Chapter 4

TheChinesemanexaminedhissmoothpalefaceinthemirror.Thepeelingwallsofthesmallrectangularbathroomwereawashwiththekaleidoscopiceffectofmulticoloredneonlightrefractedthroughthetinyrooftopwindowandsplayedthroughthethickairlikesomuchsplatteredbloodatamurderscene.Theluminouseffectbroughtbackmemoriesofcyberspace,exceptthatthiswasstatic,liketheconstantinalinearequation.

Cyberspaceontheotherhandwasinaperpetualstateoffluxasdatabrednewdataanddigitallifeformstookshapeeverywhere.Theraysofneon,beautifulastheylooked,didnothingfortheunwashedcrackedimitationporcelainbathtubthatsatinonecornerwiththescumoftheassassinsrecentbathstilladheredtoitssideslikedeadpixels.

Heraisedathinbonyindexfingerandmassagedtheblackmole-likebiologicalinterfacethatsatonhisneckjustbelowhisskull,interfacetoanotheruniverse.Henevertookabathwiththeremoteaccessmoduleon,althoughthiswasoneofthefeatureslistedintherudimentaryhandwrittenusermanual.Hepickedthemainunitupfromthesideofthesinkwherehehadleftit.Itflexedandwhirredinhishandasthoughithadalifeofitsown,smoothsurfacemoldingreflexivelytotheshapeofhispalm.

Someofhisradeshadn’tmadethecutduringtheexperimentalstagesjustafewyearsago.Theirbodieshadsimplyrejectedtheimplantsandsomehadbeenleftwithpromisednervoussystemsandsynapticregression.Severalwouldspendtherestoftheirlivesinparalysiswithoutfulluseoftheirbrains.Thesystemhadsincebeenperfectedandachosenfewhadhadthehonorofbeingthefirsttotestdriveit.Therewassomethinginnatelyperverseaboutlivinginanaugmentedworld,aboutbeingpermanentlypluggedin,thevoicesoftheAIsinterlacedwithhisownthoughts,givinghimsuperhumanintelligence.

Theassassinlikeditjustfine.Hehadneverfeltathomeintherealworld,alwaysfelthedidn’tbelong,abyproductofnature’swarpedsenseofhumor.Hecouldn’texactlyputhisfingeronwhythatwasthecase,buthejustfeltit.Sometimeshisfeelingofisolationcamedownonhimlikeahammerandhecravedthewarmglowofpixels,thecoldpseudo-realityoftheWang.

Themansatontheedgeofthebathtubandplacedtheremoteaccessmoduleonthebackofhisneck.Immediatelythedevicecametolifeandmoldeditselfaroundhisnecklikeapythonsuffocatingitsprey.Theprobe,withalifeofitsown,soughtandfoundthesocketandpluggeditselfintothebackofhisneck.Hecouldfeelhisneuralnetworkinterfacingwiththesystemandhismusclestensedupinanticipationofthefewsecondsofpainthatprecededeveryconnection.

Searingwhitepainfeltthroughouthisbody,thenthebathroomcameslowlybackintohigh-rezview.Hewipedthesweatoffhisfacewithadirtytowelandreturnednakedintothetinyhotelroom.Hiseyeswerecrescent-shapedandsetintohisfacelikedarkdunesuponayellowdesert.Hewasamanofgreatagilitythatwasowedperhapstohissize.ThatdidnothelphimmuchontheWang,becauseinitsvastunfoldinggridsofdataandlogic,physicsandbiologymeantnothing.Hisabilitytomovewithfluiditybetweenthetwoatthespeedofthoughtwasgettingbetterwithtime.Soonthetransitionswouldbeseamlessandhewouldbeetheworld’sfirsttranshuman.

Theassassinwasbynomeansalargeman,butthatfactdidnothingtodetractfromhiscraft.Hewasaperfectlyhonedanimal,trainedinthevariousartsofkilling.Hestoodfivefoottwoinchestall,slimwithfinelytonedmusclesthathadbeenperfectedallthoseyearsinthePeoplesLiberationArmyandthenfine-tunedinthesiliconoceansoftheprototype.Thatwasnowbehindhim.Hehadsincebeengivenpermanentleavetoworkmoredirectlyforhispeopleandhiscountrythroughtheformidableinterfaceofthemajor-general.

BeforehisinsertionintotheWang,hehadspentmanyyearstoilingandlaboringunderthescorchingheatoftheGobidesert.Mostofthattimehadbeenspentguardingthousandsofkilometersofundisputeddesertborder,anexpanseoflandthatnoonewantedtoclaimtitleto.ThePLAcamphadbeenasfarremovedfromhumanlifeasphysicallypossible.Theonlyconnectiontocivilizationhadbeentherailwaytrackwhichcameinfromthesouthandendedabruptlyinthedesert.Andtheroverbotsthatdottedthedesertlandscape.Hehadlearnttodevelopadeepaffinityforthemandthey,sensinghisdevotion,hadrespondedinkind,clusteringaroundhimattheendofthedayfortheirdailywipedown.

Hewarpedbackinmemoryspacetotheblastingheatandthestrangecreaturesthathadmadetheirhomebeneaththedesertsand.

Theexperimentswerenowfirmlybehindhim,theonlyreminderwastheopenwetsocketlocatedatthebaseofhisskullthatwithasimplepopandasharptwinge,astheminutecablemadeitselfathome,jackedhimpermanentlyintotheWang.Fromtheopenwindowofhiscrampeddowntownhotelroomthesoundofthetrafficgavehimanintensebuzzlikeheneverknewbefore.

HowdifferentthiswasfrombeinglockedintheWangformonthsonend,hisbodypiercedwithdripsandthelongsnakingintravenoustubesthatkepthimnourishedwhileherodethewavesofChina’sunfoldingmatrix,securingterritoryintheemergingdigitalspaceforthecountryhelovedsomuch.Notlongbeforehejackedinagain.Notlongbeforehewaswritingdigitalcalligraphyforthesoul.Butfirst,therewasthatsmallmattertotakecareof.