them speak.
Gonzales said, "You know, in dreams logic doesn't apply."
"Yes, it does," Lizzie said.
"It's a difficult question," the small creature said.
"No," Gonzales said. "I'm sure of this. Here I am I, but I
am also Lizzie, and she is she but also she is I"
"I don't like your pronouns," the little thing said. Its
breath came in gasps; it was having trouble keeping up.
"They're correct," Gonzales said.
"That's no excuse," Lizzie said, but she spoke through him.
As himself, Gonzales listened to a self that was not himself
speaking; hence, as Lizzie, she must be listening to a self that
was not and was herself speaking.
"Correctness is no excuse before the law," the small creature
said. "Whichever pronouns you use."
"Pronouns walked the Earth in those days," Lizzie said.
"No, they didn't," Gonzales said. The very idea.
"Pronouns or anti-pronouns," the little things said. "The
important thing is not to forget your friends." It smiled, and
its metal lips curved to show bright silver teeth. "Wake up!" it
shouted.
Gonzales jerked from sleep with the image of the metal child
fixed in his visionhe could still see the highlights on metal
incisors as it smiled.
"Are you awake?" the memex asked. "Lizzie wants to talk to
you."
"Put her through." Thinking, what the fuck?
"Got it?" she asked.
"What?"
"I think that was Aleph getting in touch. To let us know:
don't forget your friends."
#
They gathered at the collective's rooms at six in the
morning. The sun still shone brightly through the patio windows,
open to show pots of flowers, ferns, and herbs, all dripping wet
from the night-long mist.
Gonzales stood against the wall, waiting. The twins, dressed
identically this morning in somber gray jumpsuits, sat together
across the room, looking at him and giggling. Several collective
members sat around the room's perimeter, those who had just gotten
out of interface looking tired and distant.
A young woman stood in front of Gonzales. Her dark brown
hair was cut short; her face was pale and blotchy, as if she had
skin trouble. She wore a green sweatshirt that came to the middle
of her thighs and a pair of baggy tan pants gathered at the
ankles. One eye appeared to look off into space, and the other
fixed Gonzales, then looked him up and down. The woman said,
loudly, "He folds his arms this way." She put her arms together
in careful imitation of Gonzales's and said, "That is his reward."
She looked around and saw Stumdog shambling back-and-forth like a
trapped bear, his hands clasped on his great stomach. "And he
folds his hands like this." She put her hands together to show
Gonzales how Stumdog did it. She smiled. "And that is his
reward." She went to Stumdog, who stopped his pacing to talk to
her, and the two of them hugged as if amazed to find each other
there, and grateful. Gonzales felt vaguely inadequate.
Lizzie came in, followed by Diana and Toshi. "Good morning,
everyone," she said. And to Gonzales, "Charley and Eric are
waiting for us."
The room held two neural interface eggs for Gonzales and
Lizzie and a fitted foam couch for Diana. Lizzie, Diana, Toshi,
and Gonzales were followed in by a sam that wheeled a screen of
dark blue cloth on a metal frame that it unfolded around Diana's
couch.
"Gonzales, we'll do it the same as last time: you're first
in," Charley said. "Why don't you get undressed? Just put your
clothes on the chair next to the eggs."
"Sure," Gonzales said.
"Doctor Heywood, you next," Charley said. "Getting you into
the loop takes longer. Doctor Chow will prepare you. Lizzie, you
can hold off a bitI'll let you know when we're ready."
There was a sharp knock at the door, and it swung open to
admit Traynor and Horn.
"Good morning, all," Traynor said.
"Good morning," Charley said. Gonzales nodded; everyone else
pretty much ignored the man.
"I take it you are preparing for another excursion with
Aleph," Traynor said.
"That's right," Lizzie said.
"You =have no authorization," Horn said.
"I have the collective's endorsement," Lizzie said. "Also
the concurrence of the medical team, and the consent of the
participants. We will replace the resources you took from Aleph.
It is a consensus."
"One excluding any vertical consultation," Traynor said.
"Point granted," Lizzie said. "But we didn't think it
necessary. We'll report to Horn in due course."
Gonzales stood looking into the open egg and began taking his
shirt off. "Mikhail," Traynor said. "What are you doing?"
"What I came here for," Gonzales said. "The same as these
people."
"You're out of it," Traynor said. "Put your shirt back on
and go homeyou can take the shuttle out this afternoon."
"I don't think so," Gonzales said. He put his folded shirt
on the back of the chair.
"You're fired," Traynor said. His voice shook just a little.
"By you, maybe," Lizzie said. "Gonzales, welcome to the
Interface Collective."
"I'll never confirm that," Horn said.
Toshi said, "I have a question for you, Mister Traynor, and
you, Mister Horn. What do you intend to do about Aleph and the
existing crisis? Do you have a plan of action that makes what is
planned here unnecessary?"
"Yes, we are bringing in an entire staff of analysts,"
Traynor said. "We will follow their recommendations concerning
the present difficulties; we will also institute arrangements that
will prevent anything of this kind from happening again." He
nodded to Horn.
"By effecting a decentralization modality," Horn said. "The
various functionalities and aspects of the Aleph system will be
reorientated to allow of individualized project performance."
"We're going to replace Aleph with a number of smaller,
controllable machines," Traynor said.
"Are you?" Lizzie said, and she laughed.
"That is impossible," Charley said.
"Or has already been done," Toshi said. "Aleph itself
instituted a dispersal of functions to independent agents.
However, all must ultimately be supervised by a central
intelligence."
"That's what people are for," Traynor said. "Halo's reliance
on a machine intelligence has proved unworkable."
Toshi said, "As that may be. However, your remarks
concerning the immediate circumstances lack substance."
"Does your advisor agree to this plan?" Gonzales asked.
"Why do you ask?" Traynor asked.
"Curious," Gonzales said. Traynor said nothing. "Well, I
didn't think it would," Gonzales said.
Lizzie said, "One thing at a time. You bring on your
analysts, and we'll fight your silly scheme when we have to. But
in the meantime, stay away from us and perhaps we can fix what you
have broken."
"That will not be possible," Traynor said. "As your previous
efforts caused the situation, any further involvement on your part
will likely worsen it; therefore, as representative of SenTrax
Board, I am denying you authorization for any connections to Aleph
other than those required to maintain essential functions at