Weird to me , i think that more logical will be:
Pointer p1,p2
Long a,b,c,d
a=5
b=2
c=a+b
&p1 = c 'reference pointer
print @p1 'dereference pointer
d=a-b
&p2 = d
print @p2
Just a idea ,nothing else...
If i ever add pointer in ABasic i will use something similiar