perfectly white teeth which leads me to second guess my decision to meet him in person.

Danny lazily gets up and saunters over. He rubs his huge head on me, and I can hear a deep rumbling noise coming from him. I look quickly at Jack.

He grins and says “That’s Danny’s purr, you are honoured as I rarely ever hear him do that these days. “He’s taken a real shine to you. Do you want to take him for a walk? He gets one every day, but I don’t have time today.”

Before I even have a chance to respond, he puts a huge halter on Danny and hands me a rather ineffective looking leash. I am pushed out the door holding a large intimidating lion. Danny looks appraisingly at me and I could almost read his mind. Sure enough, it is time to test the leadership of this spindly stranger and Danny is clearly looking forward to it. He plants his butt on the floor and stares or should I say, dares me to do something about it.

I put both hands on my hips and stare him directly in his eyes and say firmly. “I am running the show, not you. You might be huge and hairy, but get over it, I’m in charge. “

I had no idea if that was what you do with a lion, but it always worked on my little sisters. Satisfied, Danny happily got up and briskly leads me on the route that he had memorized from countless other trips with his handlers. As we walk together, I am drawn into a state of unity and harmony that I have never experienced before. The power and majesty of this wonderful animal brought up images of him running wild and free in the jungle, lording over his pride and playing with his offspring in the sun. My heart twinges in an unfamiliar way for his loss.

As I open the last door before the animal reserve, I see one of the stations soldiers on the other side holding a large pit bull on a leash.

All our male youths that reach the age of majority must serve in the military for three years. It is a very clever plan to channel the wild and sometimes unpredictable energy into structure and discipline. They are encouraged to participate in sporting events to channel their natural aggressive tendencies. I can feel Danny tensing immediately, which mirrors my reaction to both the soldier and the dog.

I ask politely, “Do you mind taking your dog away so we can pass?"

On cue, Danny starts shaking his huge head and pulling me towards the dog with a deep rumbling growl coming from his entire body. The soldier steps up instead of leaving, starts yelling at Danny, which has the opposite effect of calming him. I am now completely out of control and getting scared of what is about to happen. The soldier radios someone and in an instant, there is another soldier there. Before I even can register what’s happening, the second soldier sticks a needle in Danny and presses the plunger. I stand in shock, staring at the two men. Just at that moment, Jack opens the door and gently takes Danny’s leash in his hand.

“I think it’s time Danny went home, don’t you?” Nodding gratefully, the three of us slip through the door and back into the animal reserve.

Danny heads straight for his huge bed on the floor that reminds me of a very large dog bed. He grunts on the way down and seems very happy to be home once again. I walk over and sit down beside him.

Stroking his beautiful head, I whisper, “I’m so sorry that happened to you. So sorry I couldn’t protect you from them,” I hear the loudest purr emanating from him. Looking into his kind eyes, I hear the words, “Be true to yourself.” Then, just as suddenly, his eyes close and a deep snore instantly replaces the purr.

I get up and find Jack in the other room. He looks at me questioning. I tearfully explain what happened. He remains silent for several agonizing minutes, then he walks over to Danny and checks his vital signs.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what they were doing until it was done. I feel so bad.” I add, trying to get him to say something to me.

With a deep ragged sigh, Jack finally answers “Well, Danny won’t be any worse for wear. He’ll sleep it off and it will take the edge off the experience for him as well, so don’t worry.” Then another long pause, “But, I have a suggestion if you are open to one.”

With trepidation but resolve to face a lecture about walking lions safely, I nod for him to continue.

“I’m not sure how to say this, so I am just going to say it straight okay?” he continued, “I suggest you don’t tell your husband about any of this. My life and those two soldiers’ lives are probably at risk.

Although a part of me understands who my husband is, I am still shocked at his words. An awkward silence fills the room as a palatable living thing, leading me to say a tearful goodbye to Danny to break the uncomfortable tension between us.

I hear Jack, in a very business-like tone, making arrangements for his assistant to accompany me home. Miranda is friendly and chatty the whole way and when I enter my suite, I am sad to see her turn and go. I pour myself a stiff drink, something I don’t usually do and sit down. On a whim, I open the portal window to look out at the planet that had been home to my ancestors. I feel the drink burning down my throat and into my empty stomach. I find myself thinking, if it weren’t for my husband, I would never have been offered the opportunity to walk Danny. Clearly the soldiers didn’t recognize me, or they would have acted quite differently, or did they know who I was and think they needed to save me because of who my husband is? I suddenly realize that no one will ever act normally towards me as a person, as simple Julia, ever again. Every interaction will be calculated to gain Marcus’s favour or to challenge his position as unofficial governor of the Resistance.

I look out at Earth, a tiny dot among even tinier dots. Our ancestors already destroyed one planet; history was clear about what caused that. Feminine knowledge was banned, animals and eco systems mercilessly destroyed by greedy politicians. Fake pandemics used to manipulate and create fear for population reduction agendas. Military coups funded rampant drug abuse. The people gave away their power and only realized it when it was too late to change. That, and lots more, lead to the day the earth gave up.

Here the people give away their power to the various leaders, the rich take privilege over the poor and the poor serve the rich. I take a sip from my glass and hold the golden liquid up to the portal. I can see the faint blue promise of her oceans through the magnetized glass.

Like the lion, I am in a gilded cage, and a pawn in the games of men. I look at the rings on my finger, turning them absently as thoughts come rushing in. Is there enough left of humanity, to be true to ourselves? There is always hope, I answer myself