One such representation is “Hebbets”, a synthetic virus that infects the birds' brains. It is named in honor of Donald Hebb (Landau 2). Producing proteins that expand the number of connections amongst neuron cells, it increases the intelligence of the birds and subsequently the flocks. The virus does not destroy the cells that it infects, but their structure and function is changed. They can make more connections. The ability to make more connections has a positive affects on the survival of the flock. A second example of Kaplan and Hebb's influence is the “maya loop”, which is a fictitious example of Kaplan's cell assembly (Landau 19). “Maya loops” were a way of succinctly introducing the ideas of the internal representation and the convenient fiction without a great deal of explanation. Unlike the tour that we've just taken of the cell assembly and the internal representation, the reader of the story is given clues, which invite them to explore these definitions. Some of the clues are in the protagonist's notes about them and some are given in their name, “maya loops”. “Loops” conveys the image of a cyclical, neuron circuit, and maya is the Hindu notion of reality as if it were only a dream.

“The Flocking Party” brings varying images and concepts of neurobiology and aesthetics together, making new neurological connections between them. It is a work of fiction that reconfigures the connections between these internal representations of the world. In order to do so, it starts with examples that are familiar, activating well-learned representations. One of Steven Kaplan's mantras for conveying knowledge is “starting where they're at” (Kaplan, Cognition 184) Unlike my creative work before it, “The Flocking Party” earnestly seeks to do this by using recognizable examples that activate people's consciousness of their own internal representations.