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page0065.mm
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<p>Page 65.</p>
<p>First I headed for
the cafeteria. This was a decoy, to throw off surveillance. I really
wanted to check out that operating theater, to see if Carl was in it,
or had been recently. But going there directly from Cassandra
Cautery’s office might have aroused suspicion. So I caught an
elevator to ground floor, swiped my way through the doors, and stood
in line to buy a muffin.</p>
<p>There were three
people ahead of me, one a young blond guy with glasses who kept
turning around to look at me. Finally he blurted: “Dr. Neumann,
I just want to say you’re my idol.”</p>
<p>“What?”
I said. Because I thought I must have misheard <em>idol</em>.</p>
<p>“You and
Isaac Newton,” the kid said. “And Barry Marshall. And the
Curies. You guys who put yourselves on the line. Become your own test
subjects. I salute you.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” I
said. “Thanks.”</p>
<p>“Compared to
you, Kevin Warwick is a <em>pussy</em>.” Behind the counter, the
cafeteria girl waited for the kid to realize it was his turn, but I
couldn’t see that happening without intervention. “He
should be <em>embarrassed</em> with himself.”</p>
<p>“You can go
now.” He looked confused, so I gestured to the counter.</p>
<p>“Oh. Sure.”
He was hurt. “I just wanted to say, it’s an honor to work
in the same building as someone like you.”</p>
<p>I waited while the
kid bought a sandwich. I should have been gracious, somehow. But I
didn’t know how to respond to that kind of flattery. After a
while I decided I should have offered him a position on my team, but
by then he was already walking away.</p>
<p>“The Curies
died,” said the girl behind the counter. “From radiation
poisoning.”</p>
<p>“I know,”
I said. “One chocolate muffin, please.”</p>