A Hidden Ally - Lauren Ipsum: A Story About Computer Science and Other Improbable Things - page 1

Chapter 1. A Hidden Ally
“That wasn't too bad,” Laurie said to herself, as she reached the Mile One sign. “A mile
sounds like a long way to walk, but it's easier if you break it into pieces.” She remembered
that in Hamilton there are eight blocks to a mile, so she made herself think about walking
one block at a time.
“ Oh, look, another one ,” said a voice.
“Hello?” Laurie spun around, but there wasn't much to see: some fields of odd-looking
crops, an empty road, and the sign.
“ She's kind of short, isn't she? ”
That's when she noticed a tiny lizard clinging to the sign. It had the oddest coloring: where
the sign was green, the lizard was reddish; where it was white, the lizard was black.
“Hello, who are you?” she asked.
“I'm Xor,” the lizard squeaked. His tail twitched from yellow to blue. “Hold on, can you see
me?”
“Of course I can see you!” Laurie said.
“Oh.” Xor looked very sad and blushed a bright purple.
“You are the first talking lizard I've ever met,” Laurie said. “How did you learn to talk?”
“What a silly question!” the creature said. “I learned as a baby, like everybody else.”
“You did?”
“Sure. Why, how did you learn to talk?”
“Well . . .” She had always been able to talk, hadn't she? “I guess I learned as a baby too.”
“It's only logical. First you learn to talk, then you learn to think. Too bad it's not the other
way around.”