Fish Swim in the Lake

Part 6.1 | His dreams, they aren't as empty

alphaDana's head throbbed. Normally she took two-hour breaks in the morning, midday and evening. She'd swap power cells, meditate, listen to music, read books, have sex, anything to put new skin on her awareness. Operating the vlogger was about as effortless as riding a bicycle -- instinctive, but still a physical act requiring finesse. Still tiring. She'd be wrecked tomorrow if she didn't stop now. But she didn't know what was going on, and she felt as though she was in strobe flashes where the visible was unnaturally bright, and the essential was forced invisible.

She poured herself something she guessed was alcohol from a fat round decanter with an amber stopper. It smelled like an emergency room and she shot it like distinfectant. It blistered down her throat like salted lemon juice. Wiping her eyes she said vaguely, "why that one? There's got to be a dozen Magazes in town."

"Sure. Most of them are in the corescraper malls where there's the most foot traffic. That's what the advertisers like. But they're too obvious. The one downtown kind of fits in to the scenery, with the old stonework on Sparks. The churches and department stores. It's really tailor made to worry the guys Up There. That's why we put it there -- to make them think the Magazes had really infiltrated."

"Wouldn't the ones in the malls suggest that more?"

"The one on Sparks is part of the landscape," Colin said peevishly, as though he'd argued this before. "It's in hundreds of vlog compilations. It's part of nature now, just like the Peace Tower -- not that that exists anymore, but you know what I mean. In fact it's exactly what I mean. The Peace Tower may be gone, but I'd bet most people living in corescrapers haven't noticed."

"So you want to use me further on the people Up There."

"Haven't you been well compensated?"

"I... I doubt it," alphaDana said. "Not considering what you seem to be implying." Whatever it was, it sounded more substantial than even a couple thousand nallars and an encrypted space.

Colin's pale blue eyes tightened. "You know," he said casually, "we could use a full time vlogger to provide Vas with content. Full time salary, that is, but only on duty when he's Down Here, which is -- as you know, almost never. We'd really be paying you to do what you already do. We didn't know you knew each other, but obviously he trusts you -- this could work out very well for you. Once you join the civil service you never have to leave, you know. You only get promoted into jobs with more money for less work."

"I..."

"Why don't you think about it," Colin said. "I do want to know one thing. They haven't really made a deal with Up There, have they? Have they? You just said that to upset me, didn't you?"

"Why don't you wake him up and ask him yourself?" alphaDana laughed just enough to take the edge off her nervousness.

"All right," Colin said, rummaging through Vas's drug kit. "I think I will."

Posted by gtaylor at May 13, 2002 09:50 AM