Walking was not enough. So I ran. As fast as I could. I ran through the park and its high trees until I was out of breath. I sat on a bench, and texted my friends to go for a drink.<\/p>\n
I am in the bar now.\u00a0 They are arriving one after the other.\u00a0 Sue and William, Patrick and Sarah, Rose, Emily, Jon, Abby, Tom and Peter. Everybody seems so happy to be here. They all look at me with curiosity.
\nWilliam starts: – Great news you wrote. This is followed by the others: –tell us, please tell us, tell us, tell us.
\n– Shush everybody! Believe me, I\u2019ll be happy to answer. It\u2019s so amazing. I was just as surprised as you. Never thought it could happen. Had a feeling though\u2026
\n– Are you going to tell us, or shall we beg you on our knees?
\nThat was Tom.
\n– May I take your order?
\nThat was the waiter. Poor guy. He just received annoyed looks.
\n– White Star beers for everyone please, I quickly say.
\nThe guy almost runs away after registering the order on his device.<\/p>\n
No words, just wide-eyed looks , and some raised eyebrows, staring at me now.
\n– I won\u2019t tell you anything, but I\u2019ll show you!
\nAnd I proudly exhibit the precious sheet of paper I received yesterday morning in front of their eyes.
\n– You won the lottery!
\n– Yes, Abbie, I did.
\n– The space travel one.
\n–\u00a0 Indeed Peter.
\n– Gee! The chance you have.
\n– If my Mum could hear you, Jon.
\n– Does she already know? asks Sarah.
\n– I am afraid she does. I was on the phone with her a few hours ago. She forbids me to go.
\n– Really? Why? says Emily.
\n– Unsafe. I am going to lose my mind.
\n– Oh, I see. She is one of those people who think all this is just a kind of junkie dream. No travel, but ravings brought on by bad people to credulous ones.
\n– You\u2019re perfectly right, Rose. And she will do everything to convince me.
\n– But are we so sure this thing is real?
\n– Oh come on, Patrick, says Sarah. You really think if it weren\u2019t, it wouldn\u2019t have been discovered yet? I mean for sure. Not suspicions or suppositions. But proofs.
\n– They use a gas catalyzer. Can\u2019t it be considered a drug? he answers.
\n– Civilization,\u00a0 aliens\u2019 shapes, languages, always discovered in the same order? A drug causing almost the same \u201cdreams\u201d to everybody having it? Again, and again? Seriously?
\n– Autosuggestion, Beth. Based on former testimonies. It could be.
\n– Oh come on. How do you explain new languages then? Cooperative ravings? These languages were reported in pieces by different people before it began to take shape.
\n– Ok Beth, I give up. Honestly, I would really like to be in your place. To feel it myself. Lucky you!
\n– Even if you think it could be a just the drug?
\n– It could be or not. What I wanted to say, concerning minds, was that you can\u2019t have any certainty. Only strong beliefs. And even if I question it, I really want to believe it is true. What do you think? I subscribed to this lottery too.
\n– Ah, the beers are arriving.<\/p>\n
The waiter lays down a glass in front of each of us. The price appears on the bill screen all around the table.
\n– Ladies, gentlemen: cheers! To space travel!
\n– To space travel!
\n– Oh my God! Don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re part of those birdbrains!
\nThe voice is at my back. I turn to see whose it is.
\nA red-headed man in his forties, a ginger, apparently drunk, considering his way of speaking.
\n– Don\u2019t look at me like that. He shakes his head . How is it possible to wish to become a voyeur?
\n– A Snooper!
\n– Seriously? You think that\u2019s better? Watching people who have no idea they\u2019re being observed? It is just voyeurism.
\n– Not being seen doesn\u2019t mean not knowing how to behave.
\n– Oh, good girl. Have you ever heard of temptation? Nobody to blame you if you don\u2019t do it the right way. No reproach, no punishment, no consequence. Believe me, these travels will dirty your mind. Forever.
\n– Come on, space travel can\u2019t change what you deeply are. If you aren\u2019t a voyeur on Earth, you won\u2019t be elsewhere, says Tom
\n– Oh really. Tell me where the hell on Earth you can be in front of someone without being seen?
\n– Two-way mirrors.
\n– Ha ha. Funny. They are not everywhere. I tell you, opportunity leads to temptation. That\u2019s all! Maybe you\u2019ll resist the first few times, but one day, you will forget the notion of privacy. I know it. I\u2019ve lost my soul over there. I thought I was curious, but it wasn\u2019t curiosity, it was poison.
\nI have to say this was a question that bothered me: how can I be sure to behave? How will these people react if one day they were aware of being observed? How will I react myself at this type of revelation?
\n– Hey guys, let\u2019s drink our beers and go, I say.
\n– Yeah, drink your beers and run, mumbles \u201cGinger\u201d. Don\u2019t listen to me, and you\u2019ll be lost.
\nI never drank a beer that fast. My friends neither. I lay my cash card on the table.
\nIt\u2019s on me, I say. I touch the green circle of my card with my forefinger and the red one with my thumb after the amount has blinked on the bill screen. Payment accepted, says the screen.<\/p>\n
– To the park?\u00a0 I ask.
\n– Why not?
\n– Let\u2019s go!
\n– Good idea.
\n– Wherever you want.
\n– The park will be perfect.
\n– Let\u2019s go.
\n– Er, I\u2019ve to go to the loo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Walking was not enough. So I ran. As fast as I could. I ran through the park and its high trees until I was out of breath. I sat on a bench, and texted my friends to go for a… Continuer la lecture