Oct 21, 2015

 

Dear Hildie:

 

You mention the egg-head scene in KEEL. Well, it seemed to me it would be interesting to have the crew at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study dither over a poker game. Kurt Godel was a close friend of Einstein in those years and his incompleteness theorem seems appropriate for applying to poker. John (von) Neumann (The von was an affectation), of course, was one of the originators of game theory. He also consulted for the Defense Department, top the disgust of some of his colleagues. And was a notoriously bad driver. But he was an incredible genius. Oppenheimer, in those days, was worn out and somewhat dispirited over trying to herd cats, plus the controversy over building an H-bomb.  Sounded like a merry group to get together.

 

I finished my rewrite of KILLER’S BRIDE and now have to reread it. But it’s wrenching. Rewriting is like diving back down into a murky pool and holding your breath until you can free what’s on the bottom and bring it up. The prospect of another dive into the water unnerves me. But I’ll get around to it.

 

Take care.

Love,

M