CHAPTER 38 Within the pocket. The remainder of that day and the following night were spent in fruitless efforts to determine the whereabouts of the fugitive. Telegrams were sent along the various railway lines into every part of the state. Messengers were dispatched to neighboring towns and camps, but all in vain. For the first thirty-six hours it seemed as though the earth must have opened and swallowed him up. There was not even a clue as to the direction in which he had gone. The second morning after his disappearance, reports began to come in from a dozen different quarters of as many different men all answering the description given of the fugitive who had been identified as the criminal. Four or five posseys averaging a dozen men each, all armed, set forth in various directions to follow the clues which seemed most worthy of credence. For the next few days reports were constantly received from one posseys or another to the effect that they were on the right trail. The fugitive had been seen only the preceding night at a miner's cabin where he had forced two men at the point of a revolver to surrender their supper of pork and beans, or some lonely ranchman and his wife had entertained him at dinner the day before. He was always reported as only about ten hours ahead. Foot sore and weary, but at the end of ten days they returned disorganized, dilapidated, and disgusted without even having had a sight of their man. Other bands were sent out with instructions to separate into squads of three or four and search the ground thoroughly. Some of them were more successful in that they did occasionally get sight of the fugitive, but always under circumstances disadvantageous to themselves. Three of them stood one day talking with a rancher who only two hours before had furnished the man under protest with a hearty dinner and a fine rifle. The rancher pointed out the direction in which he had gone, over a rocky road leading down a steep rough ravine. As he did so his guest appeared on the other side of the ravine within good rifle range. A mutual recognition followed. The men started to raise their rifles, but the other was too quick for them. Covering them with the rifle which he carried he walked backward a distance of about forty yards and then with a mocking salute disappeared. Bloodhounds were next employed, but the man swam and waited streams and doubled back on his own trail till men and dogs were alike baffled. This continued for about two months, then all reports regarding the man ceased. Nothing was heard of him. It was surmised that he had reached the pocket, and all efforts at further search were for the time abandoned. Of all those concerned in the efforts for his capture there was not one more thoroughly disgusted with the outcome than Mr. Britain. For months he had had this man under surveillance, convinced that he was a criminal and planning to bring about his capture. Through his own efforts he had been identified, and by his coolness and presence of mind he had accomplished his arrest when nine out of ten others would have failed and all seemed now to have been effort thrown away. He regretted the man's escape the more especially as he felt that his own life as well as that of his son was endangered so long as he was at liberty. About a month after the search was abandoned Mr. Britain was one day surprised by a call from the wife of Martinez. He had not seen her since his one interview with her months before. He was sitting in Mr. Underwood's office looking over the books brought in for his inspection when she entered, alone, and unannounced. She seated herself in the chair indicated by Mr. Britain and proceeded at once to the object of her visit.  You were right, it has. It is my secret no longer, and Jose Martinez fears me no longer. You have been kind to me. You saved his life once. You fed me when I was hungry and asked no return. I will show you I do not forget. Signor, there is twenty-five thousand dollars reward for that man. The officers will never find him, but I will take you to him. The reward is then yours, and justice overtakes Jose Martinez as you said it would. Do you accept? Do you know where he is, Mr. Britain queried, somewhat surprised by the woman's proposition? Yes, Signor, I have just come from there. He is in the pocket, is he not? Yes, Signor. But neither you nor your men could find the pocket without a guide. I know it well. I have lived there. What is your proposition, Mr. Britain, inquired after a brief silence? How do you propose to do this? I will start tomorrow for the pocket.  I will take you to a cabin where you can stay overnight while I go on alone to the pocket to see that all is right. I will leave you my veil for ascent. The next morning you will set the dogs on my trail and follow them till you come to a certain place I will tell you of. From there you will see me. I will watch for you and give you the signal that all is right. The dogs will bring you to the pocket in half an hour. The rest will be easy work, Signor. I promise you. But isn't the place constantly guarded? Not now, Signor. The men have gone away on another expedition. But Jose does not dare go out with them at present. Only one man is there beside Jose. I know him well. He will be asleep when you come. I shall need men with me to help me in bringing him back, said Mr. Britain. Bring them, but I think he will give you little trouble, Signor. As Mr. Britain cared nothing for the reward himself, he chose five men to accompany him, to whom he thought the money would be particularly acceptable. And the following morning, with two bloodhounds, they started forth in three separate detachments to attract as little attention as possible. The first part of their journey was by rail. The men taking the same train as the woman herself, on their arrival at the little station which she had designated, conveyances for which Mr. Britain had privately wired a personal friend living in that vicinity, were waiting to take them to their next stopping place. They reached the cabin of which the woman had spoken late in the afternoon. Here they picketed their horses and prepared to stay overnight, while she went on to the pocket. Before leaving she gave Mr. Britain the lace scarf which she wore about her head. I shall not go in there until night, she said. Then I can watch and find if all is right. You start early to-morrow morning on foot. Set the dogs on my trail and follow them to the fork. Then turn to the left and follow them till you come to a small tree standing in the trail on which I will tie this handkerchief. Straight ahead of you you will see the entrance to the pocket. Wait by the tree till you see my signal. If everything is right I will wave a white signal.  Early the next morning Mr. Britain and his men set forth with the hounds in leash leaving the horses in charge of their drivers. The dogs took the scent at once and started up the trail the men following. They found it no easy task they had undertaken. The trail was rough and steep and in many places so narrow they were forced to go in single file. Some of the men, in order to be prepared for emergencies, were heavily armed and progress was necessarily slow. But at last the fork was passed and then the time seemed comparatively short ere a small tree confronted them, a white handkerchief fluttering among its branches. They paused and drew back the hounds then looked about them. Less than ten feet ahead the trail ended. The rocks looked as though they had been cut in two, the half on which they were standing falling perpendicularly a distance of some eighty feet, while across a rocky ravine some forty feet in width, the other half rose, an almost perpendicular wall eighty or ninety feet in height. In this massive wall of rock there was one opening visible resembling a gateway, and while the men speculated as to what it might be the woman appeared waving a white handkerchief and they knew it to be the entrance to the pocket. She evidently expects us to come over there, said one of the men, but blamed if I can see a trail wide enough for a cat. Send the dogs ahead, ordered Mr. Britain. The dogs on taking the scent plunged downward through the brush on one side bringing them out into a narrow trail leading down and across the ravine. Just above on the other side they could see the woman watching their every move. I've always heard, said one of the men, there was no getting into this place without you had a special invitation, and it looks like it. Just imagine one of those fellows up there with a gun, holy Moses! He'd hold the place against all the men the state or the United States for that matter could sin down here. The scent of the other side was difficult, but the men put forth their best efforts, and ere they were aware found themselves before the gateway in the rocks where the woman still awaited them. She silently beckoned them to enter. Emerging from a narrow pass some six feet in length they found themselves in a circular basin about two hundred feet in diameter surrounded by perpendicular walls of rock from one hundred to five hundred feet in height. The bottom of the basin was level as a floor, and covered with a luxuriant growth of grass while in the center a small lake clear as crystal reflecting the blue sky which seemed to rise like a dome from the rocky walls, gleamed like a sapphire in the sunlight. Sheer and dark the walls rose on all sides, but at one end of the basin where the rocks were more rough and jagged a silver stream fell in glistening cascades to the bottom where it disappeared among the rocks. For a moment the men lost an admiration of the scene, forgot that they were in the den of a notorious band of outlaws, but a second glance recalled them to the situation, for on all sides of the basin were caves leading into the walls of rock and evidently used as dwellings. To one of these the woman now led the way. At the entrance a man lay on the ground, his heavy, statorious breathing, proclaiming him a victim of some sleeping potion. The woman regarded him with a smile of amusement. I made him sleep, senor," she said, addressing Mr. Britain. So he will not trouble you. Still leading the way into the farther part of the cave she came to a low couch of skins at the foot of which she paused. Pointing to the figure outlined upon it, she said calmly, He sleeps also, senor, but sound. So sound you will need have no fear of waking him. Her words aroused a strange suspicion in Mr. Britain's mind. The light was so dim he could not see the sleeper, but a lantern burning low hung on the wall above his head. Seizing the lantern he turned on the light holding it so it would strike the face of the sleeper. It was the face of Jose Martinez, but the features were drawn in ghastly. He bent lower listening for his breath, but no sound came. He laid his hand upon his heart, but it was still. Raising himself quickly he threw the rays of the lantern full upon the woman standing before him. A small crucifix clasped in her hands. Under his searching gaze her face grew pale and ghastly as that upon the couch. You have killed him," he said slowly with terrible emphasis. She made the sign of the cross. Holy Mother, forgive," she muttered. Then, though she still quailed beneath his look, she exclaimed half defiantly, I have not wronged you. You have your reward, and Justice has overtaken him as you said it would. That is not Justice, said Mr. Britain, pointing to the couch. It is murder, and you are his murderer. You should have let the law take its course. The law, she laughed mockingly. Would your law avenge my father's death, or the wrongs I have suffered? No. My father had no son to avenge him. I had no brother, but I have avenged him and myself. I have followed him all these years, waiting till the right time should come. Waiting for this. Dreaming of it night and day. I have had my revenge, and it was sweet.  I wakened him just to let him know he was in my power. Just to hear him plead for mercy. Hush, said Mr. Britain firmly, for the woman seemed to have gone mad. You do not know what you are saying. You must get ready to return with me. She grew calm at once, and her face lighted with a strange smile. I am ready to go with you, senor, she said, at the same time clasping the crucifix suddenly to her breast. With the last word she fell to the ground, and a slight tremor shook her frame for an instant. Quickly Mr. Britain lifted her, and bore her to the light. But life was already extinct. Within her clasp tans underneath the crucifix they found the little poisoned stiletto. CHAPTER XXXIX For a year and a half Daryl worked uninterruptedly at Ophir, his constantly increasing commissions from eastern states testifying to his marked ability as a mining expert.  He soon found himself again drawn irresistibly towards the story begun during his day at the Hermitage, but temporarily laid aside on his return east. He carefully reviewed the synopsis which he had written in detail, and as he did he felt himself entering into the spirit of the story till it seemed once more part of his own existence. He revised the work already done, eliminating, adding, making the outlines clearer, more defined, then with steady unfaltering hand carried the work forward to completion. Eighteen months after his re-establishment at Ophir, he was commissioned to go to Alaska to examine certain mining properties in a deal involving over a million dollars. An anxious to be on the ground as early as possible, he took the first boat north that season. His story was published on the eve of his departure. He received a few copies which he regarded with a half fond, half whimsical air. One he sent to Kate Underwood, having first written his initials on the fly-leaf underneath the brief petition, be merciful. He then went his way, his time and attention wholly occupied by his work, with little thought as to whether the newly hatched craft was destined to ride the waves of popularity or be engulfed beneath the waters of Oblivion. Months of constant travel of hard work and rough fare followed. His report on the mines was satisfactory. The deal was consummated, and he received a handsome percentage. But not content with this, determined to familiarize himself with the general situation in that country and the conditions obtaining, he pushed on into the interior, pursuing his explorations till the return of the cold season. Touching at British Columbia on his way home and finding tempting inducements there in the way of mining properties, he stopped to investigate and remain during the winter and spring months. It was therefore not until the following June that he found himself really homeward bound, and once more within the mountain ranges guarding the approach to the busy little town of Ophir. He had been gone considerably over a year. He had accumulated a vast amount of information invaluable for future work along his line, and he had succeeded financially beyond his anticipations. Occasionally during his absence, in papers picked up here and there, he had seen favorable mention of his story, from which he inferred that his first venture in the dreams of fiction had not been quite a failure. And in this opinion he was confirmed by a letter just received from his publishers which had followed him for months. But all thought of these things was for the time forgotten in an almost boyish delight that he was at last on his way home. As he came within the sight of the familiar ranges his thoughts reverted again and again to Kate Underwood. His whole soul seemed to cry out for her with a sudden insatiable longing. His mail had of necessity been irregular and infrequent. Their letters had somehow miscarried, and he had not heard directly from her for months. Her last letter was from Germany. She was then still engrossed in her music, but her father's health was greatly improved, and he was beginning to talk of home. Her father's latest letter had stated that the Underwoods would probably return early in July. And this was June. Still felt a twinge of disappointment. He was now able to remember many incidents in their acquaintance. He recalled their first meeting at the pines on that June day five years ago. How beautiful the old place must look now! But without Kate's presence the charm would be lost for him. He regretted that he had started homeward quite so soon. The time would not have seemed so long among the mining-camps of the great north-west as here where everything reminded him of her. The stopping of the train at a health resort far up among the mountains, a few miles from Ophir, roused Daryl from his reverie. With a sigh he recalled his wandering thoughts and left the car for a walk up and down the platform. The town perched saucily on the slopes of a heavily tempered mountain, looked very attractive in the gathering twilight. Though early in the season the hotel and sanitarium seemed well filled while numerous pleasure-seekers were promenading the walks leading to and from the springs which gave the place its popularity. Daryl felt a sudden, unaccountable desire to remain. Without waiting to analyze the impulse, as inexplicable as it was irresistible which actuated him, he hastened into the sleeper and secured his grip and topcoat. As the train pulled out he stepped into the station and sent a message to his father at Ophir, stating that he had decided to remain over a day or two at the springs and asking him to look after his baggage on its arrival. He then took a carriage for the hotel. It was not without some compunctions of conscience that Daryl wired his father of his decision, and even as he rode swiftly along the winding streets he wondered what strange fancy possessed him that he should stop among strangers instead of continuing his journey home. To his father it would certainly seem unaccountable, as it did now to himself. Mr. Britton, however, on receiving his son's message, could not restrain a smile. For only the preceding day he had received a telegram from Kate Underwood at the same place, in which she stated that they had started home earlier than at first intended, and as her father was somewhat fatigued by their long journey they had decided to stop for two or three days' rest at the springs. Daryl arrived at the hotel at a late hour for dinner. The dining-room was therefore nearly deserted when he took his place at the table. Dinner over he went out for a stroll, and glad to be alone with his thoughts walked up and down the entire length of the little town. His mind was constantly on Kate. Again and again he seemed to see her as he loved best to recall her, standing on the summit of the Divide. Her wind tossed her, blown about her brow, her eyes shining as she predicted their reunion in perfect love. Over and over he seemed to hear her words, and his heart burned with desire for their fulfilment. He had waited patiently. He had shown when he could achieve how he could win. But all achievements, all victories, were worthless without her love and presence. The moon was just rising as he returned to the hotel, but it was still early. His decision was taken. He would go to a fear by the morning train, learn Kate's whereabouts from his father, and go to meet her in a company her home. He had chosen a path leading through a secluded portion of the grounds, and as he approached the hotel his attention was arrested by someone singing. Glancing in the direction whence the song came, he saw one of the private parlours brightly lighted. The long, low window opened upon the veranda. Something in the song held him entranced, spellbound. The voice was incomparably rich, possessing wonderful range and power of expression. But this alone was not what especially appealed to him. Through all and underlying all was a quality so strangely, sweetly familiar, which thrilled his soul to its very depths. Whether with joy or pain he could not have told, it seemed akin to both. Still held by a spell, he drew nearer the window until he heard the closing words of the refrain, words which had been ringing with strange persistency in his mind for the last two or three hours. Some time, some time, and that will be God's own good time for you and me. His heart leaped wildly, with a bound swift and noiseless he was on the veranda, just as the singer, with tender lingering emphasis, repeated the word so low as to be barely audible to Daryl standing before the open window. But even while he listened, he gazed in astonishment at the singer. Could that magnificent woman be his girl-love? She was superbly formed, splendidly proportioned. The rich warm blood glowed in her cheeks, and her hair gleamed in the light like spun gold. He stood motionless. He would not retreat. He dared not advance. At last the words of the song died away.  That was enough. In that one glance the memory of his love returned to him like an overwhelming flood. She was no longer his dream-love, but a splendid living reality, only more beautiful than his dreams or his imagination had portrayed her. He stretched out his arms towards her with the one word, Kathy. She had already risen. A great unspeakable joy illuminating her face. But at the sound of that name, vibrating with the pent-up emotion, the concentrated love of all the years of their separation, she came swiftly forward, her bosom palpitating, her eyes shining with the love called forth by his cry. He stepped through the low window within the room. In an instant his arms were clasped about her, and holding her close to his breast his dark eyes told her more eloquently than words of his heart's hunger for her. While in her eyes and in the blushes running riot in her cheeks he read his welcome. He kissed her hair and brow with a sort of reverence. Then hearing voices in the corridor and rooms adjoining, he seized a light wrap from a chair nearby and threw it about her shoulders.  In the first transport of their joy they were silent, each almost fearing to break the spell which seemed laid upon them. The moon had risen, transforming the somber scene to one of beauty. But to them, love's radiance had suddenly made the world inexpressibly fair. The very flowers as they passed breath perfume like incense in their path, and the trees whispered benedictions upon them. The spell first broke the silence. I would have been in no fear to-night, but some mysterious irresistible impulse led me to stop here.  I think it must have been some higher influence than mine, she replied, with sweet gravity. For I was also under the spell. I supposed you many miles away. Yet as I sang to-night it seemed as though you were close to me, as though if I turned I should see you, just as I did, she concluded with a radiant smile. But how did you find me? How does the night-bird find its mate, he queried, in low vibrant tones? Then, as her color deepened, he continued with passionate earnestness. I was here where we are now, my very soul crying out for you when I heard your song. It thrilled me. I felt as though waking from a dream, but I knew my love was near. Down through the years I heard her soul calling mine. Following that call, I found my love, and listening heard the very words which my own heart had been repeating over and over to itself, alone and in the darkness. Almost unconsciously they had stopped at a turn in the path. Daryl paused a moment, for tears were trembling on the golden lashes. Drawing her closer, he whispered. Kathy, do you remember our parting on the divide? Do you think I could ever forget, she asked? You predicted we would one day stand reunited on the heights of such love as we had not dreamed of then. I ask you when that day would be. Do you remember your answer? I do. He continued in impassioned tones. Are not the conditions fulfilled, sweetheart? My love for you then was as a dream, a myth, compared with what I bring you to-day. And looking in your eyes I need no words to tell me that your love has broadened and deepened with the years. Kathy, is not this the time appointed? It must be, she replied. There could be none other like this.  You gave me your heart that day, Kathy, to hold in trust. I have been faithful to that trust through all these years. Do you give it me now for my very own? Yes, she answered slowly with sweet solemnity, to have and to hold forever. He sealed the promise with a long rapturous kiss. But what followed, the broken disjointed phrases, the mutual pledges, the tokens of love given and received, are all among the secrets which the mountains never told. As they retraced their steps towards the hotel, Daryl said, we have waited long, sweetheart. Yes, but the waiting has brought us good of itself, she answered. Think of all you have accomplished. I know better than you think, for your father has kept me posted. And better yet, what these years have fitted you for accomplishing in the future? To me, that was the best part of your work in your story. It was strong and cleverly told, but what pleased me most was the evidence that it was but the beginning, the promise of something better yet to come. If only I could persuade all critics to see it through your eyes, Daryl replied with a smile. Do you wish to know, she asked with sudden seriousness, what will always remain to me the noblest, most heroic act of your life? Most assuredly I do, he answered, her own gravity checking the laughing reply which rose to his lips. The fight you made and won alone in the mountains the day you renounced our love for honour's sake. I can see now that the stand you took and maintained so nobly formed the turning point in both our lives. I did not look at it then as you did. I would have married you then and there, and gone with you to the ends of the earth rather than sacrifice your love, but you upheld my honour with your own. You fought against heavy odds and won, and to me no other victory will compare with it since greater they who on life's battlefield with unseen foes and fierce temptations fight. Daryl silently drew her nearer himself, feeling that even in this foretaste of joy he had received ample compensation for the past. A few days later there was a quiet wedding at the springs. The beautiful church on the mountainside had been decorated for the occasion, and at an early hour, while yet the robins were singing their matins, the little wedding party gathered about the altar where John Daryl Britton and Kate Underwood plighted their troth for life. Above the jubilant bird songs, above the low subdued tones of the organ, the words of the grand old marriage service rang out with impressiveness. Besides the rector and his wife, there were present only Mr. Underwood, Mrs. Dean, and Mr. Britton. It had been Kate's wish, with which Daryl had gladly coincided, thus to be quietly married surrounded only by the remediate relatives. Let our wedding be a fit consummation of our betrothal, she had said to him, without publicity, unhampered by conventionalities, so it will always seem the sweeter and more sacred. That evening found them all at the pines, assembled on the veranda watching the sunset, the old home seeming wonderfully restful and peaceful to the returned travellers. The years which had come and gone since Daryl first came to the pines, told heaviest on Mr. Underwood. His hair was nearly white, and he had aged in many ways, appearing older than Mr. Britton, who was considerably his senior. But age had brought its compensations, for the stern, immobile face had softened, and the deep-set eyes glowed with a kindly, beneficent light. Mr.  To Mrs. Dean the years had brought only a few silver threads in the brown hair, and an added serenity to the placid, unfurlred brow. Calm and undemonstrative as ever, but with a smile of deep content, she sat in her accustomed place, her knitting needles flashing and clicking with their old-time regularity. Duke, who had been left in Mr. Britton's care during Daryl's absence, occupied his old place on the top-stair, but even at his five years of added dignity could not restrain him from the occasional demonstrations of joy at finding himself again at the pines and with his beloved master and mistress. As the twilight began to deepen, Kate suggested that they go inside and lead the way. Not to the family-sitting room, but to a spacious room on the eastern side, a room which had originally been intended as a library, but never furnished as such. It was beautifully decorated with palms and flowers, while the fireplace had been filled with light boughs of spruce and fur. As they entered the room, Kate, slipping her arm within Mr. Britton's, led him before the fireplace. "'My dear father,' she said, "'we have chosen this evening as the one most appropriate for your formal installation in our family circle and our home. I say formal because you have really been one of ourselves for years. You have shared our joys and our sorrows. We have had no secrets from you. But from this time we want you to take your place in our home as you did long ago in our hearts. We have prepared this room for you, to be your sanctum sanctorium, and have placed in it a few little tokens of our love for you and gratitude to you which we beg you to accept as such.' She bent towards the fireplace. The hearthstone is ever an emblem of home. In lighting the fires upon this hearthstone we dedicate it to your use and christen this, our father's room. The flames burst upward as she finished speaking, sending a resinous fragrance into the air and revealing a room fitted with such loving thought and care that nothing which could add to his comfort had been emitted. Near the centre of the room stood a desk of solid oak, a gift from Mr. Underwood. Besided a reclining chair from Mrs. Dean, while on the wall opposite, occupying nearly a third of that side of the room, was a superb painting of the hermitage, standing out in the firelight with wonderful realism, perfect in its bold outlines and somber colouring. The united gift of his son and daughter, which Daryl had ordered executed before his departure for Alaska, was loving congratulations the rest of the group gathered about Mr. Britain, who was nearly speechless with emotion, as Mr. Underwood rung his hand, he exclaimed, with assumed gruffness. Jack, old partner, you thought you'd got a monopoly on that boy of yours, but I've got in on the deal at last. You haven't got any of the best of me, Dave, Mr. Britain retorted, smiling through his tears, for I've got a share now in the sweetest daughter on earth. Yes, papa, Kate laughingly rejoined. There are three of us Britons now. The Underwoods are in the minority. Which, though a new view of the situation to that gentleman, seemed eminently satisfactory. Later, as Kate found Daryl at a window, looking thoughtfully out into the moonlit night, she asked, of what are you thinking, John? Of what the years have done for us, Kathy? Of how much better fitted for each other we are now than when we first loved? Yes, she whispered as their eyes met. God's own good time was the best. The End of CHAPTER XXXXXXXXXXXXX, Recording by Patty Cunningham.


Hitler or not, the floor is yours. Thank you. So it's a great pleasure to be back with Sudetti. Always great events, especially here in Brussels. So the best thing about my book is that it's available for free outside in the break. So you can get a free copy. And I can sign it for you. You can sell it on eBay for five euros with this special signature. So the reason I wrote the book is because I'm a futurist. I've been speaking for roughly 15 years about the future. And the last five years, the most common question I get anywhere in the world is, how are we going to remain human in the world that is becoming a giant machine, essentially? You know, technology is so powerful now and so good, convenient. That's very tempting that we become technology. It's not a debate. Americans think about this a little bit differently. Chinese as well. And here in Europe, we are very humanistic. That's our background. So it's a very big question. So the book is trying to answer some of this. And as I was listening to the previous presentation, I can't help but thinking that these machines that all of us now have are essentially our second brain, right? They are our external brain. We keep phone numbers and dating and stock reports and money and very soon the health records, everything. But technology is actually, if we see what we do today, it's very good at little happiness, you know, hedonic happiness. I can call my son in Africa for free on WhatsApp. That's great, right? I can watch a great movie. I can read something interesting. But does that have anything to do with actual happiness? In the Buddhist sense, contentment, right? I mean, for us, you know, the most thing that makes people happy is engagement with others, right? Relationships, experiences. And these things can provide experiences, right? Right now, they're still pretty bad, you know, providing real experiences. But the future holds that basically these machines become so powerful that they can provide actual experience to our brain. That sounds a lot like a drug, doesn't it? So it's interesting, you know, that whole discussion about where we're going is essentially centered on various things, you know, the exponential curve that you've been probably aware of for a long time, Moore's Law, Metcalfe's Law. Didn't really matter very much until now because we're now at the pivot point of this. We're at the point where all the stuff that was science fiction is becoming real. Not all, but language translation, autonomous vehicles, the shift to renewable energy, speech understanding, language shifting, all of these things. So basically, we're at four and the next couple of years, roughly five, six years, it's 128. And if you go 30 times up the scale, right? A billion. Three times up the scale, that would be like 40, 50 years. A billion. It's impossible to imagine what we would do then, right?  Two seconds later. So now basically what we're seeing around us is this whole idea that we're essentially also in a world where it's not just about one thing. It's about a dozen things. Genome engineering, cloud computing, intelligent assistance. All of the things that we watch every day, robotics, artificial intelligence, smart cities and so on. It's basically the combination of those things, right? So if you're in business today, your world is exponential. It is combinatorial, which means combining different things and it's interdependent. So just 10 years ago, you could afford to take a view that says that's a wait and see as we do in Switzerland. We're experts at wait and see, right? Well, of course, we want to minimize risk, right? Americans are experts at creating what you see. It's a cultural thing. We observe and then we slowly copy it or we come in when it's safe, right? This strategy will not work here. I mean, our future is not linear. There's some hard for us to understand. It is not just one thing. It's 50 things, right? And we have to think holistically. So that requires a lot of energy but a lot of thinking about where this could be going. And I think the bottom line really is for us the challenge is this, right? We're just mere humans. We are linear. We do learn a few things occasionally. We do improve, we do get older. We get more healthy, all true. But we're never ever going to keep up with technology. And right now, tech is still at a place to where you can, if you speak to a computer, most of the time it doesn't get what you're saying, right? But in just a few years game over, in five, seven years, moving towards what's called the Singularity, we can forget competing with a machine on pretty much anything. Driving, flying an airplane, researching legal documents. The only thing that computer will never have is existence.  For example, when we speak, or when I speak to a customer, most important things that the customer is saying, he's not actually saying. That's between the lines, right? I realize I talk to a customer that's unhappy but he never told me no, I'm so unhappy. But I still get it. That's very hard for a computer. And that is what is our future. I mean, clearly you're bookkeeping, accounting, financial records, combining information. That's computer territory. So we're moving into a world where machines are exponential, humans are not. And that is a good thing, right? And this is why I believe it's completely wrong to think about us becoming exponential. You know, as we see presented in the Singularity movement and transhumanism, right? When we become exponential, we become this. A machine. We can want that and we can discuss it. You know, I don't think that's a good idea because when we become exponential, we would lose what makes us humans, which is inefficiency. Mistakes, lying, emotions, death.  Doesn't mean we should not drive a car. Well, they would be efficient, right? And, you know, I don't care about driving a car, so I'm fine with that, right? But should we, for example, not give birth with human bodies, we should give birth outside of the body because it's safer, right? There are people proposing this called the exogenesis. That sounds crazy, right? But if it's all about efficiency, we wouldn't exist. Well, we have to keep that in mind because machines are really all about efficiency. Machines will never say, let's do this because there's some intrinsic value of some bizarre spiritual sword, you know?  So, as I like to say, you know, basically what's happening now is that we can see technology moving into us. And this is the really big difference when I talk about the future. People say, well, you're overreacting, right? But, you know, this is not the same as building a steam engine, right? Or building a spaceship or building the internet. This is us we're talking about here, right? Machine technology is going inside of us. Nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, the neuro connection, right? Genome editing, fantastic if we can defeat cancer, right? But the very same thing that can defeat cancer can build super soldiers. And so, is the European Commission going to decide on what is allowed and what is not? Or do we just say, well, you know, whatever, whatever makes money is fine. That's the American version. The Chinese version is whatever makes a state more powerful is fine. Either way, that doesn't strike me as a very good future. And so, this is quite clearly, you know, in the next 20 years there's going to be more change in the previous 300 years. If you have kids, this is a tall order. I would say the future is 90% good and 10% bad, difficult, right? Because this will allow us to fix climate change, to fix energy, to fix the water supply, to deal with food. You know, Richard Branson and Bill Gates just invested in a company called Memphis Meats. And it's a cultured meat in a lab that's grown from an animal that you can use as a food source. That's pretty visionary because right now it's 2,000 euros a pound, you know? I tasted it last week. It's real meat, you know?  But, I mean, we can see clearly what is happening with technology, we can solve the food problem. But we're gonna have to be pretty wise about it. And so the question I really have, you know, as technology is tempting us to become super smart, right? It's tempting us to do this. Because technology says to us, you know what, forget about the human limitations. It's just baggage, you know? So, if we buy this fancy thing, you know, we can be omnipresent with holograms. We can be five people at the same time. We can finally multitask, right? We can make love to 350,000 women on the internet at the same time, right? Like the movie Her, right? My aspiration for my future is not to become smarter, even though that is a good benefit, you know? It is to become more human, okay? Smarter, you know, we're at the end of the knowledge economy. The fact that you know things is a good thing, but in 10 years, nobody will give a damn, because in 10 years, the machine will tell you anything you want to know at the instant notice. The only thing the machines don't know is what is not a fact, what is not zeros and ones. And maybe eventually, machines will understand that also, but that's pretty far away in all of our terms, beyond our current scope of conversation. So, this idea of the future, right? Omnipresence, omnipower, right? We would love that, who wouldn't love this? Is the best drug ever invented, right? But should we have it? I mean, we do drugs every day, or we smoke, we drink coffee, we, you know, but I don't see anybody here at the table drinking a bottle of wine for breakfast, even though it would be interesting, right? But we would say that's probably not a good thing. It's a bit too much of a good thing. So, it's a simple question, you know, as we are looking at reality and what technology is offering us, this is what every single tech company wants, right? And I work 90% with tech companies here. So, I have this constant debate with them, really what they're doing is they're replacing humanity with tech, right? And we used to have real friendships, now we just fake friendship on LinkedIn and Facebook, right? In fact, the most lonely people in the world are the power users of social networks because they're living in a perpetual similarity, you know, simulation. So, this whole idea is transcending humanity, that is ridiculous, right? What we need to do is we need to use technology so we can stand on top of technology and be better humans, be exponentially human, so to speak. But exponentially, human does not mean we're gonna connect our neocortex to the internet. In that case, we just become machines and then maybe that's our destination. I don't think it's a good idea, but. So, in this world, you know, where we think of the power of machines and all the things that can do, you know, it's a key question for me is, you know, maybe we are just the last generation of unaugmented humans here in this room. Maybe we are the last ones that still know what it means to be offline. I mean, when you're talking to a 15-year-old, they don't know what it means to be offline. It's just always there. And is this, you know, using this device is kind of an augmentation, right? But it's not that much of an augmentation, but wearing a virtual reality or helmets, right? Or having a sort of a connection to the internet, that is really quite different. That's a difference between having a glass of wine and doing crack. I mean, it's extremely tempting. And the question is, do we follow that temptation and declare it to be the new normal? This is kind of like legalizing Mariano or legalizing crack, right? Like, where do we cut the line? So, in this world, now we're moving into a reality that basically everything around us is becoming smart, right? We jokingly call this a smart converter.  McKinsey says, 62 trillion-dollar revenue streams.  There's a chance for that. So, we have all those things, you know, this is our daily discussion, right? What's called digital transformation.  And we have a huge list, right? And this is fantastic stuff. I mean, this is 90% good. If we are able to manage the context of it, we should not have an internet of things if nobody's in charge, right? Nobody's accountable. Nobody's truly responsible. I mean, that is a very bad idea. We have to hold companies responsible that event this stuff, right? If Facebook makes it possible to spend 75 million dollars on enabling Russian influencers to seek dissent on the network, then they are responsible, right? That's at least my opinion. Otherwise, we end up with a gun lobby from the US where it's saying that guns don't kill people. People kill people.  Come on, you know. Oppenheimer was responsible for building a nuclear bomb. And he did realize that after he actually used it. So, as we're moving into this world of global brains, this is what every single tech company is building, right? Copying our brain in the cloud. That's really what Facebook is doing, right? Making a digital copy of you, of me. I'm a heavy Facebook user. I gotta think about that, though. So, the question is, you know, who's in charge of this? Where is it going? Is that a bad thing? Oh, it's a good thing. I mean, if we have all the health records of 10 billion people in the cloud, we can fix most diseases. But somebody could go in the cloud and make a copy of you at the same time. That is probably not such a good idea. So, I think basically what is happening, and you've noticed all around you is, you know, data is the new oil. I've been saying that for 10 years, it's finally true. Last year, 7.6 trillion dollars were made in the data economy. Search, advertising, various sorts of surveillance. And on the other hand, we have artificial intelligence, and that is the new electricity. Andrew Nenji, who's the former CTO of Baidu, keeps talking about this. We're moving into a world where data is everywhere and data is powerful. And those powerful companies that are in data business are also investing in AI. And we should be very careful with artificial intelligence. It is not what the movies make it out to be. Most of the things that we see today with AI are really fancy software. You know, the Google auto return, the mapping, the self-driving car.  And it's basically, you know, if you use a self-driving car as an example, it'll be a long time before going to the mountains of Switzerland with a huge semi truck that doesn't have a driver. Or the German Autobahn. But it's still very useful. So moving into this future, really, you could say, as Mark and Driesen said, for a long time, your software is eating the world. It's so true. Everything has been eaten. Music, films, television, books, banking, blockchain, Bitcoin, eat, eat, eat. That is primarily a good thing, but all of these industries that have been eaten are completely disrupted. Let me look at the media business. A site that's essentially in AI, Facebook, also have to keep on saying bad things about Facebook, but Facebook is essentially an algorithm. Is it news? But 40% of people use Facebook as a news source. So then we have to ask the question, could too much software cheat the world?  When we use too much technology, it could very easily be like this, to where we don't know what's real anymore, what is human. In fact, dating is a great example of this. In many major cities in the world now, if you're between 25 and 40, you know, as a woman, you can't get a date because all the guys are tindering, right? They use tinder, that is a new way to meet, in parenthesis, right? That's kind of a cheat in many ways, because we stop actually using the dating as we used to. So Amazon Echo, sorry, I have to get used to this big format here. So Amazon Echo, Alexa, that's literally our outside brain. We speak to the box and we say, hey, I want to read a new book. And the cloud knows everything about me and it gives me an opinion. That's extremely convenient to a certain degree and then afterwards it becomes abdication, right? We give this machine control and we say, hey, I want to invest 10,000 euros, go off and find a good investment. So I end up investing in AI, of course, you know, what else, you know, what else is there? But this is the key question. With these kind of machines like Echo and Alexa, you know, who do you really want to go deep dive in your brain? Who do you trust? I mean, this is an open microphone. It's just there, listening to you the whole time. So we make this Faustian bargain that we say, okay, it's convenient because I can order sticky notes on Amazon without typing, right? Well, that's amazing. At the same time as listening to everything I'm saying. So it's kind of an interesting deal how things are going in this direction where we're in a world where we're completely distracted by the machines, right? I think for a 12-year-old that is used to video games, it means nothing, right? But for most of us, we're like, oh God, you know, how can we get any work done because there's always a notification about somebody in Vladivostok being my friend, yeah? And then we have this, living in a world that's completely engineered, basically. So we have to make those responsible that do this.  Because basically I quote John F. Kennedy, who talked about GDP. I perverted to algorithms, right? Algorithms measure and simulate everything except what really matters to humans. He said that about GDP, now we measure GDP, and it doesn't measure what actually matters, which is happiness, of course. Can you measure happiness? Kind of doubt it. That's not bad to measure GDP, or it's not a bad thing, but we have to keep in mind that it's not the real thing, it's not the ultimate destination. Zehlich Manu talks about happiness a lot in his various books. I think he just published a new book. Martin Zehlich Manu is a great psychologist. He talks about perma. Perma is positivity, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishments. None of these things a machine can do. It doesn't know what meaning is. It only means to be efficient, and that is a good thing. Let them be efficient, but efficiency isn't life. Life is the opposite of efficiency, in fact.  That's what you hate, like airlines, for example, because they're so inefficient. That's true, but it's just the verse isn't entirely the same thing. So we're moving into a world where, in terms of work and employment, everything that can be digitized or automated or virtualized or robotized will be. That's digital Darwinism, basically. That means all of the low-hanging fruits, the repetitive work, bookkeeping, driving a car to some degree, simple things like fast food and so on will be done by machines. And that is a huge societal shift. We have to embrace that because we are actually, we can do other things because the reverse is also true. Anything that cannot be digitized or automated becomes extremely valuable. That's why you're here. You could automate this whole conversation, say, let me just watch Fast Forward on YouTube. Rather than 30 minutes of GERD, you have 14 seconds of, it doesn't work that way. There's some things you can shortcut. If you want to be a serious musician, it takes 10,000 hours of work. You will be an iPad musician, that's cool, right? 10 hours. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's a good thing, but it's not the same. You can have a relationship with a robot, that's becoming quite interesting, possible. It's convenient. You can have pilots that are robots also. Maybe that would solve the Lufthansa problem. But so we're essentially moving into this world where that becomes a main consideration. In the circle I showed last, it's really important to keep in mind that the human things are the ones that really make a difference for us.  That's not our big problem, that's Hollywood. The biggest thing is that we become too much like a machine.  Having said that, if you're inefficient and bad with tech, you also lose, right? And this is our challenge. I mean, most telecom companies, if there's any telecoms in the room, you're going to automate 80% of your network maintenance with drones and AI. So you're gonna just save the money and have better returns and better dividends. Or you're gonna say, I'm gonna invest in new ideas. I'm gonna become a brand. I'm gonna become more human.  And the question is, are we really going to become the horses of the digital age? Nice to have, but useless, right? I doubt it. I think we have to give people more credits than this because the World Economic Forum talks about the new skills that we're acquiring that we already have, right? More the right brain, critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence. When you talk to HR people, the number one thing they mention from the new candidate, no matter what the job, is EQ, right? Emotional, quotient, emotional intelligence. Totally the opposite than 10 years ago, the number one skill was execution. And now the number one skill is to ask questions. And that is what we have to teach our kids. There is no plan, right? There is no normal. There is no linear. Well, in the human world there is. And we are competing with this, right? We're competing essentially, come on, we're competing with a machine that does this, right? The machine takes the left half of our brain, easily. Right now it's hard to imagine, give it 10 years. Machines can do that. So coming to the end, basically what we're seeing, you know, it's like basically working as a robot is game over, right? For us to be like a robot, it doesn't make any sense. For your kids to learn programming, come on, give me a break, right? You can program your website or an app. That's a robot job. Designing the app, that's different. But just executing things, that's robotic. This idea of creating hyper-efficiency. Where we are essentially adoring the fact that we can shortcut and make things more, you know, have more margin and things like that. But the bottom line really is that this is a huge temptation in society is to automate. And I would say right now the question is what can you automate because you get better margins? You make more money, that's good. I'm always looking for that too. But in the end the question is what should not be automated? And clearly what that is, customer relationships. Happiness, can you automate happiness? All right, those are things that happen or they don't happen. But in the bottom line really also with all this stuff is, you know, who is controlling it? Who is mission control? Well, we know where mission control is. I'm coming to the end, yes. It's in Silicon Valley. So we have to think about where this will take us, what the future of that is. And I would, these four principles I will share with you later because time is running out. But I have put together in my book the principles of that future. What we have to do, human values, shared benefits, prosperity. So that you can read later when I distribute the PDF. Let me finish by saying a basic thing. What we need to do with this is to figure out how we can keep the magic and technology. And not move to the toxic, you know, to the poisoning part. And that is a true challenge because in this future it's basically, that's what it's all about, right? Employing technology for happiness. And as I said earlier, now it's not as simple as making an app because, you know, in the end, this is the challenge. Technology doesn't have ethics. We have to put the ethics in, right? We have to know how to make that difference. We have to think about whether we need this ethics council that has been suggested as a counterweight. So, bottom line is this is our future. Technology, algorithms, and then the opposite, the andro-rhythms, we have to invest in both. I think investing in humanity is obviously something that we know how to do. But then the question is, you know, if we do both what would it do, algorithms and andro-rhythms, humanity on top of technology, and as some famous philosophers have said, technology is not what we seek, but how we seek. We shouldn't confuse the two because we end up in a place where we need to put the human back inside. So, let me summarize. Happiness isn't digital, trust isn't digital. Happiness is not a machine. Relationships are on code. Those are things that we use technology with and for, but we don't have a dial that dials up happiness and just gets it done. So, it's very important in my view is to be on team human. That has been sort of a theme that I've developed with various other authors, you know, to emphasize that we are actually human and that we're using it for human benefits. And finally, my book, I have this key message that says basically we need to embrace technology but not become technology. Thanks very much for listening. So, that was extremely enjoyable. I enjoyed reading your book, but this was also very good. Thank you. I have one question, or I have a couple of questions, but we don't have much time. Let's speak fast.  I'm not a musician, but I actually can fake it pretty well. I have guitar hero, and then within one hour I actually have the feeling that I'm in a rock band and doing pretty well. I mean, so software can help me fake humanity, right? Am I then not a musician when I'm playing my guitar hero? Well, I think the difference really as to what you perceive yourself to be, you know? Yes. You can swipe on Tinder and have a date and get what you want in 10 minutes. But as long as you know the difference, that this is actually not a relationship like a relationship that has grown otherwise, there's nothing against it. But what happens when we use it a lot, we think that that actually is the reality, right? Or it's a parallel reality and never get tempted into confusing the two, right? So, it's not per se wrong, but if we do that all the time, you know, we do it with music, we do it with media, we do it with dating, you do it, then that becomes a simulation, right? And then we lose the real thing. Well, then we're actually not happy at all, we're just always pretending to be happy, right? Which is Facebook, basically. Yeah, right, I wouldn't necessarily say that it's dangerous, like a drug is dangerous, you know, that when you do too much of it, then you're getting into problems, right? It's the wine versus the speed, the crack. But you know, this is not an easy conversation to have, because you know, as a result, we don't outlaw all the drugs, you know? I have another point. So you said this, a very interesting thing, you said the future is 90% good and 10% bad. That made me remember of this official study that the government of China did, studying Chairman Mao. And then the conclusion of the report was that he was 70% good and 30% bad. And that's how in the end he was good. But to me, it's like you have a murderous dictator, but he was nice to children, right? He killed millions of people, he was nice to children. He was a good cook too. Yeah, he was a good cook. So I mean, isn't that a dangerous way of looking at it? And at the same time, are companies, these four huge, powerful companies, are they accepting this responsibility for the technology that they're creating? That is a complex question, right? But basically, I always, like I said, the future is better than we think, right? First of all, technology can solve a lot of, most of the very large issues we're facing. Technology can not solve terrorism, right? Or inequality, that we have to do that, right? So what we need to do is to take technology, apply it to solve things, and then build the ethical, moral framework around it. And that is what we're currently not doing. And the big tech companies, again, I work with most of them, so I know firsthand, they want to, and Zuckerberg, for example, always says he wants to, but they're basically saying, oh, we'll never get around to it, we're so busy, right? So that is a very bad idea. We have to make them responsible, or they have to become responsible themselves, otherwise we end up with like 57 RIAs, the gun lobby problem, right? It's not that they're evil, but they make so much money with being who they are. It's very tempting, right? So the future is good, but if we fail to build this framework around it, the human framework, then it's not gonna be so good, right? I think we will, but that debate is raging right now. It's basically humanizing technology, and this is why we need government. I think the future holds we're going to have professional politicians that are 30 years old knowing about these issues that are aware of this, and that are truly understanding what we're up against, what we're up with, right? For example, when we invent a gene therapy to end cancer, it will have to be free, right?  That's kind of like AIDS now in a way, but in a much bigger way. So those issues are facing us, and we're gonna have to find solutions together that is quite clear. Okay, thank you very much. You're welcome. Thank you.