William Gaddis - J R

— Wouldn’t bother him Beamish gets in there shuts that door wouldn’t interrupt him unless the Boss called or the place caught fire, pressure on him to clean up this project get this grant out so there’s no legal snag in the Foundation’s tax exempt status when he goes into it for a loan to Virginia told you to get Moyst…

— Moist?

— Moyst Colonel Moyst told you to get him on the phone don’t have to bother Bast on these questions you have about Eagle Beamish probably clear them up myself, the Boss is talking about handing the whole thing over to the town for a park and speedway write these leases off as a gift if you can get him a high enough appraisal on them get some help from Hopper over there on that, any more trouble from this Begg woman with her stockholder suit say he’s acting for the stockholders cutting costs move operations south if he has to to hang onto his tax umbrella Shorter’s union boys don’t like it tell them their jobs are waiting for them in Georgia, set up down there with cheap equipment for fast replacement under deductible maintenance expenses won’t have to wait around on this capital goods depreciation allowance think he just wants you to check out that end of it, you know what a stickler he is for the letter of…

— The law I do Mister Davidoff I do, however may I say this constant near frenzied emphasis on the letter of the law at the expense of, in fact too frequently in direct defiance of its spirit, is something I frankly find…

— What lawyers are for isn’t it Beamish wasn’t for that you’d be out selling pencils…

— Perhaps but however that may be, in this particular instance corporate activities seem so preponderantly inspired by such negative considerations as depreciation and depletion allowances, loss carryforwards tax write-offs and similar…

— Way the big boys think Beamish why the Boss is where he is and we’re down here pushing pencils, goes right to the gut issue and sends through a directive some of them so blunt almost sound simple minded hardly understand him on the phone half the time either, spend an hour afterward putting the pieces together get the feeling myself sometimes he does the grunting and we do the work but that’s Moyst on the phone Virginia? No here just give it to me hello, Colonel…? Oh yes sir… No no sir yes sir no sir… Yes sir no it won’t happen again sir no sir… Yes sir I know you haven’t been a colonel since nineteen for… Yes sir I… Saint Fiacre in the Ardennes offensive yes sir I… that General Box took all the credit for throwing off the whole German timetable yes I do sir he… that Bradley and Ike were completely unprepared yes sir I’m sure the readers of your memoirs will want to see the true light shed on… your memoirs yes sir is that what you called about sir? We have a topflight… sir? Oh about the university yes sir we… all arranged in your name yes sir we… in your name yes of course affirmative sir we… sir? To name the entire university after you sir…? Yes well no sir we… Yes I understand sir yes sir however they… through channels yes sir however certain… the football team yes sir however certain alumni active in the football team’s behalf feel that it might sound… No sir that Haight U sir might be misinterpreted as sounding… the proper aggressive spirit for the gridiron yes sir however the cheerlead… going coeducational yes sir the cheerlead… the university’s major academic attraction yes sir the cheerlead… sir? Yes sir we certainly will sir now if I can take one more minute of your time sir to… One minute of your time yes sir to call your attention to an item in this latest memo from… sir? The next time I speak with him I certainly will sir now if I can take one more min… sir? Magazines…? Yes sir we’ll send over any we can find immediately sir and sir? If I can take one… sir? Virginia hang this up if he calls again tell him he’s, tell him I’m sending over some old magazines anything you can find in there sitting on his royal red white and what’s this…

— The hotel bill Mister Davidoff this bellboy just brought it up he they want…

— Tack it on the agency billing and get that typed up I want Bast’s okay on it before he checks out what’s wait Beamish…

— I do have another appointment Mister Davidoff I’d better be off to it, since telephone appears to be the most efficient means of communicating with you I shall make an attempt to…

— Don’t worry about it just put out these brush fires and save your dime see the Boss’s last memo cutting out of pocket expenses has Bast setting the example, pick up an option on five thousand shares at ten the stock opened this morning at fifteen and an eighth and anybody can turn in an expense account twenty pencils and a string of subway rides and feel no pain who’s that Virginia…

— I got that Colonel Moyst at Washington you…

— Hope you got it right this time walk me into the buzzsaw like you did a minute ago hello? Oh and Virginia, Colonel…? Told you to get me that Frigicom release hello Moyst? This press release on Frigicom get your gal on with her pad one of our legal eagles standing by here thought you could clear it with CINFO direct the Boss wants it on the wires as soon as… what? No this is Davidoff, Davi… yes just hold on while she digs for it running the store here with no CO on deck to… What he called you direct…? Wait how many six thousand brake lining kits at how much? One forty-nine each he must have gone through Mister Bast what’s the… No what storage bill on Long Island I’ll have to check it out with him hasn’t said anything to wait here it is under my elbow, she on…? Dateline New York, Frigicom, comma, a process now being developed to solve the noise pollution problem comma may one day take the place of records comma books comma even personal letters in our daily lives comma, according to a report released jointly today by the Department of Defense and Ray hyphen X Corporation comma a member of the caps J R Family of Companies period new paragraph. The still secret Frigicom process is attracting the attention of our major cities as the latest scientific breakthrough promising noise elimination by the placement of absorbent screens at what are called quote shard intervals unquote in noise polluted areas period operating at faster hyphen than hyphen sound speeds comma a complex process employing liquid nitrogen will be used to convert the noise shards comma as they are known comma at temperatures so low they may be handled with comparative ease by trained personnel immediately upon emission before the noise element is released into the atmosphere period the shards will then be collected and disposed of in remote areas or at sea comma where the disturbance caused by their thawing will make that where no one will be disturbed by their impact upon thawing period new paragraph. While development of the Frigicom process is going forward under contract to the cap Defense cap Department comma the colorful new head of research and development at the recently revitalized Ray hyphen X Corp Mister make that Doctor Vogel declined to discuss the project exclusively in terms of its military ramifications comma comparing it instead to a two hyphen edged sword forged by the alliance of free enterprise and modern technology which promises to sever both military and artistic barriers at one fell swoop in the cause of human betterment period. Citing as his original inspiration cap p Pater’s line describing cap v Venice as frozen music comma Vogel emphasized the possible importance of Frigicom comma a name he coined from the cap l Latin words for cold and communicate comma to the fields of music and literature period with the perfection of the thawing process comma Vogel envisions concerts comma entire operas comma and books read aloud and preserved by the Frigicom process comma stressing its importance to longer works of fiction now dismissed as classics and remaining largely unread due to the effort involved in reading and turning any more than two hundred pages period new paragraph getting all this? While reservations have been expressed in some scientific quarters concerning these applications of this promised scientific breakthrough comma Doctor Vogel himself calls it quote merely an extension of an age when a man’s mind is turned take out that a when man’s mind is turned loose to soar period unquote. Like the tip of the iceberg comma only a fraction of Ray hyphen X activities are visible to the outside observer period other projects unfolding under Doctor Vogel’s direction include a method of transport so revolutionary no make that radie wait no better just make that new so new it remains classified top secret hyphen sensitive by the Defense sorry cap d Defense cap Department comma which is backing its development under an undisclosed contract with the company and a major university nearby period quote. It’s a basically simple idea that just took a lot of cheek to follow through unquote Doctor Vogel commented when pressed for details comma quote it’s going to make your SST caps look like a trolley car period unquote paragraph. Ray hyphen X comma formerly well known as one of cap a America’s favorite makers of kiddies apostrophe toys comma recently applied make that has recently devoted its expertise in battery and transistor driven products to the medical field as a major subcontractor in the manufacture of hearing aids comma heart pacers comma and other prosthetic devices in the cause of human bet no just leave that devices comma make that a period devices period. As an important new member of the caps J R Family of Companies comma Ray hyphen X continues to operate as a major producer of thermocouples make that also continues, period want to have your gal just read that back in case she just hold on a minute…