Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!

This paradoxical bit of advice from the Red Queen describes a world where constant effort barely maintains one's position, let alone advances it. To move forward at all, twice the usual speed is required — a vivid image of exhausting, ever-accelerating motion just to stand still.

Context reviewed 23 September 2026