Series

The ibuprofen had done its work. In the light of a stinging sun he let his eyes fall on the warnings. That ritual injected him with certainties. Science was doing its part too, grounding its honesty in precautions, indications, contraindications, side effects and excessive use. The little slip of paper came, as always, accompanied by the long shadow.

People who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen may have a higher risk of having a heart attack or a stroke than people who do not take these medications. These events may happen without warning and may cause death.

Good marketing, he thought. It also included the aspiration to a service, recommending he speak with his doctor, his pharmacist, his paediatrician, to resolve any doubts. Though he could not have given the name of any of them, he appreciated the effort to project a personal relationship onto a leaflet — that dream of a science unwilling to give up on being humanist (could such a thing exist?) — and then to stuff the whole of it into an administrative formula.

He looked over the notes on his computer. In the inbox, the routine emails were adding more data to a problem that was asking for a new point of view. Before getting into the shower, he wrote:

Origin of consciousness as the interpolation of a series. Evolutionary?