Chapter Six
Dawkins was circling Pongo and Perdita, his eyes fixated on them with scientific fascination. To him, the two elder Dalmatians were a pair of spotted paradoxes. By all known laws of physics and common sense, they should not be sitting in front of him at that moment. And yet, abiding by those same laws, he could not deny that they were present in the same place and time as him. The gears in his head spun at full speed, furiously trying to decipher the temporally displaced twosome before his eyes.
As the smaller pup orbited them, Pongo and Perdita could only look down at him in bemusement. Pongo looked toward Dylan and Dolly, "Is he always like this?" Both younger dogs nodded, with slight smirks on their faces. Dylan quipped, "He's a dog of science, through and through." Just then, Dawkins ceased his circuit, pulled out a large, flat electronic device and began rapidly tapping on its surface. Pongo and Perdita felt uneasy, as the gadget resembled a larger version of the block they encountered in the park. Perdita sighed in concern, "Don't tell me that dogs use those horrible noisy things too?" Dolly looked at them in confusion, "You mean tablets? Sure, everyone uses them nowadays, they can do just about everything." Pongo tilted his head slightly, "Like what?" Dylan chimed in, "Well, this one has a built-in camera, calculator, compass, calendar, video phone and Internet access, not to mention all the books, movies and games we bought for it."
Pongo tilted his head in the opposite direction before shaking it in mild disbelief, "All those things in one little block? How can that be?" Perdita echoed her mate's feelings with a scoff, "The one we found in the park seemed like a glorified noisemaker, and what exactly is "Internet access" anyway?" Dawkins, without looking up from the tablet, replied, "The Internet is a vast information network that connects nearly every computer and electronic device in the world. Nearly every fact and fiction on Earth can be found with a few taps and a swipe or two." Dolly added, "Though, for some reason, most humans only use it for cat videos…and selfies." Perdita sighed, "And what on Earth is a selfie?" Dylan explained, "It's a picture you take of yourself to share with others over the Internet." Pongo shook his head again, "I don't think I understand any of this." Perdita was equally puzzled, "The world had come a long way from rotary phones and black-and-white televisions, hasn't it?"
Dawkins finally looked up from the tablet, wearing an expression of determination. He grabbed his blue doll; "This is easily the biggest scientific challenge of my life. I swear, Princess Positron II and I will solve it if it takes every bit of grey matter we have." Dawkins collected the tablet, "If you need us, we'll be in my cubby." He then climbed down the attic's ladder and out of sight. Doug and Delilah nodded their heads, with Delilah saying, "Well, while he's taxing his sizable brain, we should probably introduce the other pups to Aunt Perdy and Uncle Pongo." The other four Dalmatians nodded in agreement, with Pongo and Perdita chuckling as they did so.
In the Dalmatian's living room, the menagerie of spotted sons and daughters were engaged in various puppy antics. Some were playing tug of war, others chewing on squeaky toys, and still more were seated in front of the television. Suddenly, Dylan and Dolly's voices rang out, "The paw means PAUSE!" Their younger siblings turned to see the pair holding out their front paws, and all activity from the pups ceased. Doug and Delilah then entered the room and cleared their throats before speaking.
Delilah began, "Everyone, we have an announcement." Doug continued, "We're going to have some visitors for a while, relatives from out in uh…Devonshire!" Delilah nodded, "They'll be staying here at 101 for a while." Doug quipped, "Maybe we should change the number to 103." Dolly and Dylan complained in unison, "Oh, dad joke!" Delilah shook her head and rolled her eyes in bemusement, "Anyway, everyone, meet your Uncle Pongo and Auntie Perdita!"
The two "elder" Dalmatian entered the room, to which all the puppies oooh-ed and aaaah-ed. Pongo was the first to speak, "Hello, everyone. Your, ahem, Auntie and I are very excited to be here with you all." Perdita nodded, "Though being back in the city with all these gadgets of yours is a little overwhelming." Doug spoke up, "Ah, what do you saw we give them a big "Welcome to London" hug?" One by one, the pups began shouting out "HUG!" until the whole room echoed with their ecstatic cries. Before Pongo and Perdita could react, they were buried under a pile of 96 puppies.
For sixty seconds, all that was visible was the pile, a mound of spotted fur and wagging tails. Then, from the bottom, Pongo and Perdita managed to push their heads through the mass of canines and gasp for breath. Dylan and Dolly laughed out loud, with Dolly remarking, "That's what we call a trigger word. We'll have to make a list of those for you." Having caught her breath, Perdita responded, "That definitely sounds handy." A still-panting Pongo struggled to escape, "We'll read it as soon as we can stand upright again." Doug and Delilah chuckled as they grabbed their relatives' front paws and pulled them out from under the pile. Doug spoke as he did so, "Puppy piles are just the status quo around here, and one of the many reasons to love this place."