Page 26 - Unlikely Stories 1

DeathCon

“Well, hello, folks! I’m Buell Bauser, and this is another

edition of ‘Wonders Never Cease,’ your weekly video magazine of
remarkable places and things right here in our own backyard. And
what a show we have for you today! We’re here at the Vulcan
Convention Center in beautiful downtown San Diablo, and next to
me is Thyssen Krupp, organizer of the Know-how, Research,
Innovation, and Enterprise Gathering. Did I say that right, Thyssen?”
“Yes, you did, Buell. And let me add that this exposition of
defense technology is open to all, so come on down! It goes on until
next Tuesday, plenty of time. Just a small admission charge, and
parking is free. Bring the whole family! Lots of things for the kids to
do, too: simulators, replica weapons, you name it!”
“Thank you, Thyssen. Now we were talking just a couple of
minutes ago before we went on the air about how unique this
gathering is. Could you tell our audience about that?”
“I’d be delighted to, Buell. What we’ve done here is a bit
unusual. You know that the big corporate contractors have annual
arms fairs in Europe to show off their wares to prospective buyers
from all over the world. You also know that military and academic
research is going in dozens of countries, most of it secret or
published only in some dry-as-dust technical journal read only by a
dozen people with PhDs. And what do we everyday folks do here in
America? We like to tinker, we like to invent and we love our guns!
We have gun shows all over the U.S., hundreds a year. It occurred to
me that all these parties have a common interest: getting their new
ideas and products to the market. Some of them are ready to scale up
to mass production, and some need investors to help them to the
next stage of development. All of that is now under one roof: the
Know-how, Research, Innovation, and Enterprise Gathering!”
“Now let me get that right, Thyssen: when we go inside, we’ll
be mingling with Middle-Eastern potentates looking for surface-to-air
missiles and armored personnel carriers as well as with local boys
trying to buy an unlicensed handgun?”
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