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actor might carry with it data on how the role was played by this actor or that in the past. Depending on
the rev of Hamlet you run, you can be Gibson, Branagh, or Olivier.
"Thumper?"
Al shook his head with a herky-jerky motion. " 'Sa not for me. 'Sides, I got work to do around here. I'm
changing all the burned bulbs in the Scoreboard. Want it right for when we beat the San Diego Jaguars."
"Another time then." I opened my locker as they left Jimmy and me alone. I tossed a wink at the picture
of Lynn I'd taped to the inside of the door just keeping with my cover, mind you and pulled on a pair
of khaki slacks. The polo shirt I tugged on over my head was navy blue and had the team's logo
emblazoned on the right breast. Sheathing my feet in a pair of nylon Armani-Nike3power trainers and
pumping them to snug completed my outfit, then raking a comb through my hair finished my preparations.
Jimmy took a sidelong glance at me and whistled. "Look lots better now than you did in the batting
cage."
I jingled the keys of my car at him. "And we'll both look better in the Fenris."
"Then lead on, my friend."
The short tunnel from the locker room brought us directly to the parking lot beneath the stadium. Off to
the right, the Fenris lurked like a piece of primordial darkness. All smooth and sleek, it reflected none of
the garage's meager light because of a radarbane coating Doctor Raven had sprayed on it. Time seemed
to slow as you approached the car, but I figured that was relativity in action because the car looked like it
was doing light speed when it was sitting still.
The Fenris even impressed Jimmy. " 'Fifty model, with a twelve-cylinder engine, right?"
I nodded. "Seventy-five hundred klicks on her and still not a dent."
3Active wear for the chic. I actually prefer Gucci-Puma sneakers myself despite the Old One's
protests but part of the licensing deal with the team meant we got this stuff for free, which meant I didn't
mind slumming my way into it.
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Jimmy ran a hand gently over the top. "Doc Raven must pay very well."
I smiled and keyed open my door. The automatic locks snapped open and Jimmy settled into the
passenger seat. "Actually this was a gift from a friend, but Raven has been known to be generous." I
smiled openly. "You can bet Ms. Lacy-Mitsuto will pay very well if I can solve your little problem here."
"You find out who's been trying to sabotage our drive for the pennant and money will be no object."
I punched in the ignition sequence, and the dozen cylinders beneath the Fenris' hood started hitting like
Murderers' Row. The vehicle's headlights rotated up into position and I shifted the car into gear.
"ParVenue, here we come."
Again irritation flickered over Jimmy's face, but I didn't know him well enough to guess what the cause
might be. He controlled it and forced himself to relax. "Hey, Wolf, that was nice of you to ask Thumper if
he wanted to join us."
"No big deal. He seems like a nice guy. I thought he'd like time away from the Dome."
Jimmy frowned. "He probably would, but I don't think he can exist away from the Dome or the circus
environment. He's in deep."
"Like Babe?"
"No." Jimmy shook his head solemnly. "Ken Wilson is in deep by choice. Sure, the Seattle organization
planned to draft Babe Ruth and use him, so they wanted someone like Ken whose physiology matched
the Babe's right down to length of thumbs and space between the eyes. Ken was groomed to play Babe
Ruth since Little League, so making it to the show is the fulfillment of a dream for him."
Coming out of the Dome's parking garage I waved at Thumper, then steered toward downtown Seattle.
"Wilson's lucky he looks enough like Babe Ruth to be his clone."
"He didn't when he started." Jimmy began to scowl. "The man's had more plastic surgery than many elf
wannabes. Ken's in deep because he chooses to be in deep. He lets the statsoft ride all the time, and he
wears the Babe's identity like a mask."
"I take it, from your tone of voice, you've got a problem with what Ken does?"
Jimmy waved me off. "Not really a problem, but a difference of opinion. Look, when I started playing
ball, I was just like you. I played in the streets with the kids from the neighborhood, then I graduated to
Little League on a team sponsored by Renraku. My father is a district manager for them and the corps
take care of their own. A scout saw me and I got pumped into the Seattle organization, of which Renraku
owns a big chunk."
From outside, street lights strobed pinkish highlights on the ebony of Jimmy's nose and forehead.
Humanoid shadows scuttled through the darkness surrounding Fourth Avenue South as we shot around
the Renraku Arcology. Try as I might, I couldn't make out any signs of where the helicopter had crashed
during the Night of Fire, but I'd have expected Renraku to clean up fast, so that didn't surprise me much.
By the same token I knew the area of Westlake where I'd seen action that same night had long since
been patched up by Tucker and Bors, so the power of corps to heal their wounds was never in question
in my mind.
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Jimmy's lips peeled back from white teeth in a grin laden with irony. "I really love this game. In fact, I
have it written into my contract that I can play in pick-up games whenever I want to unlike others
whose playing time is all tied up by contract."
"Having your father as a suit in the corp hierarchy must help."
"Yeah, it has its advantages." He stretched, placing his palms flat against the dashboard. "Ken stays
statsoft-operational all the time because he really wants to be Babe Ruth. Whatever personality Ken
originally had has been smothered by his statsoft. Me? I realize that baseball is my life right now, but it
won't be forever. I only let a statsoft ride when I'm on the field. Other than that, I'm Jimmy Mackelroy."
I nodded. The Old One, the fragment of the Wolf spirit lurking in my brain, likewise had to be
segregated out of my life. Yes, his power and abilities gave me, through magic, what Jimmy got through
wired reflexes and cybered eyes. Still, the Old One, with his wild wishes for combat and killing and
blood, brought with him a dark side that I could not let run riot. Like Jimmy, I could not let the Old One
control me, or I would lose my personality and end up hurting many people.
As those thoughts coursed through my brain, I looked out and saw a nearly full moon flashing through
the picket fence of skyscrapers in downtown Seattle. The Old One's howl echoed through my mind.
Beware, Longtooth, with the moon comes my power. You retain control for now, but invoke me
and I will show you the true way of the warrior.
I shivered and spoke to deflect my thoughts away from the path blazed by the Old One's whisper. "So
why is Thumper different from Ken Wilson?"
"Ken has a choice, Thumper doesn't." Jimmy's brown eyes narrowed as bitterness entered his voice. "Al
had Ted Williams riding him when his skull was fractured. The brain damage was extensive, and the
doctors initially thought he'd never be more than a turnip suitable for organ-harvesting. His sister agreed
to pull the plug on him, but she demanded he be allowed to die as Ted Williams. League officials agreed
and returned the statsoft to him. That brought Al out of it, though through rehabilitation his personality [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]