#ithquil

As he spoke, the translator whispered in my ear; Garkavenko spoke so fast and monotonously that it was difficult to keep up. He mentioned a recent stint in prison, described reading Bakhtiyarov’s book, “Active Consciousness,” in his jail cell every day, and the transformational effect that psychonetics had had on his political and philosophical consciousness. ¶ Near the end of his speech, the translator stopped speaking. The color had fled his cheeks. “Do you realize who this guy is?” he whispered to me. “This guy is, like, the No. 2 terrorist in Ukraine.” ... I turned to my translator. “What in the world is this guy doing at a linguistics conference?”