Page 90 - Up Up and Away
P. 90
One of the interesting differences between the
Andalaps and the earthlings is their emotional makeup. In
their very distant past, they had trouble with aggression
and anger, causing wars and hatred, a condition well
known on planet earth. We have not solved this problem
in our world, and continue to struggle mightily with it.
The Andalap leaders, after generations of discussion
and study, passed laws that children would be strictly
trained in residential schools - taken from their parents
very young, and taught to stop feeling their harmful
emotions, or at least to smother them. Those children
grew up, had children of their own and so on. After
several generations, the emotions had withered, leaving a
very cool headed, intelligent population with very little
ability to feel. The only thing that did not disappear was
their love for their children, fierce but quiet.
Polly and Phil learned this history gradually, with
some alarm. By this time, Twinkle had been taught to
stop her feelings at school. Sadness, anger, excitement,
joy - all these were foreign. In many cases, the teachers
were genuinely surprised to see anger or sadness in
Twinkle and in her parents. It was embarrassing for them
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