|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- THE CARBONIZE NEIGHBOR--CUP 6--"PRIMATE" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  The Carbonize Neighbor  ||  -------> (Cup SRcn006, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Fife looked down. "Okay." Fife said, looking up. "I'll give you the basics--and please--let me get through it before you start asking questions--cuz I'm sure you'll have plenty." "Sounds good to me." "Okay. This is Earth, but there are many different editions, or versions, of Earth. Each is somewhat different, but there are major similarities. They coexist in some way--we're not quite sure how." Fife paused, gauging Grant's expression, which was stony. "So--a method was developed about 12 years ago on my home Earth--Red Alley Earth--by a former colleague of mine--a method of building bridges between these different Earths. Now, once you know how to do it--building a bridge is pretty easy--but from any given point on one Earth, only one other Earth is available--and location is analogous. The thing is--if you bridge and then travel a ways--and then bridge again--you may find yourself in a different edition of Earth from where you started. There are areas of limit, you see." Grant nodded, eyes narrowed. "So, to make a long story short, we began exploring, and a few years ago I struck out on my own and discovered the Primate Algorithm." Fife eyed Grant, obviously worried as to the other's acceptance of his spiel. "Primate Algorithm?" Grant asked. "Yes. You see, we discovered, quite by accident, that every Earth has a Primate--an individual who is currently the most important, interesting, powerful, or whatever, on an Earth. See, we discovered a way to find each Earth's Primate. It involves stimulating reality on an Earth in the proper way, resulting in the Primate being brought to the Earth's P-Vest. This is a weird subdivision in an Earth's reality system. And we can send an agent in at the same time to ascertain the identity and location of the Primate." "Jake." "Yes--she is the main agent we use." Grant took a sip of good tar, and a waitress came over. They both ordered, and the waitress left. They were both silent for a little while. "So what do you think?" Fife asked at last. "I know you're telling the truth." "How do you know that?" "It's plainly obvious." "How? Most Primates I tell this to are a bit more skeptical than you." "So I am this world's Primate?" "You are." Grant considered this. "So what exactly is a Primate again? Not the monkey sort, I assume." "No, not at all. What it appears to be, is that in each Earth's reality system, a single person is required to be Prime--to be first--to be apart." "Why?" "We don't know. There is something of a trend among our Primates, but also a great variety." "How many?" "Primates? Right now there are 45. You would be 46." "Would?" "If you decide to join my organization." "So I have a choice." "You do. If you decide not to join, however, we respectfully request that you keep all the information about us secret." "Fair enough." Fife looked down into his cup of good tar. "What the hell IS this stuff, anyway?" "Good tar? You mean you don't have it on your world?" "No." Fife said. He drank a little, and was struck with the strong flavors of smoke, licorice, and a hint of caramel. "Not bad, though." "So I am Primate here." "Yes you are. And the most high-profile Primate yet. Never before has the Primate been the most famous person on the Earth." "But doesn't that follow?" "You might think." Fife said. "But it hasn't really been the case." "What would joining entail?" "Uh-well." Fife began. "You will agree to join Overwhelm Associates and pledge your allegiance to it. You will swear to keep all our secrets, and promise never to stray away. You will be given assignments, but as time goes by, you will have more and more of a command. You'll also have to make up an excuse for those here as to why you'll be disappearing for long periods of time." "All this is acceptable to me, but I need proof and I need it now." "I thought you said you believed me." "I said you were telling the truth, as you know it. You could be mistaken." "Well, I--" "--I'll be frank. Mr. Fife. In analyzing the situation, I've determined that if you stall in proving your claim, the likelihood increases that you--or those controlling you--mean me harm." Fife looked out the window, and then back to Grant. "I can bridge us out of here, but we'll need a boat. The next Earth over in this area is ocean." "Come again?" "If I were to build a bridge right here, we'd wind up in an ocean." "It would be proof, though." "Yeah, but it would also be suicide." "This booth can float." "Huh?" "The booths here--they're designed to float in a flood." -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----