Blind.Faith 2.0.50. Tomasz Tatum

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СКАЧАТЬ as being what he termed the third link, maintaining his rightful place in the oddly hierarchic ranks of those sightless species above, below and upon this earth.

      The saline air parched his lips and his almost unseeing eyes burned slightly again whenever another miniscule trickle of perspiration streamed into them. He withdrew his handkerchief and began his tapping and pecking ritual again.

      This, too, was just another part of his daily routine.

      He stood still for a moment, dabbing erratically at the beads of perspiration on his face and, at the same time, listening attentively to the sounds of various heavy machinery that filled the air around him.

      To be sure, there was at most times plenty of noise to be heard at the site. But, through experience over time, Fulcrum had acquired the ability to reliably differentiate between various pieces of equipment operating in the often tumultuous bustle of a construction site–his site–simply on the basis of the sound or the vibrations. Actually, clamor would likely be a more apt description for the noise which the various pieces and types of machinery produced.

      He would listen for a certain rattle or clatter, for example, or a distinct roar.

      At this particular moment, though, he was listening for one particular piece of machinery, one certain bulldozer that he was certain had to be operating around here somewhere.

      He sighed to himself in quiet frustration amid the heat and din of the construction site. Out here in the open, in this blazing light, he found it impossible to open his eyes wide enough to see anything anymore. And even though he navigated his way around the site as though it were the back of his hand, he had to admit to himself that it was getting tougher to find anything or anyone lately.

      Even Barnz, who he knew would, at the precise moment he needed him, very likely be perched high atop his bulldozer, waiting patiently for instructions or consultations whenever he would sense Fulcrum approaching. This, too, was part of their joint daily routine.

      Barnz was somehow special in Fulcrum’s estimation. He was a black fellow, not entirely young anymore and perhaps even somewhat unremarkable at first glance despite his stature and height. He was a tall man with just a hint of a potbelly discernible beneath his coveralls. He had a head full of mottled, evenly cropped dense grey hair and a soothing but gruff voice that suggested to Fulcrum that Barnz was likely somewhat older than he himself was. Fulcrum hadn’t the faintest notion where Barnz actually came from. One day, out of the blue, he was just there and it seemed as though he’d–in some hard-to-describe way or another–always been there. It was all a bit uncanny, but Fulcrum possessed the good sense and wisdom to instantly trust Barnz. He was clueless about where Barnz grew up or went to school in his youthful days but wherever it was, Fulcrum reasoned, the place must have been nothing short of fantastic: the man was incredibly smart. Fulcrum had never seen anything like it in his entire life. Barnz knew absolutely everything. Barnz had impeccable manners, he was patient and sometimes, it appeared to Fulcrum, Barnz even seemed to be perhaps a tiny bit clairvoyant.

      And, in truth, Fulcrum was not wholly wrong with his suspicion or secret assumptions–although he wasn’t entirely correct, either. The fact is that Barnz was not clairvoyant; he could not actually see into or predict the future.time–at least not any more than any other person endowed with a minimum of common sense could. But Barnz did, unbeknown to anyone around him, possess the remarkable and unique ability to recalibrate time–which he tracked faithfully with a magnificent platinum Breguet Classique Grande Complication that he wore, usually concealed beneath the cuff of his sleeve on his right wrist–just a tiny degree back to the past.time, thereby enabling himself the opportunity to subtly alter the outcome of what was the present.time and thereby tweak that which was subsequently perceived to be the future.time as well.

      What he could do, for example, was, for example, to push a book off a shelf, and then reset the time just enough so that everything around him might register the book dropping to the floor but never, ever noticing that anything else was amiss. By recalibrating time in this manner via the past.time, whatever subsequently ensued was by necessity different than it would have otherwise been. It was a simple, but also very practical, capability to possess in a world where outcomes were not always assured to be just.

      It was never clear why Barnz, of all people, would be gifted with such an astounding capability or which circumstances or even where he got the extravagant timepiece which was his tool. But it could rightfully be argued that, for one, he was absolutely incorruptible and, secondly, his personality doubtlessly possessed both a keen sense of balance and something at least remotely angelic. Alone these two traits were enough of an assurance that his capability to alter time, or perhaps only everyone’s perception of it, would not be subject to abuse and therefore found itself placed in competent and trustworthy hands.

      But, as the bearer of such capabilities, Barnz also needed to exercise extreme caution. The watch, while it gave him the power to reset time and thus alter the outcome of whatever circumstances he might happen to find himself in, did not afford him any protection beyond what might be regarded as the information advantage that such a capability discreetly provided him. Barnz was, in fact, every bit as mortal and just as vulnerable as everyone else around him.

      But he was also, as Fulcrum had correctly observed, an incredibly smart fellow.

      Barnz’s bulldozer was a massive piece of machinery, painted in a gaudy bright screaming blue color with the logo CRΞΔTΩR 2.0.50 stenciled in vivid large white lettering on both sides of the cab. With the exception of the windshield, the windows of the cab were tinted. The comfort and the controls as well as the sound insulation within the cab were state-of-the-art.

      It even had a very decent 14-speaker sound system installed. Fulcrum had actually once had an opportunity to try it out and judged it to be divine. The subwoofer was absolutely phenomenal.

      As a member of Fulcrum’s crew, it was very often Barnz’s task to flatten the land upon which the huge windmills, the NextGen PowerCranks, would be erected. But even more importantly, it was Barnz who had, over time, become tasked with explaining many of the intricacies of the worldmonde.Planet to Fulcrum and, in a more localized context and thus especially significant given the sad liability of his fading eyesight, what was necessary for them to best get their mutual job done. Because of this, he was more than just a valuable member of the team–he was utterly indispensable.

      And, most importantly for their professional relationship, Fulcrum knew and appreciated the fact that Barnz was a friend as well, a man who could be fully and unconditionally trusted. Fulcrum was steadfast in his knowledge that Barnz would never, ever fail him, nor was it conceivable that he would ever disappoint anyone else who would prove wise enough to invest their trust in him.

      And after all, Fulcrum did have every reason to be cautious. If word were ever to reach his senior management downtown that he was pretty much blind, his livelihood as 4.MΔN on these prestigious projects might doubtlessly be in great peril. Fulcrum was a bright fellow and he certainly harbored no naïve illusions about this fact; he knew that it was extremely unlikely that his em.Dee1 would react with any degree of sympathy to such news. Luckily for him, however, the em.Dee1 was a fellow who was burdened with what seemed like a gazillion other vitally important commitments and who had therefore never exhibited any great inclination to meet with him, let alone get personally involved in the more mundane activities at the various construction sites. He preferred instead to manage his multitude of business interests as comfortably as possible by MindφSet or SpeakEZ, calling only very occasionally from his office located in a suite at the top of a sleek-looking blue-tinted glass cube situated near the center of town and, even then, only when he deemed it to be absolutely unavoidable.

      And, as things stood, he had not a single reason in the entire worldmonde.Planet to be dissatisfied with Fulcrum’s performance or with the СКАЧАТЬ