Dust

by George

Mummy, what’s the natural world?

A collection of all the natural things.

Right, so like everything is the natural world?

Well, no, not really, computers aren’t the natural world. They’re made by us.

So things made by people are not natural?

It depends on the thing really.

What about daisies?

They’re definitely part of the natural world.

OK, ok, what about if I get all these daisies and turn them into a daisy chain?

Um, i think in that case the daisy chain would not be part of the natural world, though daisies themselves would be.

So a computer isn’t part of the natural world, but the things that make it are. Like computer keys?

I think most of the things inside a computer are actually made by people. Some of the bits within those bits too, so really it’s all man made.

What about Intel Quad Core processors?

Jesus. How do you know about them?

Mummy, everybody knows about processors nowadays.

Do they? Well no, intel thingamajiggies are not part of the natural world.

Who decides what is and isn’t part of this natural world?

No one does, it just is or isn’t.

...

...

So how do I get to the natural world?

The world we live in is man made, but the natural world is still all around us. I’d say we’re both part of the natural world.

But Sally’s mum said that when a mummy and a daddy love each other, they decide to make a baby. Doesn’t that mean that, if so fact so, I’m not part of the natural world?

If so fact so? Where did you hear that?

Stephen Fry.

Well honey, it’s ipso facto/

It’s definitely ‘if so fact so,’ like ‘if that’s so, then it’s a fact, so there.’

That’s very sweet. Making you was a different kind of process, and one I’ll explain another time.

Is there any way of putting something back into the natural world?

I guess/

How?

Remember last week we had that bumbling window cleaner round?

Hehe, yes

Well, despite mummy telling him to be careful of the sash windows he still managed to smash one/

You were very shouty

The shards of glass we threw away will eventually wear down to sand, and sand is part of the natural world.

So if I wanted to send something to the natural world, I just wear it down?

It’s not really an actual, separate world though lovely. Why do you ask?

On TV Stephen Fry said that when we die we go back to the natural world and become entangaly part of the universe in a different way.

Intangibly

So that means that Daddy lives in the natural world now. And at the moment there’s lots of flowers, and daddy probably has lots of them in the natural world too. But daddy gets sneezy when he’s around flowers, so I found one of his old dirty hankies in your box, so I’m going to turn that into dust so he has something to blow his nose with.

Oh, you are such a beautiful thing...

Mummy?

Do you know, if we burn it together I think it will turn to dust extra quick?

Better had. I don’t think I’ll be able turn all of the daisies into chains quick enough..

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