Before 24 Billion and Counting

Chapter 5 Part 2 Revealing the past, or the future, securing the now.

"I don't know. I'm a publisher and we've got just about every electronic way of looking at a story or a script, but sometime somebody always wants a paper draft to get it right. We still can't get a quick way of conveniently looking at ten pages at once. It must be the same with laws or policies or scientific papers, and there aren't that many copiers in offices now for the reasons you've just given. Anyway for once it hasn't cost you anything." 

"Well, not to put the system in, but on a job like yours I pay for two copies when you only want one." 

"Well I'm prepared to consider that," I said, "If, that is, I can have the other copy." 

Alicia and I sipped our tea, and so did he. "Why would you want to do that?" 

Alicia said, "It's a manuscript of a novel written by my uncle a long time ago, and I want this man to publish it, and we don't want anyone else to see it before it's published." 

"Mind if I read some, just to check it's what you say?" 

I said, "We haven't read it but just bear in mind it's probably science fiction, and you shouldn't muddle it with a real scientific paper." 

"Just as well I'm an engineer, then, isn't it." 

There was a silence while he picked pages at random, and read them. Alicia and I took more tea. I noticed the screen that was connected to a security camera that overlooked the shop, and made a mental note to ask about that too. 

"Looks like a novel, certainly, and a bit far fetched as far as I can see. Okay - it's unlikely to be a state secret. But I take a risk if I don't send this in." 

"What's the risk? If they don't see it they don't know it existed." 

"Ah - that's where you're wrong, they have a counter on their little tray and they check that weekly. Their counter is sealed. I can see how to cheat on a single sheet but not a 535 page document like yours." 

"If you hadn't pressed the button for the security copy would they be able to check that out?" 

He hesitated, "I'm sure they can but I'm not sure whether they would. They can do an audit of all the machines, the charges to account customers, the non account customers, and the security copies and then they'd find a discrepancy. As I said if you'd had a single page document you could lose it easily. 535 pages is a problem."' 

But surely you can reset your own counter? You do much more complicated work on your machines than that." 

"Yes, I can do that." he said. 

I said rather too intensely, "Right, if I bring in a 535 page document that I don't care if there is a security copy, and you copy it A5 size without pressing the security button, and you reset your machine's counter, and you give those A5 copies instead of these ones to the Ministry - how about that?" 

"Hang on, why should I go to all that trouble?" 

I could only think that Alicia's choreographic skills led her to it, for, beautifully cracking the tension that was building, she said gently, "Well - that's to be discussed - would it work?" 

The man hesitated and I knew then that we were close to a practical solution. From now on it was details and how much. "Yes that could be a way of doing it." 

"Alicia - have you got something loose-leaf with around 6OO pages. We can always scatter a few blanks in." 

"I've got some old software manuals but they're A5, not the same size as our manuscript." 

"That's ideal, we're only after an A5 copy anyway." 

"Hey - hey I haven't said I would do it, I said it would work. Probably." 

I said, "Well how much for your inconvenience - plus the copy costs of course. We've removed the risks." 

"A thousand Euros cash." 

"Um - cash. Traveller's cheque?" 

"Cash - on the nail." 

"I can get the cash," said Alicia, a trifle impatiently. "When do we need to bring the stuff for copying to you." 

"To do it without causing a delay they'll find, in not much more than two hours - with the cash." 

"All right, if you don't see us in two hours do what you have to. That security camera, do they look at that?" 

He reached out and pressed the eject button. "No it's a 24 hour repeat for my use only. It's not quite a police state yet." He passed the memory unit to me and it was one I was familiar with in my own studios. 

"Well we've a couple of errands to do - that's our lunch postponed," I said, as I stood and took Alicia's arm, "we'll see you later. But I'll take some security copies as, well security, and this is my earnest of intention." I held out my hand for the paper with an American hundred dollar bill in it. It was worth about 250 Euros. 

He was truly hooked, and gave me half the security copies. 

We walked out of the shop, with a G'bye from the youth barely audible over the once more blaring TV. As we got out on to the street Alicia asked with animation, "Charles, aren't you being unduly paranoiac? That lot'll be about ten times the cost of a straight copy, and if he's telling the truth - and I'm sure he is, it's a State Ministry that couldn't give a fig for a piece of fiction." 

"Well then - why did you back me up in there?" 

"I don't hassle the men who are with me in public, I try to be on their side. Besides you're the publisher. I have to assume you know your business. But I don't have to meekly accept what you say.