Alan’s one of the smartest guys I know. He identified the great cloud that blackened the sky straight away.
“Wild cockatoos. Lovely. Hate seeing them in captivity.”
“Just birds, then.” I said. “Future pets.”
“They’re not just any birds. They’re the smartest ones. Opposable digits. Live more than 80 years. Vocalise like humans. Intelligent.”
“Not as clever as us.”
“Perhaps they are. We’ve never just realised it.”
“You think?”
“Absolutely. Could probably rule the world if they wanted to.”
He was right. And prescient. These days he’s got a much better cage, more space, than the rest of us.
“Wild cockatoos. Lovely. Hate seeing them in captivity.”
“Just birds, then.” I said. “Future pets.”
“They’re not just any birds. They’re the smartest ones. Opposable digits. Live more than 80 years. Vocalise like humans. Intelligent.”
“Not as clever as us.”
“Perhaps they are. We’ve never just realised it.”
“You think?”
“Absolutely. Could probably rule the world if they wanted to.”
He was right. And prescient. These days he’s got a much better cage, more space, than the rest of us.
