In our barn there are bales of straw (stacked in ricks), and three cars of a certain vintage. None being in a ‘driveable’ state. The pink E-Type Jaguar is missing its clutch. The Fraser Nash, with ventilation slits that resemble a shark’s gills, is denuded of leather seats. And there in no engine in the Volkswagen Sharan whose metal logo which has had the r removed and replaced by a m, so as to spell out Shaman! Done as a prank on Calculus when he was going through his mysticism and ‘supernatural voyaging’ phase. The Shar/man likely proceeded in a more grounded fashion.
Calculus is inordinately fond of all three vehicles. While they remain in the barn, their mechanical resurrection remains a possibility. Their extinction deferred. He keeps them for sentimental reasons. They a have scant monetary value; they are not Rolls Royce’s. Calculus being no Rajneeshpuram.
The straw in the barn, Martha has speculated, could be processed into high grade writing paper. But with what, Calculus responded, would we then feed the livestock. Why so prosaic, she’d thought. Why so fanciful, he’d thought.