快猫短视频

2007 by Robyn Williams, Hodder Headline Australia, A$29.95, ISBN
0733614248

ROBYN Williams鈥檚 first novel begins with whales sinking a would-be whaling
vessel, pelicans mobbing airports and cows creating mounds of steaming dung to
halt traffic. It is 2007, the animals are fed up with being treated like, well,
animals. So they set out to take over and save the planet.

Williams, who is best known in Australia for his 30-odd years with the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, shows uncanny insight into animal behaviour
and human interpretations of it. Sure, this is a piece of fiction, but you begin
to wonder whether animals might just be able to pull this off. We鈥檝e all been
stopped by cows crossing the road, scratched by angry cats or pooped on by
vengeful birds. Williams takes these one-offs to the extreme, with the animals
working together to shut down civilisation.

Not a moment too soon. By 2007, kids will be playing with robotic dogs and
families will eat meat grown in Petri dishes at the local supermarket. So why
not get rid of the animals? No more messy carcasses, more water for human
consumption and more land for the world鈥檚 exploding population. They must act to
save themselves. It鈥檚 a sort of Animal Farm for the planet.

There is also a cute parallel with the 1980s cartoon show Inspector
Gadget. The bumbling Gadget-type in this instance is a scientist from
Tasmania, summoned by the US government to fix the global chaos. While he argues
about Gaia with politicians, his clever young daughter and her dog are busy
saving the world.

Readers of 2007 may feel they are on trial for their environmental
crimes, or that political debate wastes time while the real issues remain
unresolved. But the strongest message is that the animals we have to worry most
about are the ones that walk on two legs.