A Fantasy Mechanism

Gaius and Terence squeeze into Gaius's seat between Vello and Pierre-Louis, who are both sleeping soundly. 

All right. You start, says Gaius.

What if...? begins Terence.

But his heart is not in it. His parrot is in the garbage diposal.

I'll start, says Gaius. Is the earth round?

I don't know, says Terence. Is it?

Cannot but be, says Gaius. 

That's not how you play it! says Terence.

Hush! says Gaius. We don't want to awaken the sleepers.

Round? says Terence. Like a circle?

No, round like a ball, says Gaius. Although not a ball exactly. More like an egg, or ....you'd need to ask Pierre-Louis, I believe he led an expedition to ascertain its exact shape once......

Are we flying straight? asks Terence.

Excellent question, says Gaius. We are flying in a curve. Otherwise, we'd probably head out into space.

With the garbage, says Terence.

Eventually, says Gaius, wondering if he might be wrong about entering space.

Where do they drop it? asks Terence.

Drop what? asks Gaius.

Vello stirs, in his sleep. 

The garbage, says Terence. 

They wait till we land, says Gaius. Then it is taken somewhere to be disposed of. Why are you asking?

Cwaca, says Terence. He was put in with the garbage. I wish that we flew into space and dropped the garbage and the garbage bag exploded and Cwaca's parts would spin round the universe forever.

What a fine thought! says Gaius. 

Huh! says Vello, waking up suddenly. Did I say something?

You are not the only one to come up with fine thoughts, says Gaius. Terence is grieving for his lost parrot, and imagining his parts spinning through the universe forever.

By what mechanism? asks Vello, wide awake now.

A fantasy mechanism, says Gaius. Let us not pull it to pieces.

Parrot, says Vello. Has he lost it?

David stepped on it when he went to the toilet, says Gaius. 

And broke it! says Terence, and now.....

It's spinning though space, says Vello. I imagine what happened was that a flight attendant came along and took away the broken parts, which were routinely ejected.

I knew it! says Terence. 

Not part by part, says Vello, but in one of those bags.

Yes, says Terence. What bags?

One of those storage bags, says Vello. The kind you attach to a vacuum cleaner to suck all the air out.

Whatever for? asks Gaius.

Ease of storage, says Vello. Efficient use of space.

Can he breathe? asks Terence.

Doesn't need to, says Vello. And look what I have here, in my pocket.

He pulls Waca, the superfluous duck, no longer a grumblebum, no longer sad, not even missing, out of his pocket.

Terence, meet your new parrot.

At last!

Cannot but be, says Waca.