Dorsai - Taxi

The look on Bonnie's face was all the answer I needed before I continued "I'll bet you feel some affection for Cleopatra, here – maybe even love her. But if your daughter was sick, and the doctors told you that the cure for her might – not would, but just 'might' – be found if they could do some experiments with Cleopatra, what would you do?"

Again, Bonnie's expression was answer enough for me to continue "What a lot of people don't think about is that when the animal rights people say that the rights of the animals counts for more than the results of the medical and scientific research, those groups are saying that the rights of the animal count for as much – or even more, since they don't want the animal involved – than those of the people who would benefit; and when you boil it all down, that means that they're saying the rights of an abstract animal count for more than the rights of an abstract human being – which is the same as saying that they don' t think that people count for as much as animals, never mind more. So the same animal rights people that steal animals from research facilities are stealing the futures of the people that depend on that research to stay alive. In essence, they're saying that the life of this cat on my lap counts for more than the life of your daughter. Are those really the kind of people you want to associate with?"

After taking another sip of my drink, I finished "If you really want to help abused animals, then fine – help abused animals. Make sure of who you're targeting, and what they're doing. And do it legally; letters to the companies, telling your friends and neighbors, that kind of thing. Hell, organize a protest outside their company, if that's what it takes. But the minute, the second you try to deny those people the rights to their property, then you're effectively forfeiting your own."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You told me you're an accountant?" I asked. She nodded, and I said "Research places get their animals one of two ways. Either they have to buy animals with specific characteristics, like lab rats that have been raised in a sterile environment and don't have any antibodies to diseases, or they get ordinary animals from the open market, like breeders or even shelters. Either way, they have pay for the animals. So when somebody comes in and takes the animals away, they're stealing them. When those folks were trashing that facility tonight, and planting those devices, they were destroying someone else's property. They did all that because they thought it was right to do something illegal because they thought their reasons were 'right'. Now, if it's okay for them to do something like that, why wouldn't it be equally right for someone that doesn't like accountants – remember, there are some accountants that are involved in organized crime, for example – to do the same thing to your company? Or even you? What's the difference, if the only justification is the intensity of the desire to correct what they perceive as a wrong? Isn't that the whole reason we have laws? To protect ourselves from that kind of thing?"

Bonnie sat silently as I added "I've got a pretty simple way of deciding whether some action on my part is 'fair', or not."

"What's that?"

"I just switch the whole thing around to look at it from the other direction – how would I feel if this was happening to me? Would I be just as happy with how things turn out if I was on the other side, knowing what I know now?"

"For example?"

"Okay, how about something like gay marriage. Most of the people saying it's wrong are straight, and in the majority. Let's turn the whole thing around, then – gay people are in the majority, and they're trying to pass a law that only gay marriage is legal, and that heterosexual couples can only have 'civil unions' and such. Would that be fair? No? That brings up something that far, far too many people aren't willing to do – just leave other folks alone. If you don't want people interfering with your life, then you have to show them the courtesy and restraint of not messing with theirs. You don't have to like it, but if you want others to respect your rights, you have to respect theirs – which gets us back to deciding whether or not something is 'fair'", I finished.

Bonnie was silent for several seconds before asking me "How the hell did you get so smart?"

I had to laugh before I answered "I'm not smart. If I was, I'd be a hell of a lot richer. No, I've had to study, and think about what I figured was important, and what it meant."

"What are you, some kind of philosopher or something?" she asked.

"Or something", I answered – which prompted her to ask what I meant, followed by my having to explain how I'd dropped out of college while studying for a Philosophy degree, and settled on driving cabs. By the time I was done, I could see that she wasn't entirely sure that I wasn't just pulling her leg, or making it all up. We sat there for several minutes with her contemplating me as we sipped our drinks. She finally broke the silence by telling me "I think I'm going to have to believe what you just told me about yourself. What you said, and the way you were explaining things… it all sounded just too damn… well, philosophical. But how does that 'applied philosophy' thing work?"

I had to smile as I told her "You tell me. That's what I was doing when I was talking to you about what happened tonight, and the people you were with. Did what I had to say help you any?"

Slightly chagrinned, she answered "Yeah, it did, as a matter of fact."

"Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was. And I was right about you being the person I needed to talk to, too."

I smiled before telling her "That's nice to hear. It's getting a little late, and I think I'd better head home before Demosthenes starts thinking I've abandoned him."

Both of us stood up, and after I'd tipped my glass to drain the last few drops out of it, Bonnie took it from me. She escorted me to the door, and after I'd opened it, she said "Thanks again, Jim, for not just being there when I needed a ride, but someone to talk to."

"I'm glad I was able to help", I assured her. She surprised me by reaching up to hook a hand behind my neck and gently pull me down to where she could give me a kiss on the cheek before releasing me. When I was standing up again, she blushed and said "That's just for being a decent guy."

I just smiled again, and let myself out; I heard the door close behind me, and waited until I heard her turn the deadbolt before heading for my cab.

After that, Bonnie was noticeably more sociable with me. Oh, she'd still try to punch my heart out when we were sparring, but was friendly enough otherwise. She was even willing to smile at me the few times we saw each other in the gym.

Several weeks later, I'd had a busy and profitable day and was thinking about knocking off early when I got a call that someone had asked for me at one of the financial outfits in town. None of my regular customers worked there, so I was wondering who'd called when I pulled up in front of the place – only to be surprised when a grinning Bonnie came out. I had the door open for her when she got to my rig, and once she was seated I got myself behind the wheel and asked "I'm not complaining, you understand, but why am I presumably driving you home?"

Laughing, she told me "I had to work late, and missed my carpool. I figured if I had to take a cab, I might as well see if it could be with someone I know."

I smiled at her via the mirror, and got us headed toward her place. When we got there, it was still light enough outside to see that her front door was open and that there was a guy looking around – apparently watching for her. In the back seat, I heard Bonnie mutter a soft curse before saying "I told those assholes that I wasn't coming back. Why the hell can't they listen?"