"There," he said, "that is the end of that category. I may add to or
subtract from it later. According to probability, making allowance for
bachelors, each name will represent three persons; there are
seventy-five names, which means two hundred and twenty-five places
reserved for science. I will now make a series of other categories and
assign the number of places for each."
He seized a sheet of paper and fell to work, while Smith looked on,
drumming with his fingers and contorting his huge black eyebrows. For
half an hour complete silence reigned, broken only by the gliding sound
of Cosmo Versál's pencil, occasionally emphasized by a soft thump. At
the end of that time he threw down the pencil and held out the paper to
his companion.
"Of course," he said, "this is not a complete list of human occupations.
I have set down the principal ones as they occurred to me. There will be
time to correct any oversight. Read it."
Smith, by force of habit, read it aloud:
No. of Probable No.
Occupation Names of Places
Science (already assigned) 75 225
Rulers 15 45
Statesmen 10 30
Business magnates 10 30
Philanthropists 5 15
Artists 15 45
Religious teachers 20 60
School-teachers 20 60
Doctors 30 90
Lawyers 1 3
Writers 6 18
Editors 2 6
Players 14 42
Philosophers 1 3
Musicians 12 36
Speculative geniuses 3 9
"Society" 0 0
Agriculture and mechanics 90 270
____ ____
Totals 329 987
Special reservations 13
____
Grand total, places 1000
Several times while Joseph Smith was reading he raised his eyebrows, as
if in surprise or mental protest, but made no remark.
"Now," resumed Cosmo when the secretary had finished, "let us begin with
the rulers. I do not know them as intimately as I know the men of
science, but I am sure I have given them places enough. Suppose you take
this book and call them over to me."
Smith opened the "year-book," and began:
"George Washington Samson, President of the United States."
"He goes. He is not intellectually brilliant, but he has strong sense
and good moral fiber. I'll save him if for no other reason than his veto
of the Antarctic Continent grab bill."
"Shen Su, Son of Heaven, President-Emperor of China."
"Put him down. I like him. He is a true Confucian."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account