Cat's Cradle Chapter 15 Summary

Merry Christmas

  • The Research Laboratory of the General Forge and Foundry Company is a city block away from the parking lot. Dr. Breed and John get to hoof it.
  • En route, a Miss Francine Pefko wishes Dr. Breed a Merry Christmas. She is the secretary of Dr. Nilsak Horvath, a famous chemist.
  • Dr. Breed asks Miss Pefko what's new in chemistry, and Miss Pefko says she has no idea. Scientists think too much for her.
  • Dr. Breed argues that scientists think as much as anybody else. Miss Pefko counters that all the thinking sounds like a foreign language to her.
  • Undeterred, Dr. Breed believes that Dr. Horvath could explain his science to an eight-year old. What does Miss Pefko say to that?
  • She imagines she must be dumber than an eight-year old.