Cause and Effect

"I just don't know what to do!" Marla wailed.  "The fire went out and I can't get it back.  I did the dance.  I sang the songs.  I went out after the falling-rain sounds, when the gods sometimes leave fires behind after their battles, but none of it worked and now I'm cold."

"Have you tried using friction between two rough surfaces to generate heat among small chips or threads of flammable material, preferably in the presence of a volatile chemical, thus encouraging the initiation of a self-sustaining oxidation reaction?"

"T'cha, Maureen," said Marla.  "I didn't know you were superstitious."

The Uses of Salt

Superstitions are interesting, aren’t they? Knock on wood, cross your fingers. Little rituals, attempts to make a pattern out of chaos.

Jewish tradition says that touching salt is unlucky. The littlest finger brings poverty. Thumbs bring the death of one’s children.

I must have been clumsy with my thumbs, huh? Well, you ought to know; you were the instrument.

The index finger, now, placed into salt—like so—makes one into a murderer.

It’s meaningless, of course. A ritual. Something to help me make sense of things, to help me prepare for what comes next.

Are you ready?

Too bad.