Page 46 - Demo

Natch!32but she%u2019d already skipped down to the middle of the page. Theinitial questions were all things that she could find out herself.She didn%u2019t want to waste her time with Will on that stuff.%u201cWell, it%u2019s a big space, first of all, sprawling, vast. And while lifeonce flourished there a great many moons ago, most of it hasbeen essentially lifeless for almost 25 million years. So, there%u2019s noturning the clock back as if anyone would be tempted to do so.%u201dJean scribbled in her notebook as Will continued. %u201cThe climate isstill warming, so that means less ice, more flowing water,probably more precipitation. Water will erode the land in wayswe can%u2019t predict. But it will also nourish whatever is going to takeroot.%u201d Will leaned back in his chair. %u201cIt%u2019s gonna be a race for livingspace. Don%u2019t forget there are a lot of homeless species stillhanging on in the neighboring zones. Up to now we%u2019ve managedby hook and by crook to stave them off. Prevailing winds andoceanic currents will keep them at bay for only so long. At somepoint, enough pilgrims will manage a foothold and then, wellthen, that will be the show.%u201d%u201cA land rush?%u201dWill nodded. %u201cThey%u2019ll come by land, sea, and air. Some willcome as the result of our very deliberate, thoughtful planning;some will arrive by accident, blown in by a storm or rafted inwith some driftwood. Others will emerge, as if from the landitself, born in response to the opportunities and niches that haveyet to present themselves.%u201d%u201cIt sounds like the land will populate itself, whether we doanything or not.%u201d%u201cThat%u2019s true, but then again doing nothing is also a choice wecould make that will have its own set of consequences. You%u2019ll findas you gain more experience that doing nothing can sometimesbe the best option. Now, Gad would scoff at that. His approachleans more toward the micro-management side of things. Hethinks we can just keep manipulating the X%u2019s and Y%u2019s, turning thisone on and that one off, to guide all of creation along someintelligent path. He thinks that we can put ourselves inside them