room. 'Look at them. They're all in competition with one another, ready to kill for a ray of light or a drop of water. As soon as one of its leaves is in the shade, a plant abandons it and the neighbouring leaves develop more. The plant kingdom is really merciless.'
'What about Edmonds bacteria?'
'He said himself that he was only studying his ancestors. You could say he was just tracing his family tree a little further back than most.'
'But why bacteria? Why not monkeys or fish?'
'He wanted to understand the cell in its most primitive form. For him, man is a mere conglomerate of cells and only a thorough understanding of the "psychology" of a single cell will allow us to understand the workings of the whole. He took literally the saying, "A big complex problem is really only a combination of small simple problems." '
'Did he only work on bacteria?'
'No, no. He was a kind of mystic, a real generalist. He would have liked to know everything. He got ideas into his head . . . like the time he tried to control his own heartbeat.'
'But that's impossible.'
'Apparently some Indian and Tibetan yogis can do it.' 'What's the point?'
'I really couldn't say. He wanted to be able to do it so that he could commit suicide whenever he liked simply by stopping his heartbeat. He thought it would allow him to opt out whenever he chose.'
'Why would he have wanted to do that?'
'Perhaps he was afraid of growing old.'
'Perhaps. What did he do once he'd finished his doctorate?
'He went to work for a private company, Sweetmilk Corporation, which produced live bacteria for yoghurt. He did well there. He discovered a bacterium which developed aroma as well as taste. He was awarded the prize for the best invention of 1963 for it.'
'And after that?'
'After that, he married a Chinese girl, Ling Mi. She was sweet-natured and cheerful. He'd always been grouchy but he changed overnight. He was very much in love with her. I saw less of him after that. It's often the case.'
'I heard he went to Africa.'
'Yes but that was after.'
'After what?'
'After Ling Mi's fatal illness. It was a tragedy. She developed leukaemia and was dead within three months. Poor Edmond. He'd always been so convinced cells were everything and human beings nothing, it was a cruel lesson for him. And he'd been powerless to help her. While this disaster was taking place, he also fell out with his colleagues at Sweetmilk. He left his job and shut himself in his flat, a shattered man. Ling Mi had restored his faith in humanity and when he lost her, he became even more unsociable.'
'Did he go to Africa to forget Ling Mi?'
'Possibly. He wanted to heal the wound by throwing himself heart and soul into his work as a biologist. He must have found a fascinating topic to study. I don't know what it was exactly but I know it wasn't bacteria. He probably moved to Africa because it was easier to work on it there. He sent me a postcard simply explaining that he was with a team from the National Centre for Scientific Research and was working with a Professor Rosenfeld. I don't know him.'
'Did you see Edmond again after that?'
'Yes, I met him once by chance in the Champs-Elysees. We had a chat. He'd obviously recovered his zest for living but he was very evasive. He didn't answer when I asked him about his work.'
'Apparently he was writing an encyclopedia as well.'
'He was doing that before. It was his big idea. He wanted to put everything he knew into one book.' 'Have you seen it?'
'No. I don't think he ever showed it to anyone. If I know Edmond, he will have hidden it in the depths of Alaska with a fire-breathing dragon to guard it. He liked to be mysterious.'
Jonathan was preparing to leave.
'Oh! One more question. Do you know how to make four equilateral triangles with six matches?'
'Of course I do. That was his favourite intelligence test.' 'How do you do it, then?' Jason burst out laughing.
'I'm not telling you. As Edmond used to say, "Everyone has to find out for
'What about Edmonds bacteria?'
'He said himself that he was only studying his ancestors. You could say he was just tracing his family tree a little further back than most.'
'But why bacteria? Why not monkeys or fish?'
'He wanted to understand the cell in its most primitive form. For him, man is a mere conglomerate of cells and only a thorough understanding of the "psychology" of a single cell will allow us to understand the workings of the whole. He took literally the saying, "A big complex problem is really only a combination of small simple problems." '
'Did he only work on bacteria?'
'No, no. He was a kind of mystic, a real generalist. He would have liked to know everything. He got ideas into his head . . . like the time he tried to control his own heartbeat.'
'But that's impossible.'
'Apparently some Indian and Tibetan yogis can do it.' 'What's the point?'
'I really couldn't say. He wanted to be able to do it so that he could commit suicide whenever he liked simply by stopping his heartbeat. He thought it would allow him to opt out whenever he chose.'
'Why would he have wanted to do that?'
'Perhaps he was afraid of growing old.'
'Perhaps. What did he do once he'd finished his doctorate?
'He went to work for a private company, Sweetmilk Corporation, which produced live bacteria for yoghurt. He did well there. He discovered a bacterium which developed aroma as well as taste. He was awarded the prize for the best invention of 1963 for it.'
'And after that?'
'After that, he married a Chinese girl, Ling Mi. She was sweet-natured and cheerful. He'd always been grouchy but he changed overnight. He was very much in love with her. I saw less of him after that. It's often the case.'
'I heard he went to Africa.'
'Yes but that was after.'
'After what?'
'After Ling Mi's fatal illness. It was a tragedy. She developed leukaemia and was dead within three months. Poor Edmond. He'd always been so convinced cells were everything and human beings nothing, it was a cruel lesson for him. And he'd been powerless to help her. While this disaster was taking place, he also fell out with his colleagues at Sweetmilk. He left his job and shut himself in his flat, a shattered man. Ling Mi had restored his faith in humanity and when he lost her, he became even more unsociable.'
'Did he go to Africa to forget Ling Mi?'
'Possibly. He wanted to heal the wound by throwing himself heart and soul into his work as a biologist. He must have found a fascinating topic to study. I don't know what it was exactly but I know it wasn't bacteria. He probably moved to Africa because it was easier to work on it there. He sent me a postcard simply explaining that he was with a team from the National Centre for Scientific Research and was working with a Professor Rosenfeld. I don't know him.'
'Did you see Edmond again after that?'
'Yes, I met him once by chance in the Champs-Elysees. We had a chat. He'd obviously recovered his zest for living but he was very evasive. He didn't answer when I asked him about his work.'
'Apparently he was writing an encyclopedia as well.'
'He was doing that before. It was his big idea. He wanted to put everything he knew into one book.' 'Have you seen it?'
'No. I don't think he ever showed it to anyone. If I know Edmond, he will have hidden it in the depths of Alaska with a fire-breathing dragon to guard it. He liked to be mysterious.'
Jonathan was preparing to leave.
'Oh! One more question. Do you know how to make four equilateral triangles with six matches?'
'Of course I do. That was his favourite intelligence test.' 'How do you do it, then?' Jason burst out laughing.
'I'm not telling you. As Edmond used to say, "Everyone has to find out for
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