Dreaming…’
‘More than that. We let him have the flatties he wanted. He used them in an unprecedented fashion, Ms Bishopric. He’s lodged himself into an Yggdrasil file and is Dreaming up his own private universe, furnished with the externals of those old vids. We’ve lost track of it. It expands as we tap in. Physically, he is still here, kept alive by the tank. But inside his head he’s free.’
‘More than free,’ said the governor. ‘He’s God.’
‘So, pull the plug.’
‘Strange as it may seem, we thought of that. Daine has done a good job of melshing with Yggdrasil. And with our fail-safe power plant. His body is in a coma. That dreaming cradle is bio-attached. It’s growing through his brain, through his body. It would take a team of andrew surgeons years to bum the filaments out, and we’d have to kill him in the process. If we just cut the power input and pull his master tape, his mind would be wiped like a printstrip. As you know, that’s legally murder.’
‘If jailbreaking is suicide, then surely he’s legally killed himself anyway.’
‘A good point, Ms Bishopric. Personally, I’d like to argue it after the fact with Truro Daine’s expensive battery of lawyers. However, the
corpus
is still in my care. The Gunmint has been up all night talking this out, and I’m their servant. They want him back.’
Susan could see it coming from a long way off, getting bigger on the horizon. There wasn’t any escape for her either.
Dr Groome palmed the tankslab and played with some readings. ‘We can’t drag him out of his Dream, Ms Bishopric, but we can introduce you into it. That would change the whole frame of reference.’
Juliet looked her in the eyes. ‘You kill him, Susan. If he dies in the Dream, the Dream dies with him.’
‘The marshal is right,’ said the doctor. ‘Daine is playing in his own mental backyard. That’s relatively small right now, but it’s growing in the Yggdrasil file like a virus. Subjectively, it’s city-sized at the moment. In a week, he may have made himself a continent. Then a world, then a universe, whatever. We could hook up an army and send them in, and they’d never find him. It has to be now.’
‘And it has to be you,’ said Trefusis. ‘Once you’re inside you should be at least as powerful as he is. You’re a Dreamer. You have more experience than him. We think you can shape his Dream, pull it apart around him.’
‘That would be another experience for your list, Governor. Even Daine doesn’t know what it’s like to be a deicide.’
‘That’s the spirit.’
‘To kill God. That sounds dangerous.’
Dr Groome gave a list a check. ‘There are risks. We don’t want to conceal them. You are free to refuse.’
‘Because this is a free society, right? The Gunmint just has my best interests at heart?’
Dr Groome looked down at her list. Juliet turned her head and adjusted her hair. Governor Trefusis outstared her. ‘In a free society, every citizen is obliged to protect their freedom. The Gunmint can be persuasive.’
Susan turned away from the officials, looking for an ex. There wasn’t one, but she would have felt bad if she hadn’t at least looked. She flash-forwarded a newsclip. There was Orin Tredway in a purple tuxedo, holding up a Rodney statuette and mouthing sincerities. ‘Susie can’t be with us tonight as you all know, but as her personal friend I’m honoured to accept this for her…’ Susan shivered, unable to tell, as usual, the difference between fantasy and premonition.
‘One more question,’ she said.
‘Yes?’
‘Who’s in the other tank?’
PART II
THE BARD OF THE BOULEVARD
7
I n Chinatown, the streets were narrower, cluttered with produce stalls – open even this late – and mysterious tents. I had an idea I could hide out there for a while, maybe rest up, maybe make a connection who could get me out of the City. The cops would be watching the bus station and the railroad terminal, but maybe I
‘More than that. We let him have the flatties he wanted. He used them in an unprecedented fashion, Ms Bishopric. He’s lodged himself into an Yggdrasil file and is Dreaming up his own private universe, furnished with the externals of those old vids. We’ve lost track of it. It expands as we tap in. Physically, he is still here, kept alive by the tank. But inside his head he’s free.’
‘More than free,’ said the governor. ‘He’s God.’
‘So, pull the plug.’
‘Strange as it may seem, we thought of that. Daine has done a good job of melshing with Yggdrasil. And with our fail-safe power plant. His body is in a coma. That dreaming cradle is bio-attached. It’s growing through his brain, through his body. It would take a team of andrew surgeons years to bum the filaments out, and we’d have to kill him in the process. If we just cut the power input and pull his master tape, his mind would be wiped like a printstrip. As you know, that’s legally murder.’
‘If jailbreaking is suicide, then surely he’s legally killed himself anyway.’
‘A good point, Ms Bishopric. Personally, I’d like to argue it after the fact with Truro Daine’s expensive battery of lawyers. However, the
corpus
is still in my care. The Gunmint has been up all night talking this out, and I’m their servant. They want him back.’
Susan could see it coming from a long way off, getting bigger on the horizon. There wasn’t any escape for her either.
Dr Groome palmed the tankslab and played with some readings. ‘We can’t drag him out of his Dream, Ms Bishopric, but we can introduce you into it. That would change the whole frame of reference.’
Juliet looked her in the eyes. ‘You kill him, Susan. If he dies in the Dream, the Dream dies with him.’
‘The marshal is right,’ said the doctor. ‘Daine is playing in his own mental backyard. That’s relatively small right now, but it’s growing in the Yggdrasil file like a virus. Subjectively, it’s city-sized at the moment. In a week, he may have made himself a continent. Then a world, then a universe, whatever. We could hook up an army and send them in, and they’d never find him. It has to be now.’
‘And it has to be you,’ said Trefusis. ‘Once you’re inside you should be at least as powerful as he is. You’re a Dreamer. You have more experience than him. We think you can shape his Dream, pull it apart around him.’
‘That would be another experience for your list, Governor. Even Daine doesn’t know what it’s like to be a deicide.’
‘That’s the spirit.’
‘To kill God. That sounds dangerous.’
Dr Groome gave a list a check. ‘There are risks. We don’t want to conceal them. You are free to refuse.’
‘Because this is a free society, right? The Gunmint just has my best interests at heart?’
Dr Groome looked down at her list. Juliet turned her head and adjusted her hair. Governor Trefusis outstared her. ‘In a free society, every citizen is obliged to protect their freedom. The Gunmint can be persuasive.’
Susan turned away from the officials, looking for an ex. There wasn’t one, but she would have felt bad if she hadn’t at least looked. She flash-forwarded a newsclip. There was Orin Tredway in a purple tuxedo, holding up a Rodney statuette and mouthing sincerities. ‘Susie can’t be with us tonight as you all know, but as her personal friend I’m honoured to accept this for her…’ Susan shivered, unable to tell, as usual, the difference between fantasy and premonition.
‘One more question,’ she said.
‘Yes?’
‘Who’s in the other tank?’
PART II
THE BARD OF THE BOULEVARD
7
I n Chinatown, the streets were narrower, cluttered with produce stalls – open even this late – and mysterious tents. I had an idea I could hide out there for a while, maybe rest up, maybe make a connection who could get me out of the City. The cops would be watching the bus station and the railroad terminal, but maybe I
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