#john haskell

So on the day they were to select which dog would explore the universe, Laika was nervous. She was nervous when the young scientist took her to the open field behind the barracks and told her to sit. She could see the men by the fence watching her with their stopwatches and their notepads, and when her leash was removed and the scientist started walking away she though, Okay...and she tried to remain perfectly still, but as the young scientist continued walking, Laika felt the desire to move, and she tried to contain it or fight it or work through it--she tried to stop and concentrate--and sometimes she did, and when the desire began to fade she thought she was over it, that she'd turned over a new leaf, but there was no new leaf, the desire was still there, bigger than ever, and she began to think she shouldn't fight it, that maybe she should move, that her muscles might atrophy, or that the man might abandon her; a million logical thoughts made it necessary for her to get up and move.