Выбрать главу

True to his word, Mr Ryan has his cold shower. It does the trick.

He feels much better. Humming to himself he enters his own cabin, selects the tape of Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony and sits down to listen to the strange and beautiful melodies of the Ondes Martenot.

By the Sixth Movement (Jardin du sommeil d'amour) he is asleep...

*

The gallery is vast and made of solid platinum.

He paces it.

It is the bridge of a massive ship. But the ship does not sail across the ocean. It sails through foliage. Dark, tangled foliage.

Foliage that the Douanier himself might have painted. Menacing foliage.

Perhaps it is a jungle river. A river like the Amazon or one of those mysterious, unmapped rivers of New Guinea that, as a boy, he had wished to explore.

Ship... foliage... river...

He is alone on the ship, but for the sound of the engines, strangely melodic, and the cries of the unseen birds in the jungle.

He leans over the rail of the bridge, looking for the waters of the river. But there are no waters. Beneath the ship is only vegetation, crushed and bent by the passage of the great vessel.

The ship rolls.

He falls and from somewhere comes a sound that is oddly sympathetic. Something is pitying him.

He rejects the pity.

He falls to the ground and the ship passes on.

He is alone in the jungle and he hears the sounds of lumbering monsters in the murk. He searches with his eyes for the monsters, but he cannot see them, cannot trace the origin of their noise.

A woman appears. She is dark, lush, exotic. She parts her red lips and takes him by the hand into the shadowy darkness of the tropical foliage. Birds continue to cry and to squawk. He begins to kiss her wet, hot mouth. He feels her hand on his penis. He runs his hand into her crutch and her pants are wet with her juices. He tries to make love to her, but for some reason she is wary, expecting discovery. She will not remove her clothing. They make love as best they can. Then she gets up and leads him through the dark jungle corridors into a clearing.

They are in a bar. Girls—club hostesses or prostitutes, he cannot tell—fill the place. There are a few men. Probably ponces or gigolos. He feels at ease here. He relaxes. He puts his arm around the dark woman and puts his other arm around a young blonde with a lined, decaying face. Someone he knew.

All the faces, in fact, are familiar. He tries to remember them.

He concentrates on remembering them. Dimly he begins to remember them...

*

AFTER THE FAIR THEY WERE ALL LEAD

Q: PLEASE DEFINE SPECIFIC SITUATION

ARDOUR THE MORE THEY SANG AHEAD

Q: PLEASE DEFINE SPECIFIC SITUATION

AH DO RE ME FA SO LA TI DI

Q: PLEASE DEFINE SPECIFIC SITUATION

ARIA ARIADNE ANIARA LEONARA CARMEN AMEN

A: AMEN

*

AMEN.

AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.

AMEN.

*

SUGGEST HOLD ON TIGHT

SUGGEST HOLD ON TIGHT

SUGGEST HOLD ON TIGHT

*

KEEP GOING

E O

E I

P N

G

G

O K

I E

N E

GOING KEEP

*

THE SPACESHIP HOPE DEMPSEY IS EN ROUTE

FOR MUNICH 15040 THE SPACESHIP

HOPE DEMPSEY IS EN ROUTE FOR MUNICH

15040 IS GOING

EN ROUTE FOR MUNICH 15040 THE SPACE-

SHIP NOWHERE

FOR MUNICH 15040 THE SPACESHIP

MUST

HOPE DEMPSEY IS EN ROUTE BE

SAFE

FOR MUNICH 15040 MUST

THE SPACESHIP

KEEP THEM

SPACESHIP

SAFE

SPACESHIP

SPACE SAFE

SHIP KEEP THEM

SAFE SAFE

SHIP THE SPACESHIP HOPE DEMPSEY IS EN

SAFE ROUTE FOR MUNICH 15040 AND

SHAPE TRAVELLING AT POINT NINE OF C

SHIP WE ARE ALL COMFORTABLE

SHAPE WE ARE ALL

SPACE SAFE

SHAPE SPACESHIP SAFE

SHIP SAFESHIPSAFE

SHAPE SAFESHIPSHAPE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SHIP

SHIP

SHIP

SHIP

SHAPE

SAFE

SHIP

SHIP

SAFE

SAFE

SHIP

SHIP

SAFE

SAFE

SHIP

SHIP

SAFE

SAFE

SHIP

SHIP

SAFE

SAFE

SHIP

SWEET

SAFE

SHIP

SPACE

SAIL

SPACE

SNAIL

PACE

SAFE

PACE

SNAIL

PACE