FRIEND:
hey man...how's
it goin??? wanna here some interesting info on dean kamen that won't
be found in the news reports??? i got a scoopr for ya...
BARDSQUILL:
ok
FRIEND:
ok. i work
with a guy who is the former c.f.o. of baxter/travenol...a huge medical industry
player...well, in the late eighties, at the request of his brother who is
a big time oncologist, kamen developed a portable, personal infusion device
for diabetics, etc...i'm sure you know this part of the story...
BARDSQUILL:
yep
FRIEND:
baxter got wind
of this and decided to buy kamen's company...my friend negotiated baxter's
side of the deal...
FRIEND:
they paid him $20
million...over ten years ago...alot of dough...
FRIEND:
here's where it
gets weird...
FRIEND:
baxter held a board
meeting where they signed the deal...and kamen showed up in combat
gear...fatigues, utility belt, big leather army boots, etc...
FRIEND:
back then business
meetings were quite formal...especially if you were inking a @20m deal...
FRIEND:
but anyway, they
got the deal done...and get what he did next...
FRIEND:
he bought an island.
FRIEND:
in long island
sound...off the coast of long island, ny...
FRIEND:
and then he renounced
his us citizenship.
BARDSQUILL:
Jeez, King Kamen
FRIEND:
no shit. he
declared independence from the usa and started his own 'country' on this
island...
FRIEND:
invited some people
and created a legislative and judicial organization...even a military...
FRIEND:
bought 3 tanks
and had them sent to the island...
BARDSQUILL:
so are we at war
with the land of kamen?
FRIEND:
now i don't know
if he still owns the island, or what the status of his citizenship is, but
he sure is a strange bird...and not a big fan of the u.s. gov...at least
he didn't use to be
BARDSQUILL:
seems to be in
his fortress now
FRIEND:
yea, in nh, right?
BARDSQUILL:
heard his
IT, is not a vehicle, using that for cover, but instead might be a
mind-computer interlink.
BARDSQUILL:
but then his many
projects might be getting confused
FRIEND:
well, i find it
highly doubtful that ginger really is as earth shattering as they are
stating...more likely pr...the real good stuff never makes it to the
street...never. gets quashed. but hey, i'm an hopeful cynic...would
be great if it helped get us out of our rut...
FRIEND:
hah!
BARDSQUILL:
he does have that
iBot, wearable wheelchair already publicized, he even climbed the Eiffel
Tower wearing it.
FRIEND:
yep, i read that.
i've been up there. it's a long way up. bizarre.
BARDSQUILL:
something like
that
BARDSQUILL:
bearden catching
legit interest with his overunity experiment
FRIEND:
about freakin time...
FRIEND:
oil barons must
be shakin like the chinese at tianenman...proly gonna try to throw a monkey
wrench in...like a nice convenient world war...
BARDSQUILL:
lord knows what
tech is out there, our interface with what's there probably 50 years behind
FRIEND:
agree fully
BARDSQUILL:
great scoop about
king kamen
BARDSQUILL:
will troll it out
there in rant-format
FRIEND:
thought you'd
enjoy...i'll be in touch...later...
BARDSQUILL:
The Internet screwed
old money interests bad enough, that's why they have seized the reins to
try to plug up future shock tech that will relegate them to ordinary folks.
BARDSQUILL:
somebody ought
to just mass produce ten thousand antigrav harnesses and get them all flying
at once on a single day.
BARDSQUILL:
inauguration day
FRIEND: oh yea, one more thing about kamen...the people on his island all went by historical names...abe lincoln, geroge washington, charles degaulle, etc...