| Chapter Fifteen |
| Commentary: A recurring motif in Tamper is the appearance of seemingly supernatural phenomena that turn out to have natural explanations. |
| Next Chapter |
| From NPR (National Public Radio): Study: Eating Cheese Can Alter Your Dreams by Melissa Block September 16, 2005 According to a new study by the British Cheese Board, different cheeses can give you different types of dreams. None of the study volunteers reported nightmares from their bedtime snack. NPR's Melissa Block talks about the results of the study with Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board. Read more or Listen |
| “But there’s one organ that runs almost entirely on sugar, no matter what the conditions: the brain. Even if you’re fasting, your liver will make sugar from scratch for your brain to use.” – Dr. Dereck Lowe, from Fructose In The Brain? (October 31, 2008), In the Pipeline, Corante |
| “Glucose and fructose are the two most important simple sugars for human consumption.” - from HyperPhysics, © 2005 by C.R. Nave, Georgia State University |
Book Excerpt:
A shrouded figure stood in the dark front lawn of
Archer's house, barely visible under a dim,
flickering streetlight. We froze in our tracks. My
scalp tingled with the thrill of the unknown. Roger
stepped toward the specter.
"It's just a tarp," he said.
"Covering what?" I asked.
He lifted a section of the tarp, revealing a cast
metal "historical literary landmark" sign, mounted
on a pole.
A shrouded figure stood in the dark front lawn of
Archer's house, barely visible under a dim,
flickering streetlight. We froze in our tracks. My
scalp tingled with the thrill of the unknown. Roger
stepped toward the specter.
"It's just a tarp," he said.
"Covering what?" I asked.
He lifted a section of the tarp, revealing a cast
metal "historical literary landmark" sign, mounted
on a pole.
Book Excerpt:
Roger knew that when I went for two or three days
without alcohol, my emotions got raw. Feelings
masked by the booze came out.
"I think certain memories can be sparked by the
sugar in apples, " I told Roger. "I ate an apple on
the way here."
"We both ate apples on the way here," said Roger.
"But I don't know what you mean."
“I get these glimmers of childhood moments
regained.”
“Nostalgia,” said Roger.
“No,” I said. “It’s not nostalgia, although it
sometimes leads to nostalgia, but that’s not it.”
“Déjà vu?”
“No, not that either,” I said, looking for the right
words.
“Because it’s not the feeling that I’ve been here
before, or that I’ve done this before. It’s more like
sparks of lucidity that I haven’t felt since I was a
child. I think maybe the feeling of well-being is
fueled by the fructose in the apple.”
“That’s a bit more corporeal than your usual
theories,” said Roger. “Less emphasis on the
supernatural.”
“Well,” I said. “Remember Charles Dickens’ A
Christmas Carol, when Scrooge tells Marley’s
Ghost, ‘You may be an undigested bit of beef, a
blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of
an underdone potato.’”
“Okay, I like the reference to Marley’s Ghost,” said
Roger. “But, since not everyone’s memory is
triggered as vividly as yours, that indicates a
psychic gift.”
“I think it’s because my mind and body are always
seeking a chemical stimulus,” I said. “Fructose
molecules are chemical.”
Roger knew that when I went for two or three days
without alcohol, my emotions got raw. Feelings
masked by the booze came out.
"I think certain memories can be sparked by the
sugar in apples, " I told Roger. "I ate an apple on
the way here."
"We both ate apples on the way here," said Roger.
"But I don't know what you mean."
“I get these glimmers of childhood moments
regained.”
“Nostalgia,” said Roger.
“No,” I said. “It’s not nostalgia, although it
sometimes leads to nostalgia, but that’s not it.”
“Déjà vu?”
“No, not that either,” I said, looking for the right
words.
“Because it’s not the feeling that I’ve been here
before, or that I’ve done this before. It’s more like
sparks of lucidity that I haven’t felt since I was a
child. I think maybe the feeling of well-being is
fueled by the fructose in the apple.”
“That’s a bit more corporeal than your usual
theories,” said Roger. “Less emphasis on the
supernatural.”
“Well,” I said. “Remember Charles Dickens’ A
Christmas Carol, when Scrooge tells Marley’s
Ghost, ‘You may be an undigested bit of beef, a
blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of
an underdone potato.’”
“Okay, I like the reference to Marley’s Ghost,” said
Roger. “But, since not everyone’s memory is
triggered as vividly as yours, that indicates a
psychic gift.”
“I think it’s because my mind and body are always
seeking a chemical stimulus,” I said. “Fructose
molecules are chemical.”