language is what separates us from the beasts
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- stronger takes (1)
-Bad news, sir. The press has found out about the floating prisons.
-What? That’s impossible!
-I’m afraid so, sir. They claim that as many as 15 ships –
-Ohhhhh. You mean the ship prisons?
-Of course, sir. What else –
-Darn, they found out about the floating prison. [rearranging materials on desk] Darn those journalists. Well, good meeting, Johnson, I’ll just –
-Sir, are there . . . other floating prisons?
-Whatever would give you that idea?
-Well, you were at first very upset when I mentioned the floating prisons, and then apparently relieved when you realized that I was talking about the prisons on US Navy ships.
-Maybe you should be more precise with your language. Language is what separates us from the beasts, Johnson.
-Language and floating prisons.
-That’s right, language and – hey!
-So there are floating prisons. There are.
-What? Don’t be ridiculous. It would take 520,000 helium balloons over a restricted airspace in the desolate Yukon wilderness to make a prison float. Highly unlikely.
-(sigh) At the press conference should I still deny any knowledge of the floating prisons?
-I told you I don’t know –
-The ones that are floating on water.
-Oh, those. Ah, what the heck. Let’s fess up. There’s more than one way to float a prison, if you get my drift.
-Stop winking at me, sir.

