A murmur swept through the audience. Let the slicing commence, thought Jara.

The chief solicitor walked the marble floor with a dancer's grace, long braids swaying hypnotical y behind her. Throughout her speech, she found occasion to lance each one of the Prime Committee members with her glare-and without exception, Jara noticed, Gonerev was never the first to turn away.

"Margaret Surina stood before the world and declared that the future would be an age of MultiReal," continued Gonerev. "It was just a few weeks ago, at her auditorium in Andra Pradesh. Margaret stood in front of several hundred mil ion people, and she promised us the ultimate freedom. She promised us the ultimate empowerment. She promised to deliver us from the tyranny of cause and effect.

"Our libertarian col eagues have bought into this vision wholesale. They've trumpeted Margaret's words up and down the Data Sea without bothering to examine them closely. And why should they? It's a simple argument, after al . What's wrong with freedom? Everybody wants freedom! How can you have too much freedom?

"The esteemed neural programmer Serr Vigal put an even finer point on it yesterday, right here in this auditorium. Gravity pul s things down. Water flows to the sea. And knowledge flows to freedom, he said. MultiReal wil flow freely, whether you wish it or not. That decision is not yours to make. "

Across the auditorium, Vigal stroked his goatee and nodded, lost in contemplation.

"So then let's al exercise our complete freedom and give in to the wants of the world!"

said the Blade. "Is the person sitting next to you wearing an expensive coat? Why not just take it? Obviously, the world wants you to have it, because a hundred thousand generations of human evolution planted that l.u.s.t for acquisition in you. Go ahead; take whatever you want. The offended party can always seek redress from the law.

"Some of you in the Committee members' ring rol your eyes, and I hear a few groans from the audience. That's fine. It's a childish example. Then again, complete and unrestrained freedom is a childish idea. It's an embarra.s.sment that I even have to stand here and explain it.

"Why don't you steal that fancy coat? Is it fear of punishment and retribution that keeps you honest? No. You don't steal because you can't always be a slave to your desires. Desire isn't the only instinct we've inherited from our ancestors; that tug of conscience in your gut was planted there by a hundred thousand generations of human evolution too.

"Humanity abandoned complete and unrestrained freedom thousands of years ago.

Instead we chose the social contract. We chose to deliberately set aside our personal wants for the good of the group. Do not steal. Do not kil . Do not cheat. Why abide by these restrictions on personal liberty?

Because we've seen the alternative, and we've chosen stability.

"Yes, we've deliberately chosen this path, time and time again. Hundreds of years ago, the Autonomous Minds liberated us from the rule of the nationstates. A chance to start over! A chance to reshape society! Humanity had a choice between the anarchy of radical individualism and the constancy of the lawful society. What happened? The globe descended into chaos for a while-and then, acting independently without coordination, our ancestors chose the social contract once again.

"The concept is very simple, and it works every time. We put aside personal ambitions that are harmful to the group.... Society benefits by becoming a more stable and predictable place.... And then we each reap the benefits of that stable society.

"The result? Bio/logics. The Data Sea. The multi network. Teleportation.

"Not only did we choose the social contract-but we expanded it and codified it with the creation of the L-PRACG. We set those compromises down in explicit government contracts written in clear and simple language. Here is what you are giving up. Here is what you are gaining.

"Is society moving towards personal freedom? Yes, I believe it is. History and technology prove Margaret Surina's point that there is an undeniable curve towards liberty. Freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of government. Yet societies do not adapt as quickly as individuals do. We must consider change slowly and examine its costs careful y.

"But is such compromise not enough for you? Do you yearn for that ultimate freedom without compromise? You can have it, any time you want! Simply halt your government subscriptions, stop paying your fees, and float out with the diss. It's that easy. No one wil stop you. In fact, the Prime Committee has prohibited governments from keeping citizens on their membership rosters by force or coercion. Some L-PRACGs wil actual y pay you to leave the ranks of another L-PRACG.

"But such freedom is stil not good enough for some in the libertarian movement. And so they found a champion-a Surina, no less, daughter of scientists and freethinkers. The social contract is a thing of the past! she claimed. Let's do away with limitations! Let's embrace ultimate freedom!

"We don't need a global experiment to see where that path leads. If you're interested in seeing the end result of complete and unrestricted liberty, look no further than this man Natch."

Rey Gonerev stopped in front of Natch and extended one talon straight toward his chest.

Jara leaned forward and looked at the entrepreneur's expression. He seemed oblivious to the chief solicitor's finger, to the hushed attention of thousands of spectators. And then, just as the Blade lowered her hand and started to speak again, Jara could see a macabre smile creep onto Natch's face.

The solicitor resumed her speech. "Here in this auditorium sits the ultimate freedom made flesh. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Natch, former master of the Surina/Natch MultiReal Fiefcorp! A man who recognizes no laws but his own, who ignores al boundaries but those that suit his own purposes. Here is a man who has ruthlessly rejected the social contract time and time again for his own personal selfgratification. To enrich his own freedom, if you wil .

"And what has Natch chosen to do with that freedom?

"At the age of fifteen, he got into a quarrel with another boy during initiation. Did he settle his differences with words and arguments? No, Natch got his revenge by leading an enraged bear into his camp. Three boys died as a result, and a fourth was horribly maimed.

"At the age of eighteen, Natch masterminded a scam to steal customers from a rival programmer by impersonating government officers. The Meme Cooperative was unable to gather enough evidence to prosecute him. Instead, his rival was convicted of these crimes and the rival's license was suspended.

"At the age of twenty, Natch received his first-but not his lastfine from the Meme Cooperative for possession of black code. A petty crime and a negligible punishment? Yes-but the result of a plea bargain with authorities who were once again unable to find enough evidence to make any charges stick.

"By the age of twenty-four, when he founded the Natch Personal Programming Fiefcorp, this man was regularly violating the rules of the Meme Cooperative. To date, the Defense and Wel ness Council has cataloged a list of a hundred and twenty such violations. And believe me, those are only the ones we have sufficient evidence to prove before an arbitration board.

"At the age of twenty-eight, Natch made a suspicious deal to merge his fiefcorp with a shel company of Margaret Surina's. Even though he was younger and less experienced than his rivals-even though he had little money to bring to the table-Margaret gave Natch a fifty percent stake in her revolutionary MultiReal technology. Why? What would drive a woman to spend two decades researching and developing a product, and then blithely hand it over to someone she had just met? We can only imagine.

"Within days of his arrangement with Margaret Surina, Natch made a large cash payment to Creed Tha.s.sel. Creed Tha.s.sel, an organization notorious for secrecy and deceit.

"Within six weeks, Natch tried to blackmail the Defense and Wel ness Council by threatening to auction off MultiReal on the Data Sea to the highest bidder.

"Within hours of that performance, Margaret Surina, bodhisattva of Creed Surina and creator of MultiReal technology, was dead.

"And within hours of that, a member of Natch's own fiefcorp launched a preemptive attack on Lieutenant Executive Magan Kai Lee as he was gathering evidence at the scene of Surina's murder.

"And by sheer luck-by the merest coincidence-there was a worldwide outbreak of libertarian unrest last week, just when public opinion began to turn against this man. A memo began to circulate on the Data Sea, and not even the Council's most ardent critics claim to have any evidence for its authenticity. This unrest sparked into violence at the funeral of Margaret Surina, the very emblem of the freedom that our libertarian col eagues revere.

"Does Natch revere the accomplishments of the Surinas, or does he mock them?

"Natch's legal guardian stood before you the other day and proposed we give this man the ultimate freedom. He made a very shrewd and clever speech where he tried to put the struggle for MultiReal in a larger libertarian context.

"So let's do as he bids! Let's put this man permanently beyond the power of the Defense and Wel ness Council-because with MultiReal at his command, no Council officer wil be able to restrain him. Let's put this man beyond the power of any government authority-or didn't you notice that MultiReal doesn't require approval from Dr. Plugenpatch and the Meme Cooperative?

Let's make sure this man isn't even account able to the marketplace that the libertarians so venerate-because with the money he'l make from MultiReal, he won't even need to submit his programs to the Primo's bio/logic investment guide.

"Serr Vigal proposes we strip this man Natch of al restraints and limitations, just to see what he does. A little experiment, if you wil .

"So I ask the esteemed members of the Prime Committee: what does Natch plan to do with the ultimate freedom that MultiReal provides? What do you think he'l do? Wil he try to lift the diss out of poverty? Wil he pursue diplomacy between the Islanders and the Pharisees? Wil he set up a charitable fund for orphans?"

Rey Gonerev paused for a moment to let the point sink in. Jara looked around and noticed that the atmosphere in the Tul Jabbor Complex had grown irretrievably gloomy since the chief solicitor began her speech. The smiles that had adorned the faces of her fel ow fiefcorpers a mere hour ago had al but disappeared. Across the floor, the bodhisattva of Creed Libertas looked worried, and Khann Frejohr looked downright grim.

The Blade struck a humble pose as she continued in a less emphatic tone of voice. "So what does the Defense and Wel ness Council propose we do about this man?" she said. "What does the Council want with this technology?

"Some believe that Len Borda seeks to lock up MultiReal forever or put a permanent moratorium on it. They claim the Council wishes to use it as some kind of doomsday weapon. They speak as if there are no shades of gray in the argument-as if our only choices are for the government to enact a total ban on MultiReal or for MultiReal to be distributed to every man, woman, and child from here to Furtoid.

"As you ponder the situation we face, I want you to remember this. It's the libertarians who want to limit your options, not High Executive Borda. Not the Defense and Wel ness Council.

"But before we come to the point where you must make a decision about the fate of MultiReal, I believe the time has come to demon strate what's at stake. I think the men and women of the Prime Committee should see the power of MultiReal firsthand.

"And so before I take any questions, I'd like to cal one of the few people who has experienced the power of MultiReal firsthand to give us a brief demonstration.

"If it pleases the Prime Committee, I'd like to ask Petrucio Patel, master of the Patel Brothers Fiefcorp, to step forward."

Jara made an audible hiss, though she wasn't sure why she felt so surprised. Had she real y thought the only other company marketing MultiReal products would be able to avoid testifying before the Prime Committee?

As Petrucio Patel emerged from a door on the governmentalist side of the auditorium, Jara had to admit that the fiefcorp master looked al too prepared for this summons. The shoulder pads of his robe fil ed out his otherwise lanky frame, transforming him from a lean al ey cat into a sultry, confident panther. Petrucio smiled, nodded briefly at the audience, and gave his mustache a final grooming stroke as he reached Rey Gonerev's side. In his right hand, he held a basebal bat. Under his left arm, a box.

The Blade whispered something inaudible to Petrucio, and by the way his shoulders tensed Jara could tel he wasn't pleased. Seconds later, he removed his scarf to reveal a prominent pin featuring the black-and-white swirled logo of Creed Objectivv. So the Council stil has its daggers in the Patel Brothers, Jara thought.

The muttering among the libertarian sympathizers in the audience rose several decibels, and Jara could see one of the Council guards nearby tense up. Khann Frejohr and his libertarian al ies looked perturbed. Natch did not seem to care one way or the other.

Horvil and Benyamin, meanwhile, were having an intense back-and forth about parliamentary rules of order. "Can Gonerev even do that?" said Ben in a heated whisper. "Can she just cal forward her own witness?"

"It's a hearing, not a trial," replied Horvil, gesturing at the Vault representative in the row directly below them. "And it doesn't look like any of the Committee members are about to object." In fact, some of them were craning forward in their wrought-iron chairs to get a better look.

The a.n.a.lyst thought back to her meeting with the Patel Brothers and desperately tried to remember the exact wording of their discussion. Had Petrucio said anything about helping or hindering the company's pursuit of MultiReal?

Jara had purposeful y kept the wording of their brief agreement vague. Would a demonstration of MultiReal before the Prime Committee violate that agreement in any way? What if Petrucio had already made a conflicting agreement with the Council several months earlier? The a.n.a.lyst took a sidelong glance at Merri, feeling a new appreciation for the difficulties of the Objectivv truth-tel ing oath.

"Towards Perfection," said Petrucio to the Prime Committee, his poise recovered. He set the box down on the floor and made a sweeping bow that encompa.s.sed al 360 degrees of the circle. "It's an honor to be cal ed before the Committee."

Rey Gonerev reached down into the box and pul ed out a cla.s.sic league basebal . "Before we get into more extensive demonstrations, I'd like to start by reenacting Natch's performance at Andra Pradesh last month," she said. "Petrucio, why don't you tel us what you're doing."

Patel nodded and moved into a batter's crouch, which looked quite absurd in such a loosely tailored robe. "I'm going to hit the bal into the fourth ring of the auditorium, three rows above the gentleman from the orbital colonies," he said, arching his chin in that direction. "I'm now reaching out to the MultiReal interface and preparing to activate it."

A.

rumble.

The Blade stepped back several paces and made an underhanded pitch to the bio/logic programmer.

Petrucio got ready to swing. "Activating-"

And then Natch was out of his seat, hurtling through the smal pa.s.sage under the Committee members' ring onto the floor of the auditorium. His eyes screamed insanity; his arms signaled panic.

The bal connected with Petrucio's bat, and the infoquake was upon them.

34.

The basebal arced into the audience somewhere above Jara's head. She never thought about it again.

Such was the force of the infoquake that even the fleet-footed Magan Kai Lee was tossed hither and thither like a pinbal . Jara gaped in disbelief at the purple bruise mushrooming on the Council lieutenant's forehead, then found herself sucked down into Benyamin's lap. She hadn't even realized she had stood up in the first place. Within seconds, the entire fiefcorp was tangled in a confused pile, and Robby Robby's bony a.s.s might have been the only thing that kept a fal ing spectator from snapping Jara's neck in two.

Voices in her head. Deep gouges in her mental databases. OCHREs furiously pinging Dr.

Plugenpatch. Notices warnings screams ConfidentialWhispersJara clambered to her feet and managed to bring her internal systems to something a few rungs down from normalcy. The trick was to avoid the reflex to fire up bio/logic relief and to shut down as many programs as possible instead. She clutched the railing and looked around the auditorium.

In the few minutes since the infoquake began, the Tul Jabbor Complex had descended into pandemonium. Prime Committee members and their retinues were ducking, cowering, fleeing through side exits. Jara recognized the staid Plugenpatch representative standing on his chair, yel ing an indecipherable plea for calm. Down on the auditorium floor, the Blade had found her way to the wal and was wobbling against it on unsteady feet.

Meanwhile, a confused Petrucio Patel was staring at the basebal bat in his hands in shock.

The end of it was stained red from his own b.l.o.o.d.y nose, though how he had acquired that was unclear.

Petrucio had nothing to do with this, Jara thought. He's just as surprised as anyone. But if Petrucio Patel didn't launch this attack-then who did?

She surveyed the remaining members of the Prime Committee, quailing under their wrought-iron chairs, and had another insight: the libertarians had just lost their case. Moments ago, the Committee had been the very model of probity and open-mindedness; now they were surrendering to dumb animal panic. Animals banded together when threatened and sought to protect themselves at al costs. No, despite Vigal's lofty rhetoric and common sense, Jara could see that nothing would persuade the Prime Committee to overrule Len Borda now.

So the infoquake was a tool of Len Borda's then? A desperate attempt to thumb down the scales of justice? Natch had expressed that opinion several times, and Jara had been inclined to agree with him.

But something didn't quite add up. If the high executive was going to execute such an attack, wouldn't he have prepared the guards of the Defense and Wel ness Council first? The officers in white robes and yel ow stars were mil ing around the auditorium in confusion like everyone else, cut off from their chain of command and unsure what to do. Some were attempting to herd audience members out the doors peaceably, while others were trying to block the doors and keep everyone inside.

If the infoquake is a governmentalist plot, thought the a.n.a.lyst, then why isn't the government ready for it?

"What's going on?" mumbled a voice. Merri, struggling to find her feet in a quite literal sense, as they were buried under Horvil and Robby.

"We need to get out of here," said Jara. "Now, before the crowd-"

She stopped short as some word of authority final y penetrated the data vomit and took hold of the Council officers one by one. Within seconds, a handful of Len Borda's lackeys around the auditorium had drawn their dartguns and moved to the railings. They took careful aim and centered on a single target.

Natch.

He had heard the rumbling. He had felt the tremors. He had sensed the computational maelstrom raging from afar.

He had tried to run.

Now he kneels on the cold floor of the Tul Jabbor Complex, writhing in the acid bath of the infoquake. Data piercing his mental defenses like shrapnel, OCHREs thrumming crazily and heating up nearly to the melting point. He sees patterns within patterns, things not visible in any spectrum. Somewhere in his peripheral vision he sees Serr Vigal, pa.s.sed out on the stone but stil breathing.

Elsewhere he catches a glimpse of a figure in a white robe shouldering his dart-rifle.

The nothingness at the center of the universe.

The guardian and the keeper.

You find yourself capable of strange things when you run out of choices.

I can handle everything the world throws at me. Just watch.

Natch closes his eyes. It's hard enough to concentrate through al the noise; the infoquake just makes things worse. But he has to concentrate; he has to. He flings his mind onto the Data Sea and finds live video feeds from every conceivable angle, the perspectives of scared drudges watching the scene unfold from the audience. With his own eyes, Natch can only see and react to what's in front of his face. Here in the infinite ocean of information, he can see al .

Natch gathers his courage and activates MultiReal.

Magan came to and reached reflexively for the dartgun at his side. The corrugated surface of the grip felt like safety. With the other hand he probed his forehead for the bruise he had received striking his head against the railing. Stil sore, but healing quickly through the miracle of OCHRE technology.

He pried open his eyelids, scrambled shakily to his feet, and tried to take inventory of the situation. Infoquake ebbing and flowing. Audience members fleeing. Petrucio Patel crawling slowly toward the stairway. Prime Committee members safe. Officers of the Defense and Wel ness Council gathering at the railings, shoving spectators aside, aiming their dartguns at Natch.

And firing.

Magan gaped dumbly as eight or nine darts whizzed through the air toward the center of the auditorium. The Council lieutenant rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was experiencing some kind of residual hal ucination from the infoquake. Every single officer missed the target.

There was another vol ey, then another. Natch remained kneeling on the floor, coc.o.o.ned in his own internal awareness. The needles tinked harmlessly onto the stone around him.