mirror of
git://git.9front.org/plan9front/plan9front
synced 2025-01-12 11:10:06 +00:00
124 lines
4 KiB
Text
124 lines
4 KiB
Text
.LP
|
|
.ce
|
|
.ps 16
|
|
.CW
|
|
CALL, WAITING
|
|
.R
|
|
|
|
.ps 8
|
|
.CW
|
|
tags: 1977, eva, tab2
|
|
.R
|
|
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
The whole side of the building is green. I see I've come all the
|
|
way out here again for nothing.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
I'm slow packing up my gear. The day has already evaporated around
|
|
me. Might as well soak the trip for billable hours.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
This happens every week. I've yet to be given the go ahead on an
|
|
operation\(emat all, actually. The work is easy, but dragging out my
|
|
gear just to sit here in the dark is humiliating. If I didn't need the
|
|
money I would withdraw my registration.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
The sun has not quite vanished. There are still a smattering of
|
|
locals out and about on the street. I decide to finish my report here,
|
|
while I'm still on the scene. I finger the leaf out of my coat pocket
|
|
and expand its display. As soon as I light the screen, four messages
|
|
appear, each edging its neighbor out of the way in accordance with an
|
|
algorithm deemed intuitive by emotionally bereft software engineers.
|
|
Presently, desktop real estate on the hand\-held is at a premium.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
All of the messages are from Eva.
|
|
|
|
.ps 8
|
|
.CW
|
|
Message 1: 16:01 Are you coming in to work today? :)
|
|
.br
|
|
Message 2: 16:03 I know you're in there, I can see the light from your
|
|
leaf reflecting in the mirror and peeking out of the curtains. Should
|
|
I send over a a tray of makizushi, or just keep it to myself?
|
|
.br
|
|
Message 3: 16:07 FINE THEN! I'M GOING ON BREAK.
|
|
.br
|
|
Message 4: 16:16 Why won't you talk to me?
|
|
.R
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
There are numerous relevant answers to her question, but I'm not
|
|
about to entangle myself in a discussion. I close all four message
|
|
windows with an index finger and bring up the report template. Light
|
|
from the window continues to leak into my room, coaxing abstract
|
|
reflections from the dresser mirror. Dusk always wreaks havoc with my
|
|
visor and its ability to read the screen of my leaf. I end up leaving
|
|
the visor off, missing out on a lot of calculating I could be doing
|
|
while I pretend to work.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
There is a sound I don't like, out in the hallway, and suddenly
|
|
I've got my pistol out, working my finger into its trigger guard and
|
|
inserting a clip of ammunition. After a few moments I put the firearm
|
|
back in my bag. It was only the landlady's cat.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
So.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
On to my report.
|
|
|
|
.ps 8
|
|
.CW
|
|
19:04 NOTHING HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. I RECEIVED THE ALL\-CLEAR SIGNAL AT
|
|
19:00 PER THE SCHEDULE AND SO RETURNED ALL INSTRUMENTATION TO ITS
|
|
STORAGE CASE AND SHUT DOWN THE TRANSMITTER. SIGNING OFF TO RETURN TO
|
|
THE REAL WORLD. EOF.
|
|
.R
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
I encrypt the message with my thumb and send it on its way.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
As I'm gathering my things, my mind wanders to my fellow agents,
|
|
spread out across diverse countries and kingdoms, who must also have
|
|
been called out and then sent back home without seeing any action. I
|
|
wonder about their frustrations with the tedious ins and outs of the
|
|
business. Surely we'd have a lot in common. Not that we'll ever meet.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
I'm not long in dusting the chair and table. I wrap my shirt around
|
|
my hand, then lightly grip the doorknob and vacate before I'm noticed.
|
|
My visor tells me the landlady is rounding the corner, two blocks
|
|
away, returning home with a bag full of groceries. I follow the path
|
|
my visor has illuminated until I reach a public transport, which it
|
|
flags as off\-limits. Instead, I hop into a taxi.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
By the time I arrive at home I've decided against more studying. I
|
|
pull up a telescreen window and lean back in my bed, trying to get
|
|
some rest. I wonder who we
|
|
.I
|
|
did
|
|
.R
|
|
decide to blow up today. I'm always
|
|
kept close to potential action scenes, even if I'm never actually
|
|
ordered to intervene. It's probably the same with all of us.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
I fall asleep just as the answer to my query hits the scroll. A
|
|
group of wailing women are brought up on screen to provide visual
|
|
context for the hour's headline story.
|
|
.PP
|
|
.ps 10
|
|
My visor flags the clip for my attention, but I don't remember what
|
|
happens next. It's unlikely I'll remember to review this in the
|
|
morning.
|