You nearly did, I told Mouse. I kept my attention focused on the car outside. I tried to discern if there was anyone still in the car, or not. Are those your henchmen here to finish the job?
Who? What? Mouse asked. What do you mean? I've been in your armor hiding from Phanuel, since you and that Kantowitcz character broke into my hub.
I focused on the LINK window. I tried to figure out which Mouse I was talking to. The image had the same dark, ruffled hair and round ears as the real-time Mouse. It was impossible to tell by looking. Page?
You know someone else who can live in your uniform? The page smiled with Mouse's face. This, by the way, is a rocking sweet home away from home. Those Israeli's have great tech. I'm thinking about converting. Do you think they'd let an AI be a Jew?
I have no idea, I muttered. I don't have time to chat, page. I've got some possible company here.
Hey, the page said. I'm not some companion software programmed just for your entertainment, I called for a reason. I wanted to warn you about Mouse.
Thanks, I said, as I looked around the room for something to prop the door shut with. But, I already figured Mouse was out to get me when he pulled the gun.
The page looked hurt. He did? I take it the body went to New York?
Yeah. In the closet was a piece of plywood I was using as a makeshift shelf. I quickly brushed my shoes off it into a pile and pulled the board from its brick supports. Pushing the board under the doorknob, I tested it for strength. It would hold for a while. With that, I commanded the uniform's holographic defenses to on and headed out the window onto the fire escape; I started down the ladder. Even though I knew I was invisible, I kept twisting around to check that no one in the car noticed me.
Bummer. The page's voice startled me; I'd forgotten he was there. Dee, whatever you do, don't access the LINK. Phanuel is after me, and Michael. ...
Michael? What, is he okay?
No, the page added. I found out he's going to be unleashed tonight at 0:00 GMT.
The LINK-Michael? Why didn't you tell me this before? I'd reached the last rung. I stopped to catch my breath and stared at the window floating in the corner of my vision.
The page looked sheepish. When I'm on the LINK, it's difficult for me to separate my feelings from Mouse's. He was off-line ... and, then, when I was here ... well, I had time to think.
I let go of the last rung, leaping down to the street level. I landed awkwardly and knocked into a garbage can. Sprawled on my butt, I groaned softly. The pavement was uneven, and sharp edges poked at me through the tough exterior of the armor.
Deidre, you have to warn people. Mouse means business with the LINK-Michael. Serious business.
What's so special about the LINK-Michael, Page? Haven't we already seen him?
The page shook his head. Not this version.
What's this version? I asked, dusting off my knees.
Ever hear the story of how the angel Michael single-handedly slaughtered 185,000 Assyrians in one night? Well, this is that Michael.
I stood up to assess the situation. Apparently, the noise of the garbage can overturning alerted someone in the car to my presence. The car door opened, and a man in a dark suit stepped out to get a better look. He was wearing sunglasses.
Shit, I said, crouching down quickly.
I held my breath; I could hear shuffling footsteps approaching. My back pressed against a Dumpster, and I watched the street for any hint that the man was within range.
When a long shadow came into view, I tightened my muscles, ready to spring. The second I saw a foot, I threw my whole body into a punch aimed at the knee. My fist connected solidly. The man went down with a yelp of pain. I stood up quickly. If he had a gun, I intended to wrestle him for it.
Luck was with me, and the man's fall had knocked the sunglasses off his face. A shoulder holster was visible underneath his suit coat. I grabbed the gun. The pistol slid into invisibility as soon as my hand wrapped around the butt.
Fingertips brushed my ankle as I stepped over him, but I squeezed past. I ran toward the car. Cops and criminals were notorious for leaving keys in the ignition.
I could see heads craning out of the window of my office as I slid into the driver's seat. They all wore sunglasses, despite the muted outside light. My hands wrapped around the wheel, and I felt for keys. Smelling stale coffee in the upholstery, I decided this was, in fact, a cop's car. The engine revved as I put my foot down hard on the go pedal. I pulled the door shut, and the car sprang forward. Securing the safety belt, I just had to hope that they had left enough juice in the battery for me to make it all the way to a traffic tube. I was feeling confident. So far all my prayers had come true.
You know, this is pretty serious stuff, the page said, his face still scrunched into a pout. I don't know what you're doing that's more important than talking to me.
I checked the rearview. No one was in pursuit so far. I flipped open the fusebox panel under the dash. Feeling with my fingers, I pulled out the third fuse from the left. I smiled, twirling the small glass tube in my fingers. Unmarked police car manufactures have always understood the need for cops to drive occasionally with the homing beacon disabled. Sorry, Page, I said, finally, I was just trying to save my skin ... and yours, since you're in my uniform.
Like I care what the body does.
Maybe, in this case, you should. I'm not LINKed to anything but the uniform, so you don't have anywhere to go if someone blows a hole in me. The page looked unsatisfied, so I added, Tell me what this Michael can do?
Um ... the page hesitated, and checked over his shoulder.
Page, I already, know about Jordan Institute. You have the tech to access any LINKed person's pain and pleasure centers. That's how you pulled off the LINK-angel "miracles."
The page's eyes were wide. You knew?
I nodded. Well, I figured it out, anyway.
Mouse always said you'd remember eventually. No wonder he's come to kill you.
The ground-level road was bumpy. The wheels weren't adapted for the broken concrete of the street level. I had to get in a tunnel fast. Spinning the steering wheel with my palm, I swung down the street. There was access to a traffic tunnel near the old library. The battery light was steady for now.
I continually checked the rearview for other cars. There was nothing, but the battery light had started blinking a warning a block back. I could see the traffic tunnel above. The plastic tubing curved ahead and angled toward street level. I was nearly there.
Flashing lights appeared above. The police figured out my only possible route. I hit the accelerator. I might be able to make the entrance before they could block both lanes with their vehicle.
The cop car swung around the exit curve; we were face-to-face. Nearly standing on the go pedal, the car shook beneath me. My teeth clenched, and I braced myself for possible impact.
A pop and a spark tore off the side mirror. Metal scraped against metal with a groan. My car fishtailed when I slid past the cops, and I had to struggle to regain control of the vehicle.
In the rearview mirror, I could see the cop car had swung around to cross both lanes. It bounced on its frame. I was satisfied it would take them a minute or two to recover.
What's the new LINK-Michael going to do, Page? I asked. Now that the electrified rail was beneath the car, the battery light was safely off. I took a deep breath and scanned the tunnel for options.
He's an assassin program, the page said. Mouse intends to get rid of all competition.
He's going to take out other hackers? But why? He already has a corner on the market.
I don't know, the page said sadly. I'm not even supposed to know this much. I just happened to come across Mouse's files while he was offline. Then, when you were in the hub, you woke up Phanuel. He's been trying to capture me ever since.
You were with me in the hub?
I was there ... I left with you.
Suddenly, lights illuminated the rear window. I ignored an entrance ramp to an upper level. I'd have to move into heavier traffic soon, since it was only a matter of time before Traffic Control isolated this lower tube and cut power. I grabbed the gun from where I'd tossed it along with my backpack in the passenger seat. I checked to make certain the safety was on and tucked it into one of the pockets of the uniform.
To my left I saw an up-tube. Heaving hard on the wheel, I headed into the tube without letting up on the go pedal. The tires squealed in protest at the sharp turn. I decided to try a move that joy riders called the "stone-skip." Moving as fast as possible, I took the first exit one level up. The car bounced on its frame, moving through the tube like a pebble over water.
How can we stop Mouse, Page?
The page shook his head fiercely. I can't. He's my maker, Dee. That's seriously bad karma. Besides, he knows how to pull my plug.
All right, I said, how about the LINK-Michael? Do you know how to destroy him?
Mouse's page was silent. When I hazarded a glance away from the road, I could see his lips were stretched into a thin line.
I don't know, Mouse said finally. He's too scary, Dee. Better to just stay off the line, you know?
I shook my head. You can't hide forever, Page, and neither can I.
Sirens echoed in the tube. Dropping down from somewhere, the cops had picked up my trail again. Lights flashed behind me. I pumped down harder on the go pedal even though it was already pressed to the floor.
I passed through a holographic advertisement for today's upcoming presidential debate. In a blur, Letourneau's face slid through the passenger side of the car. With a fizzle, the image became a snow shower. Ahead, I could see lights flicking off. Control was shutting down power to this area. Scanning desperately for an escape route, I saw nothing. The cop was close enough on my tail that I could no longer see the headlights in the rear-view. So, I did the only thing I could do: I slammed down hard on the brakes.
* * *
Link update, August 30, 2076. This site is now updated every 30 seconds as news reaches us! Political history and commentary by H.C. Yoeh:
LETOURNEAU MAKES A SURPRISE REVERSAL
In a reversal of his previous stance against a realtime debate, presidential candidate Etienne Letourneau agreed to meet with his opponent Rabbi-Senator Grey and the public at Carnegie Hall at 7:00 EST today. This debate will also be simulcast on all the LINK political channels. However, the public is clamoring to witness this event firsthand. Carnegie Hall staff say they are already filled to capacity, having issued the final standing room only pass a mere twenty-three minutes after Letourneau issued his statement.
"It's unreal," said the Carnegie Hall box office manager, Rita Morose. "There hasn't been this much interest in live performance since the Taft-Henderson debacle." The event that Morose refers to was the Democratic Convention held in 2064, in which a fist-fight broke out between then presidential hopeful Sister Alice Jane Henderson and the Democratic nominee Representative Elias Taft. It has been much speculated the embarrassment that Taft faced after being knocked unconscious by a nun weighing less than one hundred pounds cost him the race. Returning to office, Taft (also of the infamous Taft-Pallis Act) began the "Right to Electronic Representation Reform," which, among other things, abolished the traditions of real-time campaigning and political conventions.
One of the reasons the Right to Electronic Representation Reform (RERR) met with such success when it was introduced was the belief, which had continued until today, that the American public was more interested in spectacle than political content. Taft's reform was based on studies dating back to the 1960s and the first televised debates in which it was shown that Americans tend to vote based on the "image" (physical attractiveness, poise, etc.) that a politician gives off at live and recorded events. Taft's reform intended to reduce campaigning to its purest form – text and content – in order to "purify" the political process. Though the complete absence of image was never approved, Congress did pass much of the RERR, as the reform was called.
Until today, few would have argued the soundness of the ideas behind RERR. It seems that the public has, in fact, been following with much interest the content of Rabbi-Senator Grey's recent accusations against Letourneau. Perhaps it's the personal nature of Letourneau's unstated political platform (ie: that he is the Second Coming of Christ) that has roused the concern in the American people that he is, in fact, an actual human being. The nature of his being has become the focus of this debate, and the average American is clamoring to see him, live. People have started to camp out along the streets in front of Carnegie Hall hoping to catch a glimpse of the Reverend-Senator as he passes on his way to the debate. We'll switch now to Bob, who is standing by ...