هیچ کدوم اینا درست نیست!

CHPATER FIVE

None of it’s true!

Mervyn wasn’t very happy that day. On the way to work, he had a small accident in the Rolls-Royce. He drove into the back of another car. That evening he was going to be on a television programme about fortune tellers. He was worried about it. He was thinking about the television programme when Rachel knocked on his office door.

‘Who’s that? I’m busy. Go away.’

‘It’s me, Rachel.’

‘I said go away!’

‘I must speak to you.’

‘Come back later.’

‘It’s important, Mervyn.’ Rachel opened the door and went in.

‘Yes, what do you want’ said Mervyn.

‘Well, Mervyn, I had an idea.’

‘I’m not interested in your ideas,’ said Mervyn.

‘You were interested in my idea for computer palmistry,’ said Rachel.

‘OK, sit down and tell me. But hurry, I’m very busy.’

Rachel told him about the woman at the party, and he laughed.

‘Does it matter’ he said.

‘Well, yes,’ she said. ‘I wanted the computer to compare the photographs from different towns.’

‘We don’t pay you to play with the computer,’ said Mervyn angrily. ‘Anyway, you aren’t a computer programmer. You couldn’t do this. Someone helped you. Who was it?’

‘Mark,’ said Rachel, ‘but he did the work in his own time.’

‘He used my computer, and he used my electricity’ said Mervyn.

‘Can I show you what we found’ said Rachel. She showed the printouts to Mervyn. He got angrier and angrier.

‘Rachel,’ he said, ‘this is all nonsense! Nobody can tell you about the future. You don’t believe this, do you?’

‘Don’t you believe it’ she said quietly.

‘Of course not. It’s not true. None of it.’

Then you’re cheating your customers.’

‘Yes, I know,’ said Mervyn. ‘There’s a fool born every minute.’ You’ve heard that before, haven’t you? That’s why I’m a rich man. Anyway, we got all the information about palmistry and astrology from the best books. The program doesn’t cheat. It gives us the best information on palmistry. but all of the information is nonsense.’

Rachel stood up. ‘That’s it, Mervyn. You’re a cheat and a thief.’

Mervyn smiled. ‘Thank you,’ he said.

‘Well, I’m not working for you any more. You can find another palmistry consultant. Ask at the prison. They’ll find somebody for you.’

She left Mervyn’s room, and hurried back to her office. She put on her coat, and walked out.

The air outside felt clean and good. She smiled. She wasn’t a ‘palmistry consultant’ any more.

‘Now,’ she thought, ‘I’m going to get a real job.’