The Grasshopper (30 page)

Chapter 110

“Where have you been, Grasshopper?”
Erivan shouted in panic, when the Grasshopper finally picked up.
“Can’t you see that they’re almost in the residence?! Charlie’s
barely holding on!”

“Calm down, Mr. President. I’ve
completed my procedure. Everything is in place now,” the
Grasshopper calmed him.

“What procedure of yours? What is
in place?”

“Are you seeing how I’m vaporizing
cities across the Earth?”

“Yes. And they say that I’m to
blame for sending such a butcher up there.”

“Butcher? Cute. Now listen to me
carefully. My procedure automatically controls the energy beams
targeting a ring around the entire region of Capital City. When it
detects that someone has entered that ring, the beams go online and
vaporize everything that is in it. Do you understand, Mr.
President?”

“I understand…”

“So no one can enter or leave
Capital City.”

“Alright…”

“You’re not pleased? I’m providing
you with absolute protection and you…”

“Can’t you create that ring around
my residence? What use is the region. You probably see…”

“I cannot create such small beams.
And I also don’t want to. You’ll see, Capital City will adore
you.”

“How, Grasshopper,
how?!”

“You will immediately appear on
television and explain to the people everything what I’ve told you.
And tell them that if anyone gives you the eye, I will vaporize all
of Capital City.”

“They won’t believe me… you have to
tell them, Grasshopper.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. I’ll call the television
station.”

Chapter 111

Dr. Palladino never cared about
anything. Except for on two occasions. The first time was on that
day, when he was the only one not to appear at his wedding. Not
that something was wrong with the bride. Brides will be brides: she
cared about children, a home, furniture… etc. That is why Dr.
Palladino remained alone his entire life.

Dr. Palladino had become a doctor
because his father, Dr. Palladino, wanted it. He chose psychiatry
on his own, because the job didn’t require him touching
people.

Humane Capitalism suited Dr.
Palladino. As soon as he got a job at a psychiatric hospital in
Capital City, he asked an elegant older colleague where he
dressed.

Honored by such a question, the
older colleague explained to him in detail how the location and
size of the apartment, the car and clothes were very important for
psychiatrists like them. Because that way they emphasized the high
standing of their clinic, and they assumed the respectable social
ranking, which, by the way, they fully deserved.

That is how Dr. Palladino learned
where he would live in the future and in which shops he would be
buying his car, furniture and clothes. He immediately created a
special contact with the vendors and asked them at the end of the
season to immediately hand over all the old things to the
inspectorate, and to bring and install, assemble, put in all the
new things… as it was supposed to be.

Humane Capitalism allowed Dr.
Palladino to relieve himself of all great burdens, in one move, for
his entire life. But he didn’t know how to wear all that. He spent
all his time in the smallest room of his large apartment. He didn’t
drive his car but rather he took the taxi. All the elegant clothes,
in the right sizes, hung loosely on him. And because of the loose
knot, his silk tie draped diagonally.

Humane Capitalism also suited Dr.
Palladino in the professional sense. Because Prince Kaella had
placed the highest prices on drugs for the treatment of psychiatric
conditions. That way Dr. Palladino’s patients quickly spent their
meager savings, if they had any at all, and quickly ended up at
Euthanasia. The Balance, which Mr. Kaella had created in society,
could not support such a burden for long. The high frequency with
which patients changed allowed Dr. Palladino not to get overly
involved with them.

Dr. Palladino did not care much for
cigarettes, whiskey or poker. He considered all three to be
implied. This way of waiting for death started reflecting on Dr.
Palladino’s physical appearance. His hair had gone white at an
early age, as decided by his genes. But nonetheless, its thickness
led to envious looks by many young passersby. Dr. Palladino didn’t
care to tame it, which is why occasionally a lock would reach his
ear or fall on his forehead, unobstructed. His skin got wrinkled,
with sacks under his eyes, and his green eyes matured.

Such an appearance on the part of
Dr. Palladino, without any intention, changed the traditional dress
code at the psychiatric clinic. The male colleagues noticed that
the female colleagues found Dr. Palladino to be a very interesting
man, which is why they created a new doctrine according to which
the psychiatric clinic cannot establish its identity by imitating
the style of stock brokers, but rather through the lucid
development of its own style. And the own style of every serious
psychiatrist must be wacky. That is why the staff, before entering
the clinic in the morning, loosened the knots on their ties,
ruffled their shirts and crumpled the line on their pants. Despite
the efforts, the original remained interesting to the female
coworkers. That is why some of them discretely offered Dr.
Palladino their bodies. And he didn’t care to turn them
down.

That is precisely when that other
occasion happened in Dr. Palladino’s life, when, now for the second
time, he cared about something. Namely, an Inspectorate captain
asked Dr. Palladino to help him in his enduring and unsuccessful
hunt for a serial killer, who left numerous victims in his wake,
with a specific mode of operation.

The psychological profile of that
serial killer, which Dr. Palladino created based on the extensive
documentation that he received, was of crucial importance for the
apprehension of the criminal and bringing him to
justice.

For more than a decade, the
collaboration with the Inspectorate and the creation of profiles of
serial killers had been something that finally brought some meaning
to Dr. Palladino’s life, something that he truly cared about. While
on the hunt Dr. Palladino did not drink whiskey or play poker. He
only smoked.

At the beginning of the war the
Inspectorate was concerned with more important things. That is why
Dr. Palladino went back to poker and whiskey. On one occasion, when
he was a little late for a game, one of his fellow poker players
said that his wife was leaving him because of poker and taking
their children. And that that night was his last game. The other
players at the table said that they were very sorry and that they
understood him completely. Although none of them really understood
why he was quitting poker now, when he could now play
unimpeded.

A week later the news spread that
this player had committed suicide. And ten days later the reliable
information at the poker table was that he had done so by playing
Russian roulette.

Chapter 112

Like every night, Manami and Pascal
were sitting in the dark on their cover. Manami raised her head
from Pascal’s shoulder and got up. Then she knelt on the couch,
turned towards him. He sat leaning back, motionless, with his hands
in his lap. Manami took his face in her hands and turned him
towards her. She caressed him.

“Why don’t you love me, Pascal?”
she asked.

“Don’t do this to me, Manami,”
Pascal answered.

“Why don’t you caress me like this?
Why don’t you also run your fingers through my hair, my
love?”

“Manami…” Pascal said painfully.
“Don’t torment me…”

“I’m overjoyed, my dear! Overjoyed!
That’s why I’m teasing you. Because the most impulsive Don Juan is
behaving like this. He won’t even touch his loved one until she
tells him to. And he trembles with love. I’m not an adulteress,
Pascal, because I allowed myself to be seduced, because I allowed
you to seduce me, because you spoke sweet words to me. I am an
adulteress only because I’m so in love with you. And only because
my love is so big and strong. And that is why I have the right to
caress you. If anyone were to see this now, they would later say
that I caressed your cheek… your hair. They would not be able to
say that you caressed my hand with your cheek. That you seduced
me.”

“Manami… I want to touch you… I
can’t… I can’t take it…”

“Talk to me,” said
Manami.

“I love you! I’m crazy about you! I
want to kiss you! I have to kiss you!”

“Not like that” Manami
laughed.

“What then?”

“What kind of a world will you
create?”

“Me? I’m not going to create any
kind of world, my love. I’m not interested in that anymore. I just
want to be with you… Only you exist for me. And do you know what,
Manami? Those stories of yours, whether you are an adulteress or
not. This way or the other… You can tell them to someone else. You
are just a selfish creature.”

“Is that so? So that’s what you
think of me?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, now you’ll see how selfish I
am, my love!”

Manami got up, sat in his lap,
covered his lips with her hands and kissed his hair, forehead,
eyes.

“There. That’s how selfish I am, my
darling!”

Pascal moved her hand from his lips
and tried to kiss her, but Manami sat up, pressed her hands against
his shoulders and said

“Don’t you dare!”

“I won’t. I won’t, Manami. Forgive
me…” said Pascal, trying to calm himself. “I’m aware of how much it
means to you… that I… didn’t seduce you allegedly. Because, as far
as I understand, that would be a sin. And the fact that you fell in
love with me on your own, that allegedly isn’t a sin.”

“Of course it’s not a sin. My soul
is pure. My love is pure. It’s like a mountain stream from ages
ago. That is how pure my love is, Pascal.”

“Your love is pure, Manami. As is
your soul. You are wonderful… wonderful, Manami. But my love is
pure too. And powerful. And I cannot go on like this anymore. I
must caress you, touch you, kiss you… Don’t torture me any more,
please. In any case, you’re just deceiving yourself and me for no
reason.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I seduced you with my eyes,
when you were bringing the mayor tea.”

“You seduced me?” Manami exclaimed.
“You’re really talking nonsense, Pascal. I seduced you with my
eyes! In any case, I looked at you first. And you were puzzled by
that look for days. Only later did I succeed in seducing you, in
forcing you to look at me that way.”

“You looked at me first?! I looked
at you intently the entire time that you were brining the tea. And
you felt my gaze, my seduction, on yourself. And that is why you
even looked at me in the first place. To see what was so powerful,
who loved you so much.”

“Just you keep deceiving yourself,
my darling, if it makes you feel better.”

Manami got up from Pascal’s lap,
sat next to him and placed her head on his chest.

“So kiss my hair… So what? I’m a
lonely sad woman in a shelter… in the middle of a war. And you are
a good friend who’s comforting me… who is hugging me and kissing my
hair, in difficult times. That is completely understandable and
acceptable.”

Pascal kissed her hair in silence
and stroked her back.

“I want to kiss your lips so much,
Pascal… But I can’t. The one who is watching would then say ‘He
kissed her.’ That’s what they always say ‘he kissed her,’ and not
‘she kissed him.’ Right?”

Chapter 113

“Is everything alright, Mr.
President?”

“Yes. Everyone is as calm as a toad
in the sun. No one’s coming near the residence. I’ve finally had
some rest and my blood pressure is stable. Thank you, Grasshopper.
You are truly a man of your word.”

“Are you thanking me, Mr.
President? Tell me again, what did I write in my PhD
thesis?”

“That you want to serve the
leader.”

“Not only do I want to - that is
the purpose of my life. Which leader, who do I consider the
greatest leader in history?”

“Me.”

“That’s correct. And why then are
you thanking me? I exist only to carry out your orders.”

“Thank you… I mean… I’m pleased
with you, Grasshopper.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. It means
a lot to me. But, may I ask you, how do the people get paid now?
Are you still printing money?”

“No, no. They’re not getting
anything.”

“So they’re not working? The
Inspectorate is not working?”

“No, no…. everyone’s
working.”

“How? How do they pay for food?
Alright, I provide the energy for free. Your waterworks are
running…”

“They don’t pay… They’ve organized
themselves. You know that we produce enough food for the city here.
And they distribute it somehow… according to the number of
household members. They negotiate… There are also pharmaceuticals,
doctors are working… how do I know…”