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DOC :ch8.txt

part three
 midnight in the rue jules verne

archipelago
 the islands torus spindle cluster human dna spreading
out from gravitys steep well like an oilslick
 call up a graphics display that grossly simplifies the ex
change of data in the l5 archipelago one segment clicks in
as red solid a massive rectangle dominating your screen
 freeside freeside is many things not all of them evident
to the tourists who shuttle up and down the well freeside is
brothel and banking nexus pleasure dome and free port bor
der town and spa freeside is las vegas and the hanging gar
dens of babylon an orbital geneva and home to a family inbred
and most carefully refined the industrial clan of tessier and
ashpool

on the thy liner to paris they sat together in first class
molly in the window seat case beside her riviera and ar
mitage on the aisle once as the plane banked over water
case saw the jewelglow of a greek island town and once
reaching for his drink he caught the flicker of a thing like a
giant human sperm in the depths of his bourbon and water
 molly leaned across him and slapped rivieras face once 
no baby no games you play that subliminal shit around
me ill hurt you real bad i can do it without damaging you
at all i like that
 case turned automatically to check armitages reaction the
smooth face was calm the blue eyes alert but there was no
anger thats right peter dont
 case turned back in time to catch the briefest flash of a
black rose its petals sheened like leather the black stem thorned
with bright chrome
 peter riviera smiled sweetly closed his eyes and fell in
stantly asleep
 molly turned away her lenses reflected in the dark window

you been up havent you molly asked as he squirmed
his way back into the deep temperfoam couch on the jal
shuttle
 nah never travel much just for biz the steward was
attaching readout trodes to his wrist and left ear
 hope you dont get sas she said
 airsick no way
 its not the same your heartbeatll speed up in zerog and
your inner earll go nuts for a while kicks in your flight reflex
like youll be getting signals to run like hell and a lot of
adrenaline the steward moved on to riviera taking a new
set of trodes from his red plastic apron
 case turned his head and tried to make out the outline of
the old orly terminals but the shuttle pad was screened by
graceful blastdeflectors of wet concrete the one nearest the
window bore an arabic slogan in red spraybomb
 he closed his eyes and told himself the shuttle was only a
big airplane one that flew very high it smelled like an airplane
like new clothes and chewing gum and exhaustion he listened
to the piped koto music and waited
 twenty minutes then gravity came down on him like a
great soft hand with bones of ancient stone

space adaptation syndrome was worse than mollys de
scription but it passed quickly enough and he was able to
sleep the steward woke him as they were preparing to dock
at jals terminal cluster
 we transfer to freeside now he asked eyeing a shred
of yeheyuan tobacco that had drifted gracefully up out of his
shirt pocket to dance ten centimeters from his nose there was
no smoking on shuttle flights
 no we got the bosss usual little kink in the plans you
know were getting this taxi out to zion zion cluster she
touched the release plate on her harness and began to free
herself from the embrace of the foam funny choice of venue
you ask me
 hows that
 dreads rastas colonys about thirty years old now
 whats that mean
 youll see its an okay place by me anyway theyll let
you smoke your cigarettes there

zion had been founded by five workers whod refused to
return whod turned their backs on the well and started build
ing theyd suffered calcium loss and heart shrinkage before
rotational gravity was established in the colonys central torus 
seen from the bubble of the taxi zions makeshift hull re
minded case of the patchwork tenements of istanbul the ir
regular discolored plates laserscrawled with rastafarian
symbols and the initials of welders
 molly and a skinny zionite called aerol helped case ne
gotiate a freefall corridor into the core of a smaller torus hed
lost track of armitage and riviera in the wake of a second
wave of sas vertigo here molly said shoving his legs
into a narrow hatchway overhead grab the rungs make like
youre climbing backward right youre going toward the hull
thats like youre climbing down into gravity got it
 cases stomach churned
 you be fine mon aerol said his grin bracketed with
gold incisors
 somehow the end of the tunnel had become its bottom 
case embraced the weak gravity like a drowning man finding
a pocket of air
 up molly said you gonna kiss it next case lay flat
on the deck on his stomach arms spread something struck
him on the shoulder he rolled over and saw a fat bundle of
elastic cable gotta play house she said you help me string
this up he looked around the wide featureless space and
noticed steel rings welded on every surface seemingly at ran
dom
 when theyd strung the cables according to some complex
scheme of mollys they hung them with battered sheets of
yellow plastic as they worked case gradually became aware
of the music that pulsed constantly through the cluster it was
called dub a sensuous mosaic cooked from vast libraries of
digitalized pop it was worship molly said and a sense of
community case heaved at one of the yellow sheets the thing
was light but still awkward zion smelled of cooked vegetables
humanity and ganja
 good armitage said gliding loosekneed through the
hatch and nodding at the maze of sheets riviera followed less
certain in the partial gravity
 where were you when it needed doing case asked ri
viera
 the man opened his mouth to speak a small trout swam
out trailing impossible bubbles it glided past cases cheek 
in the head riviera said and smiled
 case laughed
 good riviera said you can laugh i would have tried
to help you but im no good with my hands he held up his
palms which suddenly doubled four arms four hands
 just the harmless clown right riviera molly stepped
between them
 yo aerol said from the hatch you wan come wi me
cowboy mon
 its your deck armitage said and the other gear help
him get it in from the cargo bay
 you ver pale mon aerol said as they were guiding the
foambundled hosaka terminal along the central corridor 
maybe you wan eat somethin
 cases mouth flooded with saliva he shook his head

armitage announced an eightyhour stay in zion molly and
case would practice in zero gravity he said and acclimatize
themselves to working in it he would brief them on freeside
and the villa straylight it was unclear what riviera was sup
posed to be doing but case didnt feel like asking a few
hours after their arrival armitage had sent him into the yellow
maze to call riviera out for a meal hed found him curled
like a cat on a thin pad of temperfoam naked apparently
asleep his head orbited by a revolving halo of small white
geometric forms cubes spheres and pyramids hey ri
viera the ring continued to revolve hed gone back and told
armitage hes stoned molly said looking up from the
disassembled parts of her fletcher leave him be
 armitage seemed to think that zerog would affect cases
ability to operate in the matrix dont sweat it case argued
i jack in and im not here its all the same
 your adrenaline levels are higher armitage said youve
still got sas you wont have time for it to wear off youre
going to learn to work with it
 so i do the run from here
 no practice case now up in the corridor

cyberspace as the deck presented it had no particular re
lationship with the decks physical whereabouts when case
jacked in he opened his eyes to the familiar configuration of
the eastern seaboard fission authoritys aztec pyramid of
data
 how you doing dixie
 im dead case got enough time in on this hosaka to
figure that one
 hows it feel
 it doesnt
 bother you
 what bothers me is nothin does
 hows that
 had me this buddy in the russian camp siberia his thumb
was frostbit medics came by and they cut it off month later
hes tossin all night elroy i said whats eatin you goddam
thumbs itchin he says so i told him scratch it mccoy he
says its the other goddam thumb when the construct laughed
it came through as something else not laughter but a stab of
cold down cases spine do me a favor boy
 whats that dix
 this scam of yours when its over you erase this goddam
thing

case didnt understand the zionites
 aerol with no particular provocation related the tale of the
baby who had burst from his forehead and scampered into a
forest of hydroponic ganja ver small baby mon no long
you finga he rubbed his palm across an unscarred expanse
of brown forehead and smiled
 its the ganja molly said when case told her the story 
they dont make much of a difference between states you
know aerol tells you it happened well it happened to him 
its not like bullshit more like poetry get it
 case nodded dubiously the zionites always touched you
when they were talking hands on your shoulder he didnt
like that
 hey aerol case called an hour later as he prepared
for a practice run in the freefall corridor come here man 
wanna show you this thing he held out the trodes
 aerol executed a slowmotion tumble his bare feet struck
the steel wall and he caught a girder with his free hand the
other held a transparent waterbag bulging with bluegreen al
gae he blinked mildly and grinned
 try it case said
 he took the band put it on and case adjusted the trodes 
he closed his eyes case hit the power stud aerol shuddered 
case jacked him back out what did you see man
 babylon aerol said sadly handing him the trodes and
kicking off down the corridor

riviera sat motionless on his foam pad his right arm ex
tended straight out level with his shoulder a jewelscaled
snake its eyes like ruby neon was coiled tightly a few
millimeters behind his elbow case watched the snake which
was fingerthick and banded black and scarlet slowly contract
tightening around rivieras arm
 come then the man said caressingly to the pale waxy
scorpion poised in the center of his upturned palm come 
the scorpion swayed its brownish claws and scurried up his
arm its feet tracking the faint dark telltales of veins when it
reached the inner elbow it halted and seemed to vibrate ri
viera made a soft hissing sound the sting came up quivered
and sank into the skin above a bulging vein the coral snake
relaxed and riviera sighed slowly as the injection hit him
 then the snake and the scorpion were gone and he held a
milky plastic syringe in his left hand if god made anything
better he kept it for himself you know the expression case
 yeah case said i heard that about lots of different
things you always make it into a little show
 riviera loosened and removed the elastic length of surgical
tubing from his arm yes its more fun he smiled his eyes
distant now cheeks flushed ive a membrane set in just over
the vein so i never have to worry about the condition of the
needle
 doesnt hurt
 the bright eyes met his of course it does thats part of
it isnt it
 id just use derms case said
 pedestrian riviera sneered and laughed putting on a
shortsleeved white cotton shirt
 must be nice case said getting up
 get high yourself case
 i hadda give it up

freeside armitage said touching the panel on the little
braun hologram projector the image shivered into focus nearly
three meters from tip to tip casinos here he reached into
the skeletal representation and pointed hotels stratatitle
property big shops along here his hand moved blue areas
are lakes he walked to one end of the model big cigar 
narrows at the ends
 we can see that fine molly said
 mountain effect as it narrows ground seems to get higher
more rocky but its an easy climb higher you climb the
lower the gravity sports up there theres velodrome ring
here he pointed
 a what case leaned forward
 they race bicycles molly said low grav hightraction
tires get up over a hundred kilos an hour
 this end doesnt concern us armitage said with his usual
utter seriousness
 shit molly said im an avid cyclist
 riviera giggled
 armitage walked to the opposite end of the projection this
end does the interior detail of the hologram ended here and
the final segment of the spindle was empty this is the villa
straylight steep climb out of gravity and every approach is
kinked theres a single entrance here dead center zero grav
ity
 whats inside boss riviera leaned forward craning his
neck four tiny figures glittered near the tip of armitages
finger armitage slapped at them as if they were gnats
 peter armitage said youre going to be the first to find
out youll arrange yourself an invitation once youre in you
see that molly gets in
 case stared at the blankness that represented straylight
remembering the finns story smith jimmy the talking head
and the ninja
 details available riviera asked i need to plan a ward
robe you see
 learn the streets armitage said returning to the center
of the model desiderata street here this is the rue jules
verne
 riviera rolled his eyes
 while armitage recited the names of freeside avenues a
dozen bright pustules rose on his nose cheeks and chin even
molly laughed
 armitage paused regarded them all with his cold empty
eyes
 sorry riviera said and the sores flickered and vanished

case woke late into the sleeping period and became aware
of molly crouched beside him on the foam he could feel her
tension he lay there confused when she moved the sheer
speed of it stunned him she was up and through the sheet of
yellow plastic before hed had time to realize shed slashed it
open
 dont you move friend
 case rolled over and put his head through the rent in the
plastic wha
 shut up
 you th one mon said a zion voice cateye call em
call em steppin razor i maelcum sister brothers wan
converse wi you an cowboy
 what brothers
 founders mon elders of zion ya know
 we open that hatch the lightll wake bossman case
whispered
 make it special dark now the man said come i an i
visit th founders
 you know how fast i can cut you friend
 don stan talkin sister come

the two surviving founders of zion were old men old with
the accelerated aging that overtakes men who spend too many
years outside the embrace of gravity their brown legs brittle
with calcium loss looked fragile in the harsh glare of reflected
sunlight they floated in the center of a painted jungle of
rainbow foliage a lurid communal mural that completely cov
ered the hull of the spherical chamber the air was thick with
resinous smoke
 steppin razor one said as molly drifted into the cham
ber like unto a whippin stick
 that is a story we have sister said the other a religion
story we are glad youve come with maelcum
 how come you dont talk the patois molly asked
 i came from los angeles the old man said his dread
locks were like a matted tree with branches the color of steel
wool long time ago up the gravity well and out of babylon 
to lead the tribes home now my brother likens you to step
pin razor
 molly extended her right hand and the blades flashed in the
smoky air
 the other founder laughed his head thrown back soon
come the final days voices voices cryin inna wilder
ness prophesyin ruin unto babylon
 voices the founder from los angeles was staring at
case we monitor many frequencies we listen always came
a voice out of the babel of tongues speaking to us it played
us a mighty dub
 call em winter mute said the other making it two
words
 case felt the skin crawl on his arms
 the mute talked to us the first founder said the mute
said we are to help you
 when was this case asked
 thirty hours prior you dockin zion
 you ever hear this voice before
 no said the man from los angeles and we are uncertain
of its meaning if these are final days we must expect false
prophets
 listen case said thats an ai you know artificial
intelligence the music it played you it probably just tapped
your banks and cooked up whatever it thought youd like
to 
 babylon broke in the other founder mothers many de
mon i an i know multitude horde
 what was that you called me old man molly asked
 steppin razor an you bring a scourge on babylon sis
ter on its darkest heart
 what kinda message the voice have case asked
 we were told to help you the other said that you might
serve as a tool of final days his lined face was troubled 
we were told to send maelcum with you in his tug garvey
to the babylon port of freeside and this we shall do
 maelcum a rude boy said the other an a righteous tug
pilot
 but we have decided to send aerol as well in babylon
rocker to watch over garvey
 an awkward silence filled the dome
 thats it case asked you guys work for armitage or
what
 we rent you space said the los angeles founder we
have a certain involvement here with various traffics and no
regard for babylons law our law is the word of jah but this
time it may be we have been mistaken
 measure twice cut once said the other softly
 come on case molly said lets get back before the
man figures out were gone
 maelcum will take you jah love sister

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Top topics in this doc (% words in doc assigned to this topic)

	(12%)	case molly thing back left im head asked didnt began ...
	(9%)	riviera armitage freeside passed wanna cut plastic palm nose yeah ...
	(9%)	aerol babylon wi gravity wintermutes free end final chin pilot ...
	(7%)	hand youre looked hands back time wall place small whats ...
	(6%)	eyes man hed black face dark past good open back ...
	(6%)	zion climb dub pointed cluster eyes nodding jah aware sister ...
	(6%)	trodes foam angeles los segment phone sheets moved readout air ...

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