01. The Cybernetic Walrus by Jack L. Chalker

Author:Jack L. Chalker
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-02-01T00:54:58+00:00

I don't know, but—"Good lord! Did we just read each oth-er's minds?"

She frowned. "I—I'm not—by God I think we did! Oh, boy! What a pair we'll make! No secrets from each other, ever again."

It had been a bizarre couple of days, days in which every-thing had been turned upside down and the impossible was being faced. It appeared that we still weren't through with surprises.

We just lay there for a while in the dark, very relaxed, and staring up at the stippled stucco ceiling only vaguely illuminated from the indirect light from the bathroom.

If those energy trials at the campus had somehow boosted us while we slept there, what was going on now? Was this at the level we'd reached back in Yakima, or were we continu-ing to expand this—this connection to others?

What had happened back there since we'd run? Did they fight off the attack? Did they lose or evacuate? Who would answer if I called the mansion from here?

I didn't want to call in, particularly not from here, stuck in the snow and who knew how many days until my little sportscar was safe to drive out?

Walt could trap us just using a helicopter, and who knew what sort of things were at his little turtle-faced friends' disposal?

I really wanted to know what happened back there, and what perhaps I should do next. Riki's mind was drifting in what seemed to be the presages of sleep, and I joined with her and let the emptiness flow through us.

Al Stark lit another cigarette and struck his fist on the desk in frustration.

"I don't get it! How the hell did they get a horde of Boojums in here? I mean, damn it, they don't even exist, for Christ's sake! They're out of that damned Cholder Sim. It's not possible to take things created in and stored in one damned Sim and translate them to the reality of another. You know that! Did somebody change the fucking laws of physics, or what?"

"Now, calm down, Al," said a man's familiar voice, but not too familiar. "If we could get the work out of the Crew like we did, why couldn 't they? I mean, it was Slidecker who hired Maddox, wasn't it? Besides, maybe slow and subtle wasn't the best approach here. I mean, they sure seem to have some ad-vances we missed. We still have more than they do. Other-wise, why hit us here at all?"

"I know, I know. Any word on Maddox and the girl since this morning?"

"Not a word. I'd have thought they would have called in by now."

"Maybe not. That Maddox is one of the smarter cookies, particularly when scared, and he's pretty strong, too. I don't know about you, but it's been a long time since I had a vision that detailed. I don't like it. He's of value, yes, but at this stage he's more of a threat to us, and we have what we really wanted, what Slidecker was after as well, the wireless null-loss sequencer.

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