_What_Bunnies_Are_For_-_Part_6_

        At the end of the corridor there was a door marked "Employees
Only". Tabby took a card from the pocket of her robe, similar to the
one she'd given Jamie. She waved it in front of the barcode reader
and the door unlocked. A wave of lepine/human musk wafted over them
as it opened. Tabby seemed to relax a bit at the scent, but Jamie's
hand tensed in hers.
        "What's wrong?" she asked, turning.
        "Um... bit smelly," he muttered, his face reddening.
        "You've never been in a rabbit hutch?" She giggled a little
at his expression. "You'll get used to it after a minute or two."

        The room they entered had a lower ceiling than the rest of
the mansion. The carpet was deep pile and the furniture large and
overstuffed. The light was subdued, indirect, the wallpaper a dark
pattern. It was musty and very warm. A television was on in one
corner; the sound was low and the picture dimmed. There were seven
bunnies in the room already. Five were curled up on a sofa together
by the TV, casually petting each other as they watched a soap opera.
The other two sat in a love seat, their legs entwined, talking softly
but animatedly about something Jamie couldn't hear. All looked up as
the two entered. Their expressions, friendly at first, quickly became
guarded as they saw the human among them.
        "This is Jamie Mullens," Tabby announced. "He's a lot nicer
than we thought," she added, smiling confidently. "Plaisir D'Amour
makes him cry."
        Jamie turned to Tabby and opened his mouth, aghast that she'd
told them about his weakness. Before he could say anything, the other
seven bunnies had come and were introducing themselves. Two hugged
him and kissed is cheek as they did. One with a roving eye kissed his
mouth and touched him as they hugged in a way that made him gasp. One
needed Tabby to reassure her before she gave him her hand to shake.
        "Jamie," one of them asked, "why does the IWW hate us?"
        "We... well... I mean, it's not that we hate you. I mean, we
don't even know you...."
        "But they're the most vocal. Trade labour unions all seem to
hate furries! We haven't done anything to them."
        "You're taking away our jobs!"
        "No we're not," another bunny said. "We're industrial tools,
just like computers, or automatic lathes."
        "Don't say that! You're people, like, like...."
        Tabby put an arm around his waist. "I told you he was nicer
than we thought!" she declared. "As far as the business sector is
concerned, we're just tools. That's what all employees are; as you
should know, Jamie, being a unionist. Furries are employees without
legal status. We don't have to be paid, consulted or given benefits,
nor provided safe working conditions, not even breaks. Lee, tell him
about the Commodyne plant."
        The bunny named Lee shuddered; two others immediately put
their arms around her. "Commodyne hired me to be a waitress at their
stockholders' meeting at their new plant in Chicago last year. The
caterers and I came in through the back, so I got a look at part of
their shop floor. The assembly area... there were rows and rows of
furries, raccoons wearing thin rubber gloves, nothing but a steel bar
that ran beside the bench to sit on. The floor was a steel grate with
water flowing under it. I couldn't figure out why, until one of them
had to go to the bathroom. She wasn't allowed to leave the bench, she
just.... And one of them started moaning. A human came with a plastic
stick and pushed it into her side and she screamed...."
        "Cattle prod," Tabby explained, "I checked."
        "One of the caterers caught me there," Lee went on, "and
slapped me and told me I was lazy. She told me I was lucky I was
in the entertainment business or I'd be down there with them."
        The bunnies all stared at Jamie; he stood before them,
speechless. "...that's inhuman...." he murmured, at last.
        "So are we, Jamie," Tabby replied.
        "But... no, not really...."

        Sammy came in. The other bunnies lead her to a seat; it was
plain that she needed one. She looked up at Jamie with haunted eyes
when he knelt in front of her. "Will you forgive me this time?" she
asked. "I don't feel very affectionate right now."
        "Something's wrong," he replied. "You're upset. Can you tell
me about it? I want to help."
        Sammy smiled weakly up at Tabby. "You were right about him."
        "We bunnies are usually kept together," Tabby explained.
"We're like a family. Mostly it's a happy one. Sometimes we get to be
more than family. We fall in love with each other, romantically. That
can become a problem if something happens to one of us.
        "You see, the mansion can't have imperfect bunnies serving
the customers, it spoils their image. If one of us is scarred badly,
they sometimes transfer them to the backroom staff where she can't be
seen. If there are no positions back there, they... they euthanize
her. They aren't cruel. In fact it's a pretty nice way to go. We try
to look forward to it.
        "Sammy? Are you up to seeing Becky's tape?"
        The bunny nodded, then looked at Jamie. "Would you like....
This can be... moving... would you sit with me so I'll have someone
to hold, please?"
        Jamie nodded and sat in the big chair with the bunny while
Tabby fetched a black video cassette with a gold embossed label.

                                    (continued)
Copyright 1995 Allan D. Burrows
All Rights Reserved after publication