Page 88 of The Paradox Club

“It would melt.”

“Why?”

Tess thought for a moment. “Because the heat in the air would pass into the ice cube?”

“Exactly. Which means there is heat in the air.”

“Okay.”

“So why doesn’t that heat pass into your cocoa and warm it up? After all it passed into the ice cube.”

“But it can’t. You can’t warm something up with something that’s colder than the thing you want to warm up.”

“Exactly, and that’s the second law of thermodynamics—beautifully put, I might add. You can’t warm something up with something that’s colder than the thing you want to warm up.”

“That’s the way they write it in the physics books?”

“Not exactly, but it amounts to the same thing.”

“So, eventually wouldn’t the air and the cocoa be the same temperature?”

“That’s right. They will reach thermodynamic equilibrium.”

“What’s thermodynamic equilibrium?”

“It means they’re the same temperature.”

“That’s what I just said. Why does everything have to have big, long words to describe it when there are short words that mean the same thing?”

“Finally a question I can’t answer, my dear Tess. If you ever find out, I hope you’ll let me know.”

“If the cocoa and the air will eventually be the same temperature, doesn’t that mean that sooner or later everything will be the same temperature?”

“An astute leap for a ten-year-old. Yes, many people believe that ultimately the entire universe will reach thermodynamic equilibrium.”

“And will it be warm like the cocoa or cold like the air?”

“Put it this way,” said Harry. “I think you’ll need a jacket.”

ON THE ROAD

“Where should we go?” said Valentine 6 to Nemo 7. “Now that we’re free of Montag 5.”

“I don’t know, but you were smart to get away from him.”

“But should we be getting away from him?” said Valentine 6. “Now that the president has what he wants and is on the run, wouldn’t it be better if we followed Montag 5?”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Nemo 7.

“I didn’t come all this way for a thirty-second rescue mission. Besides, I have something Calvin 4 needs.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a book. Something called Gatsby the Great.”

“You have Gatsby the Great? How did you get that?”

“Stole it out of Pilgrim 3’s office while she was standing right there yelling at me. I meant to give it to Calvin 4 at the McDonald’s, but everything happened so fast, I forgot. It’s still in my bag.”