The first time I met Ernest Rausch he hadn’t seemed scary, just weird. I had almost felt sorry for him, even though he had been rude and dismissive. I figured he was one of those guys who had never got a date in high school, so he avenged himself on the world by acting all snooty and superior. There are a lot of guys like that working at ACPOD.
But here in his lab, caught red-handed snooping through his computer, I found his gangly, spiderlike body and his pointy goatee plenty scary.
He closed the door and shot the dead bolt.
“Oh!” I said.
“Oh?” he replied.
“I mean . . . ” I stood up. “I was just leaving.”
He closed the door. “But you just got here!”
“That’s okay. I have to go. Somebody’s waiting for me.” I took a tentative step toward the door. He did not step aside.
“I see you’ve met my friends,” he said.
“I hate you,” the cat said, then followed it up with a hiss.
“Not very friendly friends,” I said.
Rausch smiled. It was not a nice smile, more of a gotcha smirk.
“Ms. Crump, I do not usually accept walk-in clients, but for you I will make an exception.”
“Um . . . I don’t think I’m actually a client.” I did not want to be included in his Client Key file folder. What I wanted was to get OUT. Like, NOW! Where was Billy? Where was the AG-3601? Where was Gertrude?
“Of course you are,” Rausch said. “Your father is a big fan of my REMEMBER system.”
“I don’t know if ‘fan’ is the right word,” I said.
“Everybody loves REMEMBER! Why, your friend Billy has the entire text of A Comprehensive History of the United States stored in his head. He can name every vice president, the names of their wives and children, and the names of their pets!” He spread his arms triumphantly. “How wonderful is that?”
“I see what you mean,” I said, by which I meant, I see that you are completely insane.
“What would you like to know, Ginger?”
“Um . . . I would like to go now,” I said.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Think of this as an opportunity! Why, for you, I’m willing to waive my usual fee.”
“Look, I’m sorry I came in here without permission. I won’t say anything to anybody.”
“Say anything? To whom? About what? I have no secrets.”
“What about them?” I pointed at the cages.
“My pets? I am breaking no laws.”
“I hate you,” said the cat.
“You’re stealing people’s memories.”
“Not true! I am bestowing the gift of memories. Useful memories. Why should you clutter your mind with what you had for breakfast this morning when you could be enjoying the knowledge of the ages?”
“I’m leaving now,” I said.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” He set his bag on the floor and opened it to reveal a gray plastic cube about the size of a four-slice toaster. “Not until I demonstrate REMEMBER.”
I made a dash for the door. Rausch shot out a long arm and snagged me as I tried to pass. I twisted out of his grasp and was fumbling with the dead bolt when he pulled a small object from his pocket and pointed it at me. I had about a tenth of a second to recognize the Projac before he pressed the trigger. The Projac made a ghaaak sound, and that’s the last thing I remembered.