Banks, Iain - Culture 07- Look to Winward by Banks Iain

Author:Banks, Iain [Banks, Iain]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

'Yes, but nobody's letting me get as far away from him as I'd like, either.'

'You're a long way from him now,' Kabe pointed out.

'And how long did it take us to get from there to here?' Ziller asked. They had come by sub-Plate car that morning; the whole journey had taken just over an hour.

'Hmm, well ... '

'I'm practically a prisoner!' Ziller said, spreading his arms.

The avatar's face contorted. 'No, you're not,' it said.

'I might as well be! I haven't been able to write a note since that bastard showed up!'

The avatar sat up, looking alarmed. 'But you have finished the-?'

Ziller waved one hand exasperatedly. 'It's complete. But I usually wind down with shorter pieces after something this big, and this time I haven't been able to. I feel constipated.'

'Well,' Kabe said, 'if you might as well be forced into contact with Quilan, why not see him and get it over with?'

The avatar groaned and flopped back on the couch. It put its feet up again.

Ziller was staring at Kabe. 'Is that it?' he asked. 'Is that you using your powers of argument to convince me I should see this piece of shit?'

'From your tone,' Kabe said, voice rumbling, 'I take it you are not persuaded.'

Ziller shook his head. 'Persuasion. What's reasonable. Would I mind? Am I concerned? Would I be insulted? I may do as I please but then so may he.'

Ziller pointed angrily at the avatar. 'You people are polite to the point of it becoming worse than any direct insult. All this pussy-footing, mealy-mouthed bullshit, dancing round each other after-you-no-after-you-no-after-you!' He waved his arms around as his voice rose to a shout. 'I hate this hopeless congealment of fucking good manners! Can't anyone just do something?'

Kabe thought about saying something, then decided not to. The avatar looked mildly surprised. It blinked a few times. 'Such as what?' it inquired. 'Would you prefer that the major called you out and challenged you to a duel? Or moved in next door?'

'You could kick him out!'

'Why would I do that?'

'Because he's annoying me!'

The avatar smiled. 'Ziller,' it said.

'I feel hunted! We're a predator species; we're only used to hiding when we're stalking. We're not used to feeling like prey.'

'You could move home,' Kabe suggested.

'He'd follow me!'

'You could keep moving.'

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'Why should I? I like my apartment. I like the silence and the views, I even like some of the people. There are three concert halls in Aquime with perfect acoustics. Why should I be driven from the place just because Chel sends this military bag-boy to do god-knows-what.'

'What do you mean, god-knows-what?' asked the avatar.

'Maybe he isn't here just to talk me into going back with him; maybe he's here to kidnap me! Or kill me!'

'Oh, really,' Kabe said.

'Kidnap's impossible,' Hub said. 'Unless he brought a fleet of warships I've missed.' The avatar shook its head. 'Murder is almost impossible.' It frowned.

'Attempted murder is always possible, I

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