We think we can make honey without sharing in the fate of the bees.
-Muriel Barbery
I snapped down on my lucky gum (spearmint), and charged like a rhino into the big open pit of the casino at Caesar’s Palace, which, of all things, is located in the middle of a large desert. I was armed with cold hard American greenbacks, with a credit card for backup in case things got dicey. Excuse the pun. No dice for me. Blackjack is my game (thanks Morrissssson). I scoped out the room like Jason Bourne. I know not why I do this, but it has become a habit to know the location of all exits, as well as all patrons in the general vicinity. My mind calculated a danger assessment in about 11 seconds and came up with the same conclusion as always: no one pays attention to their surroundings, and the majority of living human adult bipeds are little more than drones. Buzzzz.
The dealers are one step up from the drones. Cards are dealt, dice are wrangled, a silver ball plunks onto the roulette wheel. Buzzzzz.
The pit bosses watch the dealers, do the math and work the chips. Buzzzzz.
More drones relieve the tables of chips and bring more if needed. Buzzzzzz.
Waitresses that could be my daughter (I’m old) peddle free alcohol as long as you are staring at a slot machine. Buzzzzz. They are all attractive. (the waitresses, not the slot machines)… Buzzzz. They flirt, and keep you spending money while they fulfill your drinking request. (the slot machines AND the waitresses flirt….try to keep up drone reader)….. Buzzz. Buzzzzz.
The eye in the sky cameras watch the entire hive. The cameras are watched by security and so on and up it goes until we find the queen. The owners with the money. The only way to make money in a casino is to own it. Buzz. Buzz. Where is my waitress Natasha? I asked for that vodka tonic and she danced over to me with a huge smile and then spilled it. She promised to replace it, but she never returned and her fate is still unlearned. Buzz buzz.
In this one room in this one casino in this one building all the bees buzz around. There is a buffet, a mall, several gyms, many swimming pools, many, many restaurants, and four giant towers filled with hotel rooms. This is one casino in a desert of casinos. There are old bees, young adults, attractive bees, ugly bees, prostitutes (male and female and transexual). There are bees smoking, bees using portable oxygen tanks, bees of all races, religions, as well as disabled bees and bees who could run marathons.. There are armed security guards roaming around all over the property who vaguely look like American armed forces. They wear green and tan combat fatigues and bullet proof vests but I see no weapons. This makes me uncomfortable in this hive.
There are marble statues and fountains in the hive, I mean casino, and the water makes a soothing sound when you drone up to have your photo taken by a family bee. For a moment, you can’t hear the slot machines as the music comes down from a ceiling system of high end speakers. All of the music is familiar. It’s a mix of pop and rock from the 70’s and 80’s and pulses out of the ceiling at just the right volume to allow you to hear and speak to fellow bees that you pass on the way to the elevator. All elevators eventually lead to the most important section of the hive: the casino. The bees swarm here. It is difficult to fly through without hitting your wings against another bee. No one sees the queen. No one needs to. There is more than enough honey to go around. Where is Natasha with my nectar? Bees are pollinating all over the hive. They go outside, visit other hives, and then return. I learn that this happens at all hours of the night and day. There are no clocks here and so the circadian rhythm of the bees is interrupted by light, noise, food, drink, and the promise of free money. There are no windows in the inner hive, but the temperature is perfect for all bees and can be adjusted in your hive quarters, where food and drink can also be brought to you. In case you don’t want to wait, your hive quarters are stocked with snacks and beverages. If you lift one to consume it, the queen gets money. No worries….your credit card is on file with a drone downstairs for “incidental charges.”
The carpet in the casino is bright and so full of colorful swirls that it’s hard to look at. The ceiling has strange angels and so many mirrors that the bees do not look up or down. They look at the slot machines, the poker tables, and the machines all organized in rows. Occasionally, a bee calls out a winning sound, and other drone bees buzz over to see what is happening. Everyone has a cell phone and if they are not looking at the machines and tables, they stare into their phones. Some bees smile, but most are in drone form, simply moving through the hive taking little to no notice of anything around them except to evaluate the status of another bee. Could we pollinate? Do I attract that one?
It occurs to me that the money in this casino (and certainly all of the casinos….the group of hives that bees call “the strip”)…..ALL the money being wasted in here could buy the cure for muscular dystrophy…….and probably cancer as well. I shudder to think of the amount of honey, I mean money, that is dropped in here in an hour, a day, a year.
I’m here for 5 days. I do not spread any honey in the hive. I am here for a medical conference that is held annually. Las Vegas was chosen because it is affordable (sort of) to hold large events, and it is an easy hive to fly to (if you don’t miss your flight), and because the city of Las Vegas has convinced an awful lot of bees that human heaven has been built in the desert of Nevada.
I have a wonderful time with friends, colleagues, doctors, scientists, researchers, and an advocacy community that I have helped build. Sharing takes place in the form of presentations, conversations, and networking. We are building our own hive in the larger hive. Money changes hands, all hive tunnels lead to bars, restaurants, adult entertainment, concerts, a few museums and the casino. Always the casino. Buzz.
Can you hear it? Are the bees advancing their civilization or are they simply drones that serve the queen? Buzz. Buzz.
We cannot make honey without sharing in the fate of the bees.
Stay awesome, stay safe, and stay strong.
Patrick moeschen 