Segment
A segment is a piece of writing that may eventually become part of a longer piece.
The longer piece might be a short story, or might be a delivery, or might be a composition, or in some distant time be a book.
The purpose of a segment being here in the flow of story is to remind ourselves how seeds can grow, in the flow.
Mr. ____ took a bus to the casino. His freelance economics work is feeling rather slim lately and his save-the-world project is stewing in the back of his mind. He recalls saying something friendly to the driver of the bus, “how are you going?” maybe. The driver looked at him warily in the rear-view mirror throughout the whole trip.'
The frazzled economist is drinking Vodka soda with the intimation of guilt on his face. He lets himself down by coming here. Cards fan out on the tables. Chance, far from martingale (fair) stochastic processes, shameless losers, Mr. ____ amongst it all. It was the place where livelihoods were made and lost, but usually the latter. With the intention of fitting in amongst the high rollers, he came in a black suit and tie, and, for the interest, an antique watch on the left wrist. He stands in the back room smoking a gifted cigarette; he speaks with the vagrants who refrain from the slot machines to light up. A woman in a shiny blue dress, with quiescent eyes and high cheek bones so obviously unnerving, probably an official, mentions his name to another character in the smoking room, though he catches only a small portion of the sentence. Her reflection is a mystery. Mr. ____ looks up at the stars through the opening in the ceiling, deciding to ignore them. What use is it caring anyway?
He too is an image in the golden trimming on the wall. Cameras watch, both inside and outside, both surveillance of the normal sort and many other sorts too. When large sums of capital were available at the flip of coin or the play of a stray Ace, one in power has to watch over carefully: even the most innocuous types could play favourable hands…
It is not important for now how the rest of the night travels, lest to say that Mr. ____ never gambles anyway, at least not in the literal sense. At this stage of things his gambles are more subtle, more backhanded, more subversive. The flick of an eyelid, wagers of the soul. The question is whether he must make a Faustian bargain to save the world. He comes here to size up the enemy. But, isn’t the “villainous problem” already in him.