Off to the library

You haven't spent much time in libraries since you graduated from college and really, it's possible to find almost everything on the Internet these days, but you decide to head to the local library anyway... partly just to get out of Jeremy's tiny apartment, partly because there are probably some girls at the library, but also because maybe you could get some help from a librarian.

The library has the usual assortment of patrons... a mix of young moms with screaming children and mostly male homeless guys who lay claim to the most comfortable chairs.

You check the actual printed out sheets with city jobs but don't find anything. Then you spend some time on the Internet reading about prosperity theology.

All the while, you keep your eyes on the clerk and librarian.

The clerk is a slightly chubby Hispanic girl who looks like she's college age {if Lupe > 0}and who you introduced yourself to yesterday{endif}. The librarian isn't much older. She's got spiky blond hair and a no-nonsense attitude as she supervises the one hour limit on computer use, directs homeless people to use the bathroom for their needs, and keeping the screaming babies corralled in the children's area.

{if Lupe > 0}You head over to Lupe. "Nice to see you again, Lupe?"

She looks at you without a hint of recognition. Damn, why are you so unmemorable to women?

"We met yesterday."

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Obviously she doesn't remember.

"We talked about Enochian, the language of Angels."

"Oh, right. I told you you needed to talk to Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth?"

"The librarian. She's over there." Lupe gestures toward the blonde.

"You know, I told you I applied for a job here. I wonder if I could, you know, buy you a cup of coffee and we could discuss..."

"Hello. Does this gentleman need assistance, Lupe." The librarian had come up behind you."

{else}

You head over to the librarian.

{endif}

From a distance, you'd thought the librarian was an obvious lesbian... with her tough-looking short spiky hair, semi-masculine-cut suit jacket, and motorcycle boots. Up close, you weren't so sure. Not that you had anything against lesbians... after all, lusting after women was something you could identify with so you weren't going to begrudge other people who felt the same way.

"Hi," you say. "I'm Mike. I'm working on a research project for my stream and I don't know where to start."

"That's what we're here for." She actually looked a little happy about it... like maybe actually doing library work rather than directing homeless people to the bathroom was an improvement.

"The thing is, it's a little embarrassing."

"Let me guess. You're researching whether movie stars freeze the gerbils before they stick them up their asses. That topic has been done but I can--"

"Uh, really? Is that a thing?"

"Well, researching it certainly is."

"Wow. I had no clue. Uh, maybe not that embarrassing."

"Really. But you are blushing."

You're blushing because you're talking to a woman... something you're just not used to. But you can't tell her that.

You check her out surreptitiously. Her suit jacket is not exactly flattering but its pretty obvious she has a nice pair of tits hidden beneath it. And the white blouse is unbuttoned a couple of buttons... enough that you can see her white lacy bra. And..."

"Are you listening, sir?"

"Uh, oh, yeah. Sorry, I am embarrassed but I have to tell you. You see, there's a theory that the universe is a simulation."

"Yeah, I read that in Scientific American."

"I'll have to check out that article. Anyway, if it is a simulation, that means there's code running it. And if there's code, there's hacking."

"So, you want to hack the universe. I have to confess that's a little more original than who masturbates with gerbils."

You're on a roll now and you forget to wonder whether she's flirting with you. After all, why would she be? She's a cute woman with a job and you're a homeless and unemployed geek. Anyway, you ramble on. "Apparently there's something called Enochian, the supposed language of Angels. Also supposedly, the universe was spoken into existence through this language. Which, to me, sounds like computer code being used to create applications."

"Got it." The librarian gives you a dazzling smile. "Let's see what we can find, okay?"

"Definitely." Now that you think about it, you wonder if maybe, just maybe, she interrupted not because she was excited about your topic but because she didn't want to hear you ramble on for another ten minutes about Enochian.