The sun peeped through the towering buildings, throwing its sunlight across the lecture hall. The green creatures, both mobile and immobile, fed off it. Not literally fed off it. But their bodies did the function of using the sunlight to feed from.
Photosynthesis: Carbon dioxide + Water + Sunlight = Glucose + Oxygen + ATP
Doctor Shephard was setting up his MacPens for his next presentation on “Life in 2010”.
He inserted three of his pens in their three respected MacPots. Clicked the “Start” button on each one of them. Three red spotlights shone. One on the wall for the screen. Two on his mahagony table for the keyboard and mouse. He moved his finger on the “red mouse” to open his Keynote presentation on the screen. He turned to his class. A group of 150 young neophytes, all perfectly green and healthy. The variety of their heights created a swift harmony among the large room. Heights ranging from 20 to 40 metres. The behemoth of the group, Jakob, sat up straight. Increasing few more metres to his towering figure.
“So, our next topic will be the diet of the people in 2010,” he said and tapped the “red keyboard” for the first slide.
First slide
Diet -
1. non-vegetarian
= most common - ham, chicken, eggs, seafood (can include every possible living being)
2. vegetarian
= most common - fruits, vegetables, dairy products
“These are the two main divisions for their food. Would anyone give us a definition of “food” to help us understand better?”
Jakob quickly shut his green eyelids, commanded his MinDictionary for the definition and raised his hand. Since he was the tallest one: the most sunlight absorbing, he was the first one to find the answer in his brain. “Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth,” he said, when asked. He loved the feeling of pride that he got, learning about the ancient, antedilluvian savages. Being captious about them. To disgust at them. They were just like animals. It is natural for animals to eat other animals. Not natural for humans. How could they have spent centuries living like animals? Living on the death of other living beings? All for the sake of the fleeting realm of epicurean tastes. All for their desire to fill their stomach, which ironically enough, could never stay filled. Fascinating. Disgusting, yet fascinating.
Second slide
Food processes -
1. ingestion
2. digestion
3. excretion
“So evidently, the people back in 2010 were pretty much ignorant. They loved food. Breaking it down. Ingestion. They took pleasure in crushing food and ipso facto, it didn’t even last longer than maximum 10 seconds in their mouths. Unlike us, a tercentenary after their existence. We have a quintessential supply of food: the sun. We are now able to convert the sun’s energy and directly use it as our own. We don’t even need to break it down. Nor do we ever run out of it! Back then, they knew no better. Knew no other way than to crush food for their energy intake. They didn’t have the technology, nor the brains to develop the technology.”
A wave of murmurs swept over the room. Murmurs of disgust and repugnance. Jakob continued on the thought. “Funny how they used to claim themselves to be in the technologic age. When they still relied on cave-man ways to obtain energy!” he demeaned them mentally. And that’s when his mind started to lose track. He could hear Doctor Shephard in the background - a crescendoing voice - passionately continuing the lecture.
“digestion...... food converted to disgusting “muck”....... used to abstract their energy......excretion...... form of food, mixed with all the impurities of their bodies....”
He could multi-task. Now, he was busy imagining the mental state of these fellows he was learning about. What must they be thinking, while considering food as a palladium?
He felt like the people were un-understandable. An overwhelming sense of curiosity rose inside him. Engulfed him. Suffocated him. He felt a desperate need to truly experience their lives. Not just hear about them. Being a maverick, he decided to do just that. Experience. He shut his green eyelids and switched on the MinDual mode in his brain.
Respiration: Glucose + Oxygen = Water + Carbon dioxide + ATP
Beneath his eyelids, his eyeballs were spinning orange. Behind his eyeballs, hormones were running to and fro. Sending messages. Receiving messages. Using the sun’s energy. Cells were replicating, dividing all over his body. Mitosis. And then it was formed. His replica. An invisible twin. But was only visible to Jakob. He liked to call him Jake – a halfpart of him, literally. Jake was only there for a second before he followed the brain’s command and disappeared. To appear in a new time. 2010.
Third slide
Eating disorders
anorexia
bulimia
3. binge eating disorder
Jake found itself in a hustly bustly street of some Megalopolis. Everything looked the same. Except for the people. It was the only green creature amongst the pallor of their skins. No many plants to be seen either. He felt like an anachronism.
“........anorexia... starving themselves on purpose.... bulimia..... throwing up food.... binge-eating..... eating more than normal.... high calorie foods....”
Jake went into a restaurant. “McDonalds - I’m loving it.” Everyone was busy Eating away. Apparently enjoying themselves. A group of 3 young boys were Bingeing away at the back of restaurant caught his attention. He walked up to one of them. Shrunk to his size. 5.2m. Merged into him. The boy - his friends called him Mike - had an edacious, carnivorous appetite. Mike gobbled up the Hamburger. And one more. And one more. The Jake inside him experienced it all. Food. Its acidulous taste. Its ephemeral taste. Felt the muck growing inside the boy’s stomach. The same muck that when excreted, the boys can’t bear to look or smell! He understood the heights of the boy’s ignorance. The boy was still not satisfied. He wanted more. French Fries. 500g of them. Chocolate Ice Cream, 250g. All the time, chatting away with his two Binge-eating friends. Jake felt satiated. Dyspeptic. Could take no more.
Forth slide
Contribution to the environment
exhale greenhouse gases; CO2
deforestation
result = increased greenhouse effect; global warming
“..... a man named ________ came along........ invented the Chloroplant gene.......transmitting genes from plants to us, humans......... solving the problem of global warming............ more creatures to inhale the CO2 in the atmosphere.........”
Jakub called Jake back in the future. Jake appeared again, grew back to his full size and merged back into Jake. They were one again. Jakub now understood the source of this love of Food.
And he checked one more word in his MinDictionary: “dissatisfaction”
Gender:
Points: 300
Reviews: 0