understand why he needs to recharge. We have made history here, and we shall never be forgotten!”
Dirk glanced at Yuri and said, “You got dat right.” He turned to Zeug and said, “You forget anything, paleface?”
Yuri interrupted, telling Zeug, “Mr Ngma is asking you whether your memory has the capacity to forget.”
“I forget very little,” Zeug replied. “My goal is to forget nothing.”
And then Zeug sat upright, as if alerted by an inaudible alarm.
Hound too sat up and turned his head. “I feel something, man,” he said.
Leonora put her hand on the table. “An earthquake?”
Hound jumped to his feet. “Copters. Evacuate!”
CHAPTER 5
Tsuneko June sat in a public caf with a mug of coffee before her. Despite an extensive search, she had found nothing in and around Valletta. Had that location been faked during the secret conversations?
An Oriental man sat opposite her, appearing, it seemed, out of lemon-scented night. She jumped.
“Who are you?”
He nodded. “I am your contact for tonight.”
“From...?”
He nodded again. “Tortoiseshell is pleased with your work so far, but speed is essential. If the AIteam suspect you are here they will vanish.”
“But I don’t know what any of them look like! I told you.”
“We know. When we monitor your jaunts, we look at the responses of those around you, hoping to see an expression of shock. Such an expression would mark out, for instance, Hound.”
“Hound was my contact, but I don’t know anything about him. He could be a Martian.”
“Do not worry about that aspect of our search. We know Hound must be one of a limited number of nexus witch doctors because of the exceptionally high quality of the AIteam’s security work. We have all the likely faces and physiques on file. Even if Hound has had plastic surgery, dyed his hair, taken to wearing contact lenses, we will locate him. Our computers see through all disguises.”
Tsuneko shuddered. “They’ll have left Malta by now.”
“Possibly – if they are here at all. There is much doubt. But they will depart only if they have seen you. Keep travelling, keep moving. Let as many local people see you as possible. We believe we will see the facial reaction we seek.”
Tsuneko glanced out into the solbike-infested night. LED strings shone from posts that once carried telegraph wires. “Why haven’t you paid me yet?” She thrust her duocard in the direction of the Oriental.
“Half at the beginning, half when we find the AIteam. That was the deal.”
She put the duocard into her pocket. “I don’t trust you.”
“Nobody trusts us, ” came the reply. The man’s face remained impassive. “But this is not a question of trust. Our relationship is financial. If we succeed, Tortoiseshell may well induct you into his team.”
“For life.”
“Tortoiseshell knows no other way.”
Tsuneko sighed. She felt confused, upset. “What if I want to join the AIteam?” she said. “I didn’t like the way Manfred took his research. Would you stop me?”
“There will be no AIteam soon. You will either have to apply for a job with a Pacific Rim company, or, perhaps, you will join the team I work for. Too much is uncertain at the moment for me to make any meaningful guess. You mind me saying this?”
Tsuneko wiped tears from her cheeks. “It’s not how I imagined my contract ending,” she remarked. “I invented biograins, you must want me. You must help me.”
“You did not invent biograins, you developed them to the point that they became commercially viable. I say this not to denigrate your achievement. And, speaking personally, I think it is more likely than not that Tortoiseshell will want to employ you.”
“Some hope. Not much for me from the sound of it.”
“When we start out in life we do not imagine its end. Such is the way of things. Your circumstance is hardly unique.”
“You don’t sound very sympathetic.”
“If it’s sympathy you want, find a man. I
Dirk glanced at Yuri and said, “You got dat right.” He turned to Zeug and said, “You forget anything, paleface?”
Yuri interrupted, telling Zeug, “Mr Ngma is asking you whether your memory has the capacity to forget.”
“I forget very little,” Zeug replied. “My goal is to forget nothing.”
And then Zeug sat upright, as if alerted by an inaudible alarm.
Hound too sat up and turned his head. “I feel something, man,” he said.
Leonora put her hand on the table. “An earthquake?”
Hound jumped to his feet. “Copters. Evacuate!”
CHAPTER 5
Tsuneko June sat in a public caf with a mug of coffee before her. Despite an extensive search, she had found nothing in and around Valletta. Had that location been faked during the secret conversations?
An Oriental man sat opposite her, appearing, it seemed, out of lemon-scented night. She jumped.
“Who are you?”
He nodded. “I am your contact for tonight.”
“From...?”
He nodded again. “Tortoiseshell is pleased with your work so far, but speed is essential. If the AIteam suspect you are here they will vanish.”
“But I don’t know what any of them look like! I told you.”
“We know. When we monitor your jaunts, we look at the responses of those around you, hoping to see an expression of shock. Such an expression would mark out, for instance, Hound.”
“Hound was my contact, but I don’t know anything about him. He could be a Martian.”
“Do not worry about that aspect of our search. We know Hound must be one of a limited number of nexus witch doctors because of the exceptionally high quality of the AIteam’s security work. We have all the likely faces and physiques on file. Even if Hound has had plastic surgery, dyed his hair, taken to wearing contact lenses, we will locate him. Our computers see through all disguises.”
Tsuneko shuddered. “They’ll have left Malta by now.”
“Possibly – if they are here at all. There is much doubt. But they will depart only if they have seen you. Keep travelling, keep moving. Let as many local people see you as possible. We believe we will see the facial reaction we seek.”
Tsuneko glanced out into the solbike-infested night. LED strings shone from posts that once carried telegraph wires. “Why haven’t you paid me yet?” She thrust her duocard in the direction of the Oriental.
“Half at the beginning, half when we find the AIteam. That was the deal.”
She put the duocard into her pocket. “I don’t trust you.”
“Nobody trusts us, ” came the reply. The man’s face remained impassive. “But this is not a question of trust. Our relationship is financial. If we succeed, Tortoiseshell may well induct you into his team.”
“For life.”
“Tortoiseshell knows no other way.”
Tsuneko sighed. She felt confused, upset. “What if I want to join the AIteam?” she said. “I didn’t like the way Manfred took his research. Would you stop me?”
“There will be no AIteam soon. You will either have to apply for a job with a Pacific Rim company, or, perhaps, you will join the team I work for. Too much is uncertain at the moment for me to make any meaningful guess. You mind me saying this?”
Tsuneko wiped tears from her cheeks. “It’s not how I imagined my contract ending,” she remarked. “I invented biograins, you must want me. You must help me.”
“You did not invent biograins, you developed them to the point that they became commercially viable. I say this not to denigrate your achievement. And, speaking personally, I think it is more likely than not that Tortoiseshell will want to employ you.”
“Some hope. Not much for me from the sound of it.”
“When we start out in life we do not imagine its end. Such is the way of things. Your circumstance is hardly unique.”
“You don’t sound very sympathetic.”
“If it’s sympathy you want, find a man. I
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