monastic spareness, with only his desk, a small but expensive leather
couch, and a row of computer terminals along one wall. He was, she
knew, a big believer in Zen philosophy. Maybe pan of the reason for the
door was just to shut all the madness outside and keep his own world
serene.
Through the window behind him she could see Mt. Fuji, outlined against
a backdrop of autumn blue. He smiled and pointed it out, saying they
were lucky to have a rare smog-less day, then gestured her toward the
couch.
"Welcome to my refuge." He was cordial but entirely correct--right down
to his conservative charcoal gray suit. Not a glimmer of a hint about
their brief Kyoto episode. "Let me have tea sent in." He leaned forward
in his leather chair and punched the intercom on his desk.
"Ken, please, don't make a fuss. I know I hate it when people just drop
by." She glanced back at the locked door, wondering. "Tell me if this
is not a good time for you."
"Tam, for you any time is a good time." He buzzed again-- there had been
no response--then shrugged. "I guess things are getting hectic out front
just now." He laughed resignedly, then turned to her. "By the way, I
saw your new book. Fine piece of work. I do hope somebody over there
reads it. Are you still running your Center at NYU?"
"So far." She decided to spare him the details.
"Well, it's a good school. Getting better all the time. You've got some
first-rate supercomputer work at the Courant Institute, particularly
with your IBM connection, but you should keep an eye on Columbia. Now
that AT&T has joined with them to go after some of the Pentagon's AI
contracts, they may finally start putting together a major computer
science department up there too. In a few years Stanford and Carnegie-
Mellon will have to step lively to stay out front."
Hello, she thought. How come Ken suddenly knows so much scuttlebutt
about U.S. computer research? Nobody at home knows the first thing
about what's going on in Japan.
"I was surprised to hear about this new appointment, Ken." She settled
back on the couch. "I was guessing you had the inside track for MITI
vice minister in a few years."
"Ah, well, for now my work is here." He gestured uncomfortably about
the room. "Let me try once more for that tea."