And the play? Yes, we've had a change of title. It was "Frankenstein V", and now it is "Electromagnetic Dolly, Absolutely Electromagnetic", although we're not really happy with the new choice either and are now contemplating "The Anniversary of Ill-advised Wrapping-room Efforts -- A Comedy about Robots"...you say.
Anyhow, Dolly, the prototype of a new generation of robots (the fifth generation) is about to do capitalism in --- yes, the world economic system --- and our Palais Bulles plays a role in this.
A brief reminder: Dolly was hoisted upon Eliza, the aging psycho...psycho-analyst by Steve, her ex-boyfriend and now the CEO of FrankenStein Global, world's leading robot maker (the play is set 25 years in the future). And then Dolly was carried off by bailiff Terentia Striker and her assistant Triple-X to the Shark-Blue Bank as the collateral for an un-serviced mortgage. At the bank, Dolly is put to work, and here's what happens next (Dolly and Triple-X reporting) (One more thing: Dolly doesn't like its name, and pretends its name is 'Fernando')
ACT III, Scene 2, Fragment:
TRIPLE-X
So, Dolly told them, it would be willing to cooperate. Help them bankers with their bonuses. And it worked. They let Dolly out of its box.
DOLLY
Now, to wit, I'm the only Fifth Generation machine in the world. All the trading, all the ruthless money-making is done...or was done...by lesser folks, by fourth-generation machines at best.
Now, to wit, I'm the only Fifth Generation machine in the world. All the trading, all the ruthless money-making is done...or was done...by lesser folks, by fourth-generation machines at best.
TRIPLE-X
And it's a zero-sum game out there...
And it's a zero-sum game out there...
DOLLY
...on the choppy seas of mega-making deals...
...on the choppy seas of mega-making deals...
TRIPLE-X
...my loss is your gain, my gain is your loss.
...my loss is your gain, my gain is your loss.
DOLLY
So, all Shark-Blue bankers line up, curious about me, all wanting to know, how does this prototype do it?
So, all Shark-Blue bankers line up, curious about me, all wanting to know, how does this prototype do it?
TRIPLE-X
Yup.
Yup.
DOLLY
I ask...'who's the most junior automaton around?'
I ask...'who's the most junior automaton around?'
TRIPLE-X
One unassuming guy raises his hand.
One unassuming guy raises his hand.
DOLLY
I ask to be seated behind his terminal. He was trading pig-bellies or something, and his name was Strawberry. He had been trading up and down during the day, buying and selling. It's about speed, mostly, about fleeting patterns in trends. Each nano-second counts, each nano-second yields new insights. And I'm more nano than the rest of the field.
I ask to be seated behind his terminal. He was trading pig-bellies or something, and his name was Strawberry. He had been trading up and down during the day, buying and selling. It's about speed, mostly, about fleeting patterns in trends. Each nano-second counts, each nano-second yields new insights. And I'm more nano than the rest of the field.
TRIPLE-X
Dolly doesn't even touch the keyboard. It asks for the X-Y-Z socket on the terminal and inserts its tail into the slot.
Dolly doesn't even touch the keyboard. It asks for the X-Y-Z socket on the terminal and inserts its tail into the slot.
ELIZA
Its tail?
Its tail?
TRIPLE-X
Yes, its tail. It has a tail. It's a bit ikky, its extension, but borderline cool.
Yes, its tail. It has a tail. It's a bit ikky, its extension, but borderline cool.
ELIZA
Yukk, I hate spiders.
Yukk, I hate spiders.
DOLLY
I can hide it, my tail, doctor, if you prefer.
I can hide it, my tail, doctor, if you prefer.
ELIZA REFILLS HER GLASS, SAYS NOTHING.
So, I connected my...my extension, and, within seconds...
TRIPLE-X
...the numbers on the screen went mad.
DOLLY
They went up.
...the numbers on the screen went mad.
DOLLY
They went up.
TRIPLE-X
Up.
Up.
DOLLY
Through the roof.
Through the roof.
TRIPLE-X
The glass ceiling.
The glass ceiling.
DOLLY
It was like Hillary Clinton had won the elections. Two minutes, and I had cornered the market.
It was like Hillary Clinton had won the elections. Two minutes, and I had cornered the market.
TRIPLE-X
Two more minutes, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange shut down...
Two more minutes, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange shut down...
DOLLY
...that's where these pork bellies were traded.
...that's where these pork bellies were traded.
TRIPLE-X
Then this Strawberry...
Then this Strawberry...
DOLLY
...this junior trader, whose terminal I was using...
...this junior trader, whose terminal I was using...
TRIPLE-X
...he switches his terminal off and says...
...he switches his terminal off and says...
DOLLY
...he says: 'Enough is enough, Fernando, my nest is feathered, and my bonus knows no symptotic [sic] bounds'. He dons his Dior-Diamond Sweatshirt, refastens the laces on his Valentino trainers, and grabs his Gucci-weightless mountain bike. Then he waves distantly at us and says: 'I'm off to France where I buy the Eiffel Tower and have legal sex with humans'.
...he says: 'Enough is enough, Fernando, my nest is feathered, and my bonus knows no symptotic [sic] bounds'. He dons his Dior-Diamond Sweatshirt, refastens the laces on his Valentino trainers, and grabs his Gucci-weightless mountain bike. Then he waves distantly at us and says: 'I'm off to France where I buy the Eiffel Tower and have legal sex with humans'.
TRIPLE-X
The next trader was dealing in diamonds. His name was Dex, or something.
The next trader was dealing in diamonds. His name was Dex, or something.
DOLLY
I connect my tail to his terminal...and...lo and behold, after twelve hundred and sixty thousand milli-seconds...
I connect my tail to his terminal...and...lo and behold, after twelve hundred and sixty thousand milli-seconds...
TRIPLE-X
...roughly two minutes...
...roughly two minutes...
DOLLY
...we've cornered the markets in Antwerp...
...we've cornered the markets in Antwerp...
TRIPLE-X
...where these clunkers are mostly traded.
...where these clunkers are mostly traded.
DOLLY
Dex shuts his terminal down and says:
Dex shuts his terminal down and says:
TRIPLE-X
'Enough is enough, Fernando, my nest is feathered; my bonus knows no symptotic bounds.' He dons his Dior sweatshirt, refastens his Valentino trainers, grabs his weightless bike, and says: 'I'm off to France where I buy the Versailles château and have legal sex with humans'.
'Enough is enough, Fernando, my nest is feathered; my bonus knows no symptotic bounds.' He dons his Dior sweatshirt, refastens his Valentino trainers, grabs his weightless bike, and says: 'I'm off to France where I buy the Versailles château and have legal sex with humans'.
DOLLY
The third-and-fourth-and-fifth guy dealt in wheat on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which was already closed, but the stuff is also traded in Moscow, London, Sidney, and elsewhere. So, I brought these places down in decreasing milli-seconds, and all the bankers grabbed their bikes and retired to France.
TRIPLE-X
This went on for a while, with commercial and financial centers around the world spreading their legs and French luxe estate being gobbled up at alarming rates.
The third-and-fourth-and-fifth guy dealt in wheat on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which was already closed, but the stuff is also traded in Moscow, London, Sidney, and elsewhere. So, I brought these places down in decreasing milli-seconds, and all the bankers grabbed their bikes and retired to France.
TRIPLE-X
This went on for a while, with commercial and financial centers around the world spreading their legs and French luxe estate being gobbled up at alarming rates.
DOLLY
Now, the thing is, the world economy is like interleaved chains of upstanding domino pieces. One domino falls, other pieces follow.
Now, the thing is, the world economy is like interleaved chains of upstanding domino pieces. One domino falls, other pieces follow.
TRIPLE-X
The simile is familiar, we trust.
The simile is familiar, we trust.
DOLLY
But the New York Stock Exchange was still standing, the primary trading place for common and preferred stock of FrankenStein Global, incidentally...
But the New York Stock Exchange was still standing, the primary trading place for common and preferred stock of FrankenStein Global, incidentally...
TRIPLE-X
...which was...
...which was...
DOLLY
...unincidentally....
...unincidentally....
TRIPLE-X
...traded by the most senior banker around.
...traded by the most senior banker around.
DOLLY
With my deep learning converging rapidly...it took me the blink of an eye to happy [sic] this banker and bring the New York Stock Exchange down.
With my deep learning converging rapidly...it took me the blink of an eye to happy [sic] this banker and bring the New York Stock Exchange down.
ELIZA
That person also went to France?
That person also went to France?
TRIPLE-X
Of course.
Of course.
ELIZA
And what would he buy?
And what would he buy?
DOLLY
He would buy the 'Palais Bulles', a funny looking pile of terracotta bubbles overlooking the Mediterranean not far from Cannes, previously owned by Pierre Cardin, the most expensive private building in the world. Asking price 350 million Euro...
He would buy the 'Palais Bulles', a funny looking pile of terracotta bubbles overlooking the Mediterranean not far from Cannes, previously owned by Pierre Cardin, the most expensive private building in the world. Asking price 350 million Euro...
1 comment:
Nice post.Keep sharing. Thanks for sharing.
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