“I had the distinct feeling that the universe was out of whack and normal rules didn't apply. I sort of liked it.”

“How did I think of that?" I wondered. I didn't feel like I had thought of it. It's a sort of flow that happens when you are completely in the moment and not getting in your own way. Not trying so hard, not planning ahead, just getting out of your own head and letting the magic happen. You could apply this to any activity, of course. You could apply it to life.”

“I applied for the University of Life. Didn't get the grades.”

“All right. Normal rules apply.""Right."The man walked off, leaving us."What are the normal rules?" I asked."He walks away and has a tea break and doesn't ask any questions.”

“Planetologist call it the conundrum of unforeseen ecological consequence. I call it the whack-a-mole rule of human meddling. She clasped both hands like a child hammering. WHACK! We change something here. Oops, that makes another problem pop up there where we didn't expect it. WHACK! So, we whack that mole. Oops! We're so smart that we're a menace.”

“I felt nothing all the time, and it had started to feel normal. It should have scared me, but it didn't.”