by Unknown
He knew he had enough free optical chips in the memory bank. He called up the memory bank, loaded the coded sector containing the files last recorded into the active memory. On the vidscreen he now saw the data blocks the way he had perceived them in the matrix. They were shown as cubes and blocks. Only their identification codes and some of the exterior and fragmentary information could be read, but he could distinguish between them by shape and color. He grouped the data blocks he didn't wish to pass on, including the MTC connection and the Africa block, into a smaller cube, the others into a large one. Then he entered the commands to print the large cube twice.
A message appeared on the vidscreen.
CANNOT BE COPIED
Pandur shook his head and repeated the command.
CANNOT BE COPIED
He could hardly believe it. He got the small cube and repeated the command.
CANNOT BE COPIED
Drek! There was obviously a fault in his cyberdeck. He uploaded a data cube at random from the memory bank and repeated the command.
The cube was copied in a fraction of a second.
Pandur went to the larger cube and entered the command.
CANNOT BE COPIED
"Problems?" asked Jessi, looking over his shoulder.
"The cyberdeck refuses to copy the data from AG Chemie," Pandur answered.
"We can try it on my deck," Jessi suggested.
"Wait just a moment..." Pandur said. "Perhaps it'll work if I change the composition of the cube."
He broke the large cube up into the smaller data blocks. To test it he gave the command to copy the smallest of the blocks.
CANNOT BE COPIED
"Fucking drek!" Pandur exploded. "My cyberdeck's developed a mind of its own! It wants to decide for itself what it copies and what it doesn't."
"Don't talk crap, Pandur," Jessi gave back. "That's not possible. Your deck is probably so sophisticated that it's forgotten how to do the simplest things. Like a math professor who can solve integrals in his head but can't remember how to switch on the trid."
"Just let me... " Pandur carried out the same procedure with other random blocks. If they came from AG Chemie's computer, they wouldn't let themselves be copied, yet all other data blocks and larger data cubes were duplicated with no trouble.
He tried to open individual blocks and get the data on the screen.
ACCESS DENIED
Pandur thought long and hard. The trouble couldn't lie with the data blocks themselves. Sometimes security fanatics not only protected the SAN, the SPU and CPU nodes, but even the memory with Ice. Of course, that was ridiculous because access became much too cumbersome and so took a long time. But it could be done - if you were crazy enough. You could wrap each individual block with a copy protect. Only, dammit, you couldn't hide the copy protect or the Ice or whatever. The matrix wasn't folded. It didn't have any pockets. What was there was shown. And these data blocks, the vidscreen showed it clear as day, were nothing more than common-or-garden quantities of data. With no ifs and buts. Pandur gave up. He switched off the vidscreen and put in the opening command.
His cyberdeck was fast. Commands were carried out in nanoseconds. This was Pandur's lifeline in the matrix. The magnetic lock that anchored the lid over the memory bank might be a little slower. But normally the lid flipped up the instant he entered the command. Entering the command was the only relevant time factor in the process.
This time everything was different. The lid did't pop up at all.
Pandur uttered an execration.
Second attempt.
Negative.
Third attempt.
Negative.
"This fucking, fucking cyberdeck is completely and totally mad!" Pandur cursed.
He would have tried again but Jessi suddenly seized his hand.
"Look," she breathed.
Pandur didn't at once know what she meant. But then he saw it, too.
His cyberdeck was glowing from within. A blue mist issued from the deck and enveloped it. The color became brighter and more intense. It was transformed into a milky-white light that gradually lost luminescence. The mist dissipated and everything was back to normal.
"Magic," Jessi breathed.
Pandur would have nothing to do with it. "Magic can't affect electron flow," he said.
He doggedly tried once more to open the deck.
The glowing light returned. At the very first attempt. It faded away when he withdrew his fingers from the keyboard.
Pandur stared at his cyberdeck as if in a daze. He was forced to accept the fact that it no longer obeyed him but an unknown force.
"How's it possible to allow me to copy certain data and not others if sorcery only manifests itself in material things?"
"Magic can only work on matter," said Jessi. "But that's all it needs. A cyberdeck is a combination of electronic and mechanical elements. Someone's anchored a spell to the mechanics of your cyberdeck."
"Nonsense," he protested. "Nobody's had an opportunity... " He broke off. He knew too little about magic. And what he knew had been sent reeling by Manda's disclosures. Someone had tagged him in Astral Space. Why shouldn't that powerful mage be able to put a spell on his cyberdeck, to enthral it, or whatever the expression was. Maybe it was possible to do this remotely. Or it was a spell that had been dormant in the deck and had now been activated. Other people had had their paws on his cyberdeck. The mad mage, for example, the one who had forced him into the Renraku run...
"Who?" Jessi asked. "AG Chemie?"
"No way."
"Then who"
"Another power, I guess."
"That wants to stop the data being handed over?"
"Looks like it."
Jessi stared at the cyberdeck as if it were an enemy. "It must be a complicated spell that records the command code you enter through the keys and then opens up the energy supply one time and stops it another."
"Check in Astral Space if there is such a spell and exactly what it does," Pandur asked.
"I can't do anything like that," Jessi confessed. It sounded sheepish.
"Why not? You're a mage!"
"I'm only a mage adept!" It didn't sound apologetic now, but confident and defiant. "Mage adepts can't assense. We have access to a small section of Astral Space but otherwise it's off limits to us."
Some superteam! The rigger's got brain maggots and the mage can't see into Astral Space. How could I let anyone fuck with me like this?
He had to confess, though, that he had largely put himself in it. He had wanted his chummers to be the creme de la creme. Red Cloud had described Festus as the best rigger in northern Germany and that was probably not a lie. And he was a mighty strong razorclaw. Unfortunately, though, he was a sick man and not always up to scratch. As for Jessi, Pandur had been fascinated by the fact that she commanded magic and decking. Now it turned out that she, too, had feet of clay. He might have known it. She was much too young to have mastered even just one of the two disciplies properly. A really good mage could only see the world in magical dimensions. He, or she, loved Astral Space as he loved the matrix. In her free time she studied her art, as he schooled himself in decking. If she had applied herself to hermetic magic she would be concerned with academic exploration of her art. If she followed the shamanist path, she sought to perfect communication with her totem. A young woman like Jessi, however highly gifted she might be, if she studied two such different specialist fields as hermetic magic and decking, could only be a beginner in both.
"But..." he began. He still didn't want to accept that Jessi was not capable of taking at least a brief look into Astral Space. "The shaman I told you about before... Manda... She said it made no difference if the elven hitman was a mage or a mage adept. He could read my tagging in Astral Space..."
"What does a shaman know about the nature of magic," Jessi said contemptuously. "She only feels what a mage knows. "
"She can look into Astral Space!" said Pandur.
"Maybe so, but th
at didn't help her daughter, did it?" Jessi countered angrily. "Apart from anything, you probably misunderstood her. Drek, are we gonna stand her discussing magic and handing out grades? We've got a problem and we ought to be dealing with it. How're you intending to copy the data? How're you planning to give Patrick any chip, even the one with all the data on it, if you can't open your deck?"
"There must be a way. I can try to force the lid." The thought of damaging his cyberdeck didn't appeal to Pandur one bit. Nor did he know how to go about it without running the risk of damaging something inside.
"It's hopeless," said Jessi. "If magic is preventing you from copying the chip or taking it out, you can bet your bottom dollar it knows how to deal with force."
"You can only fight magic with magic."
"I command only my own small special field. I can't help you."
"But an experienced mage could?"
"What I sense is powerful, artfully worked magic. It'll take an expert to break this spell."
"D'you know any mages like that?"
"I know people who're good. But I don't know how good they would have to be."
"I don't suppose we've got the time to find one, do we?" "
Hardly. Patrick'll have to take care of it. GreenWar has good connections with mages."
"I wouldn't let this cyberdeck out of my sight! It's worth much more than the 50,000 this run'll bring." His cyberdeck wasn't only valuable, it was irreplaceable for him. It held within it his career as a runner. The results of ten years in the shadows. They were the basis for him staying in the business a while longer. If his enemies permitted. He didn't mention the fact that there were other reasons.
"You'll get it back - or a replacement."
"Out of the question!"
Jessi sighed, "I can see that. But I can't think of any other solution. Can you?"
"GreenWar will have to wait until I find a mage who can remove the spell from the deck."
"GreenWar needs the data now. A lot's been invested in this operation. I don't think Patrick..."
A boat's engine could be heard outside. A loud, high-powered outboard engine. The Surfglider Patrick had disappeared in had sounded like that.
Maybe it's not such a bad idea, to hand the deck and everything inside it to the GreenWarriors. They're fighting for the environment, but also for a life of human dignity in a natural environment. They might be able to do something with the Africa data.
Pandur rejected the idea. AG Chemie would rub out the German section of GreenWar before they had a chance to pass on the data. Patrick and his people would talk too long. It just wouldn't work out. Pandur saw his only chance in depositing as many copies of the Africa block as possible, as soon as possible, in safe places. He had to let AG Chemie know that murdering him would not stop the data getting out. It was the only solution.
With stiff fingers, Pandur switched off his cyberdeck, put it in the case and hung it round his neck.
"Come on, we've got to wake Festus," said Jessi. "We'll explain the matter to Patrick. He'll have to show consideration."
Her earlier prophecy was not fulfilled. It wasn't necessary to wake the rigger with a bucket of water. He was already awake when they walked into the next room.
"There're problems," Jessi came straight out with it. " Pandur's cyberdeck is magically blocked. We can't get at the chips."
"I need your help, chummer!" Pandur entreated the rigger. " Think of the Mitsu docs in Prague. There're files in my deck that are of no concern to our Schmidt, but of great interest to you. You've got to help me if Patrick tries to take my cyberdeck off me. I need your room flak and your muscles. At least for intimidation!"
Festus looked at him with a puzzling expression on his face. Mixed feelings. That was the only way to describe it. Scruples about standing against a client? Or was Festus hesitating because he couldn't decide which side of the battle lines he belonged?
"We're a team," said the rigger finally, slinging his Combat Gun over his shoulder. "Hope you remember that at the right time."
A weight fell from Pandur's chest, although he couldn't figure out the last remark.
The runners hurried into the storeroom. Pandur had a bad conscience when he saw the stocks. There was sure to be all kinds of useful things here. He could have added to his equipment, which was still not complete, and had the price charged to his ebbie. But he didn't regret having spent the time otherwise occupied.
The sound of the engine approached the window side of the building and then died. Below one of the windows a micro-radio set started to beep. Jessi hurried over to the set and picked it up.
She pressed the transmission button and spoke into the mike. " Butterfly. Over."
At the other end there was a crackle. Then a man's voice, which Pandur recognized as Patrick's, came on. "Hornet. Everything okay there?"
"We're okay, but we've got a technical problem. How are things with you?"
"All on schedule. Open the window."
The girl turned to the two men. "Lights out."
Festus worked the switch of the low-frequency lamp. In the adjoining rooms, light was still burning. Pandur hurried over and switched it off, then felt his way back.
The radio also operated as a remote control unit for a servo-motor. Jessi punched in a code. The motor started to whirr. The steel blind of the middle window began to rattle up.
Outside, the surfglider was bobbing up and down right in front of the window socket, pushing between the scaffolding that shielded the window. The moon and the lights of the megaplex shed enough light to show Pandur that the Warrior was alone in the boat. He was standing in the stern, an assault rifle over his shoulder.
"We've got to move it," he said quietly. "You've stirred up a hornet's nest. All hell's loose at AG Chemie. They're massing their forces. We'll have to be ready for a raid."
He bent down and threw the end of a rope to the rigger. Festus looked round for somewhere to make it fast and tied it to a rusty radiator.
The Warrior looped the rope round two bollards and pulled the glider up so close to the window aperture that the hull scraped against the concrete. The deck of the boat was only a half meter below the window sill. Patrick climbed into the room to join them.
"What was that about a technical problem?" he asked, looking at Festus. "Your eyes?"
"They're okay, man," Festus replied. "Even in the dark I can see your ugly mug clear enough to make me wanna vomit. You want a snapshot as a digital record?"
The offer was to be taken literally; the rigger's eyes were equipped with a residual light enhancer and he could use them as a camera. If he wanted, he could record three-dimensional images, feed them into a data terminal and then project them onto a vidscreen.
Patrick didn't respond. "Where's the problem then?"
"My cyberdeck's been magically blocked," said Pandur calmly. "No chance of getting at the chip with the data."
Patrick stared at him. "You fucking with me, chummer? You better think up a better excuse unless you're suddenly not interested in your fat ebbie. What's the big idea? You forgotten who organized the run? D'you think you could've saved your fucking ass in Chilehaus if we hadn't been there to kick the drekheads in the balls? You trying to raise the price now, are you? If you are, you're dealing with the wrong people, let me tell you... "
"Fuck, Patrick!" Jessi screamed at him. "Quit strutting around and talking crap! It's like Pandur says. I checked it out myself. The deck is blocked by magic. It can't be opened. See for yourself if you don't believe us."
"Fucking drek!" The Warrior's boot caught a drinks can that was lying around and he kicked it away furiously. "How did you manage that, chummer? Who pinned that on you?"
"No idea." Pandur didn't intend to tell the man about events two years in the past. It wouldn't have helped anybody. He didn't even know himself what powers were at work in the background and making life hard for him.
"But the data's still in the cyberdeck?" Patrick wanted to know.
"
It's there, but I can't access it at the moment. I can show it to you on the screen."
"Then we'll take it off the screen."
Pandur shook his head. "I can only upload the symbols, the compact blocks as they appear in the matrix. You can't read them." Having the impression the Warrior didn't know much about decking, he added, "In the matrix, I crack the blocks with my utilities and read them. Normally I can put the data on the screen two-dimensionally as well. But this function's also blocked."
The man's face was in the dark, but there was enough light to show that Patrick was nervously clenching and unclenching his fists.
"We'll solve the problem later," he said finally. "We've got to get out of here. The depot isn't safe enough for my liking."
"I like it here," Festus put in. "Why the fuck should the drekheads look for us here of all places?"
"Because they'll be searching everywhere!" the Warrior snapped. "You can't imagine what's going on out there." He turned to Pandur. "They're thrashing around like someone had them by the throat. What else was in those fucking data stores, chummer? You been stirring up shit I don't know about?"
"When I go into the matrix, I look for the data that's wanted," Pandur gave back. "I don't have the time or the inclination to browse through the entire data stock.
Understand? I can well imagine the drekheads're getting nervous if their environmental policy's being exposed. Why this false modesty? They're taking you damn seriously, that's all."
"I know how they rank us!" the Warrior said cuttingly. "And I know the normal reaction to something like this. But what they're getting up to now is bordering on panic!"
Pandur was close to coming clean with the others. He didn't do it. It wouldn't have helped anybody.
"I was traced by a new Ice in the system and... " He looked for a suitable expression, "My stealth mask was...
photographed, if you like. Imitated and recorded. It's just possible, if they pull the right strings and various circumstances coincide, they can draw conclusions about my identity from the stealth mask. I just wanted to mention it. But even with that information, AG Chemie's a long way from knowing where I can be found."