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Page 9 of 12
Q: You mentioned a marriage that fell apart while you were in prison. How long were you married for? Are you and your ex-wife in touch?
A: I met Nomi in 1987, she married me (her idea - I punished her by ruining the wedding) in 1990, we got divorced in 1996. Last time I really spoke to her was a few minutes after our divorce ritual in which I participated as a prisoner. I have met her again in order to sell our car. That was it - I never saw her since, nor have I spoken to her, nor do I have any information about her whereabouts.
Q: Has it been hard for you to make a living since your conviction and prison sentence?
A: On the very contrary - the most difficult period has been between my arrest and my release from jail. Immediately upon my release, I left Israel, landed in Eastern and Central Europe and lived happily ever after, money included.
Q: Prior to your trial, conviction, and process of self-discovery, when your business ventures were going well, what did you imagine your life was going to be like?
A: I am a man whose central dream came true. Even as an infant I used to imagine the internet. It had no name, no technical specifications, no being. But I knew what it will do for me: it will give me access to unending libraries, gigantic storehouses of data, to free everything - books, music, movies. I couldn't wait. I collected every shred of evidence that my dream was becoming true. And it did and here I am, happy as a lark to have lived in this terrible and magnificent century. Through the gate of my laptop screen, I submerge in the warm waters of knowledge. What a cool, dazzling feeling!!! I know you will find it incredible but this has been the central hope, driving force and aspiration of my life - this and a side daydream of becoming a monstrously vicious dictator, feared by all, loved by none, almighty and held in awe.
Q: I understand you're something of a nomad now, hopping from country to country and job to job. Do you ever long for a more settled existence?
A: Never (shudder) - you are describing a morgue, a cemetery. My life is colourful, adventurous, impossible, cinematic. Sure I pay a price - who doesn't? Is there no price to be for a sedentary, predictable, numbing existence? When one is 90 years old, all that is left is memories. You are the director of the movie of your life - a 70 years long movie. Now, sit back and begin to watch: is it a boring film? would you have watched it had it not been yours? If the answers are negative and positive, respectively - you succeeded to live well, regardless of the price you paid.
Q: You must have served in the Israeli army. How did you find that?
A: I served more than three years in the Israeli army. Halfway through I became a famous national figure which allowed me to manipulate the army command, my co-soldiers and the army structures to accommodate themselves to my "special needs". The first half was a voyage of discovery of "what's out there" - Israel, guys, gals (no sex), the company of others. The second half was an hallucinatory and umitigated ego trip.
Q: Your parents were immigrants from Turkey and Morocco, yes? When had they come to Israel?
A: Both emigrated to Israel in the early 50s. My mother was a child and her family escaped growing anti-Semitic sentiments in the predominantly Moslem population of Turkey. My father escaped his family: a tyrant, drunkard of a father and a submissive mother, tortured by her inebriated husband. He left Morocco in his early teens, illicitly, by sea.
Q: You wrote: "I served more than three years in the Israeli army. Halfway through I became a famous national figure." Was your fame at this time based on your business success?
A: Oh, no (laughing). I did own at the time 25% of a retail outlet which sold computerized astrological predictions to the gullible, using the state of the art monsters which then passed for computers. But I became famous first as a "genius" physicist and philosopher of science. There were later waves of fame: as an angry member of the Sephardi minority, as the right hand of a Jewish billionaire, as a stockbroker and, finally, as a criminal.
Q: You wrote: "Being in a guru-like status is the ultimate narcissistic experience." I'm still curious, though, what your attitude is toward your "customers." It's clear you appreciate the attention from them, but do you consider them foolish for seeking advice from a narcissist such as yourself?
A: I am by far the most intelligent person I know, so, the deep seated belief that others are bumbling, ineffectual fools is a constant feature of my mental landscape. But seeking advice from a narcissist about narcissism doesn't sound foolish to me - IF the consumer applies judgement and his or her knowledge of narcissism and its distortions to the advice received.
Q: Where did you receive your undergraduate and graduate education?
A: I commenced my academic studies at the age of 9 in the Technion - Israeli Institute of Technology in Haifa. I studied 8 semesters (mainly physical sciences) but did not complete my degree. I obtained my Ph.D. in "Pacific Western University" (Encino, California and Geneva, Switzerland) in a distance learning program. The subject of my dissertation was "Time Asymmetry" but my doctorate is in philosophy (a Ph.D. in philosophy as a major and physics as a minor).
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