Virtual Quill

It began as rabbits began waking in the time zones beyond the International Date Line, sweeping across the globe with the rising sun. By nightfall it had engulfed rabbits across the planet. Those whose ears were either up or down found they had a matched set.
I'll get into our personal details in a moment, but for now I'll wear my scientist hat. The prevailing theory is that all rabbits are connected to each other on a subconscious level; sort of a psychic warren. The efforts to use their innate fear to divide them produced a cognitive dissonance that expressed itself psychosomatically. In short, it dealt with the division over ear placement by eliminating the difference.
After that occurred it was as if a spell had been broken. Rabbit society realized what was being done, and reacted against those creating the divisions.
Locally, that resulted in Dad winning his recall election by a wide margin. Fenton and I had driven up from Beige and were there to share the special night, in which he was declared the victor almost as soon as the polls closed.
By morning, the ears of the world's rabbits were back to their previous state. Fortunately, their mental state remained changed as they ceased making any kind of a big deal over ear placement.

The campaign to divide rabbits on the basis of ear placement has worked with terrible efficiency. As Dad says, fear makes one stupid, and abject fear is the default tendency of the rabbit population.
The coalition of rich predators, headed by the Krocodile Brothers, has found two rabbits willing to run against Dad. One had ears that stand straight up and other is a lop. The predators are funding the two challengers equally, knowing that no matter which is elected they’ll control a seat on the Rabbit Council. Obviously, with the electorate divided the way it is, few rabbits will vote for Dad since he doesn’t fall into either ear camp.
As his campaign manager Elanor is doing her best to shift the vote away from a referendum on ear placement, but even with money from Kell’s CEO salary it’s been impossible.
Staring defeat in the face, it speaks well of Dad that he’s not bitter about his species. He knows its faults all too well, but even after years of banishment he took a seat on the Council when it was offered. If it’s taken away, I don’t think he’ll bear a grudge.
I will, though.
With the university quiet during the summer, Fenton and I are heading up to Domain. We want to be there for him on Father’s Day, and Election Night on Tuesday.

The slumber party intruder turned out to be a political investigator named Bart Notsobright, trying to get dirt on Dad by breaking into the house and stealing data storage devices from the Hare Link office in the basement. Like most people, he underestimated Coney. (He was lucky, too; a few years ago Coney would have simply eaten him.) The police were summoned, and he was taken away. Kell and Dad served a regular breakfast to the guests, and Lin and her mom went home with a story to tell.
The political development surprised everyone since Dad didn’t even know that his position on the Rabbit Council was under the threat of a recall.. He’d been appointed a while ago to fill out the term of a previous member, but the regular election wouldn’t be for years.
Behind the scenes, however, money was talking. Loudly. Rich predators were launching a media campaign to divide rabbits on the basis of whether their ears were up or down. Rabbits, always inclined to be fearful and suspicious, began turning on each other.
Dad’s ears, of course, are unique and fall into both camps. Instead of seeing him as a uniting force, both side are being warped by those who see purity as a ideal.
How does this play out? We’ll find out soon. The recall election is in two weeks.

For a member of a non-aquatic species who dreams of becoming a lawyer, the challenges are great and numerous. In our world the division of land and sea has created two societies that rarely (if ever) connect, and the amphibians who straddle them are regarded with suspicion by both sides. The exception to this are sharks.
Almost exclusively they make up the legal profession that serves us. Somehow, even with armies of bloodthirsty predators on land, they became the most effective at what they do. (Of course, it eventually became law that the status quo would stay that way.)
They did leave a loophole. Recognizing the danger that the profession would stagnate, they allowed land-based species to attend law school. The catch was that they had to show they really wanted it...by attending underwater classes. They would have to demonstrate success outside of their natural terrain.
Few attempt this, and even fewer survive. Two who did are Lin’s mother and father, tigers who have their own legal office in town. This all came out during the slumber party, which greatly impressed Kell.
Next week I’ll report on the events of the morning after, which included an unscheduled visitor.
Today's question: Are there any human lawyers who read this?