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New York, May 06, 2010, 8:25pm

Dr Thomas Hillman was sitting at the bar of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, on Park Avenue, on a comfy armchair in one corner, next to a bush of ornamental plants. His sit faced the fireplace from a distance. In front of him there were other armchairs and a low table in the middle with a few magazines and newspapers.



There mustn’t be any real light bulbs in this place. He thought, as he gazed at the faint light cast in the walls of the room by the hidden lamps. No real light bulb can glow like these ones. A light bulb cannot glow like a summer sunset in Ibiza.


He picked up a copy of Nature from the pile on the table. How unusual, he thought, to find a scientific magazine here. Forbes is there, that’s fine. Golf Digest could even be printed here, it wouldn’t surprise me. The Polo Magazine…why does it seem silly even here? Maybe because I can’t picture people riding horses with polo sticks in the middle of Fifth Avenue. It’s funny how nothing seem impossible to the rich.


He raised his hand and a waiter materialized beside him.


“Excuse-me sir, may I help you in any way?”


“Yes, I would like a espresso and a sandwich, please” He was worried that the waiter would start offering sandwiches with complicated french names. “a cheeseburger” he added quickly.


“Yes sir, excuse me”


A magazine like this, he continued his thought, could only interest a scientist, or a geek. And I have to force my mind to picture such person sitting here. A bed and breakfast at Brooklyn would readily receive him. What kind of geek could afford a million-dollar-per-night hotel? He quickly searched for a menu to check the price of the sandwich he just ordered. There wasn’t one. Well, how much can a sandwich cost? 30 dollars? 50 dollars?


“Hey Tom, how are you my friend?”


“Hey Peter! I’m fine mate! And you?”


Peter Cheng was the only person he could think of at this time. First because he was living in New York for the past 3 years. Second because he was a scientist from the particle physics department at NYU and third because he was actually intelligent. He was Chinese.


“I see you are enjoying my magazine!” he laughed.


“your magazine?” Thomas asked confused.


“Yes, I was sitting here waiting for you. I went to the restroom and left my magazine here. Or do you think they keep copies of Nature around here normally?