Section 2, Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom, Part 1 Summary

NB All the characters in "Snails" speak in the author's revised language except where noted.

"Snails"

" A" Molly tells Charlene that she's been fired from her job because she defied her boss's efforts to get her to speak properly, and that she's worried she will go "splat." Charlene speaks of developing an unusual friendship with a robber who repeatedly came to her house and looked through it but never actually took anything. She adds that she was told his name, but that it turned out to not be real. Molly insistently asks Charlene where the paper's want ads are. Charlene says she put garbage into them. Molly says "splat."

"B" A Naturalist standing at a podium explains, in more formal language, the concept of the "fly," an "apparatus" used...