Stations of the Tide Michael Swanwick

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."Goguette! Come in, let me take your cloak.Have you eaten yet? What brings you here so early?""I'll take some berry tea." Goguette sat at the table."I've come to share the jubilee with my little sister.There's nothing wrong with that, is there?""No, of course not.Oh! Mousket's on deck."A large, heroically breasted military type faded in, all jaw and dark purpose."Mousket," Goguettesaid."She's the commandant, right?""Yes.She's having an affair with the pilot." A quick glimpse of a slim, straight-built man with cynicaleyes.To the bureaucrat she said, "He is an extremely private man.The public nature of their loveembarrasses, humiliates, arouses him.That only makes it the sweeter for her.She savors his abasement.""Excuse me," the bureaucrat said."How do you know all this?""Didn't you notice my earrings?" Marivaud brushed back a curtain of braids, exposing an ear all coraland cream.From it hung an amber leaf, silver-veined and delicate as a dragon's wing.The image swelledso he could see the embedded elements of a television transceiver, signal processor, and neural feed.Itwas an elegantly simple arrangement that would let her effortlessly employ all electronic skills: She mighttalk with friends, receive entertainments, preserve a particularly beautiful sunrise, copy an Old Masterdrawing in her own hand, do research, take and teach educational courses, or transmit her dreams formachine analysis, at her whim.It made her brain a node within an invisible empire of interactivity, theperfect focus of a circle so infinitely large its center was everywhere, its circumference nowhere."Even the offworlders didn't have these," she said."We were the first to combine everything into onecontinuous medium.It was like being in two worlds at once, like having a second, unseen life.This waswhen you offworlders were creating that awkward mnemonic palace of yours.Our method was superior.If it hadn't been for the Atlantis incident, you would be a part of it now.""By God, you're talking about the Trauma!" the bureaucrat cried in rising horror."There was a shipinvolved -- that must have been the Atlantis! Everyone on it was wired for continuous broadcast.""Do you want to listen to this story or narrate it yourself? Yes, of course the crew were all actors,improvisors -- what do you call people who lead lives of shaped intensity in order to create publicdramas?""I don't think we have them anymore.What are they doing to the haunts?""Fitting them with broadcast chips, of course.What did you think this project was all about?""Why would you want to do such a thing?""That is exactly what I ask her myself!" Goguette said."There are so many refined, educational, andenriching experiences available on the net.Why waste your life listening in on creatures little better thananimals?""Ah, but such splendid animals!" Marivaud giggled."But we are getting away from our story.You" --she addressed the bureaucrat directly -- "can experience only the middle range of this.You miss the littlethings, the burn of rope in chafed hand, Ocean's smell, the chill of a salt breeze across your arm.And thegrand emotions you can only sense from the outside.There is no way we can share more than a fractionof this with you.So I will show you two minor players, a ghostnetter and a flash-surgeon.Their truenames have been lost, so I will give the ghostnetter the offworld name of Underbill.The flash-surgeon Iwill name -- Gogo, after my sister." Goguette punched her shoulder, she laughed, and they were gone.On deck, the flash-surgeonbolstered her gun.She wiped her brow with the back of her arm, glanced up past the mast-high cranes tosee Caliban high above, a disk of ice melting in blue sky.Then down again to see haunts' headsappearing and disappearing above the water.She strolled over to the nearest projector."My God," she said."They're beautiful."Underbill looked up from his screen, flashed a smile."This is the last sounding.When they're done,our job is over." His hands were delicate on the controls.The projector swiveled slightly, and the ghostnet swung an arc forward."Watch that group out there." Into a microphone he said, "Point one."Cut to the other projector.Its operator swiveled in the opposite direction."Point one."Far away black dots appeared and disappeared in the water.The ghost net crept closer, its progresstraceable by the hissing line of bubbles along its length.The sounding changed direction, angling away."Clever little babies," Underbill muttered."Don't you run away from me."The two lines of white bubbles were slowly converging now, like a giant pair of scissors closing.Thehaunts caught between the ghost nets fled toward open sea.A few broke away from the main pack anddoubled back through the ghost net."Oh!" Gogo cried."They're getting away."That confident grin again.Underbill brushed back his hair."No, those are ones we caught earlier, withyour chips telling them they can go through."Gogo was bouncing up and down on her toes in excitement.She looked very young, almost a child."Oh! Are you sure? Yes, of course.""Relax.Even if we let a few get away -- what would it hurt?""There are so few of them left," Gogo said wistfully."So very few.We should have chipped themwhile they were still ashore."Distractedly, staring down at his screens with perfect concentration, Underbill said, "It wasn't possibleto find them all while they were on land.They're elusive, you know that." Into the microphone he said,"Point three.""Point three."The lines of bubbles were closing.Gogo stared off at them."Sometimes I wonder should we be doingthis at all?"He looked up at her with frank wonder."Do you?""It hurts them!" Softly: "I hurt them."Underbill was perfectly intent on his screen."It was not so long ago that the indigenes were almostextinct.It was all our own fault.Unwise policies, disease -- people even hunted them in the early years.Do you know what put an end to all that?""What?""The first time an indigene was chipped into the net.The first time people could feel sensation with thatpurity and clean zest they feel.The first--""The first time people could run with them through the magical night, wind in hair, to hunt and mate,"Gogo breathed.She blushed prettily."I know it's kind of sick.""That's what I say," Goguette interpolated."Oh, poof!" Marivaud said."If you're not enjoying this, there are other shows for you to experience.""No, it's not!" Underbill said firmly."There's nothing wrong with that.It's a natural, healthful thing tobe interested in the physical side of love.It shows you have a lively interest in life.Point five," he said,"and locking.""Point five and locking."A third ghostnetter snapped on his projector, and a new line of bubbles capped the other two.Thepack of haunts wheeled in confusion.Slowly the last ghost net began to draw them in.The craneoperator began moving her scoop into position."Your turn soon.""I'll be ready," she said.Then, "You're easy to talk to.""Thank you." He studied her."What's really bothering you?"Her fingers closed on the grip of her gun, opened again."I'm afraid it won't be so good.I mean, withthem in winter morph.""You mean you haven't tried them?""I was afraid."Underbill smiled."Try."She hesitated, then nodded [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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