The jackpot

 -"Old men die, “Nat sighed, "they just die. They must."

Nat stood with James, his lawyer, watching his mansion from a distance.

Nat lived there alone. He always had. Not that this had been his first choice. But over the years it made him more and more uncomfortable and sad, that his family, and those who believed that they had a branch on his family tree, had but one thought in their head: When will he kick the bucket and how much would he leave me?

Nat was a rare individual. Always had been. He was a scientist by trade and had earned a lot of money. All kinds of money. Today he had more money than God.

He did not blame his family for just being interested in his money, or for thinking they were entitled to it. It was probably no different with other rich men.

Nat was nicknamed Genius. He had been extremely versatile during his protracted career and was responsible for the metals that were not subject to temperature: so-called eternal metals. He was also the patron saint of the science to control mechanical things through thought wave radiation.

What was the point? Well, that enabled people to propel large metal ships or other vehicles through the power of thought alone.

There were other contributions to the advancement of mankind. But we are not going to list them all here.

Now, however, Nat was faced with a mystery that no scientist, no matter how gifted, had yet been able to solve: mortality.

Nat was building a door. Or rather: he had paid good money, for others to build it for him. 

He looked at the drills, rock cutters, and a giant crane lowering giant slabs of metal. The door itself that Nat wanted to build lay a little further. It had great hinges and some kind of lock.

-"What's that going to be, Nat? Are you building a mausoleum?" asked James. Nat did not answer, and the young lawyer didn't push. That would make sense, he knew what the lonely man was like.

-"You mean a final resting place for my bones?" chuckled Nat. "Who knows? Maybe."

The two men walked back to the mansion together. Nat gave James a drink and an envelope.

-"What is this?" the lawyer asked.

"You should put that in your safe," Nat replied matter-of-factly.

-"Okay, good. Can you tell me what it is?" James insisted.

-"Well...something all old men should have: a will. My last will s in that envelope. When I've breathed my last breath, you may open it and read it." Nat replied.

James sat looking at the envelope thoughtfully.

-"You wonder how much I left you." Nat chuckled "Who knows? Maybe everything."

-"You're enjoying this, aren't you, Nat?" James tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. Nat shrugged.

"I think you're just as entitled to a chance as anyone else."

James sat staring at Nat in surprise.

-"I exclude none, and the winner will take it all. Whoever it may be, somewhere there is someone who dwelling on this earth, that´s for sure." after a short pause he continued: "I'm just sorry and even sad that I won't be able to be there to see who wins the jackpot."

James put the will in his briefcase, finished his glass and left: "See you next week, Nat!"

When he returned a week later, the first thing Nat asked him was:

-"And what did you think of it?"

-"Think of what?" James asked.

-My will." Nat replied. James stared at him indignantly:

"You are not questioning my integrity, I hope."

Nat handed him a drink.

-"Your will is in a sealed envelope, in my safe, just as you instructed me."

-"Calm down, don't worry. Finish your drink." Nat watched as James emptied his glass.

-"Okay, now tell me what your thoughts are."

James felt flushed. He knew Nat loved to play mind games and was not easily fooled.

-"Don't even go through the motions!" Nat patronized him.

-"I couldn't resist the temptation." James began shyly.

-"No need to sit there cringing, “Nat said, "I've always known what a crook you are."

James looked at Nat hopefully, "Would you be willing to give me a little hint, old friend?"

Nat shook his head: "You get the same opportunities as everyone else."

-"This will cause a lot of sensation." sighed James sighed.

-"It is a pity that a man must die first, in order to set in motion, the most interesting in his life." Nat said with a sad look in his eyes.

-"You're still in great shape." James tried to sound lighthearted, "You will bury us all."

"Oh, shut up." Nat snorted. "You're just as impatiently waiting for them to put me under the ground."

James wanted to say something else, but Nat stopped him:

-"Shut up and have another glass!"

Life can take strange turns: six months later, Nat dropped dead in his garden. His obituary caused quite a stir.

The relatives, including those who pretended to be family and the press, gathered in and in front of the late Nat's mansion to attend the reading of the will.

James went out of his way to hide his excitement. He stood in front of a microphone so that the people standing outside, because they no longer fit in the house, could hear him too.

-"As the lawyer for our dearly beloved and deceased Nat, it is my duty to..." People grew impatient and began to mumble angrily before James could finish his first sentence.

-"We don't want speeches; we don't have all day. Just read that will!"

James asked for silence.

“I, Nathaniel, have made a lot of money in my life. What will become of my fortune? I do not know the answer to that myself. The place where I hid it, or rather, put it in safekeeping…

Another murmur rose from the crowd.

-"Do we get a map?" someone asked. "Well, that's going to be an interesting hunt."

James threw his hands in the air, "People, please! A little respect."

After the silence returned, James continued:

"I had a burglar-proof safe built on my property. There is only one way to open the safe: I have chosen a thought, to which the lock will respond. A thought! A clear thought, which will unlock the safe and open it.

There is a bench in front of the safe. Whoever wants to can sit on it and direct his or her mind to the door of the safe. When someone thinks the right thought, the door opens, and that person comes into possession of all my earthly wealth.

Everyone gets 30 seconds to try their luck. My fortune lies waiting for the happy thinker.

Good luck to everyone in the world. And please, do not kill each other in a stampede.

Nat"

Reporters knocked each other down to spread the news around the world. Major commercial activities were set up to accommodate the hundreds of thousands who wanted to take their chance.

Shady characters made millions selling Nat's thoughts to good and superstitious people. People even started selling their seats in the queue for a lot of money.

Psychiatrists and sociologists held endless discussions about the nature of Nat's thoughts. They were convinced that the prize-thought would be scientific nature in nature.

Professors and less educated brains spent many hours learning about Nat's life and trying to predict his achievements in the realm of thought.

Every morning the gates of Nat's estate were opened, and a lengthy line moved towards the vault. The first man took a seat on the couch, a stopwatch clicked, a silence fell over the spectators and thirty seconds later the watch clicked again, and the person stood up: the safe had not opened.

Weeks and months passed. Countless people had tried and failed their luck. Of course, each failure was accompanied by a sigh of relief that passed through the audience.

Stalls rose from the ground like mushrooms after an autumn rain, selling sandwiches and coffee.

A year passed. The safe remained locked and a rumor started circulating that the whole thing was just a hoax.

One day a couple of farmers stood in line. They had brought their ten-year-old daughter Suzy with them.

Suzy passed the time telling stories to the doll she held tightly against her. When it was finally her mother's and father's turn to sit on the bench, she held on to the doll a little tighter and told her that they would soon be home again.

Suzy's father's thoughts raced as he sat in front of the vault, and he returned with slumped shoulders. Her mother too was told to leave the bench after trying to focus her mind on the door.

-"Now it's your turn." the guard said to Suzy. The child replied that she just wanted to go home.

-"You're holding the line." the guard snapped, who couldn't understand what was happening. The people started to complain and grumble.

-"Come on then, away with you." The guard roared.

-"No! Wait!" the girl suggested, and she jumped on the bench. The guard gave the girl a stern look and pulled the stopwatch.

Suzy moved her lips: "Dear angels, please make Mr. Nat happy in heaven." She jumped up and back to her parents when she heard the sound of grinding metal: the door swung open.