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125 lines
3.4 KiB
Text
125 lines
3.4 KiB
Text
.LP
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.ce
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.ps 16
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.CW
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VISOR TECHNOLOGY
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.R
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.ps 8
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.CW
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tags: 1964, actron, tab1, tab2, the_chief
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.R
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The new gear seemed to suit Tommy fine.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Indeed, over the past month he'd hardly complained. The visor
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allowed him to dominate. Sometimes even with the older boys. Now, he
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came home with money in his pocket.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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He still hadn't been drafted.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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When I'd sent him to the clinic, I was only vaguely aware of what
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they might install in his head. This modern equipment was beyond my
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expertise. Above my pay grade, as we used to say. Now, it looked as if
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some improvements had been pushed to Tommy's firmware, even in the
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last fifteen minutes. All I could do was shake my head.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The tactical advantage was clear. I was just glad HQ had agreed to
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pay for it all.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Reagan was starting to concern us. Would he poison the public on
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Bush? J. K. Rowling might run for President in 1968. Naturally,
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something had to be done.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I decided to involve Tommy. I was allowed complete discretion when
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it came to personnel. I thought that with the enhancements he'd prove
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useful. At least as useful as before.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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And he had been pretty useful, before.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I got him out of bed and brought him in to work.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The Chief was having a bit of a problem with a can of bi\-partisan
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gravy.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"I can't get this spamming thing opened."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Tommy quickly found a weak spot in the can's lid, using his visor.
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"No problem," he said, and opened the can.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Next time, I'll just go with the low\-fat deli shtick."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"None of that stuff is very good for you," Tommy chided.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The Chief could only roll his eyes.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Well, shit on my Christmas! The boy's found another one."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Campaign contributions. We'd put Tommy on the trail of J. K.
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Rowling's backers. The financial streams were now running through the
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boy's system. He was even better at this than the machines.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"It's old man Jerrymander."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"The Molds," I said, making eye contact with Tommy.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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We'd had a hell of a time keeping this guy out of the race.
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Strictly speaking, he wasn't even legal; an immigrant from some border
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state that had been excluded from the new American union. But he'd
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leveraged his wealth to rig local rules in one of the communities he
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controlled. We'd missed it before it was too late. It had caused some
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friction here at HQ. Who was to blame? We all had a bit of a problem
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with Mold's politics.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"So I guess if he can't run, he'll put up a guy who can. Sounds
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like a good strategy to me."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"No, not analysis," I ordered. "You concentrate on the streams."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Yes Father," Tommy replied.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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After a while he seemed to tucker out. I brought up some comic
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books on my leaf and sent him over to a corner. The Chief had allowed
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his own son to tag along that day, and so the two of them spent a few
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hours together, chewing on slices of lunch meat and catching up on
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back issues of
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ACTRON\f(CW™\fR.
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Harmless entertainment, in my opinion.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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But Tommy had hit on something important. If Jerrymander Mold
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really was angling again to get his claws into the election, we could
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expect a lot of activity down south in the next few weeks. It was
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likely the attacks on the city would only intensify.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The boy's visor had amortized in only a month.
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