previous installment is here
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How do they do it?
After Ord's safe return from Earth, he and Zaph are having their usual brain storming session in the methane lounge.
"Tell me more about these humans," Zaph begins.
"Like what?" Ord is uncertain where to begin.
"How do they communicate for example?" Zaph is trying to be more precise.
"Oh, this is a mess," Ord begins, "entire physics is involved. They convert thoughts to electric impulses that trigger various chords in their heads to produce sound waves that hit membranes in another individual's head to produce electric signals that produce thoughts."
"Holy cow!" Zaph exclaims, "does it work?"
"Not really," Ord admits, "perhaps 5% of the info makes it through accurately."
"So maybe we do not have to worry that much?" Zaph enquires.
"Not quite," Ord answers, "they have developed what they sometimes call The Method, and other times Mathematics, and this can be communicated with almost 100% accuracy."
"I see, and this is what we are buying?" Zaph guesses.
"That's the plan," admits Ord. "I want to get Thur into the Government Science Agency and I already established a contact with the Society of Mathematicians," he explains.
"Given these communication issues perhaps I should get involved directly?" asks Zaph.
"I do not see why not," Ord answers, "the fellow to probe is named Lander."
It is The Method, stupid!
The Program Commanders sip their coffees except for Ris who prefers tea.
"If someone is buying math, what are they after?" asks Man.
They sit in silence because promoting your own program and putting down others' is a bad etiquette. Eventually Dy says, "We know a lot about numbers."
"What numbers?" Uce and Mek ask simultaneously.
"Natural ones," Dy answers quickly and after prolonged silence he looks at Uce and adds, "and real and complex ones as well," and glancing at Mek he corrects himself, "and also cardinal ones."
"This is surprisingly hard," comments Nna, "we are getting nowhere."
"Maybe it is not about what we know or do not know but about what we can get this way?" Ie tries to clarify.
"You mean like Euc's Elements and all that shit?" Mek asks with a spark of excitement.
"Exactly, it is The Method," says Ie.
"But anyone can have it for free, it is not a fucking secret," Nna states what is on everyone's mind.
"Well," explains Ie, "it is not that someone wants to have it but rather does not want us to have it."
"You mean like US Congress," Mek cannot resist a stupid joke.
"Funny," says Ie sourly.
They sit in silence until Uce has epiphany, "This really means that we are onto something."
"With math you are always onto something. It is just not clear what it is," Tor dampens the mood.
Everybody is jumpy and nervous. "Let's go and decline some projects," Mek proposes and they all rush to their offices to ruin someone's day.
The biggest crisis in the history of mathematics
After the departure of Pathia the executives of the Society of Mathematicians sit in a stunned silence. "Was she stoned?" someone finally asks, "but if so I want the stuff that she is smoking. Pretty gutsy."
"And these papers that she put in the Library," another adds, "are not so bad. The one by Lapundia and Lafirynda unites geometry and algebra. Pretty heady stuff."
"This is it!" roars the presiding mathematician, "I am the Acting President as of now, and here is what we are going to do. As far as Pathia is concerned, it is over. She is going to work for the Last Day Math exclusively to undo the damage. I hope she is really as good as everybody thinks. And stoning is a good idea. Tomorrow we will announce that she was stoned by the library mob."
"Library mob?" somebody expresses doubt.
"Have you seen it lately? The place looks like they have a fire sale there," he pauses and is silent for a long while.
"I think we have to burn it. There is no other way," he makes up his mind.
"Burn what?" someone says incredulously.
"Burn the Library! Yeah, burn the fucker down. This work by Lapundia and Lafirynda is at least thousand years ahead of its time and this is just the tip of the iceberg," the new Acting President screams stomping his feet.
"What is an iceberg?" someone asks in the back.
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