[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]touched a panel and said, "What?"
"Why don't we call it a day, Saul. We've got some fantastic material, best
stuff anyone here's ever seen. We're all tired, and we know you must be. We're
going on twelve hours now."
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"No," Saul said. "No, not yet. Give me a minute, I'll get back on track." Just
today, he told himself. I only have to get through today. This is the last day
before Jesus comes, he'll be here tomorrow.
Saul pulled a Mataphin dispenser out of a pouch on his harness. Hold back, he
told himself, and was proud that he only took two. He could feel himself
spinning again, careening out of control toward the edge. He dug in, held on.
Rocks fell away under his feet. It can't be Jesus, he told himself. The only
reason I'm thinking he's real is because of the pressure. It's the pressure
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that's getting me.
There would be no pressure, his own voice said in his ear.
There would be no pressure if you let go.
SHUT UP!
The crew heard it this time, his fearful, angry cry. They looked up, watching
him sadly. After a moment they returned to their work, guiding the ball and
Saul's chair, processing the raw images. The AHL began climbing again. Saul
was back on track. It was amazing, they didn't know how he could do it. Those
that really understood what it took to get images this dense from a human mind
regarded him with a mixture of reverence and horror.
Finally, three hours after sunset, Saul and the crew finished. Now Saul had to
take all they had produced back to
Telcron and hover over the technicians and their computers while the animator
AI's processed it for broadcast. By tomorrow it would be on the air, and Saul
would know by noon whether or not he had accomplished his task.
21. FIRST DAY
Dodd stepped outside into the morning air, standing in front of the door and
letting it close behind him. He took a deep breath and faced the morning as if
it were a thing in front of him to contemplate. Nothing down at the plant had
led him to believe he had the day off today, even if the Second Coming did
occur. He had always worked alternating Sundays, it was part of his original
contract. Unless Jesus Himself changed things Dodd figured this would continue
as always.
If Jesus really does come, he thought, today could be the end of the world.
This made the day seem physically different to Dodd as he strode at his normal
pace toward the subway terminal. The air around him seemed charged, as if
there were going to be a lightning storm. The morning sunlight seemed
different; the light was richer, more golden. There was not a cloud in sight.
The streets and walkways were much quieter today than usual, even for a
Sunday. There were only a few other people at the station, one a young woman.
From behind she looked like Savina.
She turned and glanced at him; she was older than he'd thought, at least in
her mid-twenties. She smiled at him and then shyly turned away.
Dodd wondered about Savina. Where was she? Was she with
Danny? Was she with the Indian woman? He hoped to God she was
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20the%20Beast.txt still okay. He hadn't heard anything since that anonymous
message.
He found himself missing her.
I hope your baby is beautiful and perfect, he thought. He tried to picture it
in his mind, and for some reason it looked a little like himself. On Savina's
face was that big wide grin of hers, proud of the child, holding it casually
and then looking up at Dodd.
Dodd quickly put it out of his mind, thinking of something else.
While waiting for the train, Dodd struck up a conversation with the woman who
had reminded him of Savina. No, she told him, she wasn't sure she believed
Jesus was coming back. It was too convenient, she said. It was all happening
during a period where
JTV's ratings had fallen to an all-time low.
"Where'd you hear this?" he asked.
"The Politico Network," she told him. Her voice was sweet and soft.
Dodd nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Do you ever watch
Travels?"
"No."
"Have you ever?"
The woman shook her head. By her expression it seemed she considered Travels
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beneath her. "I hardly ever watch television,"
she said. "I read. And if I do watch television, it's either the free speech
program on Politico, or some of their editorial hours, or pornography on one
of the broadcast networks." With the last comment came a teasing smile; then
she was off, her train had come, and she stepped aboard and it rushed away.
Dodd looked around, his hands in his pockets. He was now the only one in the
subway station. This had never happened to him before, not even during the
rare occasions when he was getting off the train in the middle of the night.
When his train came hissing out of the tunnel Dodd was startled. It buzzed to
a halt in front of him and he stared at it with no desire to get on. The doors
slid open, beckoning.
I could call in sick again, Dodd thought. I can just go home and call in sick.
But then I'd have to fight with Sheila to gain control of the television . . .
hell, I'd rather go to work.
The doors remained open, waiting. They would close any second now, he had to
make a decision. He thought that he could go somewhere other than his
apartment and watch the Second Coming, but that thought made him mad, he told
himself that he was NOT
going to miss a day at work just so he could watch a goddamn TV
show. He put one foot forward, followed by the other, forcing himself to enter
the subway car before the doors closed. The doors closed right after he got
on, as if they were waiting specifically for him. The train hissed, and made a
clicking sound. It smelled freshly-cleaned, even antiseptic. Dodd looked up
and down the car, not knowing what to think. He was the only one aboard. With
a gentle nudge it began moving, gaining velocity, rushing on out of the empty
station and into the black of the tunnel. Dodd had an eerie feeling that he
shouldn't have boarded.
He walked slowly down the blue-carpeted aisle to the rear end of the car and
peered through the glass doors into the next. It, too, was empty. He opened
the separating doors and stepped through, hearing for a moment the outside
rush of air. He walked swiftly though the next car to the trailing end and
peered through the glass doors into the last car on the train.
Empty.
Nervous, Dodd made his way forward, going from car to car, until he was in the
front right behind the robot engine. He was
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happened to him in his life.
There was a long, low beep over the loudspeakers, and the onboard computer
announced the next stop. Holding on to the railing as it decelerated toward
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plkajaszek.htw.pl
