Friday, June 09, 2000

Story idea: A man who lives his life entirely according to percentages. He has studied the numbers, knows the odds of any particular event happening. He knows that he has a 1 in 975 chance of stumbling over any particular crack in the sidewalk. He knows the odds of being struck by a car, knows that he has a 1 in 460 chance of being infertile. He lives his life this way, going so far as to woo his wife through the use of gifts, compliments, and actions that he knows have the best odds of pleasing her. He raises his children this way, choosing everything from their breakfast cereal to their sneakers to their schools in this fashion, and he knows they will be healthy and graduate in the top 2% of their class. He even knows, within 3 weeks, when he will die.
There are no revelations for this man; his nature has discarded such a possibility outright. He has faith, but only in situations where the odds favor it. He can predict your future as well as any fortune teller, but he generally won't; odds are that he can't make a living that way.
He won't find a way out. Maybe someone will give him one, though...

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