Book 1 – Meifeng retells the conversation in English which she heard in Mandarin from her grandmother, Qingling.
Qingling: How do you make things?
Zebracorn: I create things using my imagination.
Qingling: Can you tell me about your greatest creation??
Zebracorn: I created the cosmos (the universe). That’s why I’m sometimes called the “Cosmos-creating Zebracorn”.
Qingling: Can you tell me about your second greatest creation?
Zebracorn: I created a living cell which had the ability to recreate (duplicate) itself.
Qingling: Why don’t you create more things?
Zebracorn: I created things which create things. Wind creates ripples in the sand. The Sun creates light and heat. Rivers create valleys. Spiders create webs. People create tools and technology. I’m more interested in observing than interfering.
Qingling: Really? What other amazing things have you created?
Zebracorn: Not much. I spend most of my time flying around the stars and playing with other mystical creatures. (After a moment’s thought…) I sometimes create a god who chooses a person to become a prophet and together they create a religion.
Qingling: Is it true you sometimes eat those gods?
Zebracorn: Yes, after I eat a god, the god goes back into my imagination where it came from. That’s why I’m sometimes called the God-eating Cosmos-creating Zebracorn.
Qingling: Why do you sometimes eat gods?
Zebracorn: When a religion causes people to start a war or become terrorists, I usually eat the god of that religion and send the god back into my imagination. Even if a god stops talking to people, people can use their faith to believe their god still exists.
Qingling: Do living things always improve themselves?
Zebracorn: No, not always. Imagine a living cell duplicating itself to around 99% accuracy. That would mean about 1% of the new cell is different. Sometimes new life is better suited to the environment and survival and sometimes new life is not better suited. Life can progress in different directions and like a maze, some paths finish at a dead-end and other paths continue.