A man named Sapers is living in a nameless city in an apartment. He spends his time studying various extinct mammals since living creatures give him asthma and dinosaurs have been overdone. Sapers has mainly been reading the work of a scientist named Markman. Sapers disagrees with Markman’s negative characterization of these various animal species. His wife calls him and tells him about her day and her various worries, including her daughter failing her math exam. She tells Sapers that, some days, if she had a gun she would shoot herself. Sapers thinks to himself that his wife does not love him anymore. Sapers then gets a call from his mistress who also tells him about her day and her various worries, including the fear that Sapers will return to his wife. Sapers asks why she does not consider finding a younger lover like herself, but she insists that she loves Sapers. Sapers then receives a call from his wife who had tried to call him twice while he was on the phone with his mistress. She informs him of the family dog’s deteriorating health and that she thinks they should put the dog down. Sapers’ daughter gets on the phone and she agrees with Sapers that they should not put the dog down. Sapers then receives a call from his mother who wishes that he would return to his family. After Sapers hangs up, he thinks about the insight that can be gained from fossilized feet.