Mr. A entered the Dugle Bugle corporate headquarters from the Gummadipoondi gate. The other gates were in Vandalur, Mylapore and Singapore. There was a fifth gate somewhere in the Indian Ocean but Dugle Bugle\u2019s official position was that it was just a rumour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the gate, Mr.A was required to give his fingerprints, his retinal signature, a stool sample and a blood sample, his clothes and his hearing aid. They explained that his wrist unit would repeat anything that he could not hear. The wrist unit was a green wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was strapped into an autocart and it whizzed carefully along a path between two parallel yellow lines on the smooth ground covered with concrete. The wristband spoke. \u201cPlease don\u2019t attempt to cross yellow lines. They indicate the presence of slicer fields. Slicer fields can slice through human tissue and bones. Please don\u2019t attempt to cross yellow lines. They indicate the presence of slicer fields. Slicer fields can slice through human bones and tissues. You are not cleared to cross yellow lines. You have been warned. You have been warned. Please say yes if you have heard and understood. Please don\u2019t attempt\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes!\u201d said Mr. A, hastily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cart appeared to know where it was going. It buzzed past acres of what looked like warehouses and then long, low buildings with blank glass facades that he couldn\u2019t see through. They moved briskly and must have covered miles, but Mr.A knew they were still in the borderland of Dugle Bugle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After an hour or so, the autocart stopped, near a garden. \u201cYou can get off now,\u201d said the wristband. This was a relief. Mr.A was weary of the vast grey expanses of concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a table with two chairs under a tree on the grass in the garden. The garden, unlike everything else in Dugle Bugle, was small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A man was occupying one of the two chairs at the table. Mr.A recognized him as the famous Mr. Bugle, one of the two founders of Dugle Bugle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The garden was a circular island in the concrete paving, and a green line painted on the concrete ran around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou are cleared to cross green lines,\u201d said his wristband. \u201cYou may enter the garden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr.A stepped gingerly over the green line and walked across the lawn towards the man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMr.A, from Gummadipoondi Free Press Journal,\u201d said his wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr.Bugle nodded, as though it was Mr. A and not his wristband that had spoken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMr.A,\u201d he said and waved him to the free chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you very much for agreeing to talk to Gummadipoondi Free Press Journal, Mr.Bugle,\u201d said Mr.A, as he sank into the chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Bugle too, he saw, was wearing a wristband and nothing else. But the other\u2019s wristband was yellow. So perhaps Mr.Bugle was cleared to cross the yellow lines. Mr.A decided that he would not cross them even if he was cleared. What if a slicer field made a mistake?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have only ten minutes, Mr.A,\u201d said Mr.Bugle, brusquely. \u201cPlease be concise,\u201d said his wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo I will come to point right away, Mr. Bugle,\u201d said Mr.A, trying to match the other\u2019s brisk manner. \u201cIs it true that the ever expanding Dugle Bugle campus will soon engulf Gummadipoondi?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d said Mr.Bugle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat assurance can you give us that this is not an eventuality?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt does not make business sense at present to incorporate Gummadipoondi. Dugle Bugle does not divulge the reasoning behind business decisions. Dugle Bugle also does not offer comments upon probable future business scenarios. An update for this wrist unit is being downloaded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSorry?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was my wristband speaking, please continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo\u2026\u201d Mr. A had lost the thread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe said, it does not make business sense at present to incorporate Gummadipoondi,\u201d said his wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh yes,\u201d said Mr.A. \u201cBut these probable business scenarios you speak about. Do they include Gummadipoondi?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have not understood my previous comment,\u201d said Mr. Bugle\u2019s wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy is it that clothes are not allowed in the Dugle Bugle campus?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe entire campus is climate controlled. Six minutes to my meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was your wristband again? But what about\u2026about\u2026don\u2019t people object to walking around naked? Some people might be uncomfortable exposing their bodies to the public gaze, you know, never mind the elements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou biometrically signed the Dugle Bugle visitor agreement and disclaimer when Dugle Bugle granted this interview. If you are feeling uncomfortable without clothes, you may leave now. There are five minutes left,\u201d said Mr. Bugle\u2019s wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy are clothes not allowed in the Dugle Bugle campus?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have answered that question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPlease refer to record of Mr. Bugle\u2019s answer. Shall I play it back?\u201d said Mr. A\u2019s wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs it true that Dugle Bugle has made considerable progress with its project A?\u201d said Mr. A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no project at Dugle Bugle by that name,\u201d said Mr.Bugle\u2019s wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProject A stands for project Android, which is a scheme to let artificial intelligences supersede humans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVery interesting. You did not mention that your journal prints fiction,\u201d said Mr. Bugle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFiction or not, we don\u2019t have to pander to Dugle Bugle\u2019s web crawlers. We don\u2019t have to worry that your search engine won\u2019t find us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh, print. How old is your printing press, now? I must tell you Dugle Bugle is very interested in it. It would be a fine addition to our museum. Name any price, Mr.A. In any case you must soon move on to the web.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are still parts of the world that are real. We are very interested in keeping it that way,\u201d said Mr. A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is the point of this\u2026this gesture? Why do you resist what is clearly a change for the better?\u201d said Mr. Bugle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn what way a change for the better? Can you elaborate, Mr. Bugle?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, I would need all day for that, Mr. A,\u201d said Mr. Bugle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll just mail you my answer to that question, I must be in another meeting in a minute and twenty seconds,\u201d said his wristband. \u201cThe wrist unit record of this interview has\u2026yes, it has of this moment been cleared by legal, with some modifications. Please do not print anything but the transcript of the record, which has been emailed to you. You are aware of the legal consequences of failing to comply. Perhaps you will change your mind about Dugle Bugle soon. Goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr.A walked away to his waiting cart. As he climbed into it, he realised his last question had come from his wristband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As they reached the security complex near the border of the Dugle Bugle complex, it spoke again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou may continue to wear this wrist unit to facilitate rapid processing of exit formalities. A full body minimally invasive inspection is normally part of the process. You are hereby informed that the full body minimally invasive inspection will not be necessary if you intend to accept this wrist unit as a goodwill gift from Dugle Bugle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEh? Er\u2026\u201d said Mr.A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis version 5 wrist unit will be upgraded to version 6 if you give a verbal consent within the next ten minutes. The version 6 wrist unit has a powerful personal assistant mode and has high bandwidth access to Dugle Bugle servers at all times. It enhances life in unexpected ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, er\u2026\u201d said Mr.A. \u201cI don\u2019t really know-\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis wrist unit is now being upgraded to version 6 on a trial basis,\u201d the wristband said, and turned from green to yellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. A said nothing as he stared at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis wrist unit reminds you that you can return it at any time, should you change your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that decided it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mr. A entered the Dugle Bugle corporate headquarters from the Gummadipoondi gate. The other gates were in Vandalur, Mylapore and Singapore. There was a fifth gate somewhere in the Indian Ocean but Dugle Bugle\u2019s official position was that it was just a rumour. At the gate, Mr.A was required to give his fingerprints, his retinal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speculations","post-preview"],"yoast_head":"\n