|
Newo
~ Abstract Brain ~
Spain
2674 Posts |
 Posted - 02/21/2005 : 12:55:50
|
...What is it you're after?"
"Uh, information." Gee, this stuff tastes like Moxie...
"Oh, another one." Giving Slothrop a sour look. Life was simple before the first war. You wouldn't remember. Drugs, sex, luxury items. Currency in those days was no more than a sideline, and the term 'industrial espionage' was unknown. But I've seen it change - oh, how it,s changed. The German inflation, that should've been my clue right there, zeros strung end to end from here to Berlin. I would have stern talks with myself. 'Semyavin, it's only a temporary lapse away from reality. A small aberration, nothing to worry about. Act as you always have - strength of character, good mental health. Courage, Semyavin! Soon all will be back to normal.' But you know what?"
"Let me guess."
A tragic sigh. "Information? What's wrong with dope and women? Is it any wonder the world's gone insane, with information come to be the only real means of exchange?"
"I thought it was cigarettes."
"You dream." He brings out a list of Zurich cafes and gathering spots. Under Espionage, Industrial, Slothrop finds three. Ultra, Lichtspiel, and Straggeli. They are on both banks of the Limmat, and widely spaced.
"Footwork," folding the slip in an oversize zoot-suit pocket.
"It'll get easier. Someday it'll all be done by machine. Information machines. You are the wave of the future."
--
"Here love," brakes on a high squeak, "itīs not backstage at the old Windmill or something, you know." |
|
What is it you're after?
