Deep beneath the great encircling seas of the Discworld1 lived a species of hyper-intelligent fish. As is known the Discworld is ruled by Magic, but the salt in the seas shorted out that magic. A small amount dissolved in the waters, and resulted in the development of the high intelligence in those fish. However, cut off from the Magic which bathed the rest of the world, their view of the world was a materialist one, one in which they tried to discover the laws of matter which governed their universe.