Salt of the Earth, Light of the World..."IceNine of the Universe?"

An interesting analogy, drawn from science fiction.  Excerpts:

In his 1963 novel Cat’s Cradle, science fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut introduces a fictional polymorph he calls “ice-nine.” According to Vonnegut, ice-nine is an alternative structure of water that is solid at room temperature. It acts as a seed crystal which, when it comes into contact with liquid water below 45.8° C, causes the rapid freezing of the entire body of water...

Since publication of Vonnegut’s Hugo Award-nominated work, “ice-nine” has been used as a metaphor for anything that converts other things to more of itself.

And that’s where WE come in...

In reality, we are the “ice-nine” of the universe...


Our attitudes and disposition, our virtues and vices, our generosity and our nobility, are passed along like “ice-nine” from one warm body to another, and down through the generations. Like ripples from a stone dropped into still water, an act of kindness can reach not just the intended recipient, but countless others in the days and years ahead.

Go forth, then, and spread the stuff of life—not icy indifference, but warmth and love—through your simple acts of kindness.