Counting Heads (59 page)
Authors: David Marusek
THE DIRECTOR’S VOICE came over the cueing speaker: “That last one was very good, Myr Skarland. Now let’s go back to Surprise/Sitting.”
In the Burning Daylight recording booth, Mary sat on the stool and took a breath, trying to empty her mind of all thoughts. “Ready,” she said.
“Leena,” said the voice, “they told me you were involved in an accident.”
Mary’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“Good. Good. Now let’s do Surprise/Rising.”
“Ready.”
“Leena,” said the voice, “Myr Dodder is
dead
!”
Mary rose from the stool.
“Good. Now Surprise/False.”
“Ready.”
A COFFEE BREAK. Mary removed the ECG helmet and shook out her hair. She exited the booth and joined Cyndee and Georgine in the hall.
“It’s
hard
!” Cyndee said. “I never knew how hard it was to be an actor.”
“What cascades are you guys working on?” Georgine said.
“Surprise,” Mary said.
“Titillation,” said Cyndee.
“Oh, that should be easy for you,” Georgine quipped.
“Is that right?” Cyndee said. “Then why did I hear they picked you to do orgasm?” She mimicked the director’s voice. “Orgasm/Sitting. Good. Good. Now Orgasm/Standing.”
The sisters laughed, and then laughed at themselves laughing. (Laughter/Silly.)
Down the hall they heard someone not laughing. It was Ellen. Her voice kept rising, louder and shriller, in an angry crescendo, and Mary imagined her flushed face back home in the tank. As one, the sisters headed for the office. ’Leens to the rescue.
Ellen’s jacket, a lean, stylish woman, had her business partner, Clarity, backed against the wall of the small office. Clarity flashed them a look of welcome when they came in, but Ellen turned her rage on them. “Give us a minute!” she snapped. “Can’t you see we’re busy?”
“Sorry,” Cyndee said.
“We’ll just be going then,” Georgine said.
“But when are you going to show us that surprise you promised?” Mary said.
Ellen’s expression went blank. She looked from the ’leens to Clarity. She covered her face with her hands for a moment, and when she lowered them she looked a lot calmer, and she said, “How about right now?”
The evangelines agreed and followed her out of the office. Clarity mouthed a silent thank-you. Ellen led them to the mixing studio and said, “It’s only about sixty percent compiled, and the inference engine is buggy, and the highlights need serious tweaking, but—what do you think?”
The evangeline sim—working title Leena—appeared in the room. She wore a blue and teal jumpsuit, similar in cut to Applied People livery. She seemed to be within germline norms, though her nose was perhaps a bit too pert, her eyebrows too chiseled, her boobs definitely bigger and buttocks rounder. The sim broke out in a huge smile and said, “Sisters!” On its face was Mary’s own expression—Surprise/Recognition.
Ellen bustled about her creation, dictating notes to her mentar, Lyra. “This is feckin’ brilliant!” she exclaimed. “Do you ’leens have any idea how much production time we save by scotching the three of you together? If only all actors were clones.”
Mary hugged herself and watched the sim explore the studio, watched her sisters tease it with questions, watched their companion slowly begin to forget her own grisly death.
(Surprise/Happiness.)
(Joy/Unexpected.)
I am privileged to work with a dedicated corps of readers and editors who are not shy in pointing out the strengths and flaws of my fiction. This novel (and the novella
We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy
that serves as Part One) has been vastly improved through their generous feedback. To them I offer giddy thanks:
Suzanne Bishop
Terry Boren
Maggie Flinn
Dixon Jones
Holly Wade Matter
Jackie Stormer
Sandra Boatwright
Charles Brown
Colleen Herning
Marion Avrilyn Jones
Katherine Patrick
Cynthia Ward
Vincent Bonasso
Gardner Dozois
Elizabeth Ann Hull
Paula Kothe
Kate Schaefer
A snappy salute to my agent, Ralph Vicinanza, and my editor, David G. Hartwell, for their leap of faith in taking me on.
I started this book as a house guest of Pat Cadigan and Chris Fowler in London, and finished it as a house guest of Russell and Avis Ruffu in Denton, Texas. Thank you so much for sharing the creative ambiance of your lovely households. And special thanks to Candis Shannon for looking after Kika while I was away.
Finally, much appreciation to the Rasmuson Foundation for a grant to help promote this book.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
COUNTING HEADS
Copyright © 2005 by David Marusek
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
Edited by David G. Hartwell
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Marusek, David.
Counting heads/David Marusek.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN: 978-1-4299-3250-9
1. Twenty-second century—Fiction. 2. Overpopulation—Fiction. 3. Assassination—Fiction. 4. Immortalism—Fiction. 5. Rich people—Fiction. 6. Cryonics—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3613.A788 C68 2005
813’.6—dc22
2005005316
