Influential Otters: Simon Swifttail

Hi guys, it is Lucy Littlepaws here, I am filling in for Lutra today as he has been extremely tied up in meetings with Brian, Debbie, and Simon trying to iron out a plan for the next round of time travel investigations.

I did manage to catch up with Simon Swifttail on a coffee break however and managed to grab an interview for the Influential Otters Series.

---

Part two of the Influential Otters series. Today I am talking to Simon Swifttail, a dashing young Otter who has recently been catapulted into the limelight due to his work translating the Otterman Prophecies. Simon, unlike many otters doesn’t often wear a hat, and can regularly be encountered in the Holt’s swim lanes rather than the bank corridors. We met in the Holt’s canteen where there is a plentiful supply of tea, Simon however was clutching a large mug of coffee and was extremely keen to commence the interview. So not to disappoint him, I got right on with the questions.

Good afternoon Simon, I am sure many of my readers will have heard of you by now, but for those who haven’t could you explain a little bit about your role at the Holt?

Well, my official title is Chief of Translation and Documentation Studies. This means I read a lot of things and figure out what it all means. For most of my time here I have been working on the Otterman Prophecies along with Seska Fleetfoot, without whom I couldn’t have made any headway at all. Are you interviewing Seska? You really should, she is the most talented linguist I have ever met. We have been working very hard to try to figure out what all of the prophecies mean and more recently I have been analysing the information that the time team brought from the future and trying to find correlations between that and the information contained within the prophecies.

How did you get such an influential role? Can you tell us a little about your background?

Oh yes, well, I was here as a young kitten. I studied at the School for Gifted Otters, I loved it and it was always my ambition to come back here to work. I had to leave here for a little while of course, to gain my degree and some experience. I was lucky enough to gain a place at the prestigious River Seine University were I studied Documentation Science and Lexicology. Or As out illustrious leader called it obscure documents and fancy words. Living in Paris was phenomenal, I stayed on for a while after I graduated and worked in the ancient documentation department of the Louvre Lake Museum. Eventually I found my way back to the Holt where I started in the translation team and was promoted to Chief 7 months ago.

Can you give us any more insights into the prophecies and possible links with the notices Lutra has shown us from the future?

My goodness yes!! It is tremendously exciting stuff, far too much to tell you right now and I am not sure Cmmdr Longwhiskers would want me to spill the beans about it all. I can tell you that the section about the wildcat has of course been proven by the existence of the notice about meeting Horace the Wildcat, this is spectacularly good news because it means we have been on the right lines all along! There is also a lot of speculation that the large, armed otters may be linked to the otters of the apocalypse mentioned in the prophecy. Not the traditional 4 mentioned in all of the myths but a faction of the same name working to bring down otter society.

All this talk of the apocalypse is a little concerning. Is there any positive news in the prophecies?

There certainly is, there is a lot of talk about gin and tonic, which is fantastic news and a portent for good if ever I read one. As you know gin and tonic is a special drink in the otter world, only drunk in happy situations. There is also a mention of picnics which is definitely a good sign for otter society. So there is at least one possible future where Otters are happy and free for a long time to come!

Thank you Simon, this is all very exciting news. Before we finish I would like to ask you some questions to let our readers get to know you better:

What is your ideal breakfast?
That is quite a difficult question, my time in Paris has left me with an unusual palate. I think for my ideal breakfast I would have a selection of cold sliced fish, anchovies would be in there, some lovely trout, plaice and perhaps pike. All accompanied by some tasty fish eggs and maybe the odd snail.

What is your favourite thing to do in your spare time?

I am an avid collector of ancient sea otter building stones. They are discarded once the otters have finished using them and it is believed by some that they can be used for divination. I am not sure about that side of things, however they are extremely pretty!

Thank you Simon, it has been fascinating talking to you, and thanks for fitting us into your busy schedule.

Lucy Littlepaws (Journalist)