Pineapple Clouds

I grunt, grasping desperately as my foot slips on the wind-blown stone. My hand finds a hold just before I start to fall. With a frown of concentration, I pull myself up onto the ledge and rest there, slowly regaining my breath.

"Hey! Don't kill yourself!"

"Yeah, this whole thing is ridiculous anyways."

My dearest friends, traveling with me on this errand. They knew what it was, but not why it was important. It was time to clarify.

"Have you ever wondered whether a pineapple could float on a cloud?"

They are silent. They've heard the question before, but not the reason behind it.

Eventally, I break the silence again. "You wouldn't be the only one, no matter what your answer is. I'm sure there are dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions who've never even used the word 'pineapple' in the same sentence as the word 'cloud'. A cloud is nothing but a vapor which reflects light differently from the rest of the gas at the same point in the atmosphere. It cannot, by definition, support any weight; it has no tensile strength. Anything you place on it will simply fall through, passing between the gassy molecules on its way towards something that will apply an upward force equal to the downward pull gravity has on it. Usually that's the ground."

One of them finally speaks up, sarcastically, "Kinda like what you just about did."

I choose to ignore the comment. "And yet, I cannot help but wonder. Has anyone ever tried to place a pineapple on a cloud? There are scientific rationales to explain why we haven't or shouldn't do anything, but I can think of one very good reason to try: it's never been done. For all we know, a pineapple does float on a cloud."

This time, the interruption is more pointed and thoughtful. "Why? What possible reason could you come up with that would make a pineapple float on a cloud?"

"Possibly because of some thus-far undiscovered reaction between pineapples and clouds or tropical fruits with specific types of clouds or any other such scientific near-impossibility. If my pineapple does float on that cloud, is it still impossible? What is impossible? How many times has someone told you that something is impossible that you know with absolute certainty they have never tried themself? Something that they have never seen done? How can we say something that has never been attempted is impossible? Why are we so quick to?" No answer.

"Perhaps there are just a very great many people who feel that life must have rules governing it in order for it to be meaningful, that it must be predictable, that we shouldn't have to test every single thing conceivable in order to believe it. Perhaps the world is full of people who honestly are convinced that there is no question that cannot be answered by reason, faith, or at least dumb luck without directly testing it. Perhaps the world is full of people who just don't care."

One of them almost speaks out, as if to refute what I'd said, then closes their mouth slowly. I stand, walking past them to the other side of the ledge, the cloud we'd climbed up through visible just below. Reaching behind me, I pull a full pineapple picked fresh that morning out of my pack. I lean down, holding it so that it just barely touches the top of the cloud.

"I would prefer to imagine a pineapple floating on a cloud, amidst dozens of other impossible things. I would prefer to dream."

I let go.