REDEMPTION

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 11
Spotlight
 

EVERY Fur at the Adirondack Institute, even those from different Wings, sat in the auditorium as the broadcast of the Andy Skarbek Show was piped through on the large smart screen. The Vulps were spread out amongst the friends from other types of Furs as they all wanted to see how well the two foxes did. There had been talk of appearances possibly becoming a regular occurrence if tonight went well, and even the other facilities working in conjunction with different variety shows where they were.

Sodas had been passed out and bowls of popcorn and other snacks were passed around, the general air of the group positive and upbeat. Maria hadn’t failed to charm anyone that she met, and nearly everyone had found the little fennec female an absolute dear while Daniel had increased his popularity by helping anyone that needed it with the academic portion of their training. Each of the Furs was sure that the appearance of the two Vulps could have a very positive effect on the overall view of the Furmankind program.

“I am hoping that this goes well,” Sofiya told Richard quietly where the two of them sat, their hands clasped as they leaned against each other. The red fox chuckled. “Maria is the one that will be on camera, but I am the one feeling nerves!”

“That makes two of us,” the silver fox admitted. “I think we might be underestimating Maria and Daniel, though. They sure don’t have a problem getting up in front of the rest of us to help the instructors. I’m thinking they’ll do better than I could hope to do.”

Before Sofiya could reply, the opening theme song for Andy Skarbek started and the screen came to life with a video montage of different parts of New York City. The montage cut away to a moving shot of the show’s in house band that fused a combination of rock, jazz and classic rock. The camera continued past the band to the blue curtains that backed the stage where the shimmering bolts of cloth parted to reveal the host of the show standing in the middle. The audience began clapping wildly and Andy bowed slightly in appreciation before another camera panned over the crowd.

“There must be five hundred people there!” Sofiya exclaimed in surprise.

“Well, Skarbek is the most popular late night show host in the country,” Richard told the vixen. “Apart from his stand up routine, he’s pretty well known for lambasting politicians, and for us Americans that never gets old! We like someone that has the brass to tell a congressman, governor or even President he’s being an absolute ass-a-lope.”

“Good evening! How’s everyone tonight?” Skarbek asked his audience to which he was answered with even more applause and cheering. “I’m going to take that as a good sign!”

The Furs and no few of the staff of the Adirondack Furmankind Institute watched with quiet interest as the show host recapped some of the more notable news blurbs and added his own comedic twist with a bit of ad lib commentary for a few minutes. When he was done, Andy put his hands in his pockets and smiled.

“Tonight’s show should be rather entertaining. Fresh from the set of the sequel to Paris on Fire is actress Chelsea Moore!” The audience began cheering again, the young woman being very popular with the eighteen to twenty five year olds for her girl-next-door looks and penchant for doing films that enabled her to show the most skin. “I thought some of you would like that. Our guest band is Wide Open Throttle!” Again the audience voiced its pleasure.

The man’s expression grew a little more serious as he looked squarely at the camera. “But first, something that has never happened apart from recorded news interviews. Since its beginning, the entire program has been met with either rousing support or violent opposition from equally passionate sides. Whether you agree or disagree, there’s no denying that the Anthro Human Colonization Program has had substantial impact on the exploration of far off planets.

“By altering the volunteers through genetic manipulation and giving them the traits of some of the most successful predators of our world, these brave men and women are made better suited to the harsh and sometimes hostile environments they may encounter.

“Tonight, for the first time ever, we have two individuals that belong to the mission that will be leaving later this year to take over the Bastien colony that was lost a year and a half ago.”

Before Andy Skarbek could continue, the audience did something that caught the host off guard, even causing the man’s mouth to fall open in surprise. A reaction hat was mirrored in the auditorium of the Clark Savage building by the Furs and human staff.

Causing static over the audio pickups, it seemed as if the entire crowd exploded in raucous applause and cheering, whistling and screaming. As cameras panned over the throng, only a few people could be seen leaving. The rest of the crowd was thrilled and as the band was signaled to cut into a quick musical score prior to commercial, even the wailing of the guitarist’s electric six string was drowned out.

“I didn’t expect that!” Richard said as he overcame his shock, Sofiya agreeing silently, but fervently, with him.

***

SOFIYA knocked politely on the door frame leading to Marcelo Delgado’s office and waited politely for the man to look up. “Come on in,” he said and gestured to one of the two chairs facing his desk before turning back to the computer screen. He tapped a button and spun his chair a few degrees to face her, a wide smile on his face. “So, what did you think of the show?”

The red fox nodded with her own smile. “Maria and Daniel did very well. Despite the insults the young woman threw at them. I am very proud of how they dealt with the situation.”

“You and I both. It seems Miss Moore’s prejudice against Furs has caused a substantial decline in her popularity after that little incident. Pity. I rather liked Paris on Fire, too,” Marcelo quipped. “And it seems that Asmundr is also very pleased with the way the broadcast went.”

“This is good,” the Fur replied.

The Director chuckled lightly. “Possibly. It depends on your perspective.” He paused long enough to see the slightly perplexed look Sofiya gave him before continuing. “As it goes, Asmundr was so pleased that he’s done something that has never happened before. Andy Skarbek isn’t the only one of his family that has a popular show. His sister, Victoria, has a televised daytime news magazine. While it tends to be oriented towards women, it has a substantial enough following that Victoria has almost as much sway as her brother.

“There’s also the press campaign that the AHCP is presently engaged in. Anything that can be done to shed a more positive light on the program is being considered by headquarters. With Maria and Daniel’s shining success on Andy’s late night show, the board of directors has granted permission for Victoria Skarbek to come here with a camera crew and document the rest of the training that you and the other Abeona colonists are going to be going through.

“This means that she’ll be doing interviews, sitting in on classroom time, and even looking in on how the graduated Furs live and train. There’ll be some access, albeit limited, to the volunteers that are still in the process of transformation as well. Many places, such as the labs, will be completely off limits, and we’ll be posting guards in the Wings to guarantee this is enforced.”

“Why do I feel as if there is more to this than having journalists poking their noses into things?” the vixen asked with a sinking feeling.

Marcelo snorted. “I did say that her news program was female-centric. You, being the colony leader for Abeona and female, are of particular interest to her. Her stories tend to be about extraordinary women, and you fit perfectly into the kind of material that Victoria likes to focus on. Starting next week, and for the next few weeks following, you are very much going to be in the spotlight.”

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.