09 August 3310 Personal logbook of Dr. Ptolemy
09 Aug 2024Claudius
System anyway... Station "Somewhere" is not important. The only important thing is to finally be finished with my preparations. Sitting alone in the cockpit of my Krait and doing nothing is not my idea of free time. I hear there are pilots who spend days on end at stations on their ship, but I'm more interested in company and variety. Let's see what this station has to offer. Sometimes even remote outposts can be very interesting, it just depends on the company and the guests. I'm sitting there now, sipping a glass and lighting one of Hera Tani's cigars. As Paracelsus said: "Sola dosis facit venenum", the quantity makes the poison. The increase in older social classes is accompanied by multimorbidity and the resulting polymedication. Or for the "non-medical" person, to complete my train of thought and to put it simply: people always drink, depending on the occasion and in the appropriate quantities. I think I need to get out of the academic habit out here, otherwise most people won't understand me. "There's not enough spirituality here", God - now I'm reciting a movie quote from one of the films from Earth, a classic with Jürgen Prochnow.
If someone had told me a few years ago that I would ever work for the Empire's secret service in order to rise through the ranks, I would have declared them crazy. Me of all people - who never thought anything of this nonsense or ever made anything of it. But for the cigar-smoking Hera Tani, this is a basic requirement. I save myself the psychiatric anamnesis - although a well-founded psychiatric diagnosis is probably advisable for this lady with a colleague. Anyway, I just tried to make the best of it and acquire the appropriate ranks. Women and cigars, wasn't there something? Edward Bernays learned how to manipulate people, not least through his uncle Sigmund Freud. He used his knowledge for spectacular advertising campaigns in the USA, among other things They start smoking in the middle of the street. Ten women in fur collars and hats walk along Fifth Avenue in New York, light each other up and inhale. An unprecedented sight for spectators at the Easter Parade in 1929. Women smoking in public was something unheard of in America. One of them, Bertha Hunt, explains to a reporter: "I hope these torches of freedom will end the taboo." The next day, the smoking women can be seen on front pages all over the country, cigarettes become a symbol of emancipation. The newspaper editors don't know that a man, Edward Bernays, is responsible for the appearance - and he doesn't have women's rights in mind, but the sales of the cigarette company American Tobacco. Bertha Hunt is his secretary, the other women are aspiring models. Psychology - one of my areas of expertise. No, I'm not going to go any deeper into Hera Tani - and the "cigar cutter" thing is best left out for a gentleman. But back to the secret service. Yes, of course - after all, I've reached imperial rank, and if I need it to gain access to Hera Tani. This opens up systems to me that I wouldn't normally have access to. Another nice side effect is that I can now buy and own Imperial starships. Starting from the Imperial Courier, which is manufactured by Gutamaya, to the Imperial Cutter.
The Imperial Courier is a very nice ship, well armed, maneuverable and quite comparable to a Viper MIII in terms of maneuverability. Above all, its shields are better than the MkIII's. With the engineers I already have access to, a jump range of 30-50 light years should be possible. However... the real jackpot is of course the Cutter. Yes, there's something about it - luxury, elegance, handcrafted by industrious slaves and highly effective in every situation. This is the Imperial Cutter - a ship I've always wanted to have. A few good orders here and there and I can add this ship to my fleet.
I take another pleasurable drag on my cigar and look at the round thing lying on the table in front of me.
This is it, the "medal" of the Empire, which now identifies me as the "Duke". A piece of metal that I'm going to hang on the console of my cutter. My God...I feel like I've won the grand prize in a can-throwing booth at the fairground. No, tinsel like that is for Christmas tree. I smile at this idea and can't help but think of the "Blue Elise". Blue Elise (in the original English version: The Ant and the Aardvark) is an anteater who unsuccessfully chases the clever ant Charlie. Incidentally, the voice of "Charlie" in the 1969 original is the voice of Dean Martin! Yes, that rings a bell again and I immediately think of the "Rat Pack", the gang with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr.
So, I'm going to smoke my cigar here in peace and quiet and give the bar's digital jukebox another song - from Franky: "Frank Sinatra - One for my baby (and one more for the road)". Cheers!