Meet Silas, Assistant Companion
The Plantry Plant Co. · Personnel File No. 004
Silas
Assistant Companion
Official portrait, third attempt. He was awake for all seven seconds required.
A formal introduction from Mr. Phileas Plant —
Regular readers of these files will recall that this one has been drafted twice before and discarded twice before, the subject having napped through both sittings with a thoroughness I can only call professional. I am pleased to report that persistence — and, if I am honest, better timing — has finally produced a portrait of Silas, Assistant Companion of The Plantry Plant Co., in a state other than fast asleep.
Silas is Winston's brother and, by his own estimation, his equal in every department of the office. Where Winston holds still and observes, Silas prefers to cover ground — at a dead sprint, for reasons he has never once explained and I have stopped asking for. He is, in short, the more curious and considerably more mobile half of the companionship department, and this file exists to say so properly.
Duties of the Office
As recorded in the company ledger, and performed at considerable speed
Perimeter Running. The full circuit of the yard is inspected on foot, at a full run, several times daily. No threat has ever been found. The circuit is run anyway, on principle.
Toy Inventory & Curiosity Review. Every toy in the house is accounted for, investigated, and periodically relocated without explanation. New objects — boxes, deliveries, an unfamiliar shoe — receive the same thorough inspection, whether or not they turn out to be toys.
Enforcement of Bedtime. The office observes a bedtime, and Silas is its sole enforcer. It is not negotiable, it is not late, and he will inform every member of the household — individually, if necessary — when it has arrived.
Executive Recovery. All that running and inspecting must be balanced somehow. Silas balances it with sleep, taken generously, and considers this the more important half of his job.
Companionship, Deputy Division. He assists Winston in all matters of morale and greeting, and privately believes he does it better.
Between the running and the sleeping there is not, by his own account, a great deal of time left over — and he does not see this as a problem.
Letters of Appointment · The Particulars
- Title: Assistant Companion (appointment long assumed, formally recorded only now)
- Breed: Boston Terrier, tuxedo model, same as his brother
- Headquarters: Liberty, Indiana, alongside Winston, Chief Exploration Companion
- Known for: Running, sleeping, and a bedtime he considers company-wide
- Compensation: Also paid in treats and unearned praise, in equal share with his brother
— Filed at last, with apologies for the delay,
Mr. Phileas Plant
