"Robert Weinberg - Logical Magician 01 - A Logical Magician" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weinberg Robert)

 1

S tanding alone in the elevator, Jack Collins pulled the classified ads from his back
pocket. For the tenth time that day, he studied the black-bordered notice he had circled
the night before. As the lift silently headed upward to the thirty-fourth floor, Jack carefully
searched for the hidden catch in the wording, trying to find a loophole he knew had to
exist. There had been too many other ads, too many other disappointments for him not to
be suspicious.

Logical young man with an open mind and active imagination
wanted for highly unusual but financially rewarding career
opportunity. Some risk involved. Background in mathematics and
fantastic literature advised.

Nowhere in the ad was there any mention of the advertiser's name or the exact
nature of the job. Still, the clipping did provide the address of a major office building in
the Chicago financial district and a suite number. And the high-rent location indicated that
the position wasn't in sales or telephone solicitation.
At twenty-seven. Jack was willing to gamble. After nine years of college, he
wanted out. Four years spent earning his bachelor's degree, two for his master's, and
three more towards his Ph.D. had finally caught up with him. He wanted nothing more than
to earn a living in the real world. It was time to break away from university life.
Unfortunately, getting a job was proving more difficult than he had imagined.
To his dismay, he found that advanced degrees in pure mathematics meant nothing
to most employers. Worse, several companies made it exceedingly clear they couldn't hire
him because of his education. According to one painfully honest recruiter, he was
overqualified for any entry-level position. Even worse, his advanced degrees could
intimidate the other workers.
It was the nineties version of the old paradox of jobs needing experience and vice
versa. Now it featured advanced degrees against entry-level positions. The better
educated you were, the less chance you had of finding work. In any case, it meant Jack
was out of luck.
Weeks of searching for employment had left Jack frustrated and depressed. All his
years in graduate school seemed wasted. None of his course work had prepared him for
the harsh realities of the everyday world. The only jobs readily available were at fast-food
joints, working a cash register and making change.
The spring semester was almost at an end. Over a month ago, Jack had informed
his faculty advisor that he did not plan on returning to the university in the fall. Committed
to earning a living, after three weeks of searching he was running out of options.
If nothing turned up soon, he would be forced to move back to the East Coast and
work in the family import-export business. For that, he didn't need a college degree.
Especially one in advanced mathematics and logic. He knew that for the next twenty
years, his father would remind him of that fact whenever possible. As would his mother.
And his brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, first, second, and third cousins, all who
labored for the Collins consortium.
His relatives never understood why he left home to attend college in Chicago.
There was no way Jack could tell them of his need to get away from his close-knit family
and make a name for himself in the world. He wanted his own identity, his own life, his
own successes to enjoy. Returning to the family business after all these years of school
would be admitting defeat. And Jack wasn't ready yet to surrender his independence.