The red plasticine figure crouched besides the clock. She had taken her time to get here. But she had lots of time now she was reforming. Her shape and size were not a disadvantage. There was a freedom to plasticine. Any problem you had, just pause and reform. There was no training given, but each figure knew about reforming. It was an instinct to change, to reach out, to adapt. They were more resourceful after they reformed. Each change brought a surge of knowing, something added rather than taken away. The red figure held out her left hand. each finger dropped slightly with the new weight of the dark blue nails and she picked up the letter everyone wanted to read. How simple it was all becoming today.
There were those who worried about the limits of reforming, but so far no one had reached any limit and all the changeover days had made the figures stronger. Red Carla felt the others’ surprise. They had started to behave differently, even sounding differently when they started to talk. Their words owed them less allegiance, and without allegiance, words altered their relationships, healed some, destroyed some, discovered some.
This letter was full of harmful words, joined together in an office where shame did not exist and greed thrived even in coffee cups. The blue nails began their work, one small black eye watching the clock.
