O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
understand? We don’t know what this machine can do to human
beings. Plus, I’m not completely sure that the machine is set up right.
Without Harvey this is the best I could do. So, I for one would
appreciate it if you shut your trap and took this whole goddamn thing
lot more seriously!”
Vlad gulped. Normally if someone treated him like this he might
have clobbered them, but he couldn’t hurt Don Wong. He needed
Don Wong to run the machine. Also, Don Wong was a lot stronger
than he was and probably a better fighter. He resolved to submit.
“Sorry, Don Wong. I’m just excited, that’s all. Still, you didn’t have to
yell.”
“I’m sorry, Vlad. This has been rough on everybody,” Don Wong
said. The two men shook hands and forgave each other.
“Thank you. Thank you, Don. Thanks for everything.”
“Don’t mention it,” the Don replied. “Just do the best you can,
Vlad, and everything should be all right.”
Don Wong then examined some data, checked a few connections,
and at length flipped the switch marked simply, “POWER.” In
response, Vlad’s body convulsed, shook and stiffened. He sambaed,
shimmied and bossa-nova’d. He shamma-lamma-ding-donged. And
finally, just when a horrified Don Wong was about to turn the
machine off, Vlad’s soul waltzed right out of reality as we know it and
did the tango with destiny. And when one dances with destiny,
destiny leads.
Vlad, to his credit, did his best to keep up.
CHAPTER 29
Man may naturally be a dancer, and destiny may be the one who
leads him in that dance, but at least he generally gets to choose the
music. Victoria would have agreed with that, since she frequently saw
people’s mouths as loudspeakers of the universal radio station, and
therein lay her special insight: she realized that although someone
may seem to be swinging through life, the music playing in their soul
might well be a funeral march. The converse was also true: even a
concentration camp victim, seeing a blue jay alight on their shovel
might cry in joy, bamboozling his dancing partner without actually
breaking the dance. Such deception! This refusal to fall prey to dips
of fate was like making love to one person while thinking about
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