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Cinematic Interlude

Camera pans in on John Baez, strapped in a chair. A maniacal Michael Weiss hovers over him, holding a dentist's drill, whose tip contains, instead a diamond, a gleaming photon. Michael asks with a grating voice that sends phonons racing up and down one's spine (simultaneously):

``Is it real?''

Baez groggily looks around. ``Huh. Most people just post to sci.physics.research and hope for someone to answer, not kidnap the moderator and strap him to a dentist's chair! I know I'm overdue for a checkup, but this is ridiculous. Are you getting back at me for avoiding questions about ontology, or something? Is what real, anyway?''

``Shaddup, wiseguy.'' Weiss clobbers Baez with a cosh.

After a few more bizarre special effects, changes of scene, and a whole lot of dreamy music, Baez wakes up. All he remembers is a question...



Michael Weiss
3/10/1998