Gulliver
I believe so…
Lady Monodi
I'm sure Gulliver would like to see what goes on in our great Academy…
Gulliver narrator
I was indeed interested to see what went on in the Academy but equally, I was glad to spend more time in the company of Lady Monodi. She was a delightful companion, not ignorant as the King had described her.
Gulliver
Do you visit Lagado often?
Lady Monodi
My husband Lord Monodi spends all his time reading astronomy books and thinking… I get so bored on Laputa… You know, my husband won't even notice I'm gone.
Gulliver
Really?
Lady Monodi
Yes, I prefer it here in Lagado, even though life down here is hard and most people are very poor. It's infinitely preferable to a life of abstract thinking… Don't you think?
Gulliver narrator
I wondered if Lady Monodi was secretly making plans for me… I knew I would have to get away before I fell for her completely. But first, as a doctor, I was keen to see the famous Academy and meet the scientists working there.
Lady Monodi
I'm sure you won't have seen any inventions before like the ones here. They are quite at the cutting edge of science…
Gulliver narrator
Lady Monodi was right. I was totally unprepared for what I was to find.
Lady Monodi
Interesting experiment going on here…
Gulliver narrator
The room we entered had a huge pile of cucumbers in the middle. A woman covered in soot and with scorched hair was holding half a cucumber in her hand. The other blackened half, was on the floor.
Gulliver
And what is your project?
Scientist B
Ah… well, I am extracting sunbeams from cucumbers…
Gulliver
I'm sorry…? Did you say "extracting sunbeams … from… cucumbers"?