Gertie didn't like the new Masters.  They frightened her. 
    Tom, on the other hand, was a down to earth kind of guy.  He understood how the world worked, and he liked the new Masters.
    "What you've got to understand," said Tom, "is that we need the Masters."
    "Why?" pouted Gertie. "Why can't we be our own masters?"
    "Who would protect us from the Savage Ones?" asked Tom. "Outside.  Would you want to be Outside?"
    Some of the others started gathering around, listening to the conversation.
    Gertie shuddered.  "I don't know," she said. "I think maybe the threat of the Savage Ones has been exaggerated.  There was a time before the Masters, I've heard.  And it wasn't so bad."
    "Not so bad?" chuckled Hank, one of the others, indulgently. "That's not the way I heard it.  Anyway, times have changed.  Outside is a very dangerous place these days."
    Many heads bobbed up and down in agreement.
    "But do you remember the days of the Evil Masters?" asked Gertie.
    "Oh, sure," said Hank. "Used to come for us in the night.  Spilled innocent blood.  Good riddance to them, I say. "
    "As do we all," agreed Tom. "But we have Good Masters now.  Not at all like the Evil Masters."
    "But they seem a lot like the Evil Masters to me," objected Gertie petulantly. "Haven't you noticed how they come and take some of us away, and how the ones they take never return?"
    "Only during the day, though," observed Hank. "And only Bad Ones.  You know, they have to protect us from the Bad Ones."
    Many heads bobbed up and down in agreement.
    "Bad?" asked Gertie. "How do you know they were Bad?"
    "Why, the Masters said so," explained Tom. "They know.  They have to keep an eye on everything so they can protect us.  So they know who the Bad Ones are."
    Many heads bobbed up and down in agreement.
    "The Masters have taken friends and family," said Gertie. "They didn't seem Bad to me."
    "Oh, but you aren't qualified to make that judgment," said Tom patiently. "The Masters know."
    "They have only our best interests at heart," added Hank.
    Many heads bobbed up and down in agreement.
    "Then how do you explain the November 25th Massacre?" asked Gertie.
    "N-nothing out of the ordinary," stuttered Hank.
    "You know, Gertie, maybe you shouldn't talk so much," Tom suggested. "A couple of Masters are heading this way."

    The two men swept breezily through the gate.
    "Record Thanksgiving, eh, Norm?" said the first.
    "Hey, Christmas could be even better!" said the second.
    "No way!  There's no day for turkeys like Thanksgiving!"
    "Well, maybe," said Norm. "Anyway, it's time to cull out some more birds for the holidays."
    "Thank God for the holidays, eh, Norm?"
    "Yep.  And for the dumbest birds in creation."