The Book of Jobs - what Steve is doing on The Cloud

Wednesday 3 October - Day 29 of 30

Wednesday 3 October 2012 – Day 29 of 30

Steve woke up this morning with a to-do list in his head. His Deathday party was on Friday, in two days. He wanted it to be a surprise, so the invitations described the gathering as the next meeting of geniuses. Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect had delivered the invites; everyone had accepted.

Today Steve needed to verify the pool reservation, check in with Julia to remind her about the catering, and find some party decorations. Balloons? Tablecloths and vases of flowers would be nice. Where would he find anything like that? He decided to make the trek across The Cloud to The Dome. He had not been there yet, but he had heard that supplies and equipment were stored there.

What Steve didn’t know was that his geniuses had also decided a surprise party was in order to celebrate his one-year anniversary on The Cloud. When they received his invitation to a genius meeting, and realized it was scheduled for the same time and the same place as their party, they decided it wasn’t a problem. Steve would just be very surprised!

A party had to have music, and John Lennon suggested they might as well put on that concert he had offered to The Chairman. And why not invite the Big Guy, who could invite The Chairman, who could maybe fit it into his schedule? Would Steve be offended? No, Steve would be delighted. Steve was in a whole new place.

The party would be on October 5, 2012, beginning at three p.m. The planning committee decided that each genius could invite one guest. So, 13 x 2 = 26, plus Steve = 27, plus maybe the Big Guy and The Chairman = 29, and, “Don’t forget about John’s girls,” someone said. Okay, 34 maximum was a manageable number.

Jim Henson invited his close friend Julia Child, who said she would be delighted to cater the event.

Albert Einstein invited Isaac Newton—it was only right that he be there.

Gandhi invited Siri, even though it might cause talk to bring someone in from The Beyond.

Amelia Earhart invited John Denver. They had recently met and discovered a mutual interest in flying, plus she loved his sweet singing voice.

Thomas Edison wanted to invite his friend Alexander Graham Bell, but he had recently left, so instead he invited Samuel Morse, who had recently returned.

Maria Callas invited her one-time operatic rival, Renata Tebaldi. They had reconciled on The Cloud and become dear friends.

John invited George and asked him to bring his guitar.

Picasso, disappointed at Amelia’s rejection, asked the Princess of Wales. She was a bit too tall for him, but he wanted to arrive with a real beauty on his arm.

Frank Lloyd Wright invited his son John Lloyd Wright, who had long since forgiven his father for abandoning the family.

Bucky invited Carl Sagan—they loved talking about the search for extra-terrestrial life together.

Alfred Hitchcock decided on Douglas Adams, thinking they could discuss the screenplay for Doug’s new book.

Martha Graham invited her former student and later her colleague, Merce Cunningham.

Dr. King was going to bring his wife. After all, she was the reason he was still here, and, anyway, he didn’t want to be the only African-American at the party.

Everyone managed to act normal around Steve, who didn’t have a clue about their plans. He was thinking about how many days of work he had missed, and that he needed to get the day off on Friday.

But how?

 (to be continued tomorrow)