Spaceland by Rudy Rucker Page A

get through playing blackjack,” said Jena. Her cheeks were pink with excitement. “We’ll retire!” She burst into song. “Take this job and shove it! …”
    â€œEven so, I don’t want to get into trouble,” I said. “Kencom’s right on our way. It’s Saturday. Nobody will be there but Spazz.”

    Driving wasn’t as hard as I’d thought it might be. I was getting better and better at filtering out the subtle vision of things I didn’t need to see—things like the engine under my hood, the rocks under the road, and the insides of the other cars.
    The only vehicle in the Kencom lot was Spazz’s red motorcycle. I got Jena to help me get the 3Set inside the building; she held the doors for me so I wouldn’t have to set the thing down.
    Spazz was there at his screen as usual, tapping his nose ring and occasionally typing. I could see into his body and sense how it felt. Hungry, lungs congested, a bit of a backache. But I Couldn’t read his thoughts any more than I could Jena’s.
    â€œToo late,” said Spazz, looking over at me. “Ken already called the cops.”
    â€œOh no!” I cried.
    Spazz was seized by rhythmic spasms, making a noise that was a mixture of laughs and coughs. “Joke, boss-man, joke,” he finally got out. He was wearing a different T-shirt today, a cartoon of a man with his head up his butt and a label saying YOUR2CHEEK BUG.
    Now Spazz noticed Jena. “Hi, Jena!” he said. “Ready for that motorcycle ride to Big Sur?”
    â€œI have no idea what we said to each other last night,” said Jena, smiling prettily. “Don’t hold me to it. It was another century, my dear.” Thanks to my subtle vision, I could sense her heart beating a little faster. She was actually interested in Spazz. I hadn’t realized that before.
    â€œYou’d dig it on my bike,” Spazz was slowly murmuring, his body buzzing as much as Jena’s. “It’s like flying. But maybe today’s a little too chilly. Especially with your husband in here.” He turned his attention back to me. I was screwing with the cables, getting the 3Set hooked back up, not looking directly at him.
    â€œSo the 3Set didn’t work so good, huh?” said Spazz from behind me, his expression a mixture of pity and contempt. “I’ve been think
ing about some things to try. I’m glad you brought it back. I’m gonna see what happens if I trade off some of the frame rate for increased resolution. You mentioned that you left it running while we were at the bar. Did it look any different when you got home?”
    â€œUh—no,” I said. Jena and I had agreed that we’d keep my subtle vision a secret for now. “It looked the same.”
    â€œLet’s have a look,” said Spazz, turning it on. The Rose Bowl parade appeared, little floats moving across the bottom of the 3Set tank.
    â€œJena and I better get rolling,” I said. “We’re driving up to Tahoe for the day.”
    â€œSnowboarding?” said Spazz, mildly interested.
    â€œWe’re gonna hit the casinos,” said Jena, pursing her lips. She didn’t say more than that. I knew it was killing her not to talk about our plan. Jena hated to keep secrets.
    Spazz let out a sudden bark of a cough, staring at something over my shoulder. “Who’s your friend?” he asked. I’d been so busy watching Spazz and Jena look at each other that I hadn’t stayed aware of the door behind me. Hut now I put some of my attention back there, and, oh God, it was Momo.
    I turned around and looked at her with my regular eyes. She was presenting herself differently from yesterday. She didn’t look all jiggly and deformed. She looked, in fact, almost like a regular woman. A blonde, imposing woman, somewhat overweight, with a wide mouth and bright eyes. The mouth was hard to read; it was somewhere