The Zero Discovery
Zero did not like its name or the way it was written because it looked like this, 0. All the other numbers, from one to nine, were happy because they all counted for something but zero was not happy; it felt empty in its middle. Was zero really a nothing?
One could see zero was sad, so one invited zero over, saying, “Come stand by me.”
When zero went to stand next to one, a great cheer went up. The other numbers said happily, “When you accompany one, you are not zero but part of gen!” Then, all the other numbers wanted to stand next to zero, and zero felt better.
Still, zero was uncertain. It asked one, two, and three, “Why is it that when I am alone, I feel like nothing?” All the numbers looked at each other and didn’t know what to say.
Time went along. Then, on a sunny March morning, One asked zero, “Can you do me a favor?”
Zero said, “Certainly, I’d be glad to help.”
One said, “Great, just stay here in my place for a little while.” Zero did an excellent job waiting there, occupying the space.
Soon, everybody knew how helpful zero was. They said, “You make us larger when you stand next to us, and you’re a perfect placeholder, too.”
Zero was grateful, to be sure, for the compliments, but zero still felt like nothing.
The hands on the clock went around many times until, late on a Tuesday evening, while zero was place holding for five, a comma (,) came to its side. Zero thought, perhaps comma can tell me what one, two, and the others could not? So, zero spoke with comma saying, “I may be nothing, but I want to be useful and content. Might there be some additional work for me to do?”
Comma replied, “What? You’re asking about additional work? Zero, my dear zero, do you not know, have you not heard? You have a huge, huge job. You have an important job that one, two, and all the rest cannot possibly do. Its time you were told, you are neither empty nor nothing.”
“What are you saying” asked zero, “How can you say I have a huge important job, just look at me, I’m empty.”
“My friend, listen to what I say. The absence of something is never nothing. Nothing does not exist. The absence of something is potential, so you are potential. You’re not empty, you’re full of Endless Potential!”
Zero swelled at its radius with gratitude, and tears of happiness rolled down its circumference. That night, zero went to sleep, repeating over and over again, “I’m full of Endless Potential, I’m full of Endless Potential.”
When morning arrived, and while the rooster was still telling himself that he was the most important rooster in the whole neighborhood, Endless Potential said to one, two, and three, “What a wonderful day it is! I’m truly happy to make others larger, to hold their place when they need me, and most of all, I can now tell everyone that they can never be nothing because, like me, they’re full of endless potential!”
The End.