old man looked bewildered—like he had Alzheimer’s, like he was hearing voices that no one else could hear, and seeing sights that no one else could see.
I studied the painting for several minutes, until I heard a
ding.
It was Pinak, IM-ing me.
PINAKC: Martin? Are you awake, you lazy goat?
JMARTINC: Yes. Are you getting ready for All Souls?
PINAKC: Yes. Have you heard from Manetti?
JMARTINC: No. Have you?
PINAKC: No. I tried to IM him, but I think he has me blocked.
JMARTINC: He’s gotta be mad. I can’t believe what they did to him.
PINAKC: Yes. And to his father.
JMARTINC: Unbelievable. Manetti gets all the blame, and Lowery gets none.
PINAKC: Are you surprised?
JMARTINC: No. Father Thomas isn’t going to mess with a legacy. He needs the money too much.
Neither of us had anything else to say about Manetti. Pinak changed the subject.
PINAKC: What are you doing? Studying old radios?
JMARTINC: No. I’m looking at Rembrandts right now, paintings from the All Souls Two-for-the-Price-of-One Collection.
PINAKC: LOL.
The Raising of Lazarus
?
JMARTINC: Uh-huh. Yeah. And that other one.
PINAKC:
Abraham and Isaac
? Yes. That’s a very powerful one.
JMARTINC: Isaac is the kid, right?
PINAKC: Right.
JMARTINC: Tell me, did Isaac know he was going to get murdered? Or sacrificed to God?
PINAKC: Oh no. He didn’t. In fact, Abraham made Isaac carry the wood up the mountain, telling him all along that they would be working together to sacrifice an animal.
JMARTINC: That’s so sick.
PINAKC: Yes, it is. So what does this have to do with radios?
JMARTINC: Nothing.
I decided to tell him the truth. Or part of it.
JMARTINC: I saw the painting in a dream. What do you think of that?
PINAKC: I think it must have been a disturbing dream.
JMARTINC: It was. Tell me, how could I dream about things that I’ve never heard of before?
PINAKC: But you have heard of that painting. You have seen it many times.
JMARTINC: I know. I’m talking about other things in the dream. Some of them were things, like historic facts, that I could never have known about.
PINAKC: Like what?
I unfolded my sheet of paper.
JMARTINC: Like the fact that the Arsenal Football Club won a match at White Hart Lane in September 1940.
PINAKC: The Arsenal Football Club?
JMARTINC: British football. Soccer.
PINAKC: Yes. I am aware of football/soccer. It is the biggest sport in the world. Of course I have heard of it, and you have heard of it, too.
JMARTINC: A little. But I’ve never heard of Arsenal.
PINAKC: You have. You just don’t remember. Arsenal is a very popular team, like the New York Yankees in baseball.
JMARTINC: No. I’ve heard about the New York Yankees. I know they wear pinstripe uniforms, and they play in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. But there is no way I could know any details about this Arsenal club. Especially not in 1940.
PINAKC: All right. So what is your alternate explanation?
JMARTINC: Time travel.
PINAKC: LOL.
I typed: “I’m not kidding,” but I did not send it. I erased it and sent:
JMARTINC: Do you know anything about time travel?
PINAKC: Only this: Einstein theorized that you could look back in time. You could look, but you could not touch. You could hear and see people, but they couldn’t hear or see you.
JMARTINC: That’s what Einstein thought, but what do you think?
PINAKC: I do not believe that time travel is possible. But who knows? Who would have thought that right after breakfast, I’d be online playing backgammon with a man in Australia? For him, it was already tomorrow. He was in another time.
JMARTINC: That’s just a time zone.
PINAKC: Ah! Here we go! Listen, Martin: While we have been chatting, I was also doing a Web search for the Arsenal Football Club. Here is the club history: Their home field, beginning in 1913 and until very recently, was a place called Highbury.
JMARTINC: Highbury? Not White Hart Lane?
PINAKC: No. It was clearly Highbury in the year 1940. I’ll send you
I studied the painting for several minutes, until I heard a
ding.
It was Pinak, IM-ing me.
PINAKC: Martin? Are you awake, you lazy goat?
JMARTINC: Yes. Are you getting ready for All Souls?
PINAKC: Yes. Have you heard from Manetti?
JMARTINC: No. Have you?
PINAKC: No. I tried to IM him, but I think he has me blocked.
JMARTINC: He’s gotta be mad. I can’t believe what they did to him.
PINAKC: Yes. And to his father.
JMARTINC: Unbelievable. Manetti gets all the blame, and Lowery gets none.
PINAKC: Are you surprised?
JMARTINC: No. Father Thomas isn’t going to mess with a legacy. He needs the money too much.
Neither of us had anything else to say about Manetti. Pinak changed the subject.
PINAKC: What are you doing? Studying old radios?
JMARTINC: No. I’m looking at Rembrandts right now, paintings from the All Souls Two-for-the-Price-of-One Collection.
PINAKC: LOL.
The Raising of Lazarus
?
JMARTINC: Uh-huh. Yeah. And that other one.
PINAKC:
Abraham and Isaac
? Yes. That’s a very powerful one.
JMARTINC: Isaac is the kid, right?
PINAKC: Right.
JMARTINC: Tell me, did Isaac know he was going to get murdered? Or sacrificed to God?
PINAKC: Oh no. He didn’t. In fact, Abraham made Isaac carry the wood up the mountain, telling him all along that they would be working together to sacrifice an animal.
JMARTINC: That’s so sick.
PINAKC: Yes, it is. So what does this have to do with radios?
JMARTINC: Nothing.
I decided to tell him the truth. Or part of it.
JMARTINC: I saw the painting in a dream. What do you think of that?
PINAKC: I think it must have been a disturbing dream.
JMARTINC: It was. Tell me, how could I dream about things that I’ve never heard of before?
PINAKC: But you have heard of that painting. You have seen it many times.
JMARTINC: I know. I’m talking about other things in the dream. Some of them were things, like historic facts, that I could never have known about.
PINAKC: Like what?
I unfolded my sheet of paper.
JMARTINC: Like the fact that the Arsenal Football Club won a match at White Hart Lane in September 1940.
PINAKC: The Arsenal Football Club?
JMARTINC: British football. Soccer.
PINAKC: Yes. I am aware of football/soccer. It is the biggest sport in the world. Of course I have heard of it, and you have heard of it, too.
JMARTINC: A little. But I’ve never heard of Arsenal.
PINAKC: You have. You just don’t remember. Arsenal is a very popular team, like the New York Yankees in baseball.
JMARTINC: No. I’ve heard about the New York Yankees. I know they wear pinstripe uniforms, and they play in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. But there is no way I could know any details about this Arsenal club. Especially not in 1940.
PINAKC: All right. So what is your alternate explanation?
JMARTINC: Time travel.
PINAKC: LOL.
I typed: “I’m not kidding,” but I did not send it. I erased it and sent:
JMARTINC: Do you know anything about time travel?
PINAKC: Only this: Einstein theorized that you could look back in time. You could look, but you could not touch. You could hear and see people, but they couldn’t hear or see you.
JMARTINC: That’s what Einstein thought, but what do you think?
PINAKC: I do not believe that time travel is possible. But who knows? Who would have thought that right after breakfast, I’d be online playing backgammon with a man in Australia? For him, it was already tomorrow. He was in another time.
JMARTINC: That’s just a time zone.
PINAKC: Ah! Here we go! Listen, Martin: While we have been chatting, I was also doing a Web search for the Arsenal Football Club. Here is the club history: Their home field, beginning in 1913 and until very recently, was a place called Highbury.
JMARTINC: Highbury? Not White Hart Lane?
PINAKC: No. It was clearly Highbury in the year 1940. I’ll send you
Similar Books
