01 Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

Author:China Mieville [Mieville, China]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-02-20T03:07:23+00:00

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“I only just found out about Flex,” said Magesta. She was sitting huddled on her sofa, clutching a cold cup of tea. Behind her a large mirror took up most of the wall. “I don’t really follow the news. I had a meeting scheduled with him a couple of days ago, and when he didn’t come, I got really scared that he’d...I don’t know...told on me, or something.” He probably has, thought Derkhan, and said nothing. “And then I heard some rumours about what happened in Dog Fenn when the militia put down that riot...”

There was no godsdamn riot, Derkhan nearly shouted, but she controlled herself. Whatever reason Magesta Barbile may have had for giving information to Ben, political dissidence was clearly not one of them.

“So these rumours...” Barbile continued. “Well, I put two and two together, you know? And then...and then...”

“And then you hid,” said Derkhan. Barbile nodded.

“Look,” said Isaac suddenly. He had been silent until now, his face twisted tensely. “Can you not fucking feel it? Can’t you taste it?” He shook his hands in claws around his face, as if the air was a tangible thing he could grip and wrestle. “It’s as if the damn night air’s gone rancid. Now, maybe it’s just blind damn coincidence, but so far every bad thing that’s happened for the last month seems to be tied in to some fucking conspiracy, and I’m damn well betting that this ain’t an exception.”

He leaned in close towards Barbile’s pathetic figure. She gazed at him, timid and terrified.

“Doctor Barbile,” he said levelly. “Something that eats minds...including my friend’s mind; a militia raid on Runagate Rampant; the very fucking air around our ears turning into some rotten soup...What is going on? What’s the connection with dreamshit?”

Barbile began to cry. Isaac nearly howled with irritation, turning from her and throwing up his hands in exasperation. But then he turned back. She was speaking through her snivels.

“I knew it was a bad idea...” she said. “I told them we should keep control of the experiment...” Her words were almost unintelligible, broken and interrupted with a slew of snotty tears. “It hadn’t been going long enough...They shouldn’t have done it...”

“Done what?” said Derkhan. “What did they do? What was Ben talking to you about?”

“About the transfer,” sobbed Barbile. “We hadn’t finished the project but we suddenly heard it was being wound down, but...but someone found out what was really happening...Our specimens were being sold...to some criminal...”

“What specimens?” said Isaac, but Barbile was ignoring him. She was unburdening herself in her own time and her own order.

“It wasn’t quick enough for the sponsors, you know? They were getting...impatient...The applications they thought there might be...military, psychodimensional...they weren’t coming. The subjects were incomprehensible, we weren’t making progress, and...and they were uncontrollable, they were just too dangerous...” She raised her eyes and her voice, still crying. She paused, then continued, quieter again.

“We might have got somewhere, but it was taking too long. And then...the money people must’ve got nervous. So the project director told us it was over, that the specimens had been destroyed, but that was a lie.

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