Slabscape : Reset Read online

  Dielle did as he was told.

  ‘Hmm,’ said PT. ‘Just keep going. The spider’s searching for the pattern. It’ll be around here somewhere.’

  As far as Dielle was concerned, nothing was happening. The technician was immobile. ‘How are you doing this?’ he asked.

  ‘Oh blocks! I almost had it then.’ He fidgeted irritably. ‘I’m using my own highly tuned and specialist eye to listen to your neural impulses, now kindly shut the dice up and put out that phrase again.’

  Dielle settled down and thought about a specific instruction.

  ‘OK, now be silent for a second, I mean stop thinking the phrase so we can eliminate the rebound from the synapses . . . OK, that’s good. Now think it again . . . Good . . . got it!’ he looked triumphant. ‘OK, hang on a moment.’

  {[sys i/f N.I.logon for reset incept date 1039:96:4:22:15 basic level i/f standard security level 3. Accept. Confirm to self, authorisation Bravo 23 Alpha dot two dot zero]}

  [[Hi PT. Got him. What? Just the basic? You slipping?]] {[Yeah, and Seacombe UpSide’s gonna win the SlabSeries by 50 clear]}

  ‘Now think of a question; something you couldn’t possibly know the answer to,’ he said, removing the now limp mechanical spider from Dielle’s skull. ‘Think it deliberately as if you were saying it out loud in your head.’

  Dielle tried to think of a question. Sod it, he thought, why is it whenever someone asks you to think of something spontaneously you can never do it?

  [[Because spontaneity is not something that can be summoned on demand, it is something that happens without premeditation]]

  ‘WOW! WOW! FUCKING WOW!’ said Dielle. ‘Did I just remember that or did you just do something?’

  ‘Now try asking where you are, and just think stop when you’ve had enough.’

  Dielle did as he was told.

  [[Your centre of mass +251252.59:+35987.33:-5928.89 metres relative to Slab datum/re-fam ward, cryonic suspension unit/level 192, Vincent Van Cloud Bio repair centre/Day section 1(aka Seacombe)/Joint Earth Council Space Vehicle Galactic Conveyor (ISS.001.000.0001 uka Slab)/ 2.53951x10^17Km from galactic centre, bearing -173.245646, mark +89.359 (SlabRelative data convention version 19.3.112rev9 as defined Spda)/Galaxy position relative data 9.256x10^]]

  {[STOP!]} thought Dielle loudly.

  He sucked in two lungfulls of air through his nose while his eyes tried to escape their sockets. The answer to just one simple question had blown a hole in his head so wide that he felt as though one side of his brain had just had a major disagreement with the other, declared war, inserted a strategic nuclear device and triggered a pre-emptive strike. He grabbed hold of one of PT’s weird appendages for balance.

  [[Do you want to know what universe we are in?]]

  {[NO!]} Dielle’s eyes crossed.

  ‘Lesson number one,’ laughed PT. ‘Be specific with your questions until you’ve set your preferences. Best to do that roughly straight away. Just think use average prefs for info update and you’ll get what most people use for the region you are in. You can always request more levels of data and Sis will stop when she thinks it’s too deep, or if you try to go down an enquiry thread that you aren’t ready for.’

  ‘Not ready for? I’ve just been told I’m in some sort of space vehicle and you’re telling me it won’t let me know stuff I’m not ready for? If this is the shallow end, how deep does it get?’ Shallow end? thought Dielle, what the hell is a shallow end? He held his head and tried to think straight.

  ‘Look, just do the preferences, will you? Think use average prefs for info updates. I’d do it for you but from here on I can’t get to your stuff. That’s something very important you need to be aware of: What’s in your head is private and no-one can get at it. Do not believe all those windfarmers who tell you Sis is leaky. She’s not. I can platinum guarantee it. No-one has infiltrated Big Sister ever – not even once. That’s for latenight fivedees and something you tell kids to get them to do their asking work.’

  ‘OK.’

  {[Use average prefs for info updates]} thought Dielle.

  [[••]] Two reassuring sensations of compliance.

  ‘I’ve done it. Now what?’

  ‘Ask where you are again.’

  Instantly he was aware of the answer:

  [[Van Cloud’s re-fam ward]]

  OK, he thought. I knew that. That’s fine. He started to breath easier.

  ‘Next you learn some basics. Try thinking time exact.’

  He tried it.

  [[1039:98:4:09:20.625341]] streamed into his head.

  ‘You get a string of digits, right? They all mean something, cycles, days, hours etcetera – but who cares? You just want to know the time. So just think time and you’ll get the standard preference setting which is much more suitable. Try it.’

  He did:

  [[Ten past four]]

  ‘Cool!’

  ‘See? Much easier. Now all that info is received into the interlingual conduits through the N.I. It’s not a real memory, so if you want to remember it you have to put effort into storing it into the biological memory areas of your brain. Just like you’re doing now with the information I’m telling you. The numbers come up in the right side of your brain – remember that, it’s important. When you hear sound, it’s raw audio that’s straightjacked into your aural nerve conduits. You control it through the eye; just sound on/off/up/down. You can’t transmit voice internally with your current setup because you have the basic package which is free and gratis, except of course for my fee for installation and training which is what I’m doing now. The eye will function to a distance of up to a hundred klicks from anywhere and everywhere onSlab except where some clowns have deliberately installed multi-phasic shielding. You won’t believe how many jokers there are in this wonderful transcultural agglomerate we call home who think it’s a cool idea to log-off Sis. That’s what most people call the SlabWide Integrated System you’re now linked to. Everyone seemed to be happier conceptualising it as a she – you can look up why later. When you do that, you can find an enquiry thread that will lead to the biggest scam of the last few millennia, but I’ll let you discover that little doozy all by yourself. There’s an automated training programme I’d advise you to go through. It will familiarise you with what Sis can do for you – and what she won’t. Don’t go into the enquiry threads for too long at a time because until you get used to it, your brain will feel like it’s going to seep out of your ears. There is a natural tendency for the bio side of your brain to try to absorb all the information you get, but after a while you’ll learn not to bother remembering stuff you can get through your I.O.D. package – that’s Information On Demand – it’s a basic level package that everyone has and comes along with the standard N.I. set.’

  Dielle was surprised that he seemed to be following PT quite easily, it felt as though he already knew most of what he was saying.

  ‘Now, as I said, I can fit you with a sub-vocaliser so you can send voice as well as info but let me advise you: Don’t bother. It doesn’t use your individual voice sound, it’s generic and can’t handle inflections properly or accents at all. On top of that almost everyone has voice-receive filtered out at all levels except for very close personal friends and Sis-override emergency messages which are broadcast through all media lines anyway. If you really want to send voice you can use any standard sound transducer embedded into system while using your eye to direct the recording.’

  That must be how I heard Kiki earlier, he thought. Obvious really.

  ‘The eye is powered by Nole, which is, for all intents and purposes, non-degrading and will function for a lot longer than you will, unless you reset again, in which case don’t come looking for me, fella, ’cos I’ll be back in the atomic soup long before you wake up. The mere thought makes me shudder,’ he shuddered.

  ‘Anyway, as I was saying, the power supplies were implanted with each separate interface and use standard Noles. You can look that up later, too. We call it looking up
when you ask Sis for information. Don’t ask me why. If you’d like I can fit you with our latest in visual implants. It does colours and some textures and is OK for relaxing and tuning out. We’ve given up development on the full resolution visual interface. Not because it can’t be done; nothing’s impossible right? It’s just there’s a general anti-tech thing going on at the moment and a whole group of people who think it’ll stop us from being human. Personally I think that’s a complete load of blocks but you can look that thread up later, too. Anyway, if you want the visual implant I can do that for a fifteen percent discount if I do it at the same time as the stim unit which I already know you are gonna want. Look up additional implant options – Mega Stim-o-Rama – they’re our speciality.’

  ‘Hang on a minute.’ Dielle had spotted something. ‘Installation fee? Fifteen percent discount? I’m not aware of having any, er . . .’

  {[How do I pay for stuff?]}

  [[Trading carried out by exchanging SlabWide economic units currently known by 2,452 different names starting in order of common usage; credits, money, bucks, slugs, dosh, moolah . . .]]

  {[Stop]}

  ‘I mean, I don’t think I have any credits.’

  ‘Oh sure you do. You just haven’t found out about it yet. You’ll have to wait until you tell yourself the access codes, but you can be absolutely sure that even if you used to be broke, you either have credits already or you will have. You’re a celebrity, you know. It’s impossible for you not to make serious wonga outta that.’ PT lowered his voice. ‘In fact, if you want a little help on the fivedee deals and such, I know a very good agent. You don’t wanna let cute little nursie get her hands on all those residuals.’

  Dielle still didn’t know what PT was talking about, but he sure understood what was going on. He was being hustled. And worse, this creep was insulting the woman he loved. ‘What did you call that stim thing? A stimo-what?’

  [[Ext srce Spda:3rdEye Implant Corp. ::The latest in the Triathelon range of major pleasure area Neural Implants, the Mega Stim-o-Rama (V.16.3.2) is the best sensual stimulator within a thousand parsecs. Guaranteed to stim all pleasure centres from the low-level de-stress/relax reflex all the way up to the high-level ecstasy receptors (subject to personal licensed usage). With full-band, multi-phasic, multi-channel simul-feedback this unit will happily interface to all the latest stimcasts, simulations and private channels and has the widest and wildest range of configurable options available on the market. Price 9,300 credits including ExTax, fitting and Sislink tuning. Keywords: [test] for free trial; [more] for further information; [upgrade] for latest version which fixes the feedback loop error in V. 16.3.1]]

  ‘No thank you,’ said Dielle.

  ‘What? Don’t be a cake! This is ultragoodstuff – the latest in N.I. stims – it’s what it’s all about – you gotta be crazy not to want a stim unit! What you gonna do for fun? Read a book? You gotta tryout the latest stim titles – and then of course there’s the private channels – oh yeah, you’re not old enough for that yet. Look, why don’t you just take a trial shot and I guarantee you’ll be begging me for the whole package.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You don’t want a stim unit? What did little nursie tell you about them, eh? It’s not true that they’re addictive. I’ll bet a cutie like her uses her stim unit every night!’

  ‘Would you like to know how a primitive like me reacts to what you’ve just said?’ said Dielle with barely masked menace.

  ‘Sure. How?’ said PT who, naively, had not seen it coming.

  ‘It does smart doesn’t it?’

  The senior implant salesman for 3rdEye Implant Corporation briskly packed his equipment while mopping his bleeding nose with a dirty rag.

  ‘I hate working with primitives,’ he snivelled. ‘Why in Dice’s name we bother defrosting you lot is beyond me.’

  ‘Here’s a couple of tips for you,’ said Dielle to the departing figure. ‘Don’t call me primitive, don’t insult beautiful women and think of a better name for the dope you’re trying to peddle than Mega Stim-o-fucking-Rama.’

  On the floor, a line of glistening dark red spots ended abruptly at the wall.

  ‘Hmm,’ said Dielle, following the dotted line. ‘I’d have thought we’d have been free of assholes like him in the future.’ He stopped at the white wall and put out his hand. It was solid. How come ten-eyes could walk through it? he wondered.

  [[This is a transvex wall. It will only allow individuals through under specific circumstances]]

  Oh right, he could just ask now.

  {[OK, tell me how I can get through this wall, and while you’re at it, tell me why that rude little bastard wanted to sell me a stim unit so badly]]

  [[Subject transvex wall is under sub-system control of this cryogen facility. It is currently restricted by system to lockout reset incept date 1039:96:4:22:15 until such time as re-fam has been completed and contractual obligations met. Said little bastard only earns commission if he sells you an extra implant. It is the right of every citizen to have the standard set at no charge]]

  {[What is reset incept date 1039:96:4:22:15?]}

  [[You are]]

  {[Huh?]}

  [[You are a reset and experienced re-entry at 22 minutes and fifteen seconds past 4 on the 96th day of cycle 1039. Kioki Sypher-Marie Pundechan has registered a personal doName for you of Dielle – do you want to adopt that as your doName main?]]

  {[Yeah, whatever]}

  [[••]]

  He was becoming accustomed to it anyway – it reminded him of . . .

  ‘Oops,’ said Kiki as she walked into his outstretched hand. ‘Mr Dempster wasn’t very complimentary about you. Did you really hit him?’

  ‘He was being very rude about you.’

  ‘Oh, how gallant! My hero!’ said Kiki feigning adulation and batting her eyes at him. He was quite a bit taller than her and had to look down into her face. He had a strange urge to put his arms around her. ‘I’m sure he wasn’t rude at all, PT is a complete professional. Did you get a stim unit?’

  ‘No I didn’t – although I must admit it did sound attractive. He was just trying too damn hard to persuade me to have it, so I automatically turned him down, even though I actually wanted one. Don’t know why.’ He was constantly being surprised by his own impulses. Well, he thought, that’ll probably go away soon.

  [[No, it won’t, sorry]]

  {[That was a private thought]}

  [[Suggest expedite N.I. training routine]]

  {[OK, OK, later]}

  ‘That’s good. You can get one anytime you want. But some people do find them a bit habit forming. You might want to test your addiction tendencies if you’re worried. I can do it for you if you like.’

  ‘Maybe later,’ Dielle rubbed his head. ‘I’ve got about a million questions to um . . . look up before that.’

  ‘OK dear, but don’t overdo it on your first day. I’ll set your monitor to put you into a mediate brain processing state after half an hour – that’s fifty minutes – OK? You’ll want to see stuff, too, so here’s a nice comfortable seat for you.’ She pointed behind him. In the middle of the white room there was a large, black padded chair.

  Wow! he thought. Where did that come from?

  [[Emtied from central store]]

  He sat down hard. ‘Hell, have I got a lot of questions to ask!’

  Kiki gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. ‘Alright dear, have fun! I’ll drop in after your nap.’ She turned to leave. The kiss on the cheek had made him feel tingly again and it seemed that the simple curve of her body was able to make him feel good.

  Nice ass, he thought.

  [[Yeah, not bad]]

  {[Hey, that was private! Start that training routine]}

  Fifty minutes later, after having mastered most of the basic levels of the eye, he fell into yet another state of vivid dreaming. Sis had been carefully steering him around practice loops and hadn’t given him much o
pportunity to ask questions. At least he’d learned how to keep his thoughts private. He suspected that was going to be useful.

  eight

  By the time Kiki entered the room he’d already been awake for a while and felt more relaxed than he’d been since his . . .

  {[What was it called?]

  [[~?]]

  {[What does that mean?]}

  [[••]] Two tiny pings, like getting a nod with an invisible smile.

  {[That, er . . . Oh, I get it.]} The answer to the question was in the question to the answer.

  {[You need more specifics]}

  [[••]]

  {[What’s the name for the process I went through to get here?]}

  [[Re-entry]] Yes, that was it, re-entry. He was more grounded now. He thought he knew where he was, he had a name and he felt safe – something he realised he hadn’t felt before. Maybe that’s what having a big sister does for you, he thought, privately.

  ‘OK, dear,’ said Kiki brightly. ‘Sis tells me you’re ready to graduate re-fam. Well done! I’m really proud of you, my darling.’

  Dielle had a spontaneous desire to kiss Kiki on the cheek. He missed. Kiki seemed to have managed to avoid him by smiling. That was confusing. Perhaps, he thought, a little too loudly, there was more to this than was apparent.

  [[You’re not kidding]]

  ‘Now, before you’re allowed to leave the room, you have to agree to what is called a Life Disclaimer. It’s a list of things that everyone takes as common sense but it’s very important that you formally accept it.’

  ‘Why is it so important? he asked. ‘Is something bad going to happen to me?’

  ‘No, of course not. Not unless you want it to. But it’s a rule that goes back a long time – maybe even as far as origin. It’s all about lawyers and stupidity.’

  ‘Lawyers?’

  ‘Used to be they didn’t just make laws, they also made fortunes by exploiting the complications of the laws they had helped to shape. They made so much money through the suing of businesses and individuals that it forced everything anyone ever did, made or said to be covered by unbelievably expensive liability insurances and those costs had to be passed on to the consumers. It was a sickness that very nearly ruined several national economies as well as preventing people from doing almost anything because they were so paranoid.’