Page 40 - Demo

Natch!26recombined this or that, I could always find a flaw. I couldn%u2019t everreally be sure whether what I imagined would be what theywould experience.%u201d Gad absently jiggled the chalked bits in hispocket as he recalled his monumental struggle. %u201cI mean, twospecies share a habitat, say for example, an earthworm and arobin. They%u2019re not especially noteworthy, or at least no more orless than anyone else. The earthworm inhabits a space probablyno larger than a single square meter of soil. In its entire life spanit hardly ever sees the light of day. Its whole world consists ofnavigations and negotiations within that dense, grainy, moist,nutrient-rich square meter of soil. Now take the robin. Could itbe more different than an earthworm? It experiences that samehabitat and more from the air. It maps its world from the toplooking down, navigating with the merest flick of its feathers. Andfor the robin,%u201d Gad grew even more animated as he stoppedwalking and turned to face Gene head on, %u201cfor the robin thishabitat is only a temporary oasis. The robin spends only a blink ofits time in proximity to that square meter of earthworm soil, andthe rest, well outside that square meter of soil, maybe even onthe other side of the world, perusing some other earthworm%u2019ssquare meter of soil. Two species,%u201d he held up his fingers, %u201conepreying on the other, one completely oblivious to the other%u2019sexistence until that last, fateful moment. How could we begin toimagine what%u2019s going on inside their minds?%u201dGene hurriedly scribbled that last question and then lookedup, wondering with fear whether Gad expected him to answer.%u201cWe can%u2019t.%u201d Gad waved his arm and was off again down yetanother corridor. %u201cWe can%u2019t. That%u2019s what everyone said. Fate.Whimsy. Destiny. Even the great F. R. Will.%u201d He raised his armssarcastically, then stopped, turned, and held a single piece ofchalk up to Gene%u2019s face. %u201cBut we can. We can now.%u201d Gene wouldlater describe his face as having a decidedly maniacal expression.%u201cI call it the bat mobile. Actually, Thena came up with that but,what the hell, sure, what do I care what they call it. I only carewhat it does.%u201d As he said that, Gad stopped in front of whatlooked like a dentist%u2019s chair inside a transparent egg-shaped