them.”
“Not
to me, I hope?” Wolanski enquired.
“Of
course not,” Isaac smiled. “Although you’re capable of buying, I’m not here to
sell you anything…”
“Well,
that’s splendid,” Peter put in.
“The
reason for my coming Peter…May I call you Peter?” Peter nodded.
“Is
to invite you to join a recently formed, let’s say… scientific society.”
“A
scientific society? Interesting especially in times like these. What society is
that?”
“Obviously
you’re not a Happy,” said Isaac, testing the waters. “They never show so much
curiosity.”
Peter’s
face wrinkled up slightly in a grimace of obvious revulsion.
“Of
course I’m not a Happy. I don’t have much faith in that piece of wishful
thinking. And apart from that, it was a condition of my father’s will that no
one in the Wolanski family should become a downloader. Not to mention that it’s
also the fundamental condition of my inheritance,” Peter smiled ironically.
“I’m
no fan of COMA either, although my rating is as much as 28015 HIT.”
“How
much?” Peter asked in amazement. In fact Isaac’s rating was more than twice as
high, but he had named the specific figure that was Peter’s level.
“Twenty-eight
thousand and fifteen,” Isaac rapped out, articulating each figure distinctly.
“Incredible…
How did you find out my rating?”
“Ah,
this guy’s no fool,” Isaac thought to himself. “No wonder he’s a leader. No
smokescreen for long with someone like this, better to try speaking more
openly, or else he would sense a lie or a trick, wouldn’t believe and might
even hand you over to the police.”
“Information
came my way…” Isaac paused significantly, “from a very reliable source.”
“What
information? How?”
Isaac
wondered whether to tell him or not. There was a pause.
“Okay,
all right. You don’t have to tell me. For now. Perhaps I don’t want to know
anything about it.” Peter thought for a moment and added: “But since you’re
here on a personal matter, and this is the first time I’ve seen you, I don’t
promise to answer questions either.”
This
made Isaac feel a little uneasy, his thoughts scattering.
“I’ve
read your student blog. I must say, you’re not very fond of COMA. And I’m
planning to go and download, so I decided to get some advice from people who
are well up on this,” Isaac lied.
“Rubbish!
For that you can log into the internet without ever leaving home. Good bye.”
“Wait!
I’ve invented this,” said Isaac, changing the subject and putting the V-Rain on
the table. “Turn on the lawn sprinkler and you’ll see how it works.”
“We’ll
get soaked.”
“I
don’t think so,” Isaac responded with a smile.
Peter
took a remote control out of his pocket and turned on the sprinkler. Isaac
neatly pressed the “on” button, and not a single drop fell on them or the table
between them.
“Some
gadget! That’s really cool.” Peter was impressed.
“The
range of action without increasing the size of the device is four meters, from
four to five meters away ten per cent of the drops get through.”
“Yes,
any restaurant would pay a heap of money for that gismo, it would let them keep
the same number of tables out during a rainy spell.”
Now
it was Isaac’s turn to sit there open-mouthed. Well done, Peter. Until this
moment it hadn’t even occurred to Isaac to sell the device to restaurants.
“You’re
right. You and I have just demonstrated the possibility of collective intellect
without any downloading of energy.”
“Isaac,
do you want to hear me say that I don’t like COMA? Well, I don’t. What else?’
“No,
Peter, I want to know just how much you dislike COMA.”
“I
dislike it very much.”
“And
I hate it fiercely. And that is the purpose of my visit.”
“I
don’t feel fierce hatred, but I sense that this whole business will end badly.”
“Perhaps
very badly indeed. It’s an epidemic. And epidemics have
“Not
to me, I hope?” Wolanski enquired.
“Of
course not,” Isaac smiled. “Although you’re capable of buying, I’m not here to
sell you anything…”
“Well,
that’s splendid,” Peter put in.
“The
reason for my coming Peter…May I call you Peter?” Peter nodded.
“Is
to invite you to join a recently formed, let’s say… scientific society.”
“A
scientific society? Interesting especially in times like these. What society is
that?”
“Obviously
you’re not a Happy,” said Isaac, testing the waters. “They never show so much
curiosity.”
Peter’s
face wrinkled up slightly in a grimace of obvious revulsion.
“Of
course I’m not a Happy. I don’t have much faith in that piece of wishful
thinking. And apart from that, it was a condition of my father’s will that no
one in the Wolanski family should become a downloader. Not to mention that it’s
also the fundamental condition of my inheritance,” Peter smiled ironically.
“I’m
no fan of COMA either, although my rating is as much as 28015 HIT.”
“How
much?” Peter asked in amazement. In fact Isaac’s rating was more than twice as
high, but he had named the specific figure that was Peter’s level.
“Twenty-eight
thousand and fifteen,” Isaac rapped out, articulating each figure distinctly.
“Incredible…
How did you find out my rating?”
“Ah,
this guy’s no fool,” Isaac thought to himself. “No wonder he’s a leader. No
smokescreen for long with someone like this, better to try speaking more
openly, or else he would sense a lie or a trick, wouldn’t believe and might
even hand you over to the police.”
“Information
came my way…” Isaac paused significantly, “from a very reliable source.”
“What
information? How?”
Isaac
wondered whether to tell him or not. There was a pause.
“Okay,
all right. You don’t have to tell me. For now. Perhaps I don’t want to know
anything about it.” Peter thought for a moment and added: “But since you’re
here on a personal matter, and this is the first time I’ve seen you, I don’t
promise to answer questions either.”
This
made Isaac feel a little uneasy, his thoughts scattering.
“I’ve
read your student blog. I must say, you’re not very fond of COMA. And I’m
planning to go and download, so I decided to get some advice from people who
are well up on this,” Isaac lied.
“Rubbish!
For that you can log into the internet without ever leaving home. Good bye.”
“Wait!
I’ve invented this,” said Isaac, changing the subject and putting the V-Rain on
the table. “Turn on the lawn sprinkler and you’ll see how it works.”
“We’ll
get soaked.”
“I
don’t think so,” Isaac responded with a smile.
Peter
took a remote control out of his pocket and turned on the sprinkler. Isaac
neatly pressed the “on” button, and not a single drop fell on them or the table
between them.
“Some
gadget! That’s really cool.” Peter was impressed.
“The
range of action without increasing the size of the device is four meters, from
four to five meters away ten per cent of the drops get through.”
“Yes,
any restaurant would pay a heap of money for that gismo, it would let them keep
the same number of tables out during a rainy spell.”
Now
it was Isaac’s turn to sit there open-mouthed. Well done, Peter. Until this
moment it hadn’t even occurred to Isaac to sell the device to restaurants.
“You’re
right. You and I have just demonstrated the possibility of collective intellect
without any downloading of energy.”
“Isaac,
do you want to hear me say that I don’t like COMA? Well, I don’t. What else?’
“No,
Peter, I want to know just how much you dislike COMA.”
“I
dislike it very much.”
“And
I hate it fiercely. And that is the purpose of my visit.”
“I
don’t feel fierce hatred, but I sense that this whole business will end badly.”
“Perhaps
very badly indeed. It’s an epidemic. And epidemics have
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