What is the significance of the ammonite shell that B gives to Jared? I know it represents the community of life, but why the shell? Is the drawing on the cover of the novel the living ammonite?

The fossil in the story represents the community of life only by agreement between Shirin and Jared. A tin can could have been used to represent the community of life—by agreement. In other words the fossil is not inherent symbolic of the community of life. The drawing on the cover is of a fossil ammonite.

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