Marvin and the old bum went and sat at a terrace, not far from there. The sun was shining in a pleasant way upon them. Marvin ordered a beer for Emilio.
"You don't have one for yourself, sir?"
"No. I feel like I've been drinking too much these last days."
"I've been drinking too much these last years." (The waiter brought him his pint.) "And here I am. Cheers!"
Emilio dipped his white yellowish moustache into the white yellowish foam.
"Hum… Now, what is it that you want about this good old Gropius?"
"He's been arrested…"
"Yeah, I've noticed that. What do you want to do about it ? They will probably release him in a day. Maybe two. That's what they do when you make a fuss. But it won't be too long."
"Still, this is curious, isn't it? People are making a fuss everywhere these days, and the police doesn't give a damn about it. And they put handcuffs on this poor guy? Isn't it strange?"
"Yeah… I guess. Now, what isn't strange nowadays?"
Marvin sighted. After a short pause he started again :
"I've got a favor to ask. Do you have Gropius' phone number? Could you please give it to me?"
"Sir, I don't have a phone. Why should I know his number?"
"Then, please, when they release him, ask him to give me a call. This is important."
Marvin wrote his phone number on a napkin and handed it to Emilio.
"Why don't you ask him yourself to give you a call? Weren't you supposed to be friends?"
"Not exactly. I know him, but he doesn't really know me. So when you see him, please tell him that he should give me that call because I believe what he says is true."
"You do?"
"Yes"
"You mean, the fake aliens and stuff?"
"Yes, all of that. I think he's right."
"Okay. Then you're probably as naive as he is, but it's none of my business. I mean, Gropius, he's a good lad. He's always been trying to help me. And I'm not saying he's lying either. But, sometimes, he's not too bright. Well, he is, 'cause he's a mathematician, or something like that…"
"Is he?"
"Yes, I think so. But, you see, he's a bit naive. I fear that he fell prey to some sort of scammer who made him believe all this wild stuff. That he's been chosen to become a prophet for some cosmic goddess, and so on. My goodness! I can tell you, in my life I've been drunk almost to the point of seeing UFOs in the sky. And, I mean, this was long before they became mainstream. Back in those days, when you saw flying saucers you were just a drunk lunatic."
Emilio paused a second, had a gulp of beer, then continued:
"And this was exactly what I was. But I've never been wasted to the point of considering myself a prophet for some ancient goddess. That tells you something about that poor boy's mental state."
The old man kept rambling on :
"But there are scammers everywhere, you know? Sometimes they're after your money. Sometimes they just make you believe crazy nonsense just for fun.
"Myself, when I was a kid I loved to play these kind of tricks on people. Back then, I used to spend every summer holidays in the countryside, at my grandparents' farm.
"One day, with my cousin Joe, we had that idea to prank everyone. We ran out by night in the fields with a scythe. No one saw us getting outside and disappear in the wheat.
"It was a crystal clear night, with lots of stars, and a full moon. The fields were all moonlit, so we needed no additional lights to see what we were doing.
"We started reaping the crops all around to shape these freaky extraterrestrial crop circles. We used a stick fixed in the ground in the middle of the field. We attached a rope on it, and then we had that rope attached around our hips. It was a very convenient way to go around the stick at the right distance, cutting nice, perfect circles.
"In the morning : Oh! Flying saucers! Everyone was like: They came to land in our field! Our field! Even the mayor, he called the press.
"There was a nice little hill above the field, from which it was possible to see and grasp our little masterpiece. We didn't suspect that we did such a good job, actually. There have been two or three weirdos who climbed the hill to take some pictures of it, fantasizing about reptilian space travelers. Me and Joe, we laughed until we wetted our pants…
Marvin was slowly starting to lose patience. He was not willing to hear this guy recite his childhood memories for too long. But he still needed him as a middleman, so he replied politely:
"You're right. There are liars and tricksters everywhere, I guess. It's possible that someone would have played a dirty trick on our friend. But on the other hand…"
Marvin continued with more confidence:
"On the other hand, have you thought about the possibility that, this time, the scammers would not be the ones who made Gropius believe his apparently foolish things, but those who made everyone else believe in flying saucers? Just like you did with your hoax. Except this is a very sophisticated hoax, involving advanced technology, and probably lots of money. Simple holograms, projected in the sky. It could be very much like the rope you used to draw your circles : a very simple trick that does the job. And everyone thinks it's impossible unless it's real aliens. You see what I mean?"
Emilio didn't seem to understand much.
"Huh? Yeah… I guess I've never thought about it this way…"
Just a few moments before that, Marvin had nonetheless perceived a spark of intelligence in this man's eyes. But now it seemed that it was all gone. Emilio had finished his pint.
"Anyway." said Marvin. "I'd like to ask you one last question, if you don't mind. Has Gropius told you something about a planned encounter with aliens? Do you know something about that? Has he ever pretended that they'd given him an appointment somewhere?"
"An appointment with aliens? Well, first of all… I think the right word is 'Exolibs.'"
"Whatever…"
"He doesn't believe in Exolibs! How could he have an appointment with them?"
"But he believes in galactic gods or goddesses. What about them?"
"No. Never heard about an appointment with them either. He's just rambling about the fact that he's the chosen one, or something."
"All right, Emilio. Thank you for your help."
Marvin got up, ready to leave. But, thinking better, he searched his wallet, found a crumpled ten dollars bill and handed it to Emilio.
"Please, don't forget to ask our friend to give me a call as soon as he is free again."
Emilio took the bill and the napkin, and shoved them into his pocket.
"Okay. I will."