20,000

Hello! Just a quickie from me, Darcy Fielding on behalf of myself and Jackson.

I've noticed that our writings have now been viewed 20,000 times and I am delighted. Thank you to all of you in the human world who have taken time to read our tales of Mellowdene.

 

Maybe some of you have wondered how this blog came to be. (I remember a time when the word blog was meaningless. That's no longer the case, obviously.) Well, it started with the twin brother of my old schoolfriend Jackson Butterglove. 

You know I'm a curious mouse. As a newspaperman it goes with the territory. That's why I started asking lots of questions when I'd noticed that the Sylvanian Research Group were providing a handful of other businesses with a range of new equipment to increase safety, efficiency and productivity. What did the SRG mean to achieve? I cornered Newton Butterglove, scientific boffin and - I knew - part of that very organisation.

He originally tried to be evasive but soon gave up when he remembered how persistent I can be. I'm quite aware that I can be a pain sometimes. I don't always like being that way, but it is a useful technique when ferreting out information.

"Alright, Darcy," he said, "I know I'm being secretive but it's nothing bad. Mellowdene is a growing community and there are needs to fulfil. The SRG has access to technology, and if we can use some of it to support Sylvanian values whilst easing the villagers' workload..."

"We are ideal fodder for their social experimentation?"

"Wow, Darcy. That's a dark way of looking at it."

"Maybe. But I've seen some of the technology. I've been round to look at the recycling and processing equipment at Mice & Clean's waste management site. It looks very advanced."

"It is."

"Where does all of it come from? How many genius inventors, designers and engineers are there in the Sylvanian Research Group?"

"Quite a few, actually," he said, but I detected something else in the way he spoke.

"They invented ALL of it? How long have they been stockpiling such a wide range..."

Newton held up a paw.

 

"Darcy. There are some things that I can't tell you."

"I have to find it out myself?"

He looked at me in silence. I realised the next move had to be his. He sighed.  

"Okay. Jackson always said that you were driven."

"So?"

"So, I'm prepared to tell you what you want to know - but only if you don't publicise it. It's not a subject for the Mellowdene Examiner."

"I won't agree to that before I know the details. Public safety comes first."

"Then you shouldn't have a problem. That's the primary aim of the SRG."

"Go on, then."  

o 0 O 0 o

I'd heard rumours but I didn't realise how true they were. A vast human world beyond Sylvania. The Sylvanian Research Group had contacts that had been investigating it for decades.

Whilst many inventions were of Sylvanian origins, some technology was inspired, borrowed or derived from human endeavours. It wasn't unrestricted acquisition - much was rejected as it was contrary to Sylvanian ideals. Some ideas could be used with little or no deviation. Others needed discussion. Technology could only be integrated when it was deemed safe - physically and philosophically. Newton was a resident of Mellowdene so able to slowly introduce ideas, gadgets and machines that would suit the village.

"I can upgrade the technology on your newspaper," said Newton. "We have devices called computers that can make editing and typesetting less error-prone."

"Is this a human-based technology?"

"Well, we've adapted it, but yes. It's the main way humans create newspapers these days. They can even connect these computers and share information over incredible distances."

"So I could connect to them."

I could tell by his expression that I'd surprised him again.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"They don't all have Sylvanian values."

"You don't understand," I said. "I don't want to be influenced by them. It's more the other way round. We could educate them."

Newton laughed. "And how would you do that?"

"Tell them about our lives. Who could fail to see the advantages?"

He fell silent. I waited whilst his mind whirred.

"You know, Darcy," he said, "that's not a bad idea. But it would need to be handled carefully."

"Life in Mellowdene. Sylvanian villagers going about their day-to-day lives. Subtle enough for you?"

"And you would write that?"

"I could do some, but practically I'd need at least one other writer to handle most of it."

"So much for keeping a secret. Bringing in someone else? No. I think we should forget the idea. Stick to upgrading your newspaper."

"But if I could suggest a writer who would keep the secret..." I began, then had a brainwave, continuing, "...and I know someone that both of us could trust to do that."

"Who would that be?"

"Someone who once entertained the school by writing 'The Great Green Gumpy Globbit of the Grasslands'."

Newton stared at me before laughing. "Jackson?"

"I think I could convince him."

"I don't doubt it. You can be very persuasive." He shook his head, smiling. "Tell you what - let me think about it. Once your new system is running, maybe we can discuss it again." 

 

 

o 0 O 0 o

We would discuss it again, but as far as I was concerned it was a formality. I would ask Jackson.

And now... there have been twenty thousand peeks into life at Mellowdene since we began. Whether it has changed any human lives for the better, I don't know. I'm doing my bit. The rest is up to you.

I'm happy. I hope you are!

o 0 O 0 o