Cosmic String Mirror Theory

First, I’d like to say that it is simply not true that if an Animal walks up to a mirror without a Monster in the room, no reflection appears in the mirror. Much misinformation of this kind has been circulated through the centuries about Animals and their Ilk. (We are a much misunderstood species.)

In fact, the Animals of Big Bed Land no longer need an actual mirror in order to see their reflections. This was one of the unexpected benefits of Debra’s development of Cosmic String Theory – a body of theory that not even all Animals can grasp by mane or tail, and one that is almost completely obscure to Monsters.

Note from Bink: Please observe that “Debra” in this case is pronounced to rhyme with “Zebra.”

It all started the summer that Monster J. and E. would take an evening stroll from the Old House across the lawn and dirt pile to look at the New House as it was being built. Sometimes they’d take a few animals along to comment on this process. Since the Old House had no foundation, the Monsters were particularly interested in the beautiful concrete foundation of the New House, and had spoken of it together at length.

Many of the Animals were less impressed by the foundation. Some said it didn’t look like a house at all. Where could you hang the miraculous flying hammock, Panda Air? Where was the bed?

Debra had a different reaction. She looked at the string strung above the foundation on little wooden stakes and said: “So. Houses are made of string.”

Nothing would convince her otherwise, no matter how we tried to explain. Even when we took her out to show her the framing, she only said: “So. String turns into walls.”

This was years ago, and evolution of her Cosmic String Theory has long advanced beyond what mere Monsters can fathom. “Music is string,” she says. “See the bow? Horsehair. A kind of string. See the ukulele? String again.”

The discovery that string was simultaneously both music and the Universe led to a revolution of understanding in Big Bed Land. “Cosmic String is how the universe is made out of music-” Debra kindly tries to bring this down to a level we could understand– “the source of the Great Resonating Frequency that unites us all.” We try to look wise but non-committal at the same time and change the subject.

It turns out that by bending one small piece of string (about the length of a piece of string you’d carry in your pocket, Bink puts in here) you can make a space in space that will reflect you like a mirror – and reflect many other things that are you as well.