Red in Radiation

Even on the second day, I couldn't stop thinking about Red.

Yes, Red had digested and eliminated Big Jeff but some part of Jeff remained within Red.

Read had been abandoned by his owner Thornton Krell who had come at long last to the conclusion that Red couldn't read.

Krell had such high hopes for Read that he named the pup Read as in the past tense of the verb read. Red, who had no idea how to read, thought his name was Red.

Neither did Red have any idea idea of his ancestry even though Krell did.

Krell knew very well of Rex.

10 generations earlier, Rex was the king of all dogs. Rex was the great, great, great, great, grandfather of Red. Krell had paid a lot of money for that lineage.

Rex knew how to read.

At the turn of the century, Rex sat on the floor studying the daily newspaper. Kodak was just emerging and photos were starrting to appear in the newspapers. Kodaks caught everyone's attention which included Rex. The photo that captured his attention was a Kodak of another dog who was sitting on another floor looking at another newspaper on which was another Kodak of another dog looking at another Kodak of another dog too small to identify.

Rex thought to himself, 'This is getting dangerous'. These pictures might lead to the human impression that dogs not only look at the pictures but can read the articles surrounding the Kodaks. The concept that dogs read might lead to the idea that dogs can think which might lead to the idea that dogs can tallk which might lead to the idea that dogs are smarter than cats, which might lead to the concept that dogs are smarter than people which might lead to the widespread slaughter of dogs because the dumber species with the bigger stick will always use that stick to bludgeon into submission or extinction any other species that might be an intellectual threat before that threat gets its hands or paws or claws or talons or fins or wings on a club of even greater weight.

Rex took one last look at the paper when his "master" senses tingled.

He knew his "master" had entered the room but since Rex's back was thurned, he didn't know that his master, Foster Castleman, had brought his brand new Kodak with him. Rex heard the click and noticed that the newspaper was suddenly and briefly illuminated..

Rex realized he was now part of the problem.