ac Studies
He popped out of the door at a run to find a man leaning back against his foot on the rear bumper of a white van. He either disdained any projection of mindclothes or had modeled his clothing off of a slob. His sleeves were pushed up and his red tie had dark stains on it. He was heavy, which was uncommon. He had wolf-green eyes, a hook nose, and a smile that curved tightly up at the edges, etched into his pale cheeks spidered with tiny red capillaries. His brown hair had crossed the rubicon from messy to mullet.
“So you decided to show, did you?” he chuckled. “Had a little trouble on the way over? Hardly becoming for an integro to be brawling with fists and feet. No matter.”
He stuck out his hand and Isaac took it. His grip was firm. “I’m Roman. And you must be Isaac.”
“Pleased to meet you, sir,” said Isaac.
“Let’s get moving out into the thinspace. We haven’t got all day to dream off.” Roman opened the door for Isaac and circled around to the driver’s side.
Wow. The van was straight out of the lucids, a real natural-gas guzzler with a manual steering wheel. Isaac ran his hand over a large rubber half-globe on the dash, his excitement rising. He glanced at Roman to confirm.
“Ah yes, the thickspace projector. Never leave home without it. We’ve got a summons from the west cinturón. We’ll be meeting an eye named Bob.” He backed up the car and put it in drive.
“An eye, my noob, is a source of informat—
“I know what an “eye” is,” Isaac interrupted, but Roman just glanced at him and continued.
“—ion. Yes, of course you do. And so why does the Mind need eyes when it can see through any of us? I am the reader, I see through the eyes, and the Mind sees through me. When I dream of my day and write my memories for long-term storage in my hippocampus, the Mind watches the little details my subconscious picks out. And learns what’s important. And there I am, a node on the Mindnet, just as we all are. And thus we all know a little bit more about what’s going on.” He eyed Isaac, looking for comprehension, the car poised in drive.
“Yep,” said Isaac, not entirely sure what Roman was waiting for.
“Good. And so now we’re off to see Bob.” Roman gave the car a little gas. As he navigated out of the parking lot he said, “And while we’re at it, I have some rules of the road for you.
“First rule, never drive drunk. Hah!” He smacked the steering wheel, “That was a joke. I mean, it’s not funny, and it is a rule of the road, but it’s not one of the ones I’ve determined to impart to you.”
He glanced left as he made a right hand turn. “No srsly. First rule, don’t talk to any of the eyes. Got it? Never talk to them. Even if you think you have something useful to say, I can assure you that you do not. You listen, I talk. And if they ask you a direct question, look at me and I’ll nod if you may respond. Otherwise I will field the question. He looked over at the Isaac. How’s your Spanish?”
“I’ve had six semesters.”
“Oh, six semesters have you?” he mocked slightly as he dodged a pothole. “Well, the street is a whole different game. The rules of grammar are suspended. Record and clip the words you don’t understand, then review them in the evenings. That’s your homework. Share the flashcard-set with me and I’ll be quizzing you on the words.”
He continued, “Rule two, when we’re out, do what I do, unless what I’m doing falls into the category of things I’ve prohibited you from doing.” He looked at Isaac, “Got it?”
“Um, yes, do what you do unless it’s prohibited,” said Isaac.
“Rule three, vacs are dangerous. Not as dangerous as your operator friends think, but dangerous enough to get you sent to the hospital.” He peered at a man-shaped bundle on the sidewalk as they drove.
Roman continued, “Rule four, everything you learn is confidential, and the Mind will enforce this with prejudice. I advise you not to end up an amnesiac vac with a personal mind that looks like swiss cheese. Pre-choice hippocampal memories can be excised effectively, but not precisely.
“Rule five is always do what I say. And a repetition of all previous rules. I hear you have a little soft spot for vacs. I’m in charge of showing you what vac life is really like. If you show any promise, someday when you’re all grown up, you can be an eye like me. Understood? Now, what are the rules?”
Isaac’s eyes glinted as he responded, “Rule one, don’t talk to the eyes. Rule two, do what you do unless you say not to, rule three isn’t a rule per se, rule four is keep my mouth shut or become swiss cheese, and rule five is always do what you say, and includes rules one through four.”
“Very good.” He nodded, his eyes roving across the road as he drove. “I see that you were paying attention and are not a parrot. And so I will add a sixth rule: there are no exceptions to the rules. Clever noobs like you always forget that one, because their brains are constantly churning around and around like an upset stomach. So what is the sixth rule, noob?”
“That there are no exceptions to the rules.” Isaac looked over and met Roman’s eyes.
“Good,” said Roman, “Now, let’s proceed to meet our friend Bob.”