#wave born

     He lifts his hand and raises a finger as though about to say something matter-of-fact. Whatever it is, it’s sure to be profound and philosophical.     ‘A butterfly has taste receptors on its feet.’     Okay, not quite, but it was a nice little fact. He was fond of butterflies, and everybody else he’d met seemed pretty happy with them - why would she be any different?     ‘Is all well?’

     ‘Unfortunately, I am unaware of the name of this flower - it was a wild flower that I came across. The colour was one I believed you would appreciate.’ Zenyatta didn’t claim to know everything; just because he was made of similar components to, say, a computer, didn’t mean that he was a walking encyclopedia. This suited him just fine; the unknowns in the universe meant there was more to learn and ponder.      ‘But I am glad that it is to your liking.’

Once upon a time he would have given a round about answer, something about how anything could possibly exist in the cosmos and how unlikely it was that they were alone in the universe, though with no proof nobody could say whether or not they existed.     That was before there was a living, breathing extraterrestrial standing before him.     ‘I suppose “no” would be the incorrect answer.’ Yet a bit of another round about answer, though this one was a definite yes.