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A Familiar Tale
by Greg Powers, Approval Buyer
Act I
Somewhere near Athens
A few thousand years ago
-Christos, look at this new gadget.
-What is it?
-It's a papyrus. It's got stories just like Homer's been reciting to us, but they're recorded in these little letters that convey the same thing. I can bring it wherever I go. If I'm in line at the granary, I can just unroll it and take in a few battles or shipwrecks.
[Christos, after examining the papyrus for a minute]. Yeah, Antipos, that's nice. But I like to hear my stories—they just seem to come alive when the sun is setting in the far hills behind the speaker. And I like the gesticulation.
-Sure, a performance is nice, I grant you that—unless you're downwind of the orator. You do realize soap hasn't been invented yet, don't you?
-But the smell is part of the experience. Your papyrus just wouldn't be the same.
-Well, it's just writing right now, but maybe someday we'll just read it with our mouths closed and we'll be able to hear the story in our minds for a truly multidimensional experience.
-I dunno. I suppose some folks will want to read papyri, but orators are not going to disappear anytime soon. And how can you guarantee that those letters will work in a hundred years? The Phoenicians used letters once, but now no one can decipher them. Trust me, Antipos—don't sink all your dinari into too many of those things.
Act II
About A.D. 1455
A crowded street in Mainz, Germany
-Gottfried, look at this thing.
-What is it?
-It's a printed book. It's written, just like your manuscript, but the writing comes from a machine. They can press out as many copies as they want, and it only takes a few weeks to get one. If I lose this one, I can get another just like it for a fraction of what you paid for that manuscript.
[Gottfried, after examining the book for a minute]. Yeah, Ulrich, that's nice. But I prefer the luxury of my manuscript. The writing is much prettier, easier on the eyes than that thing. Plus, I like the little pictures around the edges.
-A manuscript is nice, I grant you that. But those vellum pages never lie flat. And God forbid you lose it. What did it cost you—a year's wages?
-Well, the vellum is part of the experience. It feels creamy to the touch. And the pictures...
-Okay, my book is just words right now. But maybe someday someone will combine woodcuts with this printing—then you'll have an even better multidimensional experience. Just you wait.
-Hmm, I dunno. I suppose some folks will want to read books, but manuscripts are not going to disappear anytime soon. And how can you guarantee that that paper will survive for ten years? I hear it's made out of rags. Trust me, Ulrich--don't sink all your marks into too many of those things.
Act III
Six hundred and five years later
A dingy corridor in some high school
-Tyler, check out my new Kindle.
-What is it.
-It's an eBook reader.
-Why would you want to read a book?
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