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145 lines
4.2 KiB
Text
145 lines
4.2 KiB
Text
.LP
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.ce
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.ps 16
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.CW
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SHELL OUT
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.R
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.ps 8
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.CW
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tags: 1969, christopher, frankie_willard, tab2
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.R
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.PP
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.ps 10
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When you lay your shell down on the street, you have to expect that
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someone is going to come along and pick it up. Frankie considered this
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self\-evident fact to be ample justification for his scooping up the
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small piece of equipment and dropping it into his pocket. So far as he
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could tell, no one had noticed him retrieving the device. Out on the
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street, such random finds were rare.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Now, if only he could figure out what it was supposed to be.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Thomas Bright immediately recognized the shell's function. He
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observed his friend's actions and contrived to take the object away
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from him. By force, if necessary.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Presently, he asserted himself.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Hey Frankie," he yelled.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The fight unspooled quickly, with Thomas shrugging off an abrasion
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and Frankie doubling over on the pavement, nursing a lacerated fist
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that had rolled through a patch of broken glass. Frankie's attempt at
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securing a headlock had proven ineffective.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Thomas surveyed the battlefield, projecting a wide, mischievous
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grin from beneath his visor.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"What?" asked Frankie.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The display of glistening of teeth had set Frankie's legs to
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feeling remarkably naked beneath the hem of his cargo shorts. With all
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of his extra equipment, Thomas was more resourceful than Frankie had
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supposed.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"How many of my cigarettes would you say you burn through in a
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week?" Thomas asked, gesturing pointedly and exhaling imaginary smoke
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into Frankie's face.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Blocks of light exchanged positions in front of Thomas' eyes.
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Discharges of air escaped through his lips at regular intervals as he
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considered how to attach Frankie's shell to his home feed. It was
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imperative to dump the shell's contents into temporary storage as
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quickly as possible. By the time Thomas had established connectivity
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with the mesh, his errant verbalizations had organized themselves into
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a frivolous melody.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Christopher, for one, was unimpressed with the one\-off vocal
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performance. He observed that Thomas tended to drift off\-pitch, which
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was only partially ameliorated by the reverberations of the tiled
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bathroom walls.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Soaked in reverb, your off\-key caterwauling almost resolves into
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music," Chris stated, flatly.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Thanks," said Thomas.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"What's the point of booting up this device if we can't connect it
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to our other equipment?"
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"I'm appalled by your doubt. As well as your seeming inability to
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negotiate novel obstacles," Thomas complained. He laid down his tool
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on the counter and replaced it with another from his toolbox. "Please
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observe as I perform the necessary operations to bring this device's
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configuration into parity with our extant systems and software."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"But Thomas, this piece of equipment doesn't conform to open
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standards. Carrying out your plans would be at cross\-purposes to our
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SOP; the greater work of populating our testbeds with only
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.I
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legally unencumbered
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.R
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technologies."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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As the dialogue progressed, Thomas worked the casing off of the
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shell and proceeded to probe its internals. After a brief interlude of
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utter silence, he let out a whoop and spun around to present the
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results of his efforts.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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A holographic image of Thomas flickered into existence,
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approximately four inches above the device. The projection aped
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Thomas' every word and movement, allowing for a slight delay.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Just because you can modify it doesn't make it
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.I
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free
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.R
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\(emthat is,
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er, redistributable," Chris tried to quip, but it had come out all
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wrong, mixed\-up, as a wave of dizziness seemed to be interfering with
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his verbal faculties. "You can't even sell the thing now."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Oh, give me some credit. I don't
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.I
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plan
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.R
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on selling it. Hand me the
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smallest forceps."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Chris could no longer tell if he was getting dizzy or merely
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getting confused.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Then why are we wasting time examining it?" he asked.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Thomas looked up at him, perturbed.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"For the funk of it," he said, and then added, "I'm going to fine
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you if you keep asking me these stupid questions."
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