You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins bent gently into the flow. They smelled like musk in your hands. Polished, muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculated patterns that were maps of the world in its making. Maps and mazes. Of something that couldn't be put back. Not to be put back. In the deep valleys where they lived all things were older than man and hummed with mystery. (McCarthy)This quote from the father talks about nature. It's about how the world is and the fact that once it's changed you can't put it back together the way it was before. The father says that many of the things that live alongside humans have existed longer. Realizing that what has been done to nature is a good sign, but as he said it cannot be returned to the state it was in before the nuclear winter. Another thought not only in this book but in real life. People may realize and see the changes they have made but, once the changes are evident, it is already too late to do things