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Which is why I was exhausted by the time that Linda and I parted company and welcomed the opportunity to sleep. It came quickly, floating upwards to wrap me in its arms, then
holding me in its dark embrace. What followed was similar to the dreams I had experienced in the past and was clearly related.
My first impression was of lying on my back watching ceiling tiles pass overhead. My thoughts were slow, ponderous things, weighed down by the drugs the medicos had given me, and
wholly unfocused. The ceiling tiles were interspersed with glow panels. I felt sure that someone wanted me to count them, to make an exact record of how many glow panels I had seen,
but the numbers had a slippery, eellike quality and eluded my grasp. People walked to either side of my gurney. One, a woman with swept-back hair, a long straight nose, and a white lab
coat, glanced at me but addressed her comments to the balding man on my left. You re sure this will work.
No, I m not, the man replied calmly. Bio-storage is a fledgling science. I believe it will work but make no guarantees.
It was as if the woman hadn t even heard him. A zombie would be too obvious. The trick is to stash the research in his head, yet leave him functional. The unionists are almost
sure to discover it otherwise.
I m aware of that threat, the man said dryly. I ll do the best I can.
The woman wanted to say more but gave a short, jerky nod instead.
The autogurney turned a corner, I lost count of the glow panels, and felt a desperate need for water. My mouth felt dry, terribly dry, and I croaked pitifully. The woman glanced in
my direction but made no effort to learn what the problem was.
An airtight hatch came and went. The ceiling panels disappeared and were replaced by a seamless surface. It was translucent, and light seeped through.
The gurney stopped under a vent. Cool air caressed my face. The smell of disinfectants stabbed my nostrils. I caught a glimpse of OR greens. An operating room! They were
taking me into an operating room! But I wasn t sick& was I? I struggled against my restraints, and feeble though the movements were, the woman noticed them. She frowned and turned
towards the person behind me. The pre-meds are wearing off& take him down.
But not too far, the bald man cautioned. I need access to his reactions.
I fought to free myself, gave up, and floated on an ocean of light. I heard voices, felt the gurney move, and knew we had entered the operating room when the large circular lights
came into view. Metal clanked as the side rails were released. Hands felt along my sides, took hold of the sheet beneath me, and a voice said, On three. One& two& three.
I felt myself lifted into the air and lowered to the surface of the operating table. A distant part of my mind told me to do something, but I was unable to respond.
Time passed. There was talk of local anesthetics, head preps, and neural interfaces. None of which meant anything to me. Then it started, the general sense of inflow, of
words and numbers that tumbled around me to build vast informational structures so large and complex that they could be compared with cities, except that try as I might I was unable to
comprehend them in their entirety, to back away far enough to see and understand their function and purpose.
But I did notice that as the city grew larger and larger, I became smaller and smaller, until it towered over and around me. The air grew thick with words and numbers until I
choked and couldn t breathe. It was then that I decided to escape, to leave the whole affair behind, and exist somewhere else.
And no sooner had the thought occurred to me than I was gone, drifting up to hover under the ceiling, while the bald man and his staff shouted to each other and struggled to
bring me back. I saw my body jump as they passed electricity through my heart and watched as drugs were injected into my veins. The light grew even brighter, and seemed to beckon
me onwards, but I hung there unsure of what to do. And then, like fishermen pulling in their catch, the medics reeled me in. My head was full. So full I thought it would explode. I screamed
&
& and was still screaming when I awoke to find myself in bed, the sheets soaked with sweat.
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