There are about 90 million dogs in the world, and each and every one of them, no matter how pampered or puny, is descended from the wolf. Diamond-hard shards of inherited violence sparkle in their blood. But humans, so far as I know, are the only species to mechanize killing. Medieval soldiers hurled plague-ridden corpses by catapult over the walls of a besieged town. Now remote-controlled drones fire missiles. Different delivery systems but the same story. We kill because we feel we must. We kill because we’re good at it. Up the road in Eastham, a couple were walking their dog on Bee’s River when they broke through the ice. The woman drowned. The man is missing and presumed dead. Only the dog made it back to shore. It’s a tragedy. Everyone says so.