TWO PENS.(high-technology writing equipment)

Publication: The New Yorker

Publication Date: 07-MAR-05

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COPYRIGHT 2005 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc.

Until now, man's relationship with the pen has been relatively straightforward. Few people stopped to wonder whether the "I" who scribbles the "Sorry I backed into your new car" note is separate, in some important ontological way, from the interface of ballpoint and scratch pad. But those carefree days have gone the way of cursive script.

The first sign of change surfaced in December, when it was revealed that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had used an Autopen to simulate his signature on official condolence letters. Responding to criticism, he issued a written statement expressing contrition--"I have directed that in the future I sign each letter"--which only made it sound as if the Autopen were still on the job. Then Margaret Atwood, the...

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