The pre-meeting proper is over.
Océane has left, with the malodourous blue Swedish folder wedged strategically between the Chinese red folder and the Canadian green folder.
The others are still at the table, except for little Mai-Mai who is playing under the table.
She is inventing a pleasant scenario, in which mushrooms warn pretty pink flowers of imminent danger.
Watch out, you Pinkies! whispers Mai-Mai. He's coming!
Yipes! Who's coming? answer the Pinkies, which are fashioned from torn white paper napkins.
The NIAN! whispers Mai-Mai Mushroom, rather too loudly.
(Mai-Mai is playing all parts)
Hush, Mai-Mai! says her mother, bringing her face under the table.
Hide, Pinkies! warns Mai-Mai Mushroom.
The white paper Pinkies look around them, but oh! they have nowhere to go.
We have nowhere to go, whisper the Pinkies, in raspy voices like tissue paper.
I will help you, says Mai-Mai Mushroom. First, turn on your computers.
Is my drum all right down there? asks Carl Linnaeus, above the table.
She's just playing a game, says Hui Zhong. The drum isn't in it.
Mai-Mai pulls at the leg of David Suzuki's trousers.
He brings his face down under the table.
What is it, Mai-Mai?
What's the password? whispers Mai-Mai.
What password? whispers David Suzuki.
For the Mushroom Internet, whispers Mai-Mai. I'm playing a game. The Pinkies are in danger.
Are they the Pinkies? asks David Suzuki, indicating the white scrunched-up tissues.
Yes, and I know that they're white, says Mai-Mai. That's because they're SCARED. Quick, give me the password.
That would be MYCORRHIZAE, says David Suzuki. Can you remember that name?
My crozzie eye, says Mai-Mai.
Close enough, says David Suzuki. What are they scared of?
The NIAN, says Mai-Mai Mushroom.
So they should be, says David Suzuki.
He lifts his head above the table.
So cute, says David Suzuki. She's invented a Mushroom Internet.
I thought that was you, says Gaius.
No no, not me, says David Suzuki. It's Earth's Natural Internet, and that wasn't me either.
Pardon me for being confused, says Gaius.
Quite understandable, says David Suzuki. It is the work of many scientists. Plants, including trees, connect to each other through structures called mycorrizhae. Ninety percent of land based plants are involved in mutually beneficial relationships with fungi. They.....
Arghhh! screams Mai-Mai, under the table.
David's head bumps Hui Zhong's as they both look under the table.
The password doesn't WORK! says Mai-Mai.
What happened to the Pinkies? asks David.
The NIAN ate them, says Mai-Mai sadly.
And it is true. They have all been eaten.
What an excellent game.
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