156 lines
8.3 KiB
Plaintext
156 lines
8.3 KiB
Plaintext
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########## ### ### ##########
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Underground eXperts United
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Presents...
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[ The Book ] [ By Joseph ]
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____________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________
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The Book
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by Joseph
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Happiness, Mr. J. thought, was to produce stuff like this. Nothing compares
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to that feeling you experience as you have finished yet another perfect
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sample of the product.
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In front of himself he had a table. A belt conveyor on his right side
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supplied him with part one of the product. Part two came on his left. He
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just had to put the two pieces together. Even though the process was quite
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simple, it was still a form of traditional craftsmanship, according to Mr. J.
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It takes a certain skill to fit the two pieces together, so that the joint
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became invisible and the surface completely smooth.
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On the wall on his left, there was a big hole. When he was finished with
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yet another product, he simply dropped the sample into it. He had never dared
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to look into the hole. But he assumed that it was just a long dark tube down
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to the packing department, or something.
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His friends found his work boring and thought that he ought to find a more
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qualified kind of work, where he could develop himself as a person. Bah! They
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had no idea on how he had developed during the forty years he had been
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working at the factory. All these years, all these finished products. Had he
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not used his brain a lot? Had he not come up with clever solutions to
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complicated problems during his working hours?
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He smiled as he recalled his solution to the problem with the national
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economy. He had read about it in the papers and thought about it while
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working. It was so simple! Child's play - for him. He could not understand
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why it was such a fuss about it.
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He had collected all his solutions to various problems in a book he kept
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at home. Two-hundred pages - forty years of hard work and clever thinking.
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Needless to say, Mr. J. was mighty proud over himself.
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A whistle blew. The working day was over. Mr. J. pushed the stop button
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and started to collect his personal belongings. He did not notice that a man
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and a woman observed him.
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"He has been working here for how long did you say?" said the man, who
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happened to be the managing director.
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"Forty years according to the record," said the woman, who was his
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secretary.
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"And he has been sitting by the Hole all these years?"
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"Yes. I guess someone made a mistake. Well, he has never complained. In
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fact, he has been very pleased with his work."
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"Pleased with his work? Who cares? You are fully aware of the purpose with
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that kind of work?"
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"Well, uh, yes..."
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"And now, one day before this man retires, you care to inform me about
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this fact: that he has been sitting by the Hole, for forty damn years?"
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"Well, uh, yes..."
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"Incompetent fool!"
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With a face blushing in anger, the managing director turned around and
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made his way to his office to calm down. When he slammed his door shut,
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Mr. J. looked up. He felt quite surprised. No one was ever angry in this
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factory - no one slammed doors. He shook his head and went home.
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On the dinner table in his kitchen, was the Book. It was like the bible
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for him. His hand touched the cover, his fingers felt the soft leather cover.
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He had never loved anything as much as he loved this book. It was everything
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to him, his whole existence. The Book kept him alive. Without it, he would
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probably die. Every global problem he had solved was to be found within those
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two covers.
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When Mr. J. woke up the next morning, he felt a bit sad; this would be his
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last day at work. He was so grateful for all the years of happiness that the
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company had given him. But he did not know how to properly thank them. But he
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got a wonderful idea as he brushed his teeth: he would donate his book to the
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company! It would probably make them incredible rich. There were at least a
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hundred patents, and billions of dollars to get from the ideas presented in
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it. After everything they had done for him, they deserved it.
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The whistle blew and Mr. J. pushed the start button. He had never been
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late for work, and this day was no exception. No matter how ill he had been,
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he had always attended his work - Mr. J. found his work important. He had the
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Book with him, neatly wrapped in a green paper that he had saved from last
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Christmas. He was going to give it to the company as the whistle blew for the
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last time.
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The phone rang in the managing director's office.
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"Yes?"
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It was the secretary: "I just wanted to know if you have the time to hand
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over the golden watch to Mr. J. with me, before we close down for the day."
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"What time is it?"
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"Quarter to five. We must do it before five."
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"I'll be right down."
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"Another thing..."
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"What?"
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"Please don't mention anything about the Hole, will you? I mean, he has
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been working there for so long, and, well, I know the Hole was only meant as
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a 'last resort' for employees that we could not fire, and it was a mistake to
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place him there, but he has really enjoyed his 'work' and it would be..."
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"For heaven's sake, I'm not stupid!"
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Mr. J. held the wrapped book in his hands and pressed it against his
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chest. He dared not hand over it himself. He was afraid that they would think
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he was insane. He had tears in his eyes as he sent it down the hole to the
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packing department. "I bet they'll be rather surprised down there," he
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thought.
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"Hello there, Mr. J.!" someone said.
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Mr. J. turned around. It was the managing director and his secretary.
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"Oh, hello!"
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"You see, we thought that we would honor your hard and long work at this
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factory by giving you this golden watch." said the director and snapped his
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fingers. The secretary handed over the watch.
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Mr. J. examined the shiny piece of metal. What a beautiful clock! They
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talked for a while about what Mr. J. would do after his retirement, about his
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house, car and garden. Nothing special, just the kind of things people talk
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about when they say goodbye to someone who has faithfully served them for
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forty years.
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After a while, the managing director clearly showed that he wanted to do
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something else. They were about to shake hands and leave each other forever,
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when Mr. J. suddenly remembered his book.
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"You see, I have a present for you too..." he said.
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"Really? How nice. What?"
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"Well, I don't wanna boast, but I think it will be of great importance for
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this company. We're talking big bucks, so to say."
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Suddenly, the managing director became very interested in what Mr. J had
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to offer.
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"We would gladly accept such a gift, of course!"
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"Ah, but you see, I didn't dare to hand it over myself..."
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"Don't worry. We won't bite you!"
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"... so I sent it down to the packing department."
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"You sent it down to... 'the packing department'? Idiot!"
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The managing director walked away. Mr. J. turned to the secretary. None of
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them understood anything. The secretary did not understand the simple
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solution to the energy problems, the clever solution to the economy problems
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or the secret behind cold fusion. Mr. J. did not understand why the managing
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director had called him an idiot, and thus neither that his book had been
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donated to the furnace instead of humanity.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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uXu #383 Underground eXperts United 1997 uXu #383
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Call CYBERPUNK SYSTEM -> +1-316-942-0064
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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