A dialogue on force fields

When a six-year-old interrupts you while you’re cooking to ask whether a force field can stop molten lava, you have some options to consider. Is it important to take this question seriously, or can I ignore it as the background chatter of a young person’s verbal incessancy? Should I take this as yet another chance to put my activities above his conversation, or should I engage my son as if he actually were a valued member of my family? I opted to answer seriously:

“I guess it depends how good your force field is. A cheap one from Wal-Mart probably wouldn’t hold up, but an expensive one might.”

“What about ten force fields?”

“Well, that seems like a bit of overkill, doesn’t it? I mean you usually don’t need more than three.”

“But what if a comet comes at me?”

“I guess in that case, it wouldn’t hurt to have ten.”

“Daddy, if I have ten force fields and someone shoots a giant missile at me, it wouldn’t even touch me.”

“Agreed. Is there anything else you need my advice about?”

“Nope. That’s it. Thanks. Will dinner be ready soon?”

“In just a few minutes.”