Caruso
Caruso loved everyone he met. His interest in you was genuine and focused.
Sometimes it was hard to learn about Caruso, so understated his ego, so intent his interest.
When Caruso questioned himself, he often knew the answer. He was like losing a twin brother at birth and acquiring both the dominant and the deferential personalities of both. In conversation, you never knew who was in control. Was it you as the center of attention or Caruso as the puppeteer?
I met Caruso at a local bar. He walked up to the bar and took the stool next to me. He was dressed in a smart suit and well-groomed. His disarming smile was immediately captivating.
I turned to him and said, “Hi, I’m Thomas. Do you come here often?”
“Yes, I’m a local businessman. Nice to meet you, Thomas… or do you prefer Tom?”
“People call me Thomas.”
“Names are important, Thomas. I once read a novel that included a conversation with a tree. It took the tree twenty days to say its name. Do you like fantasy?”
“Oh yes. I love to read Ursula LeGuinn.”
“Which book is your favorite?”
“Actually, three. The Earthsea trilogy tells the story of a wizard from his birth to his death and his relationship with a dragon.”
“Tell me more,” said Caruso. He had me retelling the highlights of the books I love so well.
In the middle of my story, a friend from work walked up and sat on my other side. I gave him a nod and finished my thought.
Dillan listened to my story and said, “How can you like those fantastical tales? You should be more grounded in reality.” I gave him a Spock eyebrow.
“Oh Dillan,” I said. “This is my new friend Caruso.”
Shaking hands, Caruso said, “Hello Dillan. Speaking of grounded, what types of books do you like to read?”
“I like biographies, especially about people in my field.”
“That’s a great way to get ahead. When I am learning a new skill, I always seek out an experienced mentor who is already adept. Who do you admire in your field?”
“I am in AI and computing sales, so I look up to Jensen Huang of NVIDIA.”
Caruso asked me, “Wouldn’t it be fun to ask an AI to write a fantasy tale starring Huang as the hero?”
“Should he be a knight, a king, or a wizard?” I quipped.
“What do you think, Dillan?” asked Caruso. “When it comes down to it, fantasy is about human beings. Do you think your AI could write that story?”
The rest of the conversation was Dillian musing about what kind of wizard Jensen Huang would be.
Dillan can sometimes be abrasive. There were people at the bar who I wouldn’t think a good fit for Dillian. One of them was Sally. She is quiet, the definition of a wallflower. When I saw her across the room, I waved and told Caruso, “Sally is shy, but an excellent AI engineer.” She was dressed plainly, her hair pinned up in a utilitarian do. Her eyes shone with a pretty, intelligent sparkle. She hugged her hand to her side and gave me a small palm wave. Caruso looked at me with raised eyes. He struck across the room with a focused intent. People instinctively parted to let him through. I watched as Caruso shook Sally’s hand, chatted briefly, then led Sally back across the room to my growing circle of friends. Dillan and I stood and the four of us sat at a table nearby.
Dillan knew Sally. “How’s the geek squad?” he said in a mild taunt. She hung her head a little and managed a stuttered “F-fine.”
“Sally is the finest coder I’ve ever met,” I said.
Caruso asked, “What kind of project are you working on, Sally?”
Her eyes lit up as she said, “It’s a specialized chatbot that will write magazine articles. We call her MagChat.”
“Dillian was interested in an AI writing a fantasy story casting Jensen Huang as a wizard. Is that something your bot could do?” asked Caruso.
“Well, yes,” she said, now excited. Turning to Dillian, she said, “If you can describe the characters and the plot, my chatbot can write the story. Just use facts you know about Huang’s management style and personality, and MagChat will do the rest.”
“Sorry about the geek squad comment. I was just joking,” Dillan said to Sally sheepishly. “This sounds like a fun story.”
“Come by Engineering sometime and I’ll show you the system.”
Dillan asked Sally if he could buy her a drink. As he stepped up to the bar, Sally let her hair down. Caruso gave me a wink.
Caruso wove himself through all the conversations. He would throw out a tidbit of himself as a catalyst to bring out the best in others. One of the men at a table near our group stood up and smiled down at us. “My name is Fred, call me Freddy. May I join you?” I motioned to the empty chair and Freddy said, “Sorry to eavesdrop. I used to work as a hardware engineer at NVIDIA and knew Jensen Huang pretty well.” Freddy sat down.
“I know a little about fiction plot lines,” said Caruso. “I’ve done some writing and know that solid characters are essential in a story. How would you cast the Huang fantasy story Freddy?”
“Well, I like Huang as the wizard. His engineers can be his acolytes. I would cast the ChatRTX AI as the dragon. The NVIDIA LLM expert, Nancy Agrwal, will be the princess who was kidnapped by the sorcerer Elon Musk for her engineering expertise.”
Sally took out her tablet and asked Dillan for a few details about Huang. She added the cast of Freddy’s characters. Then she asked MagChat for an outline of a fantasy story. The following appeared on her tablet:
Title: The Wizard of Silicon Vale
I. Setup
• Silicon Vale: A magical kingdom powered by enchanted circuits.
• Huang Jensen: The wizard, guiding engineers as his acolytes.
• RTX: A dragon whose power can reshape reality.
• Agarwa Nancer: Princess and LLM sorceress, key to controlling the dragon.
II. Conflict
• Villain: Sorcerer Muskrat Nole, rogue technomancer seeking Agarwa to exploit her knowledge and enslave the dragon.
• Inciting Incident: Agarwa is kidnapped, angering the dragon and threatening the kingdom’s magic.
III. Quest
• Objective: Rescue Agarwa and restore balance.
• Challenges:
• Firewall Mountains (glitches and rogue programs)
• Desert of Deprecated Spells (forgotten, dangerous magic)
• Mechanized Fortress (Elon’s enchanted hacking machines)
• Dragon’s Role: A powerful ally, but only responsive to Agarwa’s guidance.
IV. Climax
• Huang confronts Muskrat.
• Agarwa deciphers the dragon’s language, freeing it to defeat Muskrat’s schemes.
V. Resolution
• Agarwa returns as princess. She becomes an apprentice of Huang, mentoring acolytes and guiding ChatRTX.
• Kingdom stronger, with foreshadowing of future adventures.
Sally passes around the tablet. Dillan’s mouth drops open. He stammers, “T-This has such a real-life parallel.”
Caruso smiled, “Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.”
“Just barely,” said Sally. “Let’s meet in my Engineering office tomorrow, and you all can help me turn this into a fleshed-out story. MagChat will be thrilled to give it a go.”
“That sounds like fun,” I said.
“I would love to join you, if that’s all right?” asked Caruso.
We told him the address of SpecialTech and agreed on a time. Caruso ordered another round of drinks.
The party started to wind down. Caruso asked, “Anyone want a bite to eat? I know a nice little restaurant right down the street.”
Everyone in our circle chimed in with an enthusiastic “YES.”
We followed Caruso out of the bar and strolled down the street. The night was young and our little group was famished.
Caruso stopped in front of the Green Table, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a beautifully painted emerald green door and a lighted light green lace-curtained window. He bowed and gestured toward the door with a flourish of one arm. Magically, a Maître d’ opened the door and invited us in. Alfred was the picture of quiet authority, polish, and hospitality. He was formal in his black, finely tailored tuxedo jacket, bow tie, and crisp white dress shirt. There was the requisite linen towel over his left forearm. Alfred looked at Caruso and said, “Sir?”
“These are my friends, Alfred. Please prepare my table. “It is ready, sir. Please follow me lady and gentlemen.” He turned on a heel and we all followed him into the classy restaurant and through a back-room door.
The room was a scene out of The Godfather: old-world refinement, linen tablecloths, subdued lighting, polished wood, and a sense of exclusivity. As we were being seated, Caruso said, “Alfred will take care of you. I couldn’t run this restaurant without him,” then turned and disappeared through a side door. Alfred took our drink orders and disappeared as well.
“What a surprise,” I said.
“Who is this guy anyway?” asked Dillan
“I like him,” said Sally.
Freddy said, “He owns this place?”
Alfred returned with our aperitifs.
Just then, Caruso came through the kitchen door, arm in arm with the chef.
“This is Graham. He is the heart of the Green Door. Graham, some new friends, Sally, Freddy, Dillan, and Thomas.”
“My pleasure,” said Graham. “I would like to prepare one of my gourmet favorites, Salmon en Croûte. Would that please the table?”
We all nodded and Graham disappeared.
The Salmon en Croûte arrived at the table like a small ceremony. The pastry was burnished and golden, its surface lightly blistered, giving way beneath the knife with a soft, buttery sigh. Steam escaped, carrying the scent of herbs and sea—dill, lemon, and the faint sweetness of the salmon within. Inside, the fish was pale and tender, held in quiet balance by a layer of greens and cream, protected and ennobled by its crisp shell. It was a dish that spoke of patience and restraint, of warmth carefully contained, and of elegance achieved not by excess, but by craft.
An after-dinner digestif was served. The gentle herbal sweetness of the yellow Chartreuse echoed the subtle herbs of the salmon. When everyone finished sipping the Chartreuse, Caruso said, “The dinner check is covered. Thank you all for a lovely evening. I look forward to our meeting at SpecialTech tomorrow.
The next day, we all arrived at SpecialTech. Sally fired up MagChat. With subtle nudging guidance from Caruso, we disparate five pitched in to create a gripping fantasy story.
Sally pulled some strings with Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine. The story was published the following month, bearing MagChat’s and all five of our bylines.
The night of the publication we all met at the Green Door. We had a delicious dinner that couldn’t be beat. Our pride of “The Wizard of Silicon Vale” was tangible. The evening was filled with celebration of our new friendships.
Caruso raised his glass. “To all of you.”
“And to you, Caruso!”
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