[ WP ] You wake up after a night of drinking to find a briefcase full of cash and a sticky note : `` For your troubles . ''

After the third cup of motel coffee, I counted the money again. They'd brought me down to ten thousand, fifty-three dollars a case. That was n't counting the silver dollar, the year of which told me they'd need me again in seventy-five days. That was still nearly a grand a week. Enough to not work. Enough to reserve motel room seventy-five days in advance. The only personal touch was the note. This time, it said `` For your troubles''. 
 
 After the fifth cup of motel coffee, I brushed my teeth. That sour yesterday liquor taste clung to my cheeks. The briefcases were still over thirty thousand when the hangovers ceased, but the taste lingered. They'd taken my 84 days of hair growth, plucked my eyebrows clean, and cut my nails to the bleeding cuticle. There was a trick to doing everything when with short nails, with long nails. I wore sandals. I could button a shirt with nails that extended a half-inch beyond my fingers. I drank coffee without burning the unsheltered pads of my fingers. I could even brush my teeth that morning without tearing up with pain. 
 
 They never hesitated. I've noticed that. You have to be ready to hear the answer when you ask the question. What do you want my hair for-We've conditioned your keratin for biometallurgy. Where does the money come from-We acquired initial capital by harvesting gold and selling it to the man called Rothschild. Why me-There is a limited number of individuals who have expressed to the conditioning. How many of us are there-There are five hundred donors currently enrolled. Why is there less money each time-There's more donors. Why does the number of days vary between my'donations'-Market fluctuations. 
 
 Thanks Obama.
