Renegade Roo Regulator
The world had gone crazy since the Day of the Great Comet. The comet had changed life, for better or for worse. It had caused giant tsunamis that had completely erased Japan and many small islands from the map. Even the US had changed. There were now only 48 states.
Hawaii went with the first tsunami wave. It was catastrophic because very few of the residents believed that a tsunami would hit them. It was the very few who believed the warnings that survived.
The third surge hit the east coast and Vermont, Maryland and the District of Columbia were gone. Obliterated. There was no sign that they had ever existed.Again, people had refused to believe there was danger. The politicians believed, though. They had all gone home to their home states or hidden in the underground bunkers built for such a time as this.
The food chain had changed. The comet brought with it diseases, diseases that wiped out most of the animals. The only animals to have a biological resistance to the worst of the diseases were humans and marsupials.
Some marsupials had been hunted for food for generations. Possums, while in the punchlines of many jokes about Southerners, had become as common as hamburger once was.
It was kangaroos that were the big surprise. They were never common as food, but they were surprisingly tasty. Kangaroo farming became very popular very quickly, and the government, as always, was quick to find ways to capitalize on the rage.
A License was required in order to raise kangaroos, and they were not cheap! In fact, they were so pricey that only the very wealthy could afford them. As they say, “Money talks.” The meat is so tasty though that it has become quite the delicacy. People wonder how we survived with these creatures for so long without knowing how good they taste. My guess is that it’s because no one ever thought to try it.
I had happened into a very good job. It’s not typical that people with my training make the kind of money I do, but like I said, “The world had gone crazy since the Day of the Great Comet.”
I am the Director of Wildlife Preserve Compliance. What that means in real words is that I see to it that the people raising kangaroos and wallabies and other marsupials have purchased a license. My boss, the government, wants to make sure they aren’t cheated out of so much as a penny. I think it’s a crock, but I have to pay my bills, too.
Two days ago I was on a routine inspection at Southpaw Kangaroo Ranch, or SKR, when I noticed that they had way more roos than they had permission to have. The owner, Keith, was not too upset when I pointed this out and started to write out the fine for being so far over his limit.
Keith asked me if I believed it was okay to kill an animal for no reason. Appalled, I replied, “Of course not!” He asks what I suppose he should do when his females overproduce. I just stood there, speechless. Why hadn’t anyone foreseen this eventuality and set up parameters for dealing with it?
Should he have murdered tiny, helpless roos just because his license only allowed for a certain number? I didn’t believe so.
That is the short story of how I became a renegade and work on the outside of the law while being employed by those who make those laws.