Nanoparticles cannot be seen as they are very, very tiny – this can be a cause for concern. When we can't see things, we think we can't control them but this doesn't mean that, by default, they are a menace. We can't see the air we breathe but we are not afraid of it! Nanotechnology is a way of finding out about systems, reactions and manufacturing capabilities at the nanoscale, it is as much about learning about the 'tiniverse' as it is about manipulating it.
Stretched to it's limit, the canvas was as taut as possible. He tied it off securely and moved into the bushes, leaning on the hedge, avoiding the nettles, to watch and wait; camera on standby, and bludgeon at the ready. The bludgeon was not to be used unless absolutely necessary – he wanted the beast alive, but he knew from previous missions that it could be dangerous. Tonight was the fifth time he'd set a trap, he was sure this one wouldn't fail.
Soon it came, he could hear the groaning, the crack of twigs. He could feel the chill in the air, the creatures presence. The canvas was straining, sharply bending the saplings it was fixed to. But still nothing was visible on the camera screen. For three hours he sat waiting, watching, catching nothing. What was he dealing with, why couldn't he see it? And why couldn't it be caught?
Wise old man Reds chuckled to himself as the boy explained his frustrating labours. He remembered his own childhood fears of things he couldn't explain. The 80 years between them sat in silence as they searched each others eyes, until the old man spoke:
“Son – you are brave and curious, you search for understanding. You must look to the sky and to your imagination for your answer, to the past and the future. You will never catch the omnipresent, but you are right to try – for it is the search that will reveal the question that can be answered.”