Dammit!
I recently posted my 'finished' dystopian war story 'But First They
Must Catch You'. In my tale an orphan boy is shanghaied into the
Enfantry, the Enhanced Footsoldier Program. He was altered genetically,
chemically and surgically to have a human body with rabbit attributes
so that he could use weapons designed for men and possess the speed of a
hare. His assignment is reconnaissance. The other members of the
unit have undergone similar transformation in order to capitalize of the
desirable attributes of the animal selected, strength and ferocity
emphasized. The unit is wiped out in an ambush that was carried out by
our government as the program was proving an embarrassment. 2 soldiers
survived, the rabbit and a panda sergeant. They were pensioned off and
made into heroes after the press got hold of the story. The government
is going to get rid of them at the first convenient opportunity. The
tale is mainly about alienation, although I ended it with a comic book
style gunfight that snuffs out both of my protagonists. I wanted to
tell a furry themed story that made sense, there has to be a scientific
explanation for such an unnatural device as talking animals. Whatever
it's literary faults, and there are many, I thought it original. Now I
find out that this has been done, sorta, and I'm really disappointed.
One of the books is 'The Constant Rabbit' by Jasper Fforde, anthro
rabbits have grown into a million plus members of British society and
are facing prejudice and hatred. The other is the outstanding 3 part
comic 'We3', written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Frank Quitely.
In it a dog, a cat, and a bunny have been stolen from their owners and
hardwired into combat suits. After a few assassinations the team is
selected for destruction. One of the scientists frees them, and they
slaughter the soldiers sent after them. It is very sad and very well
written, the art is tremendous. Both of these are close to what I
wrote, and boy oh boy am I aggravated by finding out I was scooped. I
bet the editors over at Dark Horse were laughing their collective ass
off that I submitted such a story to them. I mean, golly. One
of my many inspirations was 'Fahrenheit 451', where the fascist
suppression of books is carried out against the backdrop of a looming
thermonuclear war. I postulated a brutal society of corrupt politicians
and a hedonistic population conditioned to hate the beast men, they are
a useful tool for the government to focus anger on something other than
their own crimes. Naturally, such a scenario is complete fiction.
Oops. I seem to have entitled the story 'Let Us Cross Over The River
And Rest Under The Shade Of The Trees', the last words of Stonewall
Jackson after he was shot by his own men. If this rings a bell it's
cause Hemingway wrote one of his better books entitled 'Across The River
And Into The Trees'. Not, of course, that I admire Hemingway and would
copy him, Heaven forfend!
So, I would never use someone else's concept. My story, good
or bad, is all mine. But in all fairness I must mention that these
other books are out there. I need to read Constant Rabbit, and you guys need to read We3. Here it is to be had-
Header picture of Tinker the cat by Frank Quitely, from We3 - Vertigo Comics, 2004. Grant Morrison, writer. Here, kitty kitty kitty!
Phooey.
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