Doc's Place

Chapter 12 | Part 7

Monday, October 8, 1984

Float in a mid-level state, warm and peaceful. The pain is still there but it simply doesn't matter. When I feel like waking fully, I open my eyes and sit up slowly.

Soji helps me with a bathroom visit, gives me a sponge bath and helps me dress in fresh sweats. As he helps me sit once more, I kiss him on the cheek and he kisses me on the forehead.

See Lloyd sitting in front of the fireplace, watching me. "Hello, Lloyd."

"You have an interesting relationship with your male nurse," says Lloyd. "You also have a rainbow assortment of bruises to go with your wounds, Jill."

My eyes settle on hers for a while. Lloyd is a calm, quiet woman, not given to unnecessary gestures, all of which I like. "Take notes, Lloyd." Once she gathers paper and pen, I talk about the calls with Peter, Dick, Liz and Louise. I also give a brief summary of the previous week'my first week at Doc's Place'as well as a synopsis of Peter's open and hidden objectives.

Lloyd shakes her head and raises her eyes to mine when I've finished. "Quite a story," she says. "You're like a samurai from sixteenth-century Japan transported through time and space into the management of a twentieth-century casino."

That is an interesting metaphor. In that case, Peter Marriott is my lord and master for the next eighteen months, after which I will return to my ronin status. "How do you know about samurai, Lloyd?"

"Ten years with a Navy detachment at Misawa Air Force Base in the northern end of Honshu. My hubby and I enrolled in Japanese language courses and traveled a lot before he died. It was my last tour of duty before retiring with my thirty."

"I joined the Air Force in '71 and served at Misawa from '72 to March of '75. Small world, uh?"

"No kidding," says Lloyd. "I arrived there in June of '74. We were there at the same time'for seven months. I worked flight ops."

"Did you know a black E-5 named Calhoun? He probably received his promotion, his commendation medal and Purple Heart after you arrived."

Lloyd's mouth drops open. "Staff Sergeant Calhoun worked in my hangar. You knew him?"

"Not real well but we crossed paths more than once."

Where did you work, Jill?"

"The hill." My two words suddenly transport us worlds apart even though we had worked a few miles from one another at the same time. I had worked in the clandestine world of top-secret signal intelligence.

"So you're a Viet Nam era veteran as well." She looks at me, seeming to adjust her evaluation.

Don't want to go there. "Let's try out those new headphones, Lloyd."

She fetches them from the counter and holds them up to show me. When I point to a small headband, she removes it from the package and steps toward me when suddenly my nurse intervenes. Lloyd glances at me. When I nod, she hands it to Soji, who gently places it on my head, adjusting the ear and mouthpieces as she plugs it into the telephone.

Glance at the clock and see it's four so I dial up Doc's and ask for Morty as they watch me. Kelly answers so I ask her who manages the guns and other museum pieces. She says Sam Bowles manages the collection. Sam works for Paul Manookian in Marketing. Thank her for the information and ask if Paul is available. Give Lloyd and Soji a thumbs-up so they leave me to my phone calls.

Kelly explains that Paul is behind closed doors with Phil, Kerry and Max at the moment. She puts me on conference call with Morty and Glenn in Glenn's office. I chat with the guys for a half-hour without getting exhausted.

"This works fine," I proclaim to Soji and Lloyd. Ask Lloyd to install another one in the study.

"You are pleased?" asks Soji, cutting fresh vegetables at the counter as Lloyd types notes.

"Yes I am."

"Good," he says, "Tomorrow we extend therapy sessions by ten minutes and begin two sessions a day."

That removes the smile from my face. My morning therapy session was painful and exhausting.

Soji smiles and Lloyd chuckles. When she sees my look, she says, "Physical therapy is a love-hate relationship, Jill. Is this the first time you've been physically injured?"

"No."

She and Soji exchange glances. "Think she's ready, Soji?"

"Jill is samurai," he explains with wicked laugh. "Samurai recover quickly."

Look at Soji. I had never suspected before now that he could joke, let alone tease.

"You're right," says Lloyd, walking to the refrigerator. She pours herself a cup of coffee. "A samurai looks forward to two therapy sessions a day."

"I hired you two to help during my recovery, not to do stand-up comedy."

"No extra charge," says Soji with a smile.

"Laughter is the best medicine," adds Lloyd.

They share a low five over that one.

The phone rings. I press the button. "What?"

"You must be feeling better," says Don. "Starting to sound like your old asshole self already."

"Hello Don."

"More news: be there in about twenty minutes." He hangs up.

"Soji," I call out. "Put on another place for dinner, please. Company's coming."

Call Doc's again and ask for Paul Manookian. When Annette puts me through, I tell him that I'd like to get Sam Bowles to escort the photographers around while they shoot the casino interior and selected museum pieces.

"Sam's busy," says Paul. "Maybe you should find someone else."

"I want Sam."

"Okay, call him but please limit this to no more than a couple hours this morning. Sam's busy right now."

"Thanks." I hang up and call Annette back. "I need to speak with Sam Bowles, Annette."

"Just a moment," she says. "He is standing right here."

"This is Sam Bowles."

"Hello, Sam. This is Jill Price. I just started at Doc's as Communications Manager. May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Hello Jill," says Sam. "I've heard about you. What do you need?"

"I need you to escort the photographers around the club and the museum pieces."

"I'm pretty busy right now, Jill. Have you spoken to Paul?"

"Yep. He told me I could have you all day. Probably take about two weeks."

"Really. Starting when?"

"Tomorrow. Is ten okay with you?"

"Sure, the pay's the same no matter what I'm doing. Who did you hire, Jill?"

"A Pair of Aces. Know them?"

"Oh yeah, those two are pros. I've worked with `em. What are we shootin'?"

"Nickelodeons and whatever catches their eye. They know what I want."

"We have one finished up in the foyer of the restaurant."

"Yeah, I saw it. That one too, Sam, but I want to start with a work in progress."

"Tell `em to meet me at the Galeti warehouse at ten, okay?"

"Thanks, Sam." Disconnect and call the Aces.

Penny agrees to the shoot tomorrow. We discuss cover shots, inside page spreads and a few details. Disconnect and dial Peter.

"Dinner in ten minutes," says Soji. "I need time to help you wash up."

"Be ready in two minutes," I tell him.

"Peter Marriott's office."

"Stephanie. It's Jill."

"Jill, how are you?"

"Still meaner'n a snake, Stephanie. May I speak with Peter?"

"Yes?" says Peter immediately.

"Hello, Peter. Would you call Paul for me?"

"Why?"

"He says Sam Bowles is available only two hours tomorrow. I need Sam to escort photographers for probably two weeks, eight hours a day."

"Sam is preparing for a museum opening immediately post-remodel. He's on a tight schedule."

"So?"

"So, give a little," says Peter.

"Look, Sam will get used to working with the Aces quickly. He's worked with them before and likes them. He'll start ignoring them and working on his own stuff by the first afternoon."

"That's not giving a little. That still obligates Sam for two weeks."

"We're standing knee-deep in the revenue stream here, Peter. You're fretting about two weeks' drain on what is essentially a cost center."

He pauses for a moment, and says, "You're right. I'll call Paul. How is your recovery progressing, Jill?"

"Have a good evening, Peter."

"Good night," he says, and hangs up.

"Ready to wash up," I tell Soji.

He has me halfway to the bathroom when the doorbell rings. Soji glances at Lloyd, but she ignores it as instructed, continuing to read the page she typed. He takes me to the bathroom and gets me settled, places the Colt M1911A within easy reach on the bathroom counter and steps out, locking the door behind.

In a minute, Soji returns, unlocks the door and helps me finish cleaning up. Then he helps me out to the chair again.

Don takes one hand and helps me as well. Once I'm seated, the Colt at my side, Soji steps away. "So, how's the pain, Jill?" asks Don, sitting beside me.

"What pain?"

He shakes his head. "Always a hard ass, Price." He sits back as Lloyd places a TV tray with a plate of food in front of him.

"Thank you, Lloyd," he says.

"Ah, you two met."

"Yes," says Lloyd, "Detective Locaccio tells me you are lucky to be alive, Jill. I don't mean to sound insensitive about the agents who died, but Don said that the assassin fired over fifty rounds at you and hit you only twice."

"Said she was aiming at my voice because it was too dark to see anything but silhouettes," I say.

"She? You mean your assassin was a woman?" asks Lloyd.

"Yes."

"How did you know she was aiming at your voice?' asks Don.

"She told me."

Don looks at me, stupefied. "When? Where?"

"Yesterday afternoon, after you took Bruno to the airport. She was sitting where I am right now," I tell him, putting a forkful of salad in my mouth and chewing as I watch him.

"She killed Jack."

"She killed a lot of people. I told you to let her go, Don. She's a pro, hired by others, remember?"

Don looks at his plate, then sits back and looks at the ceiling.

"Besides, I like her."

He releases a ragged sigh. "You like her," he says, shaking his head.

"That makes sense," says Lloyd.

"Yes," says Soji, glancing at Lloyd.

Don leans forward, closes his eyes for a moment, then looks at me and says, "The feds arrested the old man's nephew for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Your friend, the shooter, gave them enough leverage to force the minions to rat out the top man." Opening his eyes, he looks at me. "The old man sent you a message."

Hmm. The old man says something to some agent in New Jersey, who delivers the message to Don. "What's the message?"

"Tell her to enjoy life because I'll be waiting for her in hell."

A chill runs up my spine at hearing that one pair of words: enjoy life. He wants me to relax, so he is not giving up. He has called in favors and sent another shooter after me. Only this one won't be a seasoned veteran like the old dame I met yesterday. This one will be a young risk-taker, eager to take down a big target. I wonder if my Brit shooter did have an American understudy.

"Let me guess," says Don. "You feel for the old bastard."

"I do," says Lloyd. "How sad to be so proud and have it come to nothing."

Still looking at Don, I say, "Enjoy life. That's good advice."

"What about the last part?"

"His pride finds refuge in his faith."

Soji nods to himself at that but says nothing.

"You mind explaining that for me?" asks Don.

"Alright, Don I will. The old man's belief in hell comes from his belief in heaven, which comes from his faith in God. This same faith condemns him to hell for what he perceives as his evil acts on earth."

"I follow you. He will wait for you in hell because he believes that you will go there too."

"Right. He expended all of his resources seeking revenge because I defied him a few months ago."

"So he tells you he will avenge your insult to his pride someplace that exists only in his faith," says Don.

"Reminds me of something I memorized in high school about Christianity being `the one great instinct for revenge'," says Lloyd.

"Nietzsche's conclusion to The Antichrist," I say.

"So, revenge comes from his pride," says Don. "Where does his pride come from?"

"His faith," says Soji. Everyone looks at him.

"I agree," I say.

"I thought his pride finds refuge in his faith," says Don.

"It does," says Soji. "It returns home."

Don thinks about that for a moment, frowning. "So, Jill," he says, "Besides the fact that he gave you good advice about enjoying life, what do you think of this proud, old, God-fearing man who tried so hard to kill you and failed?"

Shrug and wince, but all three of them continue looking at me as if wanting more, so I say, "No more than we discussed this evening."

Don thinks that over. "Won't your wounds remind you of him?"

"My wounds remind me of her."

Don shakes his head and says, "And you like her."

Remember the last thing she told me before saying good-bye. "Yes, I do."

Soji rises to begin clearing the dishes and trays. Lloyd helps him. Don shifts forward and takes my hand. "I'm taking off. Thanks for dinner."

"Will you do something for me, Don?"

"What?" he asks guardedly.

"Agent George taped my meeting with the shooter. Will you ask him for a copy?"

He thinks for a moment. "Okay," he says.

"Thanks for bringing the message, Don. I appreciate it."

He leans forward and kisses me on the cheek so I kiss him, hugging him with my left arm. On his way out the door, he says good-bye to Soji and Lloyd when the phone rings.

With a wince, I don the headphones and press the button. "Yeah."

"Hi Jill, its Lucy. I heard what happened. It's terrible! How are you feeling?"

Just the sound of her voice makes me impatient and tired. "Recovering. Look, Lucy, this is not a good time. I'll call you later in the week."

"Okay," she says with a hurt tone.

Face it, she's a pain in the ass. May as well drop her when I can get around and find someone else. Kill the connection and remove the headphones.

Suddenly, I realize how tired I am. As if reading my mind, Soji is there, helping me out of the chair. Within minutes, he has me cleaned up and in bed. Fall asleep so quickly that I don't even remember lying down.

Awake with an urgent need to pee. Scramble over my sisters and run outside.

Open my eyes to see Soji and Lloyd sitting together, talking quietly. My waking impression is that they are beginning to like one another. I like that'a lot. "Gotta pee," I grunt, trying to sit up.

Soji helps me into the bathroom and helps me clean up after. When I ask him what time it is, he says just after midnight. He helps me lie down.

Close my eyes and float in a trance, listening to their soft conversation.

"So Jill is worth tens of millions?" asks Lloyd.

"More than that," says Soji.

"What does Jill do with her money?"

Soji describes the foundation that funds the Bhuddist dojo, the homes for Japanese orphans in the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand and the scholarships for any orphan who wants one. He explains that every one of the orphan children have finished high school and gone on to higher education. Some have graduated and hold jobs now.

"That's amazing," says Lloyd.

"You don't know the half of it," says Soji. "Jill has another foundation called Aliversal that provides small business loans to women throughout the world."

"Aliversal is Jill's foundation?"

"You know Aliversal?"

"Know it? I've been an Aliversal volunteer since I retired from the Air Force and moved to Carson City."

That wakes me up but I lie still, my eyes closed, listening. I detect the not-so-subtle hand of Ume in my selection of Lloyd as an assistant.

"I thought you couldn't volunteer at Aliversal unless you repaid a loan," says Soji.

"I did," says Lloyd. "I borrowed a thousand dollars from Aliversal to set up a second-hand clothing shop for women with a terminally ill family member. After my husband died, I sold the business and paid off the loan. In fact, I was looking for something else to do when I heard about this job from a friend in Aliversal."

They sit quietly for a moment until Soji asks, "Who told you about it?"

"My Aliversal volunteer coordinator in Reno," says Lloyd. "She's also a friend." Hesitating, Lloyd asks, "Probably not a coincidence, huh?"

Both Soji and I know that with Ume, there are no coincidences. Instead of answering, which would have required that he reveal Ume's existence and identity, Soji asks, "What do you know about Aliversal's organization?"

"I know it's pretty flat. Julie Meese has been CEO for about a year or so. She's been an executive with charitable organizations for most of her life. I met her at an Aliversal volunteers seminar about six months ago. What an honor: a wonderful woman, full of fire like a saint. I can't believe she works for this woman lying asleep on the floor here."

Soji exhales through his nose but he does not tell Lloyd that I'm awake. Instead, he changes the subject to grandchildren and I begin to doze.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

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Doc's Place Chat
© 2008, Michel Grover.
Chapter 12 | Part 7
Winter Early 2009

Lucia :

Mic has posted in the left frame paragraphs from Doc's Place, one of his copyrighted stories. I'm moderating chat here in the right frame. I post every day, but I don't post everything. I have formed a secondary group from which I may also post comments.

Raj :

Now that we have heard your frank and open discussion about the difficulty you have in conversing normally, Jill, I have questions if you do not mind. In your conversation with Lloyd, who seems a pleasant person by the way, you intentionally avoid some of her conversational gambits. For example, you do not respond to her comment about your relationship with Soji and your bruises. Why?

Jill :

Ordinarily, I avoid discussing personal issues with people I have met recently because I do not want to give away much information. Lloyd is an exception because SIA has already screened her thoroughly and my instincts tell me that I can trust her with private information. Soji seems to feel the same way. Even so, it is a difficult habit to break.

Raj :

When Lloyd compares you to a 16th-century samurai, you deflect her comment by asking a question. I understand you're protecting your relationship with Soji and the cause of your bruises, but is this not an opportunity to explain some of your motives to a person whom your instincts say to trust?

Jill :

It's too early in my relationship with Lloyd to trust her with sensitive information. I'm learning how observant and quick to learn she is, but I'm also being careful until I learn more so I deflect her comments.

Raj :

Thank you for your candor. Are you comfortable?

Jill :

Yes, thank you for asking. Please proceed.

Raj :

You are welcome. After discovering your shared experience in Misawa, you reveal a mutual acquaintance, Staff Sergeant Calhoun. Why avoid divulging details about yourself and yet risk sharing your relationship with the Sergeant? Recalling a mutual acquaintance reveals as much as sharing details of your life.

Jill :

Yes, it does, but it also loads the new and relatively fragile conversation circuit we share. I'm relying upon her to realize that and allow me to change the subject. When she asks another question, I use my two-word response to overload the circuit. She finally does drop the questions when I suggest we get back to business.

Carlo :

Excuse me for interrupting. Jill, you served in the Air Force while in Japan and capped off a few undesirables for the federal government in the process. Why avoid the subject of your military service?

Jill :

Eventually, Mic will discuss it in detail within a story.

Carlo :

You misunderstood my question, Jill. Why avoid discussing it with Lloyd?

Cyril :

Jill understood you perfectly, Carlo. She's trying to avoid discussing it with us.

Carlo :

You mean the phrase Viet Nam era veteran.

Cyril :

Exactly

Doug :

Uh-oh, I smell another deep, dark, stinky secret.

Carlos :

Are we to understand that Jill actually went to Viet Nam on some secret mission?

Cyril :

Yes, we are.

Jules :

Cyril, I hope that you are not suggesting that Jill was operating in Viet Nam after the Case-Church amendment became effective August 15, 1973 or we have a major problem as well as a revision of history.

Cyril :

No, I am suggesting that Jill operated in Viet Nam before the amendment's effective date.

Maria :

What's the Case-Church amendment?

Benny :

Just looked it up. It prohibits any further U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia without congressional authorization. I'd paste some of the text here but the site's terms of use specifically forbid Internet re-usage, so check it out at The History Place.

Maria :

Was the United States military conducting operations in Viet Nam in 1974?

Jules :

Oh yes, right up through August 14, the US military was conducting bombing operations. When did Jill go into Nam, Cyril?

Cyril :

Apparently someone expunged the records because only general descriptions of the operation are available, but she was there in early August of 1973. An ambulance met a Naval medical transport plane and transported Jill from the landing field into the Misawa Air Base hospital. Bandages, wounds and burns covered almost half her body. She needed weeks to recover and requested release to Japanese friends for that recovery period. When she finally reported for duty, she had received a Purple Heart and an oak leaf cluster to go with her Air Force Commendation Medal.

Carlos :

What the hell happened?

Cyril :

The official record says that Jill happened to be near a helicopter crash on an unspecified naval base in southern Japan, killing everyone on board and injuring several bystanders, including Jill. Unofficially, Jill visited a bombed-out airfield in the highlands of central Viet Nam where enemy mortar fire hit her and her team, destroying one helicopter, killing several of her team and wounding her in the right ankle. Her team carried her to the chopper. As her team's helicopter set down on a hospital ship off the coast, two armor-piercing rounds hit the ship's helicopter landing pad, killing more of her team and causing most of her injuries. She came out with numerous shrapnel wounds and burns from her feet to her lower back.

Carlo :

Jesus, Jill, they tried to kill you twice and almost succeeded. What did you do to piss them off so badly?

Amalie :

Jill will not repeat her answer, so we'll have to wait until Mic recounts the event in one of his stories. The experience was one of the second or third worst in her life according to Jill's words to Susan over the phone shortly after it happened.

Raj :

We know now why Jill avoided discussing her Vietnam-era veteran status with Lloyd. Does everyone mind if I continue questioning Jill about her interaction with Lloyd?

Carlo :

Please continue and please accept my apologies for interrupting, Raj.

Raj :

That's fine, Carlo. The interruption was relevant.

Do you truly find Lloyd and Soji's comments about increasing the length and frequency of your therapy not funny, Jill? They seem funny to me and to everyone in my group here, even those who have had suffered through surgery and physical therapy.

Jill :

Humor is difficult, Raj. What seems funny to others does not seem funny to me and vice versa. I watch the reactions of people around me and act accordingly.

Alan :

Excuse me for interrupting, Raj. Please give us an example of something you consider funny, Jill.

Amalie :

Susan warns us to be careful asking this of Jill. Are you sure you want her to answer?

Maria :

Why be careful asking what's funny?

Amalie :

Her example may seem cruel even though that is not her intention.

Doug :

Let me guess, Jill. You think it was funny to donate $20 to the warehouse supervisor, not only because you took it from him but also because you mugged him.

Jill :

That's subtle but not particularly funny. No, what's funny is that the warehouse crew hadn't had an injury-causing accident in 10yrs, which is what got him injured and his crew fired.

Alan :

Uh, I don't understand. Does anyone besides Jill think that's funny? Why is that funny?

Benny :

Jill won't answer for two reasons: you asked so you figure it out and the answer is obvious when you consider her reply carefully. Of course, it won't seem funny any longer once you figure it out. By the way, as Cyril told Maria earlier, think like a sociopath to understand Jill.

Alan :

Okay, I'll try. The super and his crew probably put up safety posters and held safety meetings regularly but in the end, it did them no good at all.

Benny :

Does that seem cruel?

Alan :

No, but the attack does. Maybe that's what she thought was funny.

Minnie :

Try this. The warehouse guys thought that their safety record would impress the Doc's Place executives enough to keep them from firing the crew. However, the execs couldn't care less about their safety record. That's cruel, isn't it?

Benny :

Your guess is better than Alan's but that's not what makes it funny—to Jill, anyway.

Minnie :

How will we know that we guessed right? We already know it won't seem funny.

Doug :

Minnie is right. How will we know?

Amalie :

Look at the warehouse crew from Peter and Jill's perspective. Why is the crew no longer necessary?

Jules :

Dick in Purchasing can accomplish their work with contract labor, which will be much cheaper than their wages and benefits.

Amalie :

Correct, and so?

Jules :

So, I don't know. Do you know?

Amalie :

Yes and so does Benny.

Marcus :

Why do you two kids understand Jill better than we adults do?

Benny :

We don't have your preconceptions and prejudices. Look, Jules is on the right track. Just take his point a step further.

Ian :

Okay, the warehouse guys decide that since the executives don't want them around any more, at least they'll maintain a perfect safety record so they will have good health.

Amalie :

Correct, and so?

Raj :

So, the supervisor's concern for his own health and the health of his crew exposes what the supervisor considers most valuable, and that is his good health. Jill injures him, so he resigns.

Benny :

That's it, Raj. You solved the riddle. Congratulations.

Annie :

That's not funny, it's. . . .

Amalie :

Cruel?

Benny :

Cold and calculating? Typical of Jill?

Annie :

I was going to say that studying someone's best efforts to expose weakness and then to exploit that weakness seems diabolical and particularly insensitive, which doesn't seem funny at all. Does anyone think that's funny besides Benny and Amalie? And Jill, of course.

Doug :

My dad does.

Lucia :

Doug's right. Look at Peter's comment to Jill over the phone when he calls her at home.

Annie :

"Nicely done," he says without explanation.

Marcus :

He admires her work.

Maria :

It's quite revealing of both Jill and him. Why didn't we notice it and discuss it earlier?

Minnie :

The guys were blabbing about whether Jill and Amalie were having sex.

Jules :

So it's our fault?

Minnie :

If the shoe fits. . . .

Jules :

That's cold, Minnie.

Minnie :

And funny, too. Jill's not the only one who can tell a good joke.

Jules :

That's not funny.

Amalie :

Even better.

Jules :

What?

Benny :

If you don't mind one more interruption, Raj, I have another question for Jill before you continue with your interrogation. Will you allow it?

Raj :

Of course, Benny. Please proceed.

Benny :

Thanks. Jill, when you began responding to Raj, you used the metaphor of a circuit to describe your conversation with Lloyd. That is a mechanistic perspective of communication, which seems simplistic given your advanced degree in communication. Please explain why you didn't choose a more useful perspective.

Jill :

Benny :

Hmm, apparently I've lost my conversation link with Jill. Go ahead, Raj.

Raj :

Very well. Jill, I have two questions about your telephone conversation with Paul Manookian. When he says you should find someone besides Sam Bowles, you simply state that you want Sam. Why didn't you explain your request to this executive? The second question is why you then turn around and not only lie to Sam about what Paul said, but also ask Peter to intercede.

Jill :

By the way, Raj, the colloquial term in the USA for my going around Paul and asking Peter to intercede is going over Paul's head. Paul didn't tell me no. He told me, "maybe you should find someone else." To me, that's an opening, like a crack in the wall, so I drove in a wedge. Lying to Sam and going over Paul's head is just my way of pounding the wedge deeper into the crack, trying to split open the wall.

Ian :

It's also going to piss off the Doc's Place executives and make them resent you.

Jill :

That's a bonus.

Minnie :

Jill's right. Remember that she's trying to run the top-tier executives out of Doc's Place within a month and make them look like bumbling fools in the process.

Raj :

When the police detective delivers the old man's message, it sends a chill up your spine. Why do you not mention your concern to anyone in the room?

Carlos :

I can answer that. None of the people in the room can do anything about it so why bother?

Maria :

Who can do anything about it?

Cyril :

That federal agent, Tony George, can. Jill agrees, obviously, which is why she asks Detective Don to have Agent George give her a copy of the tape that has her conversation with the shooter.

Raj :

Thank you for answering my questions, Jill. I have no training or experience in medicine or psychology so I am only a layperson. As such, I have formed an opinion, however.

After reading your answers to my questions, Jill, I conclude that you have a specific intent behind everything you say and do. You are calculating in every way, even in the most casual-seeming comment or gesture. Further, this seems to have become your native state and you are genuinely comfortable with it. Personally, I would find this behavior uncomfortable and pretentious, but you appear to have no alternative. You cannot even guess how to behave in an off-hand, casual manner because you appear to have no ability to do so.

Amalie :

I would go so far as to say that you have no organ with which to acquire the ability for casual behavior and conversation, Jill.

Benny :

Raj, as a layperson, you have done a fine job of questioning Jill in this matter. Please accept my compliments for giving us all some things to think about as we continue our discussion.

Watching Raj develop his questions and arrive at his conclusions, Jill, I realize why you did not answer me earlier. I failed to develop either the intent of my question or the background behind it. To answer me, you would have had to do both. Instead, you refused to answer, as you should have done. I apologize.

Amalie :

I'd also like to compliment Raj and apologize to Jill. My questions of Jill have not only lacked intent and background, but also a raison d'être, as it were.

Jill :

Look, you two. I'm not trying to play some stone-faced oracle here. When you have a question that requires background, then develop it and ask the question. I'll answer.

Benny :

Okay, I understand that you used the circuit metaphor in your explanation to Raj because it requires no explanation to convey a mechanistic perspective of communication. My point is that you could have used the metaphor of filtering stimuli because nowadays, with so many people either getting counseling or seeing it in the movies they generally understand the psychological perspective just as well.

Jill :

Bullshit, Benny, and I'll prove it. Other than Amalie, does anyone understand Benny's point? Minnie, Jules, you're probably both in counseling. Do you understand what he's saying?

Jules :

Why do you think I'm in counseling?

Minnie :

Oh please, Jules. It's obvious you have a drinking problem and that you don't drive any more so you're probably on some court-ordered rehab that requires counseling and attending meetings.

Jules :

Oh yeah? Why does Jill think you're in counseling then?

Minnie :

I live in New York, for god's sake. Who in New York City isn't seeing a shrink?

As to your question about Benny's point, Jill, I do understand that a psychological view of anything, including communication, involves responding only to stimuli that I allow through my filters. However, Benny, I have no idea how to apply that to Jill's conversation with Lloyd. What is the psychological equivalent of overloading the circuit? I have no idea.

Benny :

From the psychological perspective, the locus of communication is in the interpreter's filters, of course. Jill overloads Lloyd's filters with significant stimuli so she can't interpret quickly enough, which gives Jill time to bring up another subject. Come on, Jules man, you know what we're talking about, right?

Jules :

Sorry to disappoint, Benny. I'm still trying to understand what I said that tipped off Jill and Minnie to my drinking and DUI record.

Benny :

Cyril?

Cyril :

Greek to me.

Benny :

Doug?

Doug :

Give me time, man. I'm looking it up but trying to wade through all this psych mumbo-jumbo really chaps my ass.

Benny :

Marcus, did you and your wife Lorena get counseling after your daughter left for USC?

Marcus :

No. Think we should? Oh, we talked to the priest about it. Does that count?

Benny :

Annie?

Annie :

Psych stuff is just as Doug says it is—mumbo-jumbo. Sorry, Benny.

Benny :

Damn. Guess I concede, Jill.

Amalie :

During the discussion about the old mafia don's message to you, Soji and you agree that the old man's pride emanates from his faith. In fact, you agree that his pride returns to find refuge there.

The old man's faith undisputedly comes from his childhood in the Church and his family. However, while his pride also comes from his faith, it also rises from a lifetime of growing steadily within his family's power, wealth and influence in their world of crime and within the tradition of manliness, which includes omertà, the prohibition against cooperation with civil authority. Why do you suppose that the old man loses his pride or his faith, Jill?

Jill :

You said it yourself, Amalie. His pride grows from his faith and from his eventual ascendance to a position of control over his family's power, wealth and influence. When he wastes his family's fortune and power trying to kill me, he loses his pride and along with it, his faith. When I touch the warehouse supervisor, I excite a nerve that leads back to another criminal organization with links to the old man's family. The moment this other organization offers to fund his obsessive urge for revenge, his pride returns to find expression in his faith. Lloyd said it reminded her that Christianity is the one great instinct for revenge, just as Nietzsche said.

Amalie :

This is supposition on your part, Jill. You have no direct evidence, do you?

Jill :

No, but then I don't need any. You can't push faith in a social construct like Christianity and then demand physical evidence of the presence or absence of faith therein. Can you, Amalie?

Amalie :

I suppose not. Thank you, by the way.

Jill :

You're welcome.

Alan :

Did we miss something? What did you thank Jill for, Amalie?

Amalie :

Oh, for one thing, Jill told me that she loves me.

Minnie :

What? When did Jill say that?

Amalie :

She has begun teaching me. No one can teach another, or learn from another for that matter, unless love is present. Can one?

Minnie :

Why no, of course not. You're right, Amalie. I've been a teacher all my working life but never until this moment have I realized that I was doing it out of love.

Amalie :

Anyway, Jill loves me but that is not why I thanked her.

Lizzie :

I hope you realize, Amalie, that you bear great responsibility now. Do you understand that?

Amalie :

Yes

Benny :

What responsibility do you bear, Amalie, and why did you thank Jill?

Amalie :

Jill chose me. That's the other criterion for teaching—conscious choice.

Jules :

What has she chosen you for, Amalie?

Amalie :

Does it matter? It doesn't matter to me, because I accept.

Marcus :

Now that we seem to have exhausted current discussion, I'd like to return to our discussion of the possible future of humanity Avani concludes after analyzing data from Pere. I'm concerned about the lack of belief in God in the future. I do not know if the current Pere chief executive is an atheist but both Ume, the board chairperson, and Jill, the majority stockholder, are atheists. In other words, the people providing the data and paying for the analysis—as well as the analyst—are all atheists. Is it any wonder that humanity's future finds no belief in God? In the interest of objectivity, should not Pere provide the same data to analysts with Avani's qualifications who also believe in a deity and should not Pere pay those analysts to consider the same data and report their findings about the future of humanity?

Minnie :

Are you suggesting that Avani approached her analysis with an atheistic agenda?

Avani :

No, Marcus is simply saying that if my analysis and findings are objective, then any number of qualified analysts, regardless of personal belief, will analyze the data and report similar conclusions.

However, Pere has its own agenda. Pere wants this future for humanity, so Pere is nudging this and preparing that to lay groundwork for the future. Given Pere's meddling, it's difficult to imagine any other outcome than that which I have described.

Marcus :

So the fix is in. Nevertheless, objectivity and fairness demand independent analysis.

Lizzie :

Pere is willing to pay other analysts to study the data and report their findings independently. Do you have someone qualified you'd like to nominate, Marcus?

Marcus :

I certainly do not. Avani, what qualifies a person for this analysis and reporting?

Avani :

Anyone with rudimentary skills in calculus and structured query languages could qualify. Experience with large data sets and natural language processing is helpful but not essential. Amalie and Benny, can you add any qualifications?

Amalie :

The analysts should approach the data as Avani so obviously did, with curiosity for what analysis of the data may actually reveal. I know several people who probably qualify but always form the same conclusion, even after seeing the data.

Benny :

I agree with these qualifications but I would emphasize a natural inclination for analyzing such enormous data stores. Both Amalie and I have compared notes on your analysis, Avani, and we are amazed at your analytical gifts. Neither of us is qualified or so inclined. Like Amalie, I know qualified people but I also already know their conclusions.

Avani :

This praise is undeserved. Almost anyone can appear analytically gifted with these query tools and interfaces.

Annie :

What is the possibility of granting access to the data, query tools and interfaces Avani mentions to a university, Lizzie?

Lizzie :

That's not going to happen, Annie. Granting access to a university means granting access to governments and others with interests counter to our own. Pere will never, under any circumstance, grant to any group or institution access to either the data or the analytical tools Pere has developed.

Annie :

In that case, we have another qualification. The nominee must work independently of any group or institution. Aren't you afraid that Avani or any other analyst who obtains access may later reveal the existence of the data and tools, Lizzie?

Avani :

I'll answer that. Pere has already revealed the existence of both the data and the tools, Annie. Both are freely available for anyone to develop. They probably won't because, as Lizzie told us back in DP9:4 chat, Pere identifies and snatches up the talent before anyone can because Pere knows what to look for in child prodigies. Others can, and certainly are, trying to develop the future they envision for their particular race, religion or culture. Who will succeed while others fail? Only time can tell but my money's on Pere's version of the future because they have a head start, unlimited resources, the corporate will and the opportunity to recruit the best, young talent regardless of location, race, religion and economic strata.

Annie :

Avani brings up a good point. Almost any race or culture building a future in which only they rule, or in some cases, survive is exclusionary. Religions may behave differently, depending upon whether they proselyte or not. For example, my religion, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or LDS as we call ourselves, aggressively proselytizes worldwide. Other Christian religions proselytize as well, while other religions generally do not.

Alan :

The LDS may proselytize aggressively as a religion generally but as a culture, they are exclusionary. The closer to ZionSalt Lake City and some surrounding areas—the more rigidly they enforce the code of conduct. If members do not behave, the LDS culture—not the religion—treats them like pariahs. I've seen this up close and personal among my gay and lesbian friends and associates, Annie. Several are LDS physicists, physicians, statisticians and successful business people. The LDS religion does not proselytize aggressively at all among the gay and lesbian community—quite the opposite, in fact. LDS missionaries avoid gays and lesbians as if they have the plague. Do you disagree, Annie?

Annie :

No, as much as I wish I could, I cannot. I've seen this up close and personal as well. In fact, my husband and I have several gay and lesbian friends and associates, and we have suffered just such exclusionary behavior among LDS members as you describe, because we associate with gays and lesbians, Alan.

Suze :

Avani and Annie are right about most races, religions and cultures excluding those who do not fit. On the other hand, Pere doesn't care. If you're bright and can think critically, Pere recruits you and showers you with unlimited resources and opportunities tailored to your particular interests and abilities. Witness Benny, Amalie and Avani. To a limited extent, Pere does the same for lesser lights, such as my self. I went back to Aliversal for another round of funding to expand my enterprises in areas of the Internet beyond Second Life, and received an offer of 10x what I requested, if I expand my goals to include features requested by young people. Now, I have a dozen contract employees worldwide.

Benny :

It's a good thing Pere doesn't require you to back up your proposals with facts, huh Snuze?

Suze :

I love you, Benny, you polished little turd.

Benny :

Likewise. Yo, until I met you, I didn't realize Moby Dick was Jewish.

Minnie :

What is it between you two—love-hate?

Benny :

It's love, Minnie. I fell in love with Suze's avatar—a skinny black chick with gorgeous wings and adjustable boobs for every occasion.

Suze :

I love Benny's avatar—a one-eyed steer.

Benny :

It's a minotaur not a steer.

Suze :

Oh? What's the difference?