this was possible and then remembered how I’d gone about eating my snack. Oh well, I built the planet so I may as well start life here as well. Figuring this may be another paradox I dropped the empty SJIS soda can covered in paradox papier-mâché onto the ground and went to join my companions.
They hadn’t discovered any signs of life so we called an end to our current survey. Over the course of the day we stopped at several locations to survey for life signs to no avail as I had secretly hoped. We then decided to jump forward to the present day to see if life had thrived and we just couldn’t find any. It was a very small survey after all.
After reality had reasserted itself we found the Earth as bountiful as ever. All the towns and cities were in their proper places and the biomes were just as we had left them. With a sigh of relief I returned to my office to finish writing my reports as we journeyed back to SJIS headquarters. To my surprise I found a cat lying on a bed of dust in the corner where Darwin usually sleeps. I looked at his collar to find “Darwin” engraved upon it and the dust turned out to be paradox powder. The cat version of Darwin awoke and stalked about the room. I scooped up the paradox powder with the dustpan and brush and stored it in my inventory. I suppose consuming that stuff does have an effect on living organisms after all. I thought back to my cells and how they may have changed before evolving into the rich variety of life we see today.
My reverie was broken by a gentle knocking at my office door. After I gave my permission to enter Holly walked in.
“Who are you and what have you done with Holly?” I asked in confusion. Why wasn’t she barging in and barraging me with insults?
“Don’t be silly. It is me,” giggled Holly.
I interrogated her on the matter but she had no memory of how horrible and mean she used to be. I also spoke with much of the crew who always believed her to be kind and gentle and Darwin always having been a cat.
“You should know there’s a lot of strange powder by my desk. I don’t know where it came from.” Holly informed me.
I found that on her chair and surrounding her desk was a large quantity of yet more paradox powder. In the second drawer of her desk was a selection of potato sacks (apparently now she really likes potatoes), which I proceeded to fill with the shimmering dust. When I had finished I had three sacks full of the stuff in my inventory. You never know when it might come in handy. As we entered British airspace I worked up the courage to ask Holly out for a drink sometime as she was now so lovely.
“Oh, you know I’m sorry about that SJIS soda machine. You don’t have to rub it in,” she said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get another one as I know how much you love the stuff.” I said.
“Actually, I’ve always hated it,” she said as she focused her attention back to her admin.
As we flew back to SJIS headquarters everything was as it had always been: normal and boring. While docking with my specially enlarged car parking space/dirigible docking bay I hoped that I would get to keep this privilege and that the supreme editor-in-chief would not be too irate after he reads about all the misadventures this assignment has caused.