Free The Religion War by Scott Adams Page A

should take me someplace out of sight and put a blindfold on me," said the Avatar.
    Ali was fuming. That was exactly what he planned to do, but somehow it ruined the idea to hear it from the Avatar first.
    "I think it's in the glove compartment, "said the Avatar helpfully.
    Ali shook his head in disgust, then opened the glove compartment, removed the ski cap, and tossed it into the backseat. The Avatar placed the cap on his head and pulled it down over his eyes.
    "If I doze off, could you wake me when we're there?" he asked.
    "Yes," agreed Ali, completely deflated.
    The ski cap blocked the Avatar's vision, but his other senses fed a constant stream of information to his consciousness, where patterns formed, drawing a picture of his surroundings every bit as vivid as if he were viewing them in a book. He knew they were passing through Chinatown, judging from the stop-and-go traffic, the spices in the air, and the chatter on the sidewalk. Their speed picked up, and the road sounds began to reflect back to them, a clear indication they were in a tunnel. When the echoes stopped, the car turned left and accelerated. On the right came sounds of a public park, and beyond that, a tugboat exercised its horn. The air was a few degrees cooler already, a sign they were heading toward the ocean. They continued straight for several minutes, until sounds no longer reflected off nearby buildings on one side. They were at the shore, then turning into a driveway, over a noisy metal grate, and down a narrow alley.
    Two large men took the Avatar by either arm and dragged him into a home.When his cap was removed, he was standing in the living room of a modest two-story stucco home. Ali was whispering to around-faced, mustached man, who was clearly in charge of the local operation. The round-faced man listened and stared at the Avatar.The Avatar smiled, and waited his turn to talk.
    "You claim to know al-Zee's plans?" the round-faced man asked.
    "Yes. But the problem I see here is that you don't know his plans, so you have no way of knowing if I'm telling the truth. You wouldn't have any knowledge of the larger plan."
    "Who are you?" the cell leader asked, already in a bad mood.
    "My name is Avatar. I used to deliver packages."
    "Do you think this is funny?" asked the cell leader. "You're looking at two choices today. Either you tell me what I want, and I kill you fast, or you make me hurt you. Which will it be?"
    "I'd like the choice where I tell you what you want to know and then Ali drives me to the airport. I need to see al-Zee sometime in the next day or so. I'm hoping you can make that happen."
    "Maybe some pain will make you talk some sense," snarled the cell leader.
    "I think he wants to talk," said Ali, trying to help.
    "Maybe your questions aren't good," offered one of the armed guards.
    The cell leader swiped the contents of the coffee table onto the floor in a show of anger, making more of a cleaning problem than a point. He stood to look more menacing.
    "Okay, old man, tell me what your game is. What were you doing at Cruz's headquarters?"
    "I was telling him al-Zee's battle plans," explained the Avatar.
    "And how would you know his battle plans? Is that something you learned from delivering packages?" The cell leader sneered.
    "In a way," answered the Avatar, walking to a comfortable chair and sitting. "It's a matter of understanding probability." The cell leader wasn't expecting his prisoner to make himself at home. It happened so naturally that the Avatar was already happily seated before anyone could think to stop him. He began. "There are two impulses in every mind. One is the recognition of probability. It's the part of your brain that knows that the risk of dying in a plane crash, for example, is very low. The other impulse is your irrational mind, or your heart if you prefer the poetic label.That's the impulse that makes many people afraid of flying in spite of its relative safety."
    "Your point?" growled the cell