A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neetsa Pizza Employee's Guide to Saving the World by Rachel Cantor Page B
Authors: Rachel Cantor
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what.
Good, Carol said. Iâm glad we had this little talk. Chicoryâs almost ready. See you in the morning!
It is Isaac
I must tell you, Milione said the next night. Some days when I speak to Rustichello, I see someone looking out through his eyes. It is not Rustichello, for he is a shallow man; nothing lurks behind
his
eyes but lunacy and the basest of passions. No, it is someone else. Can you imagine this?
Leonard said nothing. His grandfatherâs eyes on occasion had slipped from blue to palest green, his pupils expanding, becoming one with the deepest dark: then young Leonard had looked into something strange and black, an emptiness larger than the world he knew. His grandfather would return then and say, Boychik, youâre trembling, what do you see?
You think me mad, Mill said sadly.
No, I have felt this, Leonard whispered, and wiped a tear from his eye.
You understand! Mill said. I knew you would. Leonard, you are like my very own brother. It is Isaac, he confided. I know it is he. But why?
Who is this Isaac? Leonard asked. Why do you dream of him?
He is a Jew, he is blind, and a holy master of secretsâthis is all I know.
What does he want from you?
He wants me to talk with you, that is all.
With me? Leonard asked.
No other, Mill said.
Do you know a story about four men who walk into an orchard?
No.
Do you know a story about demons in the third ether?
No, but if it is a good one, I will gladly hear it.
But you know about the invisible circle? You know what to do with it?
Of course.
And this is what you propose to write about in your book?
Yes, I will do this.
Leonardâs heart began to pound. This was very wrong. Leonard knew this because his grandfather had told him so, and because the thought of it made him sick, a sickness he knew would never leave him if Mill did as he said. Only the grandson of grandsons could know about the circle.
It is a bad idea, Leonard said. A very bad idea.
No, Leonard, it is a very good idea! Imagine how useful it will be for seamen and merchants, separated as they are from their families! Imagine if kings could speak with each other as we do now, separated by immense distances: trade could be conducted, and wars averted.
Leonard had to think quickly; there were no Listener algorithms to help him now.
Have you used your circle and formulas to speak with anyone but me? he asked.
Not exactly.
Youâve tried?
I tried to reach Kokachin, Mill admitted.
What happened?
Nothing. I heard a sound like forests falling inside the ocean. It was quiet but for six days it deafened me.
And when you got me you were trying to reach someone else, right?
This also is true, Mill said.
Forgive me for saying so, but you donât seem very good at this just yet. Maybe you need more practice? So no one gets hurt?
Mill didnât reply.
You could write about this in your next book, perhaps? Leonard said, knowing somehow that there would be no next book.
Still no reply.
Mill? Are you there?
Leonard, you are a most trusted friend, and you speak wisely. I shall consider your words; possibly I shall do as you say.
When they parted that night, Leonard had no way of knowing he would never speak to Milione again.
INTERLUDE
BOYCHIK
A friend
The complaints returned the next night. The phone didnât bleatâinstead, the usual clients-in-pain called complaining that theyâd ordered
Neoplatonist
, not
Neapolitan
. Leonard listened, used approved nicknames and the Lateral Sales Strategy to good advantage, demonstrated largesse with Neetsa Pizza coupons, and gained a more or less average number of converts, but his heart wasnât in it. Where was Milione? Was he okay? Leonard was sure now that Mill had rerouted Leonardâs callsâhow had he managed to do that? Now that the complaints had returned, did this mean Mill had gone away? Was he in trouble? Was his invisible circle dance the one Leonard knew? Would he hear from him again?
He felt
Good, Carol said. Iâm glad we had this little talk. Chicoryâs almost ready. See you in the morning!
It is Isaac
I must tell you, Milione said the next night. Some days when I speak to Rustichello, I see someone looking out through his eyes. It is not Rustichello, for he is a shallow man; nothing lurks behind
his
eyes but lunacy and the basest of passions. No, it is someone else. Can you imagine this?
Leonard said nothing. His grandfatherâs eyes on occasion had slipped from blue to palest green, his pupils expanding, becoming one with the deepest dark: then young Leonard had looked into something strange and black, an emptiness larger than the world he knew. His grandfather would return then and say, Boychik, youâre trembling, what do you see?
You think me mad, Mill said sadly.
No, I have felt this, Leonard whispered, and wiped a tear from his eye.
You understand! Mill said. I knew you would. Leonard, you are like my very own brother. It is Isaac, he confided. I know it is he. But why?
Who is this Isaac? Leonard asked. Why do you dream of him?
He is a Jew, he is blind, and a holy master of secretsâthis is all I know.
What does he want from you?
He wants me to talk with you, that is all.
With me? Leonard asked.
No other, Mill said.
Do you know a story about four men who walk into an orchard?
No.
Do you know a story about demons in the third ether?
No, but if it is a good one, I will gladly hear it.
But you know about the invisible circle? You know what to do with it?
Of course.
And this is what you propose to write about in your book?
Yes, I will do this.
Leonardâs heart began to pound. This was very wrong. Leonard knew this because his grandfather had told him so, and because the thought of it made him sick, a sickness he knew would never leave him if Mill did as he said. Only the grandson of grandsons could know about the circle.
It is a bad idea, Leonard said. A very bad idea.
No, Leonard, it is a very good idea! Imagine how useful it will be for seamen and merchants, separated as they are from their families! Imagine if kings could speak with each other as we do now, separated by immense distances: trade could be conducted, and wars averted.
Leonard had to think quickly; there were no Listener algorithms to help him now.
Have you used your circle and formulas to speak with anyone but me? he asked.
Not exactly.
Youâve tried?
I tried to reach Kokachin, Mill admitted.
What happened?
Nothing. I heard a sound like forests falling inside the ocean. It was quiet but for six days it deafened me.
And when you got me you were trying to reach someone else, right?
This also is true, Mill said.
Forgive me for saying so, but you donât seem very good at this just yet. Maybe you need more practice? So no one gets hurt?
Mill didnât reply.
You could write about this in your next book, perhaps? Leonard said, knowing somehow that there would be no next book.
Still no reply.
Mill? Are you there?
Leonard, you are a most trusted friend, and you speak wisely. I shall consider your words; possibly I shall do as you say.
When they parted that night, Leonard had no way of knowing he would never speak to Milione again.
INTERLUDE
BOYCHIK
A friend
The complaints returned the next night. The phone didnât bleatâinstead, the usual clients-in-pain called complaining that theyâd ordered
Neoplatonist
, not
Neapolitan
. Leonard listened, used approved nicknames and the Lateral Sales Strategy to good advantage, demonstrated largesse with Neetsa Pizza coupons, and gained a more or less average number of converts, but his heart wasnât in it. Where was Milione? Was he okay? Leonard was sure now that Mill had rerouted Leonardâs callsâhow had he managed to do that? Now that the complaints had returned, did this mean Mill had gone away? Was he in trouble? Was his invisible circle dance the one Leonard knew? Would he hear from him again?
He felt
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