cast iron skillet possesses a type of primal consciousness above and beyond that of ordinary mineral life and the ones with decades and centuries of carefully accumulated seasonings almost rise to the sentience of lower animals such as barnacles and mandarakes oh but my point being I have discovered a way to cause them conscious Suffering that I'm very excited about
The pigeon grinned a beak full of dog’s teeth. “Ha. They say there aren’t. They even kept most of them out for a while.”
“How did you make it?”
“By being smart. By hiding.”
She gave the one-legged, feral feathered thing a sideways look. “As a pigeon?”
“Sometimes,” said the pigeon. “Sometimes I’m graffiti on a wall. Sometimes I’m a coin dropped in a beggar’s hand. I am neon at night, the rain in the light. I am the song the busker sings. I listen to the prayers of those who come to the city with big dreams.”
“And in return?”
It grinned again. Steam rolled off its feathers, smelling of cigarettes. “I eat their despair.”
“That’s cruel.”
It moved its wings in something like a shrug. “That’s the big city for you.”