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Mount Fuji, Japan July 2012
Jay Gridley sat on a bench provided for pilgrims and watched the sunset. Fuji-yama was a walk-up, lots of people climbed it every day. It was a volcanic peak, a stratovolcano shaped like a squat cone, but more than twelve thousand feet high, in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, near Honshu. The sacred mountain was the highest in Japan. It hadn't had a major eruption since the early 1700s, but it vented steam and smoke now and again. Gave folks a bit of a thrill, maybe, to know it could possibly wake up and blow the climbers into the next world, however unlikely that was.
Most of die pilgrims started their ascent at the Fifth Station, about seventy-five hundred feet up, from where it took six or eight hours to make it to the top. The official climbing season ran from July to the end of August. CUmbers on the north side used the Yoshidaguchi trail, which ran from Fujiyoshida City to the summit. The Fuji Subaru Line toll road met the trail at the Fifth Station, halfway up the mountain.
It was crowded-Fuji-yama was always crowded, sometimes hundreds of people walking in a long serpentine line, only a few inches apart, laughing, talking, enjoying themselves. It wasn't Mount Everest. More than a hundred thousand people a year climbed the sacred mountain. Now and again, one would die making the ascent, usually from a heart attack, but sometimes from heat exhaustion or dehydration. It was cool, maybe ten degrees above freezing at the top today, but a steady climb produced a lot of heat, and the heavy jackets tended to come off pretty quick.
The old saying in Japan was you were a fool not to climb the mountain once, and a bigger fool if you climbed it twice.
Jay watched the pilgrims slog past, many with walking sticks-canes, staves-backpacks holding small children,
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a seeing-eye dog leading a blind man. Old, young, by, tourists, seekers, dressed in every color of the and a lot of hues not found anywhere in nature, s not a totally safe climb, however, even for those shape. Falling rocks injured or killed people, if Those who wandered off the trail had sometimes . And now and again, a tourist would be hit by light- sometimes out of the blue. Jay carried a small tran- radio Velcroed to his backpack, tuned to a time sig i somewhere. Supposedly, if the radio started blasting a lot of static, it was a good idea to hit the ground lie flat.
feather was not particularly stable from the base to f top, and what started out sunny could be foggy, rainy, awy in a matter of a few minutes. The place made weather.
Climbing Safety Guidance Center was located at |Sixth Station, First Aid Station at the Seventh. Climb- f during the off-season was not encouraged. Those who the need were required to clear their climbing gear the Fujiyoshida Police Station. Failure to do so as a . would get you kicked out of the country if caught, iy fined if you were a local.
: was a good idea to bring proper clothing, water, food, toilet paper.
|; Assuming you made it to the top, you could visit the e, mail a postcard at the post office, and explore the ic crater. You could also buy souvenirs, very ex- sive, and the big show was to watch the sunrise above sea of clouds that often shrouded the earth below, fay had made the climb five times. In VR, that is. He to try it in RW some day. Since meeting Saji, he no longer worried that the real thing might not live i to the artificial experience.
aji. Ah, there was something to think about when he to the top. As he had been thinking about her most I the way up so far. |An old man, white-haired, seventy, darkly tanned, came
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and sat on the bench next to him. He looked as if he might be Thai. He wore gray wool slacks over waffle-soled hiking boots, a white shirt under a blue Gore-Tex wind- breaker, white cotton gloves, and dark sunglasses. He smiled at Jay.
"Nice day for a climb, isn't it?"
Jay nodded. This wasn't a private scenario, but a public one run by Tokyo University. Some, maybe all, of the climbers could be personas of real people. Many of the visuals were lifted right from the net-cams that watched the mountain year-round. "Yes, it is," he said.
They sat there, not speaking for a few moments, then the old man got up. "Well, that's enough rest for the wicked. See you around, Jay."
Jay nodded and smiled, and it was a full two seconds before he realized that the man had called him'by name.
"Hey! Hold it!"
But the old man developed a speed and broken-field running ability that would have shamed a star football quarterback on a ninety-yard touchdown run. And he laughed loud and almost maniacally as he did so.
Somebody is seriously playing with me, Jay thought.
And it seemed to Jay in that moment that it must be somebody who knew him.
But-who?
On the Bon Chance
Jackson and his crew were well away from the ship when Roberto returned from his mission. Jackson had called, was already working using his flatscreen and modem from the helicopter, and obviously feeling much better.
Chance had read about the senator's accident on the NetNewsNow headline page within an hour of the event. DeWitt would live, but doctors were not sure that he would walk again.
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bad. But you had to factor that in-you couldn't ; an omelet without breaking a few eggs. cWitt was a fly removed from the ointment. v, as she waited for Roberta to arrive at her office- n't want to invite him to her cabin and have him considered yet again how she was going to 'this.
i wasn't the brightest bulb on the string, but nei; he stupid. He was cunning, in a sly way, but his f the world was limited, much more personal than She was smarter than he was, she knew it, and ion was one of her strengths. She could bend her direction. She had the skills, smiled when he sauntered into the small office she "Missy. It is done." heard. As ever, you are a man to be relied upon.
you." ; shrugged.
she said. "I have sent Jackson away." eyebrows went up.
was a mistake. You know how I am. I am weak : sex, I crave it. I am sorry. But it was wrong, I admit So Jackson is gone; he'll be working on the train now on-you never have to see him again if you want. I'll make it up to you." ow?"
^"Anything you want." smiled.
could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. F course Missy realized her mistake, how could she not? was much man, while Jackson was a boy, one who lied computers and did nothing for real. Only a fool aid prefer him over Roberta, and Missy, slut that she , was no fool. This was only right. |*I will think about it," he said.
held her smile in check. She had him. H*Thank you, Roberto." Don't lay it on too thick, she herself, just enough so he sees you as contrite, and
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willing to kneel for his forgiveness. Let him think about what he is missing-what he could be missing in addition to that.
He would come around.
She watched him stroll out, walking with that cocksure swagger that men of physical prowess displayed, like big cats who could spring at any second, relaxed, but ready, a coiled spring waiting for instant release.
And he really was much better in bed than Jackson.
23
> Air over the North Atlantic
felt better. He knew intellectually this wasn't al realistic, his relief-Santos was as portable as he and if he really wanted to come and get him, he id; still, having a thousand miles of space between elf and the killer was better than not. Besides, he 't think Santos would do that, come after him. Jas- should be able to protect him, and certainly she distract the man if she put her mind to it. She was talented when it came to distracting men, Keller for sure. He'd never been with anybody like her, even close. She knew things he had never heard of, 1 imagined. The tricks she could do... at was the problem. He should have never let himself into that situation in the first place, but, ah, she was How could a normal man refuse? She could a cold sweat on a brass monkey, raise some other of his anatomy, too.
as soon as he'd climbed onto the copter, Keller i felt as if a great weight
had been lifted from him. He
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was able to get on-line and screw with Jay Gridley some more without looking over his shoulder. To have fun with it.
He leaned back in the first-class seat of the 747 heading for Germany and stared through the window. Dueling with a man like Gridley, that was a civilized way of doing things. You used your skill, your wit, your intelligence. Your opponent appreciated these things, respected them, even if he opposed you. There were rules, many of them unstated but understood nonetheless, and adhered to, proper ways to engage and contend. Civilized men knew these things-they knew how the game was played.
A man like Santos? He appreciated nothing but brute force. Violence. It didn't matter to him that you were smarter, that you had talent and skill. No, all that mattered to him was the fist in the face, the foot to the crotch. He was a savage, no matter how you cleaned him up and dressed him, a jungle creature with a sharp stick. If you explained this to him, he would laugh. If you protested his lowbrow, knuckle-dragging demeanor, he would kick sand hi your face. He would rather hurt people than not.
Keller shook his head. How could you reason with a man like that? You couldn't. Jasmine wound him up like some demented killing toy and set him loose to do her dirty work. She used money, not to mention her sexual favors, like a carrot to entice a mule into her bidding. You didn't take a stick to a beast like Santos. He would turn around and rip your arm off if you tried it. The man was an animal, with the morals of a cat. Pure evil, not a whit of guilt, a sociopath.
Still and all, Santos was necessary. CyberNation had to go forward. Whatever means were necessary were justified. Just as abolitionists of a century and a half past had broken immoral laws to help the slaves, so would those engaged in the fight to bring CyberNation to life be revered as freedom fighters decades from now. Living on the cutting edge was risky, but it had to be done-for the greater good. If a few men had to suffer so that mankind
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whole would progress ... was this not how it had I since before the beginning of history?
It was.
man like Jay Gridley, even if he couldn't be per1 to your side of the argument, could be outmaneu- could be defeated, using the tools that would lly be society's redemption. Deep in his heart, he would admit it or not, Gridley knew that the rales, the old ways, had to move aside. Progress on. It always had, and if you stood in its path, got run over, that was the way of it. The question i not if, but when. The choice was between evolution I revolution. Even Gridley would admit to that. He was Revolution, a status quoist, but he had not always been clined. Neither, for that matter, had the country. Had Mhe United States of America been born of revolution, ; against outmoded laws? Could they not see that such ; would come again? That the fast wheel was some; better than the slow one? pie who were comfortable had a selective kind of s. They saw what they wanted to see, and ignored things they did not wish to notice. Like a horse with
i on, they had no vision save straight ahead. 'Now and again, somebody had to come by and pull the e's blinders off, cut his traces, and slap him on the Run free, my friend! The future awaits you out
drone of the big jet engines lulled him. Here he , on a craft bigger than the ships that had crossed the ; from Europe to open up the Americas, a flying vessel : was so big and so heavy that no one on Earth would taken a bet that it could fly, even a hundred years 3. The jet could travel thousands of miles without re- ng, cover a distance in a few hours that would have the wind-blown sailors months in their wooden with canvas sail. The electronics in this bird would lie the minds of the creators of Univac. You didn't back from such wonders. The future ran only one
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way, and the next revolution was not going to be in machines, but in knowledge. The global community would be one, together, able to reach out and touch each other faster than thought itself.
Once that happened, men like Santos would be superfluous. They could be quietly eliminated. The strongest man could be brought low by a bullet to the head. The hand that pulled the trigger need not be any stronger than that of a child. As the mammoths had fallen before the technology of the spear and fire, so, too, would men like Santos, who flexed their muscles instead of their brains, eventually join the ranks of the extinct beasts who were strong, but stupid.
The mind was more powerful. Brain won over brawn.
At least in theory. Given his recent experience with Santos, Keller realized there was going to be a transition period before the thugs and mugs went the way of the dodo. And during that period, it would be smart to stay out of the way of the brutes as they flailed about in their death throes. Yes, indeed.
Wathington, D.C.
In bed next to Saji, both of them reading, Jay sighed.
"What?"
"This biz with this guy," he said. "I feel like somehow I'm missing something I shouldn't."
She put her book down and looked at him. "Oh?"
"Yeah. There's something, some kind of, I don't know, familiar feel to the traps and touches. Like die Fuji thing. Why appear as an old Thai? Why come and sit next to me and then give it away like that?"
"He knows you're part Thai," she said. "He's playing with your head."
"Yeah, yeah, but something is weird about it. I feel as if I should know this guy."
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: sat quietly for a moment. Then said, "What else is
ring you?"
e? Nothing. Work is all."
; said, "Are you sure?"
: I'm sure." He looked at her. "What are you get- |at?"
I short time passed before she spoke. Then she said, I you really ready to get married?" ; blinked. The question that had been on his mind for sounded terrifying when it came from her. "How
ask that? Of course I am!" ay."
it-are you having second thoughts?" sighed. "Yes."
it? Really?" He sat up straighter. His gut churned , sudden cold, as if he'd swallowed a cup of liquid
"Why?" ifou know the Four Noble Truths," she said.
shrugged. "Yeah. There's suffering in the world. e's a reason for this suffering. There's an end to it. e's a way to learn how to end it, using the Eightfold
"
lose enough. And the Eightfold path?"
: is this, a bedtime quiz?" shrugged. "You asked."
ay, we're talking, ah-right understanding, right ng, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right, .effort. Lemme see, ah, right mindfulness, and-don't 1 me, I got it-right concentration." "Yes. And the Middle Path is the way many of us seek- enlightenment choose. Staying away from the exes."
)kay. So? What's this got to do with you having sec- *
[ fear that my desire for you is sometimes too strong," i said. "That having a desire this powerful, that being tied to it, will ultimately be the cause of suffering.
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Not being with you, but wanting to be with you too much."
"Listen, I've tried to plug into this, but I've never really understood it. What does that mean?"
She smiled at him. "Admission of ignorance is the first step on the road to wisdom."
"Yeah, right."
"It's not that we can't be together, married, and happy. Each moment should be what it is, and there is much joy to be found in each moment. But the idea is to not be attached to that, not to want the joy so much that you can't experience it. You can ... get in your own way. You can spend all your time trying to live for the future, full of expectation, or living in the past, full of nostalgia. Either will cause suffering, because you can have neither. The past is gone, the future never arrives."
"So are you saying you don't want to get married?"
"No, idiot, you're not listening. I do. Maybe too much, that's all I'm saying. I don't want to make you responsible for my happiness, because if I do, sooner or later, I'll be disappointed and
unhappy."
"That's real comforting, sweetie."
"It's the truth. Reaching outside yourself for happiness is the big cause for suffering. I want to stand next to you, but not depend on your shadow to protect me from the sun. Suppose I put all my life into you, into us. And it works great, you give me back all I give you and more."
"Sounds right to me. What's the problem?"
"You change your mind in ten years, decide you don't want to be here."
"I won't-"
"Okay, better example-you get hit by a bus in six months. You don't have the choice to stay or go, your number is up."
"Are you saying you don't want to miss me if I get hit by a bus?"
"No. I'm saying that I want to be happy on my own, so that what I bring to us is real and true. Marriage is a
^
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ship. If I don't come to the table with my half, it's ; fair to either of us."
shook his head. He really didn't understand. She i worried that she might want him too much? How was a bad thing? His fear was that he would lose some; of himself by marrying her. That was different. Wasn't it?
fe felt her hand slide across his leg. "Whoa. What have ; here?"
"The moment, Jay. No past, no future, just right now." ,He grinned. Okay. He could deal with that. Oh, yeah, litely.
it bothered him that she was worried about the thing. Given how he had felt lately, that ildn't bother him at all, but it did. Was that a double
i? Probably, but-ah! She overrode his thoughts with her actions, and in the oment, he stopped worrying and was happy.
> the Bon Chance
i was satisfied, at least for the moment. He had made sy do some things she ordinarily did not do-and that >
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