(Page 1 of 2) Light as a Feather by Dan BiegerSUMMARY: Entry in September flash fiction contest.They sat in the bar, a modish sort of bar, comfortable armchairs, sunken bar-back floor to keep the bartender at eye-level, tables equipped with same chair type, booths all plush leather in creams and tans, not the kind of bar where you'd spend Saturday and Sunday watching football. This was the kind of bar you go to when you want to impress her or talk out something serious like the nature of reality, the universal applicability of chaos theory as expressed in Murphy's Law, the everyday ethics of the common man and woman and whether those practices had any practical use, or why the other line is always faster.
Marvin had an opinion and his opinion he knew to be correct or he would not be holding it. Stephen also had an opinion but Stephen's opinions tended to be mercurial mutating from one shape to another in reaction to new data. He'd once tried to identify an opinion he'd held all his life and was not surprised when he was unsuccessful.
"The soul weighs 21 grams," Marvin said, raising his stein and plopping it down on the bar in emphasis.
"I don't think so," Stephen replied.
"McDougal proved it, you idiot." The severity of the epithet was mitigated by the grin spreading across Marvin's face.
"Yeah, and Iñárritu made it into a movie. Somehow, that doesn't convince me."
"Yeah, well, you liberals are always having trouble digesting truth when you are confronted with it."
"I'm a liberal? Wow, thanks, a lot. I always wondered where I fit in the grand scheme of this culture." Both men laughed. Marvin kept the discussion moving: "No one has ever disproved his evidence. Even though it was back in the early days of the 20th century it was still good science. Doesn't matter when something gets proved; just so it holds up to further investigation."
Stephen considered this idea for a moment, taking the time to sip from his stein. When he did speak, the foam on his lips dripped down onto his chin forcing him to wipe the excess on his sleeve. Fortunately, the shirt was heavy flannel in tune with the season so the froth disappeared into the cloth.
"It doesn't matter when something gets proved just so it holds up, eh?"
"That's your counter? You repeat my question? Damn, man, you're normally better than that."
"Well, remembering history takes some time, particularly if the history you want is from a long time past. But, before I get to that, let's take a side track. You remember how last time we got together we decided that a particular religious belief must be valid for the true believers?"
"Yeah, the belief serves their needs and, bottom line, that's all that counts. There's no way to disprove what they believe and they have no way to prove it. It's their reality and it works for them."
"So, if we accept that reasoning, then we can go back in time, say to Egypt in its early years."
"Okay, let's go there. They didn't have any grams to think about. We get to thank the French for a definition of the gram though it took them damned near a hundred years to agree. Typical French."
"I agree.
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