7.17.2011 Deeper engagement. Once contact is made between the harlequin and the programmer, their relationship becomes its own separate entity in the world. We will hear as much about this entity as we do about the individuals maintaining it.

Fred studies this programmer of greatest resonance, his chosen user. He wants to know everything he can so that the email interview questions are well informed and convincing. The programmer's inbox is loaded with tens of thousands of emails from the last fifteen years. Fred reads them all, index sorts them and does word frequency counts. He finds out that this programmer is apparently some kind of wizard! If the man is indeed a magician then they have this in common. Fred the harlequin studies the programmer's habits, his preferences, and learns his name: John.

Fred the trickster and John the programmer exchange emails. In the beginning the letters mostly contain Fred's setup about who he is and John stating his willingness to participate. Then Fred begins the process of gaining knowledge, "Can you describe for us what you do?" he asks, and John replies, "I create something from nothing." "My kind of guy," thinks Fred.
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