pity.”
“Pity? Nah. No pity
here.” Wanda smiled. “A telepath following you around, digging into
your thoughts, could learn a lot. Things that everyone would know.
Things that’d be waiting around school for you, written on
blackboards and in washrooms. Think about it.”
Chiller swallowed. “That’s
blackmail.”
Chris nodded. “Give the man a
prize.”
Steeljack said, “I thought
telepaths could only read surface thoughts.”
Wanda smiled. “Want to test
that?”
Steeljack looked at each of us.
After a moment, he shook his head.
Chris said, “By this afternoon, we
want to hear you’ve met with a counselor and confessed. Got
it?”
Chiller shivered. Steeljack said
quietly, “Okay.” They began to walk by.
I said, “Oh, something you should
know.” I pulled a masker ID out of my jacket. “Guess who registered
today?” I held the card out so they could see my photo, my name and
address, and the name typed in as my masquerader ID. Steeljack and
Chiller looked at it, then at me, and walked away shaking their
heads.
Chris said, “You think therapy will
do them any good?”
Wanda stared at
him. “Who cares? They’ll hate it.”
•
Jason grinned when he saw me
hovering outside his hospital window, pressing my masker card
against the glass. In my skull, I heard Wanda’s whisper. “He says
you didn’t need to skip school to tell him. He heard it on the
radio, Gaylaxian.”
“That’s not why I
skipped school.”
I stayed by the window. Wanda said,
“I wish I could give you two some privacy. But then you couldn’t
communicate.”
I said, “Yes, we can.” I blew Jason
a kiss, and then I did a triple back-flip in the air. I didn’t need
to hear his laugh to know how it sounded.
The People
Who Owned the Bible
Will Shetterly
It was time for another Mickey
Mouse Copyright Extension to keep Disney's star property out of the
public domain. Somebody's nephew had a bright idea. Instead of
telling Congress to add the standard twenty years to the length of
copyright, why not go for the big time? Extend copyright by 500
years.
Somebody's niece added a smarter
reason: A 500 year extension would let Disney track down
Shakespeare's heirs and buy all rights to the Bard. No matter how
much the heirs wanted, the deal would pay for itself in no time.
Every school that ever wanted to perform or study Shakespeare would
have to send a check to Disney. Every newspaper or magazine or
radio show that wanted to quote the Bard would have to send one,
too. So Disney asked, and Congress gave, and the World Intellectual
Property Organization followed Congress's example. Disney paid off
Shakespeare's heirs, then used the Shakespeare profits to buy all
rights from the heirs of Dumas, Dickens, Twain, Mary Shelley, Jane
Austen, Bram Stoker and more. Once most of the films in every other
studio's library were subject to Disney's copyright, they went
bankrupt or became divisions of Disney.
And everyone was content, except
for the storytellers who had to buy a Disney license or prove that
their work owed nothing to the last 500 years of
literature.
Then Jimmy Joe Jenkins's DNA proved
he was the primary descendent of the translators of the King James
Version of the Bible. At first, Jimmy was satisfied with ten
percent of the price of every KJV sold and 10 percent of every
collection plate passed by any church that used the KJV. But when
some churches switched to newer translations, Jimmy sicced his
lawyers on all translations based on the KJV. That got him a cut of
every Bible and every Christian service in English. Some
translators claimed their work was based on older versions and
should therefore be exempt, but none of them could afford to fight
Jimmy in court.
So the churches grumbled and paid
Jimmy his tithe, except for the Mormons, Christian Scientists,
Seventh Day Adventists, Quakers, and Unitarian Universalists. Jimmy
said their teachings hurt the commercial value of his property and
refused to let them
“Pity? Nah. No pity
here.” Wanda smiled. “A telepath following you around, digging into
your thoughts, could learn a lot. Things that everyone would know.
Things that’d be waiting around school for you, written on
blackboards and in washrooms. Think about it.”
Chiller swallowed. “That’s
blackmail.”
Chris nodded. “Give the man a
prize.”
Steeljack said, “I thought
telepaths could only read surface thoughts.”
Wanda smiled. “Want to test
that?”
Steeljack looked at each of us.
After a moment, he shook his head.
Chris said, “By this afternoon, we
want to hear you’ve met with a counselor and confessed. Got
it?”
Chiller shivered. Steeljack said
quietly, “Okay.” They began to walk by.
I said, “Oh, something you should
know.” I pulled a masker ID out of my jacket. “Guess who registered
today?” I held the card out so they could see my photo, my name and
address, and the name typed in as my masquerader ID. Steeljack and
Chiller looked at it, then at me, and walked away shaking their
heads.
Chris said, “You think therapy will
do them any good?”
Wanda stared at
him. “Who cares? They’ll hate it.”
•
Jason grinned when he saw me
hovering outside his hospital window, pressing my masker card
against the glass. In my skull, I heard Wanda’s whisper. “He says
you didn’t need to skip school to tell him. He heard it on the
radio, Gaylaxian.”
“That’s not why I
skipped school.”
I stayed by the window. Wanda said,
“I wish I could give you two some privacy. But then you couldn’t
communicate.”
I said, “Yes, we can.” I blew Jason
a kiss, and then I did a triple back-flip in the air. I didn’t need
to hear his laugh to know how it sounded.
The People
Who Owned the Bible
Will Shetterly
It was time for another Mickey
Mouse Copyright Extension to keep Disney's star property out of the
public domain. Somebody's nephew had a bright idea. Instead of
telling Congress to add the standard twenty years to the length of
copyright, why not go for the big time? Extend copyright by 500
years.
Somebody's niece added a smarter
reason: A 500 year extension would let Disney track down
Shakespeare's heirs and buy all rights to the Bard. No matter how
much the heirs wanted, the deal would pay for itself in no time.
Every school that ever wanted to perform or study Shakespeare would
have to send a check to Disney. Every newspaper or magazine or
radio show that wanted to quote the Bard would have to send one,
too. So Disney asked, and Congress gave, and the World Intellectual
Property Organization followed Congress's example. Disney paid off
Shakespeare's heirs, then used the Shakespeare profits to buy all
rights from the heirs of Dumas, Dickens, Twain, Mary Shelley, Jane
Austen, Bram Stoker and more. Once most of the films in every other
studio's library were subject to Disney's copyright, they went
bankrupt or became divisions of Disney.
And everyone was content, except
for the storytellers who had to buy a Disney license or prove that
their work owed nothing to the last 500 years of
literature.
Then Jimmy Joe Jenkins's DNA proved
he was the primary descendent of the translators of the King James
Version of the Bible. At first, Jimmy was satisfied with ten
percent of the price of every KJV sold and 10 percent of every
collection plate passed by any church that used the KJV. But when
some churches switched to newer translations, Jimmy sicced his
lawyers on all translations based on the KJV. That got him a cut of
every Bible and every Christian service in English. Some
translators claimed their work was based on older versions and
should therefore be exempt, but none of them could afford to fight
Jimmy in court.
So the churches grumbled and paid
Jimmy his tithe, except for the Mormons, Christian Scientists,
Seventh Day Adventists, Quakers, and Unitarian Universalists. Jimmy
said their teachings hurt the commercial value of his property and
refused to let them
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