Page 106 - Psychoceramics and the Test of Fire

Secrets of the Endosphere

fast your head will spin. The short answer is that we need you to need
our money. What you do with it is your business, provided we get
enough footage to make a one-hour special, tentatively titled ‘Secrets
of the Endosphere.’ You also give us rights to interview you on-
camera, and anyone else working with you.”
“No, no, no!” Cade bellowed, shaking his head vigorously. A man
fifteen feet away dropped the towing chain he had been fondling. “I
can’t have outsiders prying into my affairs. I demand exclusivity also,
sir! The discovery, when it’s made, will be mine. I’m not telling the
world where I’m going or how I intend to do my research—not until
it’s done!”
I rolled my eyes, seeking patience from an overhead source.
“Listen, Mr. Cade: you can get off your high horse. My crew
doesn’t want to trail after you for months. That could be dangerous,
based on what you intend to do, and—if you’ll excuse the pun—
boring. How do you think these movies are made? After the fact!
You put on your safari jacket, or miner’s lamp—or whatever heroic
uniform you wish—and retrace your great adventure with hand-held
cameras jiggling behind you to make it all seem real. You stumble
over a rock, turn it over and—lo and behold!—it’s the fossil you’ve
been seeking for twenty years. It’s not fiction, just a re-enactment
abridged for dramatic effect. You won’t see us until it’s over: but then
you will have to let us—and no one else—waltz you through the
same steps you originally took, even if they lead to a blank wall and
failure. Then it’s our decision whether or not to broadcast what we
have. We get final cut on the master edit; you get whatever fame or
notoriety you want—plus the money that comes with this contract.
It’ll either cover your expenses or let you drown your sorrows in
style. Now, what do you say? You’re not the only fish in the sea, and
I don’t have all day to discuss it.”
He stroked his chin-stubble, perhaps to clean his fingernails. That
much silence meant I had him.
“That’s it? Let me see that agreement.” I handed it over, and then
unobtrusively backed out of range of his ham-hock arms. He
whistled. “Yeah. That is going to do it. And leave a little over for
contingencies. Okay, so all I have to do is keep in touch with you
every month or so at this phone number, to give a progress report?”
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