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DOC :ch11.txt

case whats wrong with you armitage said as the waiter
was seating them at his table in the vingtime sicle it was
the smallest and most expensive of several floating restaurants
on a small lake near the intercontinental
 case shuddered bruce hadnt said anything about after ef
fects he tried to pick up a glass of ice water but his hands
were shaking something i ate maybe
 i want you checked out by a medic armitage said
 just this hystamine reaction case lied get it when i
travel eat different stuff sometimes
 armitage wore a dark suit too formal for the place and a
white silk shirt his gold bracelet rattled as he raised his wine
and sipped ive ordered for you he said
 molly and armitage ate in silence while case sawed shakily
at his steak reducing it to uneaten bitesized fragments which
he pushed around in the rich sauce finally abandoning the
whole thing
 jesus molly said her own plate empty gimme that 
you know what this costs she took his plate they gotta
raise a whole animal for years and then they kill it this isnt
vat stuff she forked a mouthful up and chewed
 not hungry case managed his brain was deepfried 
no he decided it had been thrown into hot fat and left there
and the fat had cooled a thick dull grease congealing on the
wrinkled lobes shot through with greenishpurple flashes of
pain
 you look fucking awful molly said cheerfully
 case tried the wine the aftermath of the betaphenethylam
ine made it taste like iodine
 the lights dimmed
 le restaurant vingtime sicle said a disembodied voice
with a pronounced sprawl accent proudly presents the hol
ographic cabaret of mr peter riviera scattered applause from
the other tables a waiter lit a single candle and placed it in
the center of their table then began to remove the dishes soon
a candle flickered at each of the restaurants dozen tables and
drinks were being poured
 whats happening case asked armitage who said noth
ing
 molly picked her teeth with a burgundy nail
 good evening riviera said stepping forward on a small
stage at the far end of the room case blinked in his discomfort
he hadnt noticed the stage he hadnt seen where riviera had
come from his uneasiness increased
 at first he assumed the man was illuminated by a spotlight
 riviera glowed the light clung around him like a skin lit
the dark hangings behind the stage he was projecting
 riviera smiled he wore a white dinner jacket on his lapel
blue coals burned in the depths of a black carnation his fin
gernails flashed as he raised his hands in a gesture of greeting
an embrace for his audience case heard the shallow water lap
against the side of the restaurant
 tonight riviera said his long eyes shining i would
like to perform an extended piece for you a new work a
cool ruby of light formed in the palm of his upraised right hand 
he dropped it a gray dove fluttered up from the point of
impact and vanished into the shadows someone whistled more
applause
 the title of the work is the doll riviera lowered his
hands i wish to dedicate its premiere here tonight to lady
3jane mariefrance tessierashpool a wave of polite ap
plause as it died rivieras eyes seemed to find their table 
and to another lady
 the restaurants lights died entirely for a few seconds
leaving only the glow of candles rivieras holographic aura
had faded with the lights but case could still see him standing
with his head bowed
 lines of faint light began to form verticals and horizontals
sketching an open cube around the stage the restaurants lights
had come back up slightly but the framework surrounding the
stage might have been constructed of frozen moonbeams head
bowed eyes closed arms rigid at his sides riviera seemed to
quiver with concentration suddenly the ghostly cube was filled
had become a room a room lacking its fourth wall allowing
the audience to view its contents
 riviera seemed to relax slightly he raised his head but
kept his eyes closed id always lived in the room he said 
i couldnt remember ever having lived in any other room 
the rooms walls were yellowed white plaster it contained
two pieces of furniture one was a plain wooden chair the
other an iron bedstead painted white the paint had chipped
and flaked revealing the black iron the mattress on the bed
was bare stained ticking with faded brown stripes a single
bulb dangled above the bed on a twisted length of black wire 
case could see the thick coating of dust on the bulbs upper
curve riviera opened his eyes
 id been alone in the room always he sat on the chair
facing the bed the blue coals still burned in the black flower
on his lapel i dont know when i first began to dream of
her he said but i do remember that at first she was only a
haze a shadow
 there was something on the bed case blinked gone
 i couldnt quite hold her hold her in my mind but i wanted
to hold her hold her and more his voice carried perfectly
in the hush of the restaurant ice clicked against the side of a
glass someone giggled someone else asked a whispered ques
tion in japanese i decided that if i could visualize some part
of her only a small part if i could see that part perfectly in
the most perfect detail
 a womans hand lay on the mattress now palm up the
white fingers pale
 riviera leaned forward picked up the hand and began to
stroke it gently the fingers moved riviera raised the hand to
his mouth and began to lick the tips of the fingers the nails
were coated with a burgundy lacquer
 a hand case saw but not a severed hand the skin swept
back smoothly unbroken and unscarred he remembered a
tattooed lozenge of vatgrown flesh in the window of a ninsei
surgical boutique riviera was holding the hand to his lips
licking its palm the fingers tentatively caressed his face but
now a second hand lay on the bed when riviera reached for
it the fingers of the first were locked around his wrist a bracelet
of flesh and bone
 the act progressed with a surreal internal logic of its own 
the arms were next feet legs the legs were very beautiful 
cases head throbbed his throat was dry he drank the last
of the wine
 riviera was in the bed now naked his clothing had been
a part of the projection but case couldnt remember seeing it
fade away the black flower lay at the foot of the bed still
seething with its blue inner flame then the torso formed as
riviera caressed it into being white headless and perfect
sheened with the faintest gloss of sweat
 mollys body case stared his mouth open but it wasnt
molly it was molly as riviera imagined her the breasts were
wrong the nipples larger too dark riviera and the limbless
torso writhed together on the bed crawled over by the hands
with their bright nails the bed was thick now with folds of
yellowed rotting lace that crumbled at a touch motes of dust
boiled around riviera and the twitching limbs the scurrying
pinching caressing hands
 case glanced at molly her face was blank the colors of
rivieras projection heaved and turned in her mirrors armitage
was leaning forward his hands round the stem of a wineglass
his pale eyes fixed on the stage the glowing room
 now limbs and torso had merged and riviera shuddered 
the head was there the image complete mollys face with
smooth quicksilver drowning the eyes riviera and the molly 
image began to couple with a renewed intensity then the image
slowly extended a clawed hand and extruded its five blades 
with a languorous dreamlike deliberation it raked rivieras
bare back case caught a glimpse of exposed spine but he was
already up and stumbling for the door
 he vomited over a rosewood railing into the quiet waters
of the lake something that had seemed to close around his
head like a vise had released him now kneeling his cheek
against the cool wood he stared across the shallow lake at the
bright aura of the rue jules verne
 case had seen the medium before when hed been a teenager
in the sprawl theyd called it dreaming real he remem
bered thin puerto ricans under east side streetlights dreaming
real to the quick beat of a salsa dreamgirls shuddering and
turning the onlookers clapping in time but that had needed
a van full of gear and a clumsy trode helmet
 what riviera dreamed you got case shook his aching head
and spat into the lake
 he could guess the end the finale there was an inverted
symmetry riviera puts the dreamgirl together the dreamgirl
takes him apart with those hands dreamblood soaking the
rotten lace
 cheers from the restaurant applause case stood and ran
his hands over his clothes he turned and walked back into the
vingtime sicle
 mollys chair was empty the stage was deserted armitage
sat alone still staring at the stage the stem of the wineglass
between his fingers
 where is she case asked
 gone armitage said
 she go after him
 no there was a soft tink armitage looked down at the
glass his left hand came up holding the bulb of glass with its
measure of red wine the broken stem protruded like a sliver
of ice case took it from him and set it in a water glass
 tell me where she went armitage
 the lights came up case looked into the pale eyes nothing
there at all shes gone to prepare herself you wont see her
again youll be together during the run
 why did riviera do that to her
 armitage stood adjusting the lapels of his jacket get some
sleep case
 we run tomorrow
 armitage smiled his meaningless smile and walked away
toward the exit
 case rubbed his forehead and looked around the room the
diners were rising women smiling as men made jokes he
noticed the balcony for the first time candles still flickering
there in private darkness he heard the clink of silverware
muted conversation the candles threw dancing shadows on
the ceiling
 the girls face appeared as abruptly as one of rivieras
projections her small hands on the polished wood of the bal
ustrade she leaned forward face rapt it seemed to him her
dark eyes intent on something beyond the stage it was a
striking face but not beautiful triangular the cheekbones high
yet strangely fragilelooking mouth wide and firm balanced
oddly by a narrow avian nose with flaring nostrils and then
she was gone back into private laughter and the dance of
candles
 as he left the restaurant he noticed the two young french
men and their girlfriend who were waiting for the boat to the
far shore and the nearest casino

their room was silent the temperfoam smooth as some
beach after a retreating tide her bag was gone he looked for
a note there was nothing several seconds passed before the
scene beyond the window registered through his tension and
unhappiness he looked up and saw a view of desiderata
expensive shops gucci tsuyako hermes liberty
 he stared then shook his head and crossed to a panel he
hadnt bothered examining he turned the hologram off and
was rewarded with the condos that terraced the far slope
 he picked up the phone and carried it out to the cool balcony
 get me a number for the marcus garvey he told the
desk its a tug registered out of zion cluster
 the chip voice recited a tendigit number sir it added
the registration in question is panamanian
 maelcum answered on the fifth tone yo
 case you got a modem maelcum
 yo on th navigation comp ya know
 can you get it off for me man put it on my hosaka 
then turn my deck on its the stud with the ridges on it
 how you doin in there mon
 well i need some help
 movin mon i get th modem
 case listened to faint static while maelcum attached the
simple phone link ice this he told the hosaka when he
heard it beep
 you are speaking from a heavily monitored location the
computer advised primly
 fuck it he said forget the ice no ice access the
construct dixie
 hey case the flatline spoke through the hosakas voice
chip the carefully engineered accent lost entirely
 dix youre about to punch your way in here and get
something for me you can be as blunt as you want mollys
in here somewhere and i wanna know where im in 335w
the intercontinental she was registered here too but i dont
know what name she was using ride in on this phone and do
their records for me
 no sooner said the flatline said case heard the white
sound of the invasion he smiled done rose kolodny 
checked out take me a few minutes to screw their security
net deep enough to get a fix
 go
 the phone whined and clicked with the constructs efforts 
case carried it back into the room and put the receiver face up
on the temperfoam he went into the bathroom and brushed
his teeth as he was stepping back out the monitor on the
rooms braun audiovisual complex lit up a japanese pop star
reclining against metallic cushions an unseen interviewer asked
a question in german case stared the screen jumped with
jags of blue interference case baby you lose your mind
man the voice was slow familiar
 the glass wall of the balcony clicked in with its view of
desiderata but the street scene blurred twisted became the
interior of the jarre de thĂŠ chiba empty red neon replicated
to scratched infinity in the mirrored walls
 lonny zone stepped forward tall and cadaverous moving
with the slow undersea grace of his addiction he stood alone
among the square tables his hands in the pockets of his gray
sharkskin slacks really man youre lookin very scattered
 the voice came from the brauns speakers
 wintermute case said
 the pimp shrugged languidly and smiled
 wheres molly
 never you mind youre screwing up tonight case the
flatlines ringing bells all over freeside i didnt think youd
do that man its outside the profile
 so tell me where she is and ill call him off
 zone shook his head
 you cant keep too good track of your women can you
case keep losin em one way or another
 ill bring this thing down around your ears case said
 no you arent that kind man i know that you know
something case i figure youve got it figured out that it was
me told deane to off that little cunt of yours in chiba
 dont case said taking an involuntary step toward the
window
 but i didnt whats it matter though how much does it
really matter to mr case quit kidding yourself i know your
linda man i know all the lindas lindas are a generic product
in my line of work know why she decided to rip you off 
love so youd give a shit love wanna talk love she loved
you i know that for the little she was worth she loved you 
you couldnt handle it shes dead
 cases fist glanced off the glass
 dont fuck up the hands man soon you punch deck
 zone vanished replaced by freeside night and the lights of
the condos the braun shut off
 from the bed the phone bleated steadily
 case the flatline was waiting where you been i got
it but it isnt much the construct rattled off an address 
place had some weird ice around it for a nightclub thats all
i could get without leaving a calling card
 okay case said tell the hosaka to tell maelcum to
disconnect the modem thanks dix
 a pleasure
 he sat on the bed for a long time savoring the new thing
the treasure
 rage

hey lupus hey cath its friend lupus bruce stood
naked in his doorway dripping wet his pupils enormous but
were just having a shower you wanna wait wanna shower
 no thanks i want some help he pushed the boys arm
aside and stepped into the room
 hey really man were
 going to help me youre really glad to see me because
were friends right arent we
 bruce blinked sure
 case recited the address the flatline had given him
 i knew he was a gangster cath called cheerfully from
the shower
 i gotta honda trike bruce said grinning vacantly
 we go now case said

that levels the cubicles bruce said after asking case
to repeat the address for the eighth time he climbed back into
the honda condensation dribbled from the hydrogencell ex
haust as the red fiberglass chassis swayed on chromed shocks 
you be long
 no saying but youll wait
 well wait yeah he scratched his bare chest that last
part of the address i think thats a cubicle number forty 
three
 you expected lupus cath craned forward over bruces
shoulder and peered up the drive had dried her hair
 not really case said thats a problem
 just go down to the lowest level and find your friends
cubicle if they let you in fine if they dont wanna see you 
she shrugged
 case turned and descended a spiral staircase of floral iron 
six turns and hed reached a nightclub he paused and lit a
yeheyuan looking over the tables freeside suddenly made
sense to him biz he could feel it humming in the air this
was it the local action not the highgloss facade of the rue
jules verne but the real thing commerce the dance the
crowd was mixed maybe half were tourists the other half
residents of the islands
 downstairs he said to a passing waiter i want to go
downstairs he showed his freeside chip the man gestured
toward the rear of the club
 he walked quickly past the crowded tables hearing frag
ments of half a dozen european languages as he passed
 i want a cubicle he said to the girl who sat at the low
desk a terminal on her lap lower level he handed her his
chip
 gender preference she passed the chip across a glass
plate on the face of the terminal
 female he said automatically
 number thirtyfive phone if it isnt satisfactory you can
access our special services display beforehand if you like 
she smiled she returned his chip
 an elevator slid open behind her
 the corridor lights were blue case stepped out of the el
evator and chose a direction at random numbered doors a
hush like the halls of an expensive clinic
 he found his cubicle hed been looking for mollys now
confused he raised his chip and placed it against a black sensor
set directly beneath the number plate
 magnetic locks the sound reminded him of cheap hotel
 the girl sat up in bed and said something in german her
eyes were soft and unblinking automatic pilot a neural cut 
out he backed out of the cubicle and closed the door
 the door of fortythree was like all the others he hesitated 
the silence of the hallway said that the cubicles were sound
proof it was pointless to try the chip he rapped his knuckles
against enameled metal nothing the door seemed to absorb
the sound
 he placed his chip against the black plate
 the bolts clicked
 she seemed to hit him somehow before hed actually got
ten the door open he was on his knees the steel door against
his back the blades of her rigid thumbs quivering centimeters
from his eyes
 jesus christ she said cuffing the side of his head as she
rose youre an idiot to try that how the hell you open those
locks case case you okay she leaned over him
 chip he said struggling for breath pain was spreading
from his chest she helped him up and shoved him into the
cubicle
 you bribe the help upstairs
 he shook his head and fell across the bed
 breathe in count one two three four hold it now
out count
 he clutched his stomach
 you kicked me he managed
 shoulda been lower i wanna be alone im meditating
right she sat beside him and getting a briefing she pointed
at a small monitor set into the wall opposite the bed win
termutes telling me about straylight
 wheres the meat puppet
 there isnt any thats the most expensive special service
of all she stood up she wore her leather jeans and a loose
dark shirt the runs tomorrow wintermute says
 what was that all about in the restaurant how come you
ran
 cause if id stayed i might have killed riviera
 why
 what he did to me the show
 i dont get it
 this cost a lot she said extending her right hand as
though it held an invisible fruit the five blades slid out then
retracted smoothly costs to go to chiba costs to get the
surgery costs to have them jack your nervous system up so
youll have the reflexes to go with the gear you know how
i got the money when i was starting out here not here but
a place like it in the sprawl joke to start with cause once
they plant the cutout chip it seems like free money wake up
sore sometimes but thats it renting the goods is all you
arent in when its all happening house has software for
whatever a customer wants to pay for she cracked her
knuckles fine i was getting my money trouble was the
cutout and the circuitry the chiba clinics put in werent com
patible so the worktime started bleeding in and i could re
member it but it was just bad dreams and not all bad 
she smiled then it started getting strange she pulled his
cigarettes from his pocket and lit one the house found out
what i was doing with the money i had the blades in but the
fine neuromotor work would take another three trips no way
i was ready to give up puppet time she inhaled blew out a
stream of smoke capping it with three perfect rings so the
bastard who ran the place he had some custom software cooked
up berlin thats the place for snuff you know big market
for mean kicks berlin i never knew who wrote the program
they switched me to but it was based on all the classics
 they knew you were picking up on this stuff that you
were conscious while you were working
 i wasnt conscious its like cyberspace but blank silver 
it smells like rain you can see yourself orgasm its like
a little nova right out on the rim of space but i was starting
to remember like dreams you know and they didnt tell me 
they switched the software and started renting to specialty
markets
 she seemed to speak from a distance and i knew but i
kept quiet about it i needed the money the dreams got worse
and worse and id tell myself that at least some of them were
just dreams but by then id started to figure that the boss h...

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

	(9%)	case molly thing back left im head asked didnt began ...
	(8%)	eyes man hed black face dark past good open back ...
	(8%)	chip stage stuff dreams glass knuckles leaned house decided honda ...
	(7%)	hand youre looked hands back time wall place small whats ...
	(6%)	lights hold started shaking cubicle wrong money wine sound candles ...
	(6%)	riviera armitage freeside passed wanna cut plastic palm nose yeah ...
	(5%)	bed bruce verne jules cath desiderata lupus derm place naked ...

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