A Hologram for the King Page #6

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- Yes.

Now, we found some

precancerous cells below.

- Precancerous?

- Yes. You should have it removed.

- Have what removed?

- The lipoma, the whole thing, and the sooner the better.

We can do it here.

It's not a big deal.

- When would that be?

- How about tomorrow?

Hi.

- What are you doing here?

- I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. Sorry.

- Wow.

- Alan.

- What did you do?

- Did you resort to bribery or coercion?

- We've got a great, solid signal.

- The food is amazing.

- We've been trying to reach you.

- I was out of town.

- Well, whatever you did, it worked.

- You're the man, Alan.

- So, are we ready?

- One sec.

- Hey, Dave.

- Hey, Brad.

How's it going?

Sorry.

- Gotcha.

- Me, too. It's a bit low-res, but...

- Let me adjust this.

- It's getting there.

There you are!

Show me your movement ratio.

- That should be your pretty face.

- Yup.

- And this is my hideout.

- Got it.

Let's check projection

stability with our favorite object.

Nice and easy.

So, is it really

happening today?

A great pleasure,

Your Majesty.

Your Royal Highness,

distinguished members

of the royal family.

For centuries,

business has been done

in the same manner

as friendships have been made.

With culture and language separated

by the mere distance of a handshake.

In Boston,

Massachusetts,

your friends at Relyand

have developed

a new technology

for virtual encountering

on a global scale.

Allow us to give you

a demonstration.

Hey, Alan.

Cheers.

Sticks and stones can

break my bones...

but holograms

can never hurt me.

Alan, you're on with Eric.

Nice work, Alan. Very nice.

Let's keep fingers crossed

they don't choke on our budget.

- Thrills galore.

- Yeah, and we'll know soon.

Well, maybe we should celebrate that.

Do you need a ride?

I think I should stay

with my team.

Yeah, okay.

Are you

the anesthesia man?

- Hello, Mr. Clay. How are you today?

- I'm fine, thanks.

Good. This is

Dr. Wei from China

and his assistant.

- They'll support me with the procedure.

- Dr. Wei from China.

- Hi.

- Let's do the marks here and antiseptic.

- Hello, Mr. Clay.

- Hello, Dr. Hakem.

I'm sorry I couldn't

be here on time.

I didn't think

I would see you again.

I'm taking over now.

The anesthetic should already work.

- Is that warm enough?

- Yes. Thank you.

Scalpel.

I will talk you through

the entire operation,

but it might be more

comfortable for you

to think of something

completely different.

A good person.

A nice memory.

Or something

you look forward to.

All right.

I will approach

the affected area now

with a small cut

adjacent to the lesion.

"He took no notice of the village

children and came enchanted

thinking

of Christmas Eve."

- You'll really love it. Just listen to this.

- No, Dad.

- You promised.

- It's a really great joke.

What?

Now that I've made

the necessary incisions,

you might feel some tugging

as I extract the cyst.

- You're beautiful.

- What are you doing here?

- I'm worried about a lot of things.

- It'll be okay.

There it is.

"Dear Dr. Hakem.

I hope this message

finds you well.

Your skill made

quick work of that cyst.

So I want

to thank you again.

I've been feeling increasingly

energized since the operation

and I've already

been able to transfer

that energy

to others successfully.

The only catch is

now I don't have anything

to blame my problems on.

That little growth explained everything,

and now it's gone.

I am sincerely grateful,

though, I think.

Alan Clay."

"Dear Mr. Clay,

even though it went

a little harder than I expected,

it was a simple extraction.

Usually the discovery that you're

not dying of a malignant tumor

leaves most people

with their spirits high.

But you are not

most people, are you?

Dr. Zahra Hakem."

"Dear Dr. Hakem, actually,

my spirits are very high indeed,

maybe too high.

I'm feeling a little dizzy.

The cause is mysterious.

But I have felt a strange

new lump in my back.

I'm no doctor, but it feels

like a rubber glove.

Is there a chance

you left one?

Sometimes people

leave things like gloves

with someone they like

in hopes their retrieval

will provide an excuse

to see that someone again.

Yours, Alan."

"Dear Alan, I actually

might have left something.

I'm thinking a sponge? Or maybe part

of a snack I ate during the surgery.

I think I need

to see you again.

Perhaps out of the hospital?

We don't want

to worry your insurers.

Zahra."

"Dear Zahra,

that's a very good idea.

But to tell you the truth,

I have no idea how this is done in the KSA.

I mean Mr. Alan Clay meeting

Dr. Zahra Hakem outside of the hospital.

And I hope it doesn't appear

too inappropriate to ask you for advice."

"I'll pick you up

on Wednesday at noon.

I'll write your initials on a card

and put it on the windshield."

- How are you today?

- Great, great. How are you?

Very good.

Water?

- I still need to apologize.

- For what?

The other day.

I invaded your privacy.

Oh. Those were unforeseeable

circumstances.

- You seemed troubled.

- I was.

I'm having legal issues

with my husband.

We're getting divorced.

It's ugly.

I had just returned

from court that morning.

And is it all

sorted out now?

It will be soon,

I think.

It's in his hands,

unfortunately.

- You mean legally?

- Yes.

Divorce is complicated

in this country.

It's pretty complicated

in all countries.

So, the drive will be

more than an hour.

By the time we get there, we'll know

everything important about each other.

- Okay.

- I have children.

- I assumed. Me, too.

- You assumed?

Well, maybe not assumed.

I assumed it was possible.

I thought you meant

you saw something in my hips.

You know, the way people can see

from the way a woman walks.

Oh, I'm not

that clever.

- Well, they're teenagers now. They live with me.

- What are their names?

Rania, she's 14,

Mustafa, he's 15.

I'm trying to prevent him from

becoming an a**hole like his father.

Any advice?

- Does he tell you anything?

- Did you tell your mother anything?

Get him alone somewhere.

Something like camping.

I can't take my son camping.

We don't go camping here.

We don't live in Maine.

- How many kids do you have?

- One. A daughter.

Kit.

She's 21.

- Does she tell you anything?

- She does.

But I'm not sure...

- About what?

- Whether I'm helping.

Does she call you sometimes

with no particular agenda?

- Yeah.

- Then you're good.

What do you think our kids

would make of this?

How do you mean?

You and me?

- The big culture clash?

- I guess so.

Please. We're separated

by the thinnest filament.

Well, that's

the way I think.

That's the way it is.

- Wow.

- Yes.

Let me take

your jacket.

Oh, thank you.

Strange

in a beach house.

Everyone wants

to be somewhere else.

It's horrible,

isn't it?

My brother buys paintings

wherever he goes.

He has

the worst taste.

- Time to swim.

- Time to swim?

We're going swimming.

You'll borrow my brother's suit.

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