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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

to have it or not have it


by nick nelson




the most beautiful woman in the world was waiting for the richest man in the world to show up in his long black limousine.

finally, as the sun was rising over the tallest buildings in the world in the largest city in the world, he arrived.

i am sorry i am late, the man, whom we will call rm-1, said, as the limousine pulled away from the curb. it would usually then head for an elaborately furnished cabin beside the most sparkling lake in the world, in the greenest forest in the world.

the woman, whom we will call bw-1, answered politely, i am sure you had a good reason, as she settled into the back seat of the limousine.

i had a very good reason, rm-1 replied. too good a reason, i am afraid.

and what is that supposed to mean?

look here, do you mind if we cancelled our little rendezvous? i am afraid i am in no mood for it.

that is up to you, bw-1 answered. though i must say it is not like you.


something came up at the meeting this morning.

the meeting? what meeting was that?

oh, just the regular monthly meeting of those of us who run the world - i should say, those of us who are seen as running the world.

and what did you who run the world have to say for yourselves this morning?

it was not what we had to say, it was what was said to us - told to us, by - by the real rulers of the world.


bw-1 looked out the window. she realized they were not heading for the city limits, but were driving in a circle around the block.

so what happened next? bw-1 asked.

rm-1 took a deep breath. to get right to the point, starting next week the world is going to be shut down.

oh? what does that mean?

it means that the people - the entities - the creatures, whatever you want to call them, who have been ruling the earth for millions of years, have decided to take what they want from it, and then blow it up.


blow it up! that does not sound very helpful. but what is it that they are going to take? and where?

where? i couldn’t really say. some other planet, i guess, or some other dimension.

are they taking any people?

some people, yes, apparently.

bw-1 relaxed. well then, we should be all right. i mean, i am the most beautiful woman in the world and you are the richest man in the world, so if they don’t take us, who are they going to take?


well, you see, they don’t really care about things like that. they have their own priorities.

oh?

the only thing they care about is yp-9. that’s our name for it, we don’t really know what they call it, or if they call anything anything.

and what is yp-9? this is like breaking rocks, bw-1 thought, but kept her tone polite.


we don’t know, rm-1 sighed. we have had our best detectives, like mr holmes, and our best scientists, like professor newton, on the case, but all we know is that some humans, and some other animals or plants, have it, but most don’t. some humans have it, some monkeys that live in eritrea, some kind of moths in the hills in pakistan, i can’t think of the others.

and you don’t know which humans have it?

no, just that you either have it or you don’t.

bw-1 fell silent. after a while she said, and then they are going to blow up the world?


yes, or the solar system, or the universe or whatever, i am not too clear on that. they have something , have always had something, in the center of the earth, they just push a button and there you go.

it doesn’t seen fair.

no, it doesn’t.

after all the hard work i put in, getting where i am.

i feel the same way, rm-1 said.

the limo stopped. they were back where they had started. i will let you off here, rm-1 told bw-1. i have a few things i want to clear up.

bw-1 put her hand on the door. and all this is going to happen when?


starting next tuesday, probably.

well, good luck.

good luck to you, too.

bw-1 got out of the limo and it sped away.

the sun was shining, it was a beautiful day. people flowed over the streets like fish in a tank.

she took out her phone. she decided to call rm-2, the second richest man in the world, and hear what he had to say.



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