A World Without Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

over.
    "Hey, bro, whassup?" Billy said as he came in and plopped into a kitchen chair.
    "Not much, Billy. I'm working on a new story."
    I'd known Billy for about six years. He drove a cab, and I happened to be his first fare on a day when he felt particularly talkative. I guess I was feeling pretty talkative myself because we spent the whole trip talking about the chances that the New York Giants football team would make the playoffs again. When we arrived at my destination, he shut the engine off and we talked for another fifteen minutes about the Yankees. I finally had to go, but he said that anytime I felt like talking about the Giants or Yankees, I should drop into Murphy's Bar and Restaurant after six p.m. It wasn't far from my flat, and I'd passed it many times, but I'd never stopped in before then.
    "I was wondering why you haven't been down to the bar. And you haven't come to the Y either. Our team hasn't won a game since you disappeared. You're the best point guard in the bar league. I thought you were going to take a couple of weeks off after you finished up the last one."
    "I'm running out of time, Billy. I haven't had time for boozing or basketball. I still haven't had a publisher express the slightest interest in any of my stuff. I need to get this next book finished before I go back to working a nine-to-five, if I can even find a job. I've been away from computers for a long time now. The field may have passed me by."
    "Nah, you're the smartest dude I know. You'll find something if you really want it."
    "That's another whole issue. All I want out of life is to be an author. I get such a rush when I think about all the people who read and enjoy my stories. I did the computer thing for four years and was already tired of it when the company downsized after the merger. The money was good though."
    "Say the word and I'll get you a job driving a hack. It'll give you tons of time to think about your stories while you're waiting for fares at a stand."
    "Thanks, but that's not for me. I have to find something that'll stimulate my mind when I'm working. Driving a cab wouldn't do that."
    "You could pretty much pick your own hours."
    "Thanks. If I can't find anything else, I'll consider it."
    "What's with the paper on the wall?" Billy asked as he stared at my silver conundrum.
    "Oh, that's an experiment in static electricity. Don't move it, okay?"
    "Sure. How about a beer?"
    "Help yourself. There's Bud in the fridge."
    "Want one?" Billy asked as he opened the refrigerator door and reached in. He was about the same age as me, but sitting in a cab all day, eating fast food on the run, and then drinking his supper was beginning to have an effect on his physique. It reminded me that I had to start walking more often.
    "No," I said. "You go ahead though. I'm keeping my mind clear for the story I'm working on."
    "What's it about this time?"
    "The usual. Aliens, big brother, love blossoms, love is lost, love is rediscovered, big happy ending, nobody dies."
    "Maybe you oughta change the recipe. It might help you sell a story. How about trying something like: aliens, love blossoms, love is lost, the girl dies violently and horribly, the hero is devastated and kills himself."
    "Sort of like a Romeo and Juliet story in Outer Space?" I said as I chuckled. "I've considered changing the basic plot. The thing is, of all the free stories I've posted, my online fans love that old formula best. It's only the publishers that don't seem to like it. I just don't get it. And I can't write the dystopian stuff that some authors crank out quarterly because it's just too damn depressing. I want to believe that mankind can and will work through his problems and create a future that's better than what we have today."
    "I think people love that dystopian stuff because they want to believe all the misery they've experienced in their sad lives is still superior to what the future holds for mankind. It makes them feel better about their own situation.