Harry has been trying to read something in the Wall Street Journal. He peers over half-glasses. "Sixty-four. ESPN-2. One Washington wit describes it as the 1 9 9 1 color of television, tuned to a dead channel. Bernard Shaw voiceover, Desert Storm: The War Begins Should be professional indoor skeet shooting, or maybe ballroom dancing." The screen swarms silently. "Channel 64 is dead," she says. He looks up again from his reading. "Damned cable." But Lorraine is resourceful. She knows the drill. Flick off the power, voicelessly recite the names of the first four presidents, then reset the switch. Hey presto, as they say to Italian cows. And once more festive colors grace the bedroom wall. All this and the Miracle of Birth for only $49.95! "How do you do that?" Harry wonders. His shop remains empty until eleven AM. Standing up, rearranging his feet, Saul looks more closely at the woman entering, then sits. The bells on the door clang, clink, and tingle. A bird on a rafter shifts and ruffles. The woman's eyes acclimate to the dim. The turtle ...lan hides beneath a collection of holographic shells. Saul, looking busy, types in the the Latin version: Certa amittimus dum incerta petimus. She breathes the thick air. She begins to browse through the stacks of books, data discs, tapes, and other heaped storage, taking hard glances at the older media. The light glints in yellowed through the darkened windows on white skin. She glances at him momentarily, opens a stray filing cabinet. Hubby is supposed to be the restless one, the short-attention button puncher, an ad man's primal nightmare. Not here in the Melmoth household, though, TO THOSE WHO THINK THAT ALL THIS SOUNDS LIKE SCIENCE FICTION, WE POINT OUT THAT YESTERDAY'S SCIENCE FICTION IS TODAY'S FACT. where it's the missus who calls the cuts. Lorraine roams back and forth across the program spread, feeling oddly paralytic. As if the only muscles she can move are the ones that work her left index finger. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION HAS RADICALLY ALTERED MAN'S ENVIRONMENT AND WAY OF LIFE, AND IT IS ONLY TO BE EXPECTED THAT AS TECHNOLOGY IS INCREASINGLY APPLIED TO THE HUMAN BODY AND MIND, MAN HIMSELF WILL BE ALTERED AS RADICALLY AS HIS ENVIRONMENT AND WAY OF LIFE HAVE BEEN. HUMAN RACE AT A CROSSROADS BUT WE HAVE GOTTEN AHEAD OF OUR STORY. The Secretary of Commerce condemns Japanese trade barriers. Car loan rates may never be this low again. Swimsuit models with silicone chests star in lifeguard drama. Rolling highway reflected in country singer's dark shades seen through tour bus window: Hon-ey... Robert Urich feeds his dog all meat byproducts. Leno welcomes Dr. Ruth. Disdainful Diana Rigg shoots a man dead without a trace of blood. These are not paste imitations! Alomar's move to Baltimore has left a bad taste in the minds of some fans here. America's newest nightmare: close encounters under the influence. Get yours today. Paying no attention, Lorraine wonders about a rose bush that needs pruning, a birthday card for her sister, a possible bug in some Java code. It's late, she thinks, but there are a dozen things she could be doing now instead of zoning out with the tube. Put on a robe and take out the trash. Pay some bills. Eat a tangerine. Find the warranty for the espresso machine. See if Harry's in the mood. Start a white wash.