Armageddon: The Musical by Rankin Robert

Author:Rankin, Robert [Rankin, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Humorous, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780552136815
Publisher: Transworld Publishers
Published: 1990-01-01T15:00:00+00:00

167

17

Let's get serious, no let's don't, let's mime the hard bits. Frank Zappa

Rex didn't pause long in his burning apartment. He snatched up his weatherdome and tore away a small section of flooring. From the hidey-hole revealed he drew his most valuable possession, The Suburban Book of the Dead. He thrust the book into a pocket of his radiation suit and made off at the hurry up. Up the iron ladder went Rex, through the hatch and on to the roof. The air car stood awaiting his whim. Smoke began to rise through the roof hatch.

Rex bundled into the air car, slammed shut the canopy, confirmed identity and put the thing into gear. The engine coughed and died.

'No,' cried Rex, 'not now.' Two fearful figures climbed out through the roof hatch. A sheet of flame billowed up behind them. 'Please,' begged Rex. 'Please start.' The spectres loped across the roof towards him. Rex bashed at the dashboard with his fist. The engine chugged, the air car stalled again. Rambo snatched up a length of metal piping and swung it at the windscreen. The plexiglass shattered, Rex covered his eyes, Rambo and Eric clawed at him. The motor engaged. The car lifted. The two Devianti fell away howling bitterly. Rex took to the sky.

169

Gloria Mundi never paced, she rode upon friction-free bearings housed within her hips. This she did now in the Dalai's sanctum sanctorum. Dan watched her at it. He studied every fold of yielding poli-synthicate as it creased about the exquisite contours of her body. What a waste, thought Dalai Dan.

Gloria turned upon him. 'You should be so lucky.'

Dan cast her an upward gaze, levelling out at the piercing green eyes. 'Your brother intrigues me,' he said.

'It might have been polite of you to mention that he was still in one piece as soon as you knew.'

'So sorry,' Dan replied. 'An intriguing young man.'

'His idea of feeding the iris patterns of your Mr SUN into MOTHER to seek his location does display a certain animal cunning, I suppose.'

'I consider it most enterprising. Sadly time ran out for him. The scan will of course be maintained. We will track down SUN.'

Gloria threw up her hands. 'But to what end? You catch up with him. You kill him. Can one man really be such a threat to you?'

'This is no ordinary man. Do you know what I represent, Gloria?'

I'm sure you can read my thoughts on this matter.'

'I represent stability. The status quo. I represent safety. To threaten me is to threaten the very fabric of society.'

'Don't flatter yourself,’

Dan sipped his cocktail. 'You have no idea of what I'm talking about. Your mind, although open to me, is closed to reason.'

'And what plans do you now have for my brother?'

'I will keep him on the SUN case. I like the way he thinks.'

170

'He's an uncouth lout.'

'Please Gloria. We each must play our part. You understand the economics of the thing and also the mechanics. Society is no longer self-perpetuating. The unions run me ragged with their outrageous demands, production is, as ever, down.

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