a grin, he hit the switch to restart the bulldozer.
PLΔcebo went rigid instantly. Even though Barnz had not channeled his amusement over the officer’s presence toward anyone in particular, the policeman had nonetheless overheard his remark and immediately perceived Barnz’s remarks to be a brazen attempt to usurp the authority invested in him by the state. His head veered quickly around in the direction of the Bulldozer.
He fumed as he pointed his left index finger directly at Barnz.
“Yo, chump! That’s not what I meant by ...”
But PLΔcebo’s voice was instantly drowned out by the sound of Barnz cranking up the massive engine of the machine. The bulldozer immediately began spewing a dark cloud of sinister blue-black smoke as it restarted. Fulcrum and PLΔcebo were very briefly enveloped in the blur and stench of diesel fumes.
“Everything’s alright out here, officer,” Fulcrum did his best to reassure him over the growing din of the bulldozer’s engine and began attempting to coax him into leaving. PLΔcebo’s presence here was an annoyance and a huge distraction for Fulcrum. “Everything’s just fine around here. Folks here are all just doing what they have to, just doing their jobs. And I’m happy to report that there are no aliens, either.”
Barnz engaged the gears and gradually began to edge the bulldozer forward, moving slowly away from the spot where Fulcrum and PLΔcebo still stood opposite each other in what suddenly looked like some sort of makeshift face-off.
The roar of the bulldozer’s engine was deafening at such close quarters. As he stood, still pointing at the cab of the bulldozer with his left hand, the fingers of his right hand twitched nervously even though the hand itself still appeared to be sewn to his hips. Fulcrum saw PLΔcebo’s face spontaneously turn a disturbing shade of purple, lending him the resemblance of a severely infuriated concord grape. He was absolutely livid as he bounded up to Fulcrum, standing somewhat askance of the bulldozer as it slowly edged away. The tips of their noses were nearly touching.
“At least I can see him clearly this way,” Fulcrum thought.
“Hey!” roared PLΔcebo, saliva spraying wildly as he barked at Fulcrum, pointing upwards over Fulcrum’s shoulder and toward Barnz, who was seated high above them in the cab of the earthmover and slowly beginning to move away.
“That there brother up there sounds pretty damn snide if you ask me. You ain’t gonna tell me that you folks always put up with that kinda blatant disrespect around here?”
“Look, officer. Don’t worry about us. We’re all just doing our ...” Fulcrum’s words were rudely interrupted as the policeman suddenly shoved him aside and began racing toward the bulldozer. With one very athletic bound, PLΔcebo leaped onto the bottom step of the ladder leading up to its cab, seized the handrail and started to haul himself up with both hands.
Barnz immediately slammed on the brake and stopped the bulldozer upon seeing the policeman come up across the top of the access ladder.
“Shut this sucker down immediately!” PLΔcebo roared at Barnz, banging the palm of his open hand furiously against the side window of the cab to dramatically emphasize his demand.
Although he was now plainly irked by the unwelcome interruption, and even more so by the person to whom it was attributable, Barnz dutifully complied without saying another word. Instead, he continued to sit attentively in the driver’s seat, not removing his hands from the control levers nor taking his eyes off of PLΔcebo as the engine sputtered to a halt and the noise quickly died down.
Fulcrum moved quickly to defuse what he correctly sensed was about to escalate into a very troublesome situation. He quickly stepped up to the base of the ladder and addressed PLΔcebo in a booming voice.
“Listen, Officer! I’m your point of contact for any questions or issues that you may have. As it stands right now, you’re keeping this man from his work,” he declared in a firm voice as he stood at the bottom of the ladder. “This is a construction site and, like you, we have our work to do.”
“Screw you!” PLΔcebo barked back in response as he attempted to redirect his attention toward Barnz.
Fulcrum was adamant, however.
“Sir, is there anything specifically wrong? If you haven’t got a satisfactory explanation for me regarding what you might be doing up there, then I demand that you get off of that piece of equipment immediately! You’re endangering yourself and others.”
PLΔcebo glared hatefully downward at Fulcrum but said nothing.
“It’s in the interest of your own safety. And another thing: as a visitor to this site, you should certainly be aware that you’re required to sign in at the front entrance. That’s the regulations. And, having done that, you would then be aware that the rules of access clearly state that you’re obliged to wear a hard hat for the duration of your visit and at all locations. Those are the rules, sir, and they apply to you as well!”
PLΔcebo acted outwardly as though he were trying to ignore Fulcrum, glaring irately at Barnz through the open side door of the bulldozer’s cab. It was clear to Barnz that the officer continued to hover on the verge of some devastating eruption but that he obviously hadn’t expected to be suddenly commanded around, unsure how to react to Fulcrum’s very concise demands and the authoritative tone in which he continued to rattle them off at him. PLΔcebo was still hanging on the ladder that led up the side of the bulldozer, his knuckles gleaming white because he was gripping the handrails so tightly. He was banging his right heel on one of the lower rungs of it in a slow beat, ominously as though he were contemplating racing a horde of raging bulls through the narrow streets and alleyways of Pamplona in his high-gloss shoes. Hanging as though he were levitating halfway between heaven and hell, he suddenly regarded the huge CRΞΔTΩR 2.0.50 lettering on the cab for a moment.
His face then took on a contorted expression of visible contempt.
It was quite clear to Barnz that the officer apparently still had a substantial bone to pick with him. But it was also obvious that PLΔcebo seemed to be relenting, perhaps unwilling to risk any kind of extended confrontation with Fulcrum at this time.
PLΔcebo finally backed off and slowly began his descent, easing his iron grip on the side rails of the ladder as he took the first step downward.
“Creator, my ass!” he hissed between his teeth at Barnz.
Barnz remained completely unfazed by the policeman’s outburst and responded with an exaggerated air of politeness: “But that’s exactly what we do with it, Sir! It clears the way for something new. We go forth and we create with this tool.”
“Listen: you’re a goddamn screwball,” PLΔcebo snarled at Barnz in response. “Only one who does the creating around here is our beloved Lord. God is the Creator. Not some goddamn bulldozer. Remember that!”
Barnz shrugged his shoulders in response. He folded his arms before his chest and began stroking his chin thoughtfully for a second or two.
He then leaned out the cab of the bulldozer and looked down the ladder toward PLΔcebo to respond.
“You know, sir,” he said with a charming expression spreading across his face, “I have in the past.time been taught to accept that the Lord often works in some very mysterious ways. And I’d been told that we might even sometimes expect to find Him in the most unlikely places.”
“Bullshit!” sneered PLΔcebo as he paused mid-way down the ladder, looking up and pointing his finger accusingly at Barnz. “You sure as hell ain’t gonna find God on a goddamn construction site out here in the middle of all this dirt and weeds! Ya gotta go to church and all!”
“I would be very disappointed if that were true. I mean, how can you be so dead certain of that?” inquired Barnz in the most benign voice he could muster. “I thought that God was always with us, regardless of where we are or what we happen to be doing.”
“It’s easy, chump! I know because He’s just like me,” answered