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Binary System (extract)
Stephen Pacitti
Cosmos, Frozen Star, Stephen Hawking's Universe ... His heid tilted back,
he ran arthritic fingers slowly doon the spines, strokin the titles lik he wis a
blin man readin Braille, aa the while hummin saftly tae hissel 'Keep The Home Fires
Burning..' Noo an then he wid pull doon a volume, leafin through its pages an screwin
up his nose afore lettin oot a grunt that showed plain eneuch it wisna fit he wis
efter. Suddentlie a thocht hit him an he fummled aboot in his weskit pooch, pulld
oot an aal watch an, wi a shakin haan, heeld it up tae the licht. He pulld his glesses
further forrit on his nose an squinted at the Roman nummers. "Twinty past fower,"
he muttered. "Time Ah wisna here." He gied a seich an stared at the shelves a minit
or twa. "It's a bit o a lucky dip, onywye." He took doon twa volumes an hurried
ower tae the libree coonter.
He wis weel kent there, an weel thocht o. He'd hid tae leave the skweel at fowerteen,
bit hid nivver lost his drouth for lernin. "Afore Ah ging ony further, let me speir
this at ye," he said. "Thon book Ah've jist handed in said that fan a man ca'ed
Go-eth wis dee'in, his last words were 'Mehr Licht, mehr Licht!' Noo, tell me this.
Foo diz at come aboot? It says he wis a namlie German aather, an fit Ah canna unnerstaan
is, fit wye he wid be wantin tae spik Scots fan he wis dee'in. Wis his mither fae
hereaboots, maybe?"
The lassie ahin the coonter gied a wee laach. "No, Jim, no. Goatie was German, right
enough. But 'Mehr Licht' is just German for 'more light'."
The aal man stood dumfoonert for a minit. Syne "Nivver!" he said. "Funcy that! Fitna
coincidence! It's a sma world an nae mistak!" He thocht a bittie, then speired again:
"Bit fit did he mean bi't, onywye? Wis he wintin a caunle, or fit?"
"Oh, your guess is as good as mine, Jim," the assistant said. "Maybe he meant it
in a philosophical sense."
Bit Jim wis nae philosopher. "Oh? Aye, Ah suppose, maybe," he said real quick, an
handed ower his books.
The lassie took them an zipped her pencil ower the bar codes. "Reaching for the
stars now, are we, Jim?"
"Aye," he replied, wi a nervous laach, "Ah thocht Ah'd gie the secrets o the Great
Pyramid a rest, an it wis a toss-up atween astronomy an the dinosaurs."
He pulld his bunnet ticht doon ower his bald heid, pulld up the collar o his raincoat
an, pushin through the revolvin door, gaed cannily doon the steps tae the street.
"Michty, this win' has mair teeth nor me," he muttered, turnin awa tae get his breath
back. 'Fasten the tap button o yer raincoat, noo, Jim!' He could aboot hear her
sayin't, an felt a lump comin intae his thrapple. His fingers gaed tae the button.
A quick look alang the road. Na, nae bus comin.
Better hoof it. Nancy Graham'll be wantin awa tae mak her man's tea. Heid
tae ae side, bit wi shouders back, he stepped boldly oot. Aal sojer; left, richt,
left, richt, books stappit ticht intae his oxter, richt airm swingin.
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