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Show -261 and an orange-striped helmet. Carlo leaned out the window and spoke to him seriously. "You're making a fool of yourself," he said. Startled, the man turned to look, wobbled, nearly lost control of his bicycle, finally righted himself with a great effort. Under the buglike helmet his face was alarmed and sincere. The road took an uphill turn and we pulled away, leaving him to his exertions. In the mirror I saw him still pedaling hard, his rear end up in the air, spokes and reflectors spinning in the sun. "Why did you do that?" I said. "Did you see the man's face? He thought he was doing everything in the world exactly right, but I changed his mind for him. Gave him a reason to wonder, didn't I?" He nodded. Suddenly he closed his eyes and slid down in the seat again. "I can't stand people who're sure," he said. "What's the matter now?" "I don't know. I'm depressed. If assholes like that man are the wave of the future, it's not worth waiting for." "Is that why you tried to jump out of the plane?" "That's a dumb question. Think about it a little. You're not very bright sometimes, you know, Buck." He seemed to fall asleep, which left me with myself to think about. I was surprised to hear that I'd been |