Chameleon

"It's a pity that money doesn't buy everything."
The older one replies, "But it does."
"Come on, there are laws and cops; you can't buy everything."
The older man exhales a long cloud of smoke, "There is no poverty like ignorance. If you do not know, it's like you don't have."
His younger friend ponders that for a moment. He hasn't been called poor in years. Today is a celebration of sorts; his day of triumph; the day his net worth reached a billion dollars.
The older man reaches for the small tablet computer on the table beside him. A plain web page, only a box asking for a member ID and password pops up; he enters the needed information.
"My friend," he says, "tomorrow is your birthday. Let me treat you."
His friend looks at him, curious.
"What is your greatest desire? That wish you never even dared to think?"
The younger man remembers the long road that led him here. The effort, the taunts, and the myriad humiliations he endured. His darkest fantasy, the one he barely dares to think. Yes, that is the one. He stands and approaches the older man. On the screen a plain home page reads simply:
'The Network.'
Even in this secure place he does not dare speak it out loud. He bends over and whispers in his friend's ear. He turns and refills his drink.
The older man taps a few times on his tablet. The internet speed at this hotel is blindingly fast.
"Will seven PM be too early, or would eight be better?"

Dettagli