Fortune Telling For Children
Moved by the rapid loss of species, extinction prospects, an affinity with nature, I made this oracle that draws its messages and counsel from the animal kingdom. It somehow felt more universal, less judgmental than other models. First responses from the test team were very positive. People found it inspiring, thought provoking. All well and good until it got into the hands of a six year old. He was baffled by ‘the game’. “How do you win?” he demanded to know. I wrestled with an answer for him, in the end decided on something resembling the truth.
“It’s not a game, it’s a device for advice. The way it works is that there’s a number of possible animals that can turn up when you throw the dice, but when you do throw down, there’ll be just two. Two of twenty-four. Why those two? Nobody can say. And nobody can predict. File it under synchronicity. Mysteries of the universe. The hand of a random phantom turning up something just for you.” “But how does it work?” he insisted. If he couldn’t get the manual, he at least wanted the point. “I really can’t say why this works as it does, but it does work, and a big part of how it does is up to you.”