THE BRONX

NOVEMBER 6

Meerm not hungry. Get good food in Meerm room, special food, come on own plate. Meerm not have get self from pot like down in sim big room. Meerm room food better. Yum-yum. Meerm wish she feel better so she like food more.

Meerm lonely sometime in own room. But Meerm not downstair where Needle Lady and Needle Man stick sharp thing in sim, take blood. Take-take-take. And hair face man do very bad hurt thing to Meerm and other sim. But not here Meerm room. No sharp stick here. No one hurt Meerm in own room.

Meerm room top floor. Meerm like look window at sky. Dark now. See light on street down below. Sometime Meerm wish -  "Helloooo, Meerm!"

Meerm turn, see Needle Man come through door. Needle Lady come behind. They ver happy. Needle Man hold big bottle, drink yellow bubble water in glass.

"Your latest test results are in," Needle Lady say, "and we love you, Meerm!"

"Why love Meerm?"

Needle Man laugh, say, "Because you're going to make us rich!"

"Yes!" Needle Lady yell. "We're going toown SimGen!"

"Now, now, Eleanor," Needle Man say. "Let's not be greedy. We'll settle for half!"

They laugh-laugh-laugh.

"Who'd ever think," Needle Man say, "that two humble globulin farmers would be able to put a company like SimGen up against the wall?"

"We haven't put it there yet," Needle Lady say. "I still have to get up the nerve to make the call."

"And when we do, we've got to be careful. We'll be playing with the big boys, and they're not going to like what we have to tell them."

They stop laugh, stop smile. Drink more.

Ooh! Tummy hurt. Meerm want feel better. Why hurt?