If an ichthyologist were to put this parasitic sea lamprey on your arm, with its disc-shaped, suction-cup mouth ringed with sharp, keratinous teeth, would you scream? What if it were dead, and yet you could still feel a slow suction on your skin? What then? Maybe it would be scary. The rough tongue of this efficient killer could rasp away your flesh to feed on your blood. Or maybe it could be greatest day of your life.

10.30.21