I stand and look in awe at this little tiny cylinder. I can hold it, it is tame. My hand warms it, only on the outside. I want to see inside, like Alessandro Volta, but I can’t. It is hard to imagine what is going on inside there that is so powerful.

My hair stands on end as I think of the possibilities!
I can attach wires to it, or insert it between two metal objects, or even lick it and discover its secret. It makes things happen.

It can make sound, it can make light, it can make things vibrate or spin. Once things begin moving, they are hard to stop.

Until it ends.

You can try to return some of the energy back into the cylinder, but it will only be a fraction of its former self. It will never be the same, like a body after a shock. You can keep trying, until there is nothing left inside to accept that energy. Then, nothing you can do will bring it back to life. It is dead.

Yet it is still dangerous. It must never open. Not in life, nor death. It must remain whole, or it will contaminate everything.