An example of an outside influence;

When it next came time to change drivers, Melbourne once again exited the freeway. Andrea began participating economically in their affairs by filling the tank with gas. Melbourne had made mention to her of his gratitude to Sam for participating in the commerce of friendship with him, and she was ready to join in. Sam still believed that gift giving was a hunting test of the element of surprise, and it was hard to enjoy the anticipation of his philanthropy, but his actual participation was undeniable and could not be ignored. When Melbourne returned, she assured him she would soon be back from making a deposit in the porcelain bank account, and left him to his own devices. When she returned, Sam and Melbourne were studying a periodical of the tabloid variety. He brought her up to speed quickly, by explaining that he had known that news rags were used as organs and propaganda vehicles ever since Gutenberg's invention, but that the Tabloid was new to his experience. "I thought that the tabloid was the official way for the British Royal family to communicate with the Public." she replied. "How can you possibly expect me to believe that a member of the Commonwealth doesn't know what a tabloid is? They've been around since Polaroids!" "My Dad was in the Salvation Army, and my Mom was in the Peace Corps. We just used regular newspapers for packing material, and never spent the extra scratch on color printing." "Hmmmm," she replied pensively. "I guess between Iceland in the 70's and farming Rhino's in Africa you must have stayed pretty busy," she agreed. "What's so special about this one Sam?" "Well, for ONE thing it's from outside TEXAS," he began, "and so it's almost as good as Reuters. News is News, and us Texans can't afford to let the world pass us by. This particular one is big on education. Their main ad line is 'Inquiring minds want to KNOW... _I_ want to know!'"

Andrea smiled for a moment and turned to Melbourne. "It's not educational so much as it is RELIGIOUS."

It was Sam's turn to do a double take. In the Cosmos, justice can be difficult to observe, but at this time they had finally all three been equally surprised: Melbourne that there were tabloids in Texas, Andrea that the Enquirer was educational, and Sam that it was Religious. He proceeded as usual, trusting but verifying. "What Religion is it for?" he asked. "It publishes bulletins from the Church of Scientology," she explained. "I think they are believers in Nikola Tesla. He was trying to reach an ancient (literally 80 B_illion years old) alien civilization by sheer animal magnetism! It's a little like trying to start a population explosion in China by the power of your own libido, if you ask me, but there they go, not even trying to use a radio!" This did not directly contradict anything Sam had ever heard about Scientology, and he was willing to use it for theoretical purposes. "Is that why the Enquirer publishes all that stuff about alien abductions?" "I'm pretty sure it is," she said, catching Melbourne's eye and trying to draw him back in to the discussion. He obliged by asking, "Is Area 51 a sacred site of religious devotion to them?" "I wouldn't call it sacred, but they DO make pilgrimages there," Andrea replied. "Did L. Ron Hubbard educate the founder then?" Sam asked, pursuing his own agenda. Melbourne had turned his attention back to reading the words beside the pictures, and soon added "They've only been a tabloid since 1953... before that they were a news organ started by William Randolf Hurst. He was BIG back in the day, probably equivalent to the 5ts, but for this purpose he brought in talent from OZ itself." "Who was he?" asked Sam. Melbourne attributed conflation by replying, "Neither Houdini nor Whereishe, but rather William Griffin!" Andrea looked at Sam significantly. "Griffins are badass," she admitted. Sam looked Melbourne in the eye respectfully. "You can use my props for any theater production you need when it comes to Griffins," he said seriously. "I guess Elron was just a scam artist mooching off the genius of Tesla." "At least he left Marconi alone," Andrea commiserated. "How do you come to the conclusion that Elron wasn't a believer?" Melbourne asked Sam. Sam had been taking his turn reading the periodical in question, and easily replied. "Not only is the Church Bulletin a fee based publication, the whole Church itself is a for profit entity, like an LLC." "I can see how that would make you doubt him," agreed Melbourne congenially. Andrea shrugged apologetically. "They ain't NONE of 'em from Texas," she rationalized. Sam took the wheel and a minute later they were underway. Melbourne wondered if he should have invested in some Preparation-H. His hemorrhoids were on steroids.