The small monkey carefully completed the last piece of the one-hundred-piece
puzzle. When all the pieces of the puzzle were put together, they made a copy of Sunflowers, a picture by the famous painter, Van Gogh. 'Well done, Max!' said a young woman in a white coat. 'It only took you twenty minutes this time — that's much better than the last time you tried it. Have a bite of lovely banana.' The woman reached for the fruit from a bowl close by and gave it to the monkey. Max ate it happily. The woman's name was Gina Capaldi and she was twenty-six years old. She was studying for a Ph.D. at a university in Rome. She was hoping to become a Doctor of Science. Her ideas had already caused much excitement. Now her work was almost finished. Great things were expected of her. As Gina prepared the monkey's next drug, Max played with his Rubik cube. The Rubik cube was one of Max's favourite puzzles. He enjoyed turning around the sides of the cube in his hands so that each of the six sides was a different colour. Gina looked over at him and was pleased. He was getting better every day. Max completed the Rubik cube in five minutes. Mr Dimitri sat behind a big desk in a large office in a huge building in New York. On the front of his desk was a sign in gold letters which read: Mr Theodore Dimitri. On his door there was a much bigger sign which read: President of the Centre for Science and Business Development (CSBD). Mr Dimitri was middle-aged and wore a large dark-grey suit. He smoked a thick expensive cigar. The smoke from his cigar filled the room. Today he was going to see his most promising new scientists. They were all studying for Ph.D.s so that they could become Doctors of Science. They had to give him their new ideas if they wanted money from the CSBD. Mr Dimitri did this every year. If he liked their work, CSBD would give them lots of money to develop it. That was the way to make money in the future. And Mr Dimitri was good at making money. But if he didn't like the work of these scientists, or if he didn't like them, he didn't have to give them a cent. 'After all,' Mr Dimitri thought, 'Business is business.' Miss Epstein, his secretary, came into his office. 'Miss Capaldi to see you, Mr Dimitri, sir,' she said. 'Send her in, Miss Epstein,' said Mr Dimitri in a voice which was cold and business-like. Gina Capaldi stood in her best suit and shoes in front of the big desk. She wanted to look her best before Mr Dimitri. In her bag was all the information needed about her work. She felt ready. 'Do sit down, Miss Capaldi. I've heard so many good things about you,' said Mr Dimitri in a voice that now sounded friendly and welcoming. 'Thank you, Mr Dimitri,' said Gina. She sat down in front of the big desk. Then Miss Epstein seemed to appear out of nowhere with coffee and biscuits. She put them on the desk and was gone again. 'Allow me,' said Mr Dimitri, as he put his cigar down for a moment and poured the coffee. Gina took her coffee and left the biscuits. She didn't feel like eating. She was nervous. Mr Dimitri smiled at her with teeth that were large and white. Perfect teeth. His cigar found its way back to his mouth. The smoke rose up. 'Tell me, Gina . . . may I call you Gina?' he asked. 'Of course, Mr Dimitri,' she answered. Mr Dimitri continued. 'Tell me about your latest work; I've heard very
interesting things about it, but I would like you to explain it clearly to a simple man such as myself.