Coffee by gren blackall Page A

minutes to reflect a big swing in
prices, way too late to do anything about it.”
    “Impressive,”
Etty said sincerely. Although her thoughts were dominated by escape
planning, she couldn’t help being interested. “You have
more rooms like this?”
    “Oh
yes. Two more, and one of them is about twice this size - the one
that ties into the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. There they trade
grains such as Corn, Soy, Wheat, on and on. The CSCE is only a
fraction the size of the ‘Merk.’”
    “Must
be high burn out.”
    “Good
point, this is an issue for us.” With a peppy stride, she
returned to the hallway. “Follow me, I’ll show you our
lounge and quiet rooms.”
    At
the end of the corridor, a large recreation room looked like the
front lobby of an expensive health club. Ahead were large picture
windows facing south. On the right, comfortable chairs, two TV’s,
racks of newspapers, a little library. On the left, a food bar for
sandwiches, juices, coffee. Marion opened a set of doors near the
entrance. “You have to see the quiet rooms, they’re
something else.”
    On
both sides of a short hallway were two odd looking doors, thick with
big handles and small cloudy windows for peering in. “These
are completely sound proof.” Marion opened one, and Etty
could tell by the ‘frumping’ sound that it was tight
fitting. Marion gestured her in. “You turn this wheel here,
throw this switch, wait about three minutes, and viola -
absolute quiet.” The room had a small bed, a TV, a little
fridge, and a sink. “It’s a vacuum lock. Once
activated, the room is entirely surrounded by a near perfect vacuum,
probably the best sound barrier possible.”
    “Seems
claustrophobic to me,” Etty said, reminded of her prison cell.
    Marion
bubbled on. “It’s a great place to unwind. You can
close the little window on the door, and have total peace in here.
Traders come to get regenerated. You can even scream your head off
about anything or anyone, and no one will know.”
    Etty
looked at Marion’s unusually animated expressions, and
wondered. “So, Marion, have you ever come in here with a man
and screamed your head off?” Marion immediately blushed and
pulled back to leave. ‘Bingo,’ Etty thought to herself,
‘no wonder you like them so much.’
    Back
to the elevators, Marion returned to her more mechanical self.
“Next, we go to the second floor. This has the main entrance,
and our Library.”
    “What’s
on the first floor?”
    “Just
hallways and storage rooms. Nothing worth seeing.” Images
popped into Etty’s mind of torture chambers and mad scientists
mixing colorful liquids in elaborate tubing.
    The
elevator ride took seconds, leaving them back on the formal lobby
area. Marion led the way to a beautifully decorated Library. Puffy
leather chairs, cozy nooks for reading, a soft quiet in the air.
“Although printed journals still get some attention, most
research is now done by computer. We have an extensive CD Rom
library, and a set of five CD juke boxes that can each hold 250
CD’s. The little rooms along this wall have computer access,
and offer a little privacy.”
    Etty
peered through the glass into one of the rooms. A PC and laser jet
printer sat on top of a shelf-like desk. Marion continued,
“McKinsey has a real thing for up to date equipment. He
changes the computers in here about twice a year. We always have
the fastest processors on the market.” Marion looked at Etty,
“So this is where you will do your work?”
    The
question surprised her, since she’d forgotten the tour was
really a ‘new job’ orientation. She made a courtesy
smile, “Yes, I guess so.”
    Marion
relaxed her shoulders a bit, and faced Etty. “So, now what.
You want some food? Go shopping?”
    “Shopping.
I need a few things. This suit is terrible, I need some shoes, and
I don’t have anything casual that isn’t filled with
holes.”
    “You
got it.” Marion allowed Etty to lead the way. Etty turned in
her