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work--brilliant, but very unorthodox. She had certain ideas about organic
computing.
She thought she could use evolution as a heuristic device. Some scientists
regard evolution as a high-level natural neural process, involving thought on
the species level."
"Evolution? How?" Martin asks. "With dirt?"
Daniels shrugs. "For a time, Schnee worked for Terence Crest. He recruited her
into a group called the Aristos." She pronounced it "arr-ist'us." "The
Aristos limit their membership exclusively to high naturals. Don't believe in
mental therapy. Oddly, they allowed Seefa Schnee into the Aristos even though
she suffered from an unusual and treatable mental condition--perhaps because
this condition was self-induced."
"What sort of condition?" Mary asks.
"I know," Martin says incredulously. "My God, I know what this is all leading
up to."
"Not tough to figure at this point, is it?" Torres asks.
"Tourette syndrome," Martin says, a little aghast, and then even more aghast
that nobody contradicts him.
"She treated herself to increase her creative potential," Daniels says. "The
process, in part, induced a kind of Tourette syndrome. She was brilliant
enough with or without the Tourette, and I suppose the Aristos needed her
badly enough--and she worked cheap. She changed her name and disappeared from
public life a few years ago. She last used the name Cipher Snow."
"Omphalos is financed by the Aristos Foundation," Torres says. "The membership
list is very secure. We still don't know where the financing comes from or how
large the membership is."
"Omphalos was finished a few years ago," Mary says. "Perhaps about the same
time Schnee vanished?"
"We think they may be connected."
There's an air of discovery in the cabin, excitement, that is infectious--to
all but Martin. Mary turns to see him rubbing his hands on his knees, his face
lined and covered with pale splotches.
"The Aristos Foundation financed a study from me," he says. "Legal and
aboveboard." He returns Mary's look and gives her a sickly grin. "I hope you
don't think I'm somehow involved in every shady deal there is."
Mary inclines her head to one side, not sure what to feel for the man. So much
of this confuses her. She scratches her wrist, then her elbow.
"They're allied with elitist conservatives, particularly the New Federalist
party," Martin says.
"Not centrists, that's for sure," Daniels says.
The other two agents, Hench and his nameless colleague, both with square faces
and large, strong-looking hands, listen and keep their silence, making
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GREG BEAR
"They wanted to understand the dynamics of a therapied culture," Martin
continues. "They wanted to know how essential therapy is to modern society.
But how could they be responsible for these fallbacks?"
"That, according to Nathan Rashid," Daniels says, "is where Roddy comes in."
"We think Seefa Schnee has built a thinker in Omphalos for the Aristos,"
Torres says. "This thinker may be your Roddy. And Roddy has apparently
designed ways of hacking implant monitors.., or perhaps just screwing them up,
shutting them down."
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"I'm here just in case they find something in Omphalos," Burke says to Mary.
Hench nods, staring down at his pad.
"We'll be landing in ten minutes," the pilot announces. "Brace yourselves.
They know we're Federal and they're not rolling out the red carpet. They're
giving us the worst runway in town."
"We now know why Dr. Burke is here," Mary says. "Can anyone explain why you've
hooked me in?"
Daniels grabs a seatback as the plane begins its turn. She leans closer to
Mary. "Two reasons. The first is obvious--you can help us by telling us what
you know. The second is a tad devious, I'm afraid. We're like bluecoats riding
unarmed into Injun country here. These bastards would as soon spit on us as
pick their noses. But you--you're our ace in the hole."
"How?" Mary asks.
Hench puts away his pad, looks at Mary, and before Torres or Daniels can
explain, interrupts to say, "I think we met in LA a few years ago. Conference
on local and Federal coordination. You've changed since."
"Going back on a transform," Mary says tersely. His comment seems at best an
impertinence. Mary senses they're going to sound her out before fully in-
ttegrating her into this
Nussbaum's recommendation team, or no.
"What about those spots on your hand?" Hench says, leaning over in his seat as
the old jet banks.
Mary stares down at the back of her left hand and notices, for the first time,
a set of four pallid lesions. She covers them with her other hand, surprised
and embarrassed.
Hench regards at her intently. "The Aristos oppose transform treatments, too,"
he says.
"My God," Martin says. "What is going on in this country?"
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As if to loosen the sudden tension, Daniels says, "You don't want to be in
Green Idaho on the Fourth of July. These folks go nuts for fireworks. Three or
four hundred people are hurt here every year in fireworks accidents. They sell
sticks of old construction dynamite at roadside stands."
Mary cuts through the buzz in her head, forces herself to relax and not to
look at the lesions. The plane continues a steep turn, and through her window,
Mary catches sight of grasslands, ruined forests, abandoned strip mines like
great brown cankers. Snow suddenly falls in stretched ribbon flurries around
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/ SLANT 279
"This place is just one big tumor," Torres says in an undertone. "We should
drop a big rock and wipe it off the map."
Daniels grins. "They love you, too, Federico."
Jack Giffey is on the edge of simply shooting the old man. But Marcus Reilly's
bravado is something to behold, like watching a weaving snake. Giffey knows
what the old man says is true--tells himself all this is just a waste of time,
and it would be best if they removed themselves from Omphalos and vanished
into the wilderness.
But Giffey knows he will stay; he did not come here for treasure. He pities
the others if they find this disappointing. Hale in particular is building up
a head of steam, though so far he has taken the news with deceptive calm.
Jenner and Pickwenn don't seem to be getting any worse, for the time being.
Giffey thinks Hale is their real weak point. Hale might shoot Reilly before
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Giffey does. And that would be unfortunate.
Reilly is about to justify Giffey's being here.
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