<code> Listen.

I’m a crew-dog, general purpose, plenty smart says Ray. Ray’s my handler. I work with any crew-person the Captain says-so, but Ray’s my number one. I sleep outside Ray’s door. When I have the shaking sickness, Ray lets me sleep on his rug.

I am plenty smart, but my dam was smarter. Don’t play with the story like a cat with a mouse, she said lots of times. She said things like that, things like person-people do. Cut to the chase, said my dam.

There’s two hours on this disk, lots of time. But I remember my dam, so I am quick.

We land on this planet three, four ship cycles ago. Before we land, the Captain says over the shipwide, This is a very important mission, top priority.

As soon as I hear the Captain’s voice, I stop what I am doing. I put my head down between my front legs, and I listen and listen. The Captain says, I expect all of you to be on your best behavior. Do exactly what your handlers tell you.

Ray is on First Team, so I am too. We are a group of six people, four crew-dogs. I like one of the bitch-dogs, but this is work time, so I only sniff her once. We have no gunpacks, and so I am happy. It hurts when the gunpack fires, and after there is the blood smell. But Ray tells me who the enemy is, and says I am a good dog.

This time we go Outside in a pack, us dogs at the front. The planet has a hundred smells saying find-me. Over us is the sky-roof, big and windy, and I try to remember it for later.

We walk over rocks a while. Then there is dry earth, then mud, then a stream. We splash through water. The other side I smell person-people and animal-people. The animal-people smell is like a crew-dog smell, but not the same. We walk more. There are plants taller than I am. Ray’s machine says the plants are corn.

There are buildings ahead and shouting. My mouth waters and I can’t stop it because I smell food. Ray says, Stop. Our pack stops. Ray comes forward, and puts his hand on my shoulder.

A pack of the planet-people approach. They have dogs, but these dogs walk on two feet and they do not smell like crew-dogs or ground-dogs.

Hello, says Ray, We are strangers here, we come from far away. The machine Ray wears echo-says the same thing with different noises. A long time ago, says Ray, Your ancestors settled this world.

Yes, says one of the upright-dogs.

My tail goes out straight. I smell the fear-surprise of the three crew-dogs beside me. Why is the upright-dog talking? I wait for its handler to say, Bad dog, be quiet, no supper.

It does not happen.

The upright-dog says, This world was settled eight hundred years ago. Why have you come now?

The upright-dog sounds like a person-people, not a dog. The upright-dog sounds like my dam.

Then there is a lot more talking. Ray talks at the planet-people as if the upright-dogs are not there. I know this game, the Pretend Game. Ray told me how to play after my dam left. The planet-people and the upright-dogs all talk, and they look at us crew-dogs as if we are talking too. But we are good dogs, we say nothing, we wait at alert.

Then Ray squeezes my shoulder. Stay, says Ray. All the person-people go into a building with the upright-dogs. Ray is inside with the upright-dogs, and those dogs are not right. Those dogs do not act right. Those dogs do not smell right. I want to go in and check Ray is safe. It is my job as crew-dog to guard First Team, and Ray most of all because Ray is my number one.

But Ray said stay.

I sit outside and I smell Ray inside. There are lots of people smells and wrong-dog smells. Some people smell angry, some smell scared. I think Ray smells angry, but his smell mixes with the others. There is a food smell that makes me hungry.

The crew-dog beside me stands, sits down, stands, sits down.

The sky-roof is dark when Ray comes out again. Ray snaps his fingers, and I run over. It’s okay, says Ray, bending down and scratching behind my ears, which is my best thing, and I press my head into his fingers. Ray stands up again. Ray says, Back to the ship, double-speed, in his fierce voice, and I know something is wrong, all the crew-dogs know something is wrong.

It is dark, but I know the way back. I run ahead, sniffing for people and animals.

In the ship, First Team puts us crew-dogs in a new kennel. The kennel has a cleaning-stuff smell. It is many, many ship cycles since I slept in a kennel. I want to sleep outside Ray’s door. I put my tail down and look at Ray.

What’s wrong, old boy? says Ray.

I say, Am I a bad dog today?

No, says Ray, scratching behind my ears. His voice is sad. Ray says I am good, but the planet-people are bad. The planet-people don’t listen. Ray says more about the planet-people, but I don’t understand.

The planet-people have wrong-dogs, I say, licking Ray’s hand. Ray’s hand tastes of salt. I lick it some more.

Yes, Ray says, They have wrong-dogs.

The rest of First Team is gone. Ray goes now. We four crew-dogs are locked in the new kennel. We eat the food. The bitch-dog I like says, Something is bad.

I think she is right. We four crew-dogs lie down touching each other. For a lot of time, I stay awake. I think of my dam. My dam was so smart. Ray says my dam was too smart. Ray says my dam scared people, because of the animal war when bad animals attacked people. But the animal war ended cycles and cycles ago, before my dam birthed me. So I don’t understand why my dam scares people. But one day my dam was gone, and Ray said, Don’t ask about her. And that day Ray played the Pretend Game with me, and said I must not ever act too smart. I am not as smart as my dam, but I am smart enough to do what Ray says.

The next ship cycle we four crew-dogs stay in the new kennel. A woman comes with food, but she is silent, though we put our heads down in listen-position.

The next ship cycle First Team comes in. Ray pats me, then we all go Outside, and above is the big sky-roof, and the smells say find-me.

We go back to the planet-people place. There is smoke-smell everywhere, and a cooked meat smell, but different than the meat I know. The planet-people come out and shout, but there are no wrong-dogs. One planet-man throws a stone. I bark and run at the man, but Ray says Heel. I go to Ray, still barking. Then Ray says, Back to the ship.

We start back. At the stream, Kevin, one of the First Team, is sick. They burned them, Kevin says.

Ray says, What difference does that make? The dogs are dead. We killed them.

The pack stands by the stream, waiting for Kevin. I go to listen-position and nudge Ray with my nose. Ray says, The Captain killed the wrong-dogs with a special sickness. Person-people and animal-people like each other, but we are not equals. The planet-people forgot that.

I say nothing. I am full of questions, but the rest of First Team is listening. Other crew-dogs don’t say much, and I must pretend to be like them.

Kevin stands up. We all go to the ship, and us crew-dogs are locked in the new kennel again.

In the dark part of ship cycle, Ray comes in. Ray takes me to his room. Inside I say, The wrong-dogs are dead?

Yes, says Ray. His voice is sad.

The wrong-dogs are bad, I say. The wrong-dogs are bad like my dam, I say, My dam is too smart and the wrong-dogs are too smart.

I think it is the smartest thing I have said. I am so proud, my tail wags and wags.

But Ray says nothing. Ray cries. Ray puts his face against my shoulder and wipes the wet off.

Yes, says Ray, The wrong-dogs are too smart. Ray scratches behind my ears. Ray says, Tomorrow the vet will make you forget the wrong-dogs.

I say, No please. I say, I am scared. I am scared of forgetting. I am scared of forgetting my dam and the Pretend Game and Ray.

Ray says, It’s okay, you’ll be okay. You’ll only forget a little bit, just the last week.

I say nothing. I am still scared, but Ray is my number one. Ray looks after me.

Ray says, There’s a group of people who don’t like what’s happening. Ray says, We need to make other people care about things like the wrong-dogs. Ray says, Will you tell the wrong-dog story to this disk for me? The story will help us stop more animals being killed.

I say, Yes.

Ray says, If the Captain finds the disk, the Captain will know you are too smart.

That’s okay, I say, I want to talk, I want to say this.

Now I lie by Ray’s bed. Ray sleeps. Ray makes loud sleeping noises.

I say this story to the disk because of my dam. I know what too smart means. It means the Captain kills you. The Captain killed the wrong-dogs. The Captain killed my dam. I know this, but Ray didn’t say it. It is something I know all by myself.

It is bad to be too smart.

But my dam was a good dog, and I want everyone to know that.

Listen. My dam licked me awake in the mornings. My dam liked everyone, person-people and animal-people. My dam was a good dog, good dog, have a treat, you’re the best-dog ever dog. Listen.

THE END

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