Nuremberg Tour 16

Ms B, who happens to be Jewish, pours another coffee, sits back, "ok now, let's talk about your friends and relatives one by one. Best if you can anticipate problems as opposed to just being surprised."
"My own mother and father will be heart broken, their favorite author. Even before this, things were not good with them."
"As in?"
"Bad as it gets, he's not my real father."
She smiles brightly, "that makes it easier. He can then transfer a lot of the guilt and shame onto the other man. Is the other man likely to surface in this? Meaning here in Canada?"
"As I understand it, there are even more fans in Israel than in Canada. But, since he happens to be defence minister, I imagine with current events such as they are, he gets little recreational reading."
She laughs wickedly, "now that just qualified as understatement of the year. I would imagine he is reading Intel reports twelve hours a day. Look at the bright side, he is unlikely to cause you any problems."
I sigh, "mother will definitely blame me."
"With any luck, she'll dilute the guilt a bit, spread some onto the other woman. Have you ah actually met her?"
"Oh yes, she's a nice person. We've talked some, share common writing goals."
"Will she take this death hard?"
"Unlikely, they had already broken up."
"Is this likely to cause problems at work?"
I gasp, "never even thought of that. All the employees are Gentiles; but a quarter of the customer base is Jewish."
"Now the $64 question, that the fans will be asking. Just how far are you willing to go with this half finished manuscript?"
"Zero, it was a horrendous period. My literary goals are in more pleasant times and places."
"Still, he wrote on the dark side. Could you not turn it around, show heroic events, survivors achieving things?"
"Only one possibility of that. Suppose the story was in a place where you could logically move it from Europe to Israel. That I could do."
"So, you could release a statement that you'll examine the manuscript, see if it's workable."
"For that, someone like a reporter has to ask. Otherwise sounds too huffy and egotistical."
Laugh, "ok, let's assume the Jewish rags royally trash you, but don't come out and ask the direct question about the manuscript. There is a way out, guess it."
"I could give the scoop to that kind Muslim reporter."
"Very good, it's going to be great working with you. With the right touch, you could end up famous and rich."
"I won't quit my day job just yet."
"I've seen the manuscript, say 200 pages. If it is workable, you could say add 100 or 150."
Two days later, I'm in shock. Every one of Ariel's characters is so deep in the soup, only an act of God would do it. No matter what I tried, it would be phony.
Ms B protests, "why not an act of God? All just happen to be in the same camp. An American bomber, victim of a nav error, drops inaccurately and blows a hole in the camp perimeter."
I laugh, "maybe you should write it."
"Come on, admit it, that isn't even an act of God, but an everyday occurrence in the chaos of war. Industrial smoke, haze, German jamming of their radar beacons, it could happen."
"All right, I agree it could."
"So, it's doable in the literary sense. Is it doable in the emotional sense?"
"I believe I could. As of the point I take over, things start to improve for them."
"If you pull this out of the fire, his fans will worship you."