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53. CRICKET The phone’s cricket-noise woke her, though instantly she was uncertain whether she’d actually been asleep. She’d lain curled all night beside him, for the most part awake, out of some need to process the fact that he was there. He’d smelled of hospitals. Something he’d used to dress the wounds. He hadn’t let her see that, describing his injured leg as “a work in progress.” He’d sat in the armchair to change the dressings, on a black garbage bag taken from the backpack slung behind the scooter-chair, undoing the safety pins down one inside leg of his trousers. She’d had to wait in the bathroom, leaning against the towel-warming pipes that caged the shower, listening to him whistling, deliberately tunelessly, to tease her. “There,” he’d called, finally. “I’m decent now.” She’d emerged to find him safety-pinning the hem of his trouser leg. The black bag he’d spread across the chair was on the carpet now, something knotted into one of its corners. “Does it hurt, to do that?” she’d asked “Not really,” he’d said. “The rest of it, the reconstruction, physiotherapy, that’s less fun. Do you know I’ve a rattan thighbone?” He grinned at her, evilly, sitting more upright. “What’s that?” “Rattan. The stuff they weave baskets and furniture out of. They’ve found a way to turn it into a perfect analog of human bone.” “You’re making that up.” “They’re just starting to test it on humans. On me, in fact. Works a charm, on sheep.” “They can’t. Turn that into bone.” “They put it in ovens. With calcium, other things. Under pressure. For a long time. Turns to bone, near enough.” “No way.” “If I’d thought of it, I’d have had them make you a basket. Brilliant thing about it, you can build exactly the bone you need, out of rattan. Work it as rattan. Then ossify it. Perfect replacement. Actually a bit stronger than the original. Microscopic structure allows the blood vessels to grow through it.” “Don’t mess with me.” “Tell me more about what this Milgrim said, to Mr. Big End,” he’d said. He always pronounced it that way, as though it were two words. She found the receiver, feeling more absurdly massive in the dark than ever, lifted it. “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” said Bigend. “Be in the sitting room.” “What time is it?” “Eight-fifteen.” “I’m asleep. Was.”
“I need to see you.” “Where’s Milgrim? And Heidi—” “We’ll be discussing him shortly. Heidi’s no part of it.” He hung up. She squinted at the glow around the edges of the curtains. Returned the receiver as quietly as she could to its cradle. Garreth’s breathing continued, unchanged. She sat up, carefully. Made out the dark horizontals of his legs. He’d insisted on sleeping in his trousers and stocking feet. On his bare chest, she now knew, were new scars, healed but still livid, next to older ones she could have sketched from memory. She stood, padded into the bathroom, closed the door behind her, and turned on the light.
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TITLES BY WILLIAM GIBSON Neuromance
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VIKING an imprint of PENGUIN BOOKS
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1. CABINET 2. EDGE CITY 3. SLUT’S
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45. SHRAPNEL, SUPERSONIC 46. TORTOI
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To Susan Allison, my editor
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accommodations. A peculiarly narrow
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They’d run with that tallness, em
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2. EDGE CITY Milgrim considered the
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lot. They always made that squealin
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positioned pocket, quite far down o
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3. SLUT’S WOOL She woke to gray l
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The Italian girl brought her a pot
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“Fully.” He forked baked beans
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small army of people who understand
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Milgrim preferred to regard that by
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public toilets as remarkably semico
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No exterior signage. The label, ins
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advanced, but the promise of it had
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6. AFTER THE GYRATORY The Neo’s p
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Milgrim nodded, looking around at t
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7. A HERF GUN IN FRITH STREET Bigen
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“Aldous will take you back to the
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8. CURETTAGE Milgrim, cleaning his
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9. FUCKSTICK When she opened Cabine
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of darts in her life, but didn’t
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interesting, required volunteers, t
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system. Then back, without exiting,
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squirrel suit. He was okay. Hot, to
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and splashed it into the sink. She
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“How so?” “Are they serious a
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to the hotel. We’ll phone you.”
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“Hollis?” She looked up. “Mil
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something he pointed out to me, in
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15. THE DROP Fitzroy,” Clammy sai
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“What were the other people like,
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16. HONOR BAR She was waiting for M
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founder and CEO.” “CEO,” he r
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“No,” Milgrim agreed, and took
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“But it was your rule, remember?
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18. 140 The Neo rang while he was s
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19. PRESENCES Tossing makeup and to
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20. AUGMENTED Milgrim glanced up fr
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“I know another Bollard, plus the
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pale Scandinavian wood, emerging in
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She’d actually seen suits like th
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She stepped back into the elevator,
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His therapist had suspected that hi
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his camera. Now it was Foley’s tu
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And two more black-suited minders.
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“Were you ever a model?” “No,
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sense of what she didn’t like tha
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The Neo rang, from a different pock
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he put his phone in his jacket pock
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“Depends how much it matters to h
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26. MOTHER RUSSIA Kleenex?” Milgr
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strap of his bag was securely over
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When the elevator stopped again, an
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“Found a gym. Hacky.” “Hackne
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28. WHITE PEAR TEA The cost of wifi
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“Borrowed laptop. Lost phone.”
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29. SHIVER Sleight,” Bigend said,
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30. SIGHTING Milgrim left the white
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In Basel, they had questioned him c
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lobby. Outside, the air had been sc
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seen him. He smiled ruefully, white
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32. POST-ACUTE The waitress was dep
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Hounds haven’t often done things
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haven’t been sold off, otherwise
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“Blue Ant didn’t send anybody.
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33. BURJ She got the iPhone out of
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“Bye, Heidi.” The pale gold bul
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Imagining explaining that to Winnie
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“Would he have to know?” “Did
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35. DONGLE As the train pulled out
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was heavier than he would have expe
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“A roll-in. Vinegar and brown pap
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“That’s less dangerous?” “N
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37. AJAY Inchmale’s spirit-beast,
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“ ‘Engrish,’ ” said Heidi,
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38. GETTING HOTTER Bigend was havin
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“I don’t know what he thinks,
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“Give it a speed-dial code,” sa
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40. ENIGMA ROTORS His room here ove
Page 168 and 169: unfamiliar. Voytek wore a wool card
Page 170 and 171: “Toilet. Loo.” “In back. With
Page 172 and 173: He held the door for her. “Welcom
Page 174 and 175: “Because of who and what they see
Page 176 and 177: hurt would constitute a dropped bal
Page 178 and 179: “That’s bad for you?” She loo
Page 180 and 181: “Not quite. He becomes a hookup a
Page 182 and 183: 43. ICHINOMIYA Thanks for meeting o
Page 184 and 185: any more. I’ll understand.” Mer
Page 186 and 187: “Good,” said Milgrim, before Bi
Page 188 and 189: “I don’t think he did either, m
Page 190 and 191: “I don’t think he’d like that
Page 192 and 193: The tall woman’s large, startling
Page 194 and 195: military contracts, at least it is
Page 196 and 197: ut the manta, merely a black, devil
Page 198 and 199: Something moved, three feet above B
Page 200 and 201: And Milgrim fell, amazed and unthin
Page 202 and 203: 49. GREAT MARLBOROUGH All was forwa
Page 204 and 205: 50. BANK-MONUMENT Milgrim had never
Page 206 and 207: 51. SOMEONE Hollis lay fully dresse
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Page 210 and 211: yours. Total fanboy.” “That wou
Page 212 and 213: cushioned. “Archaic expression,
Page 214 and 215: “You told her that?” “And she
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Page 220 and 221: 54. AIR GLOW Ferguson,” said Winn
Page 222 and 223: 55. MR. WILSON There were few guest
Page 224 and 225: “Milgrim.” “How much does he
Page 226 and 227: 56. ALWAYS IS GENIUS Milgrim, on hi
Page 228 and 229: “You refer,” Bigend said, “to
Page 230 and 231: 58. DOUCHE BAGGAGE Voytek was very
Page 232 and 233: toward one wall, raising the racket
Page 234 and 235: under her majorette jacket. “Look
Page 236 and 237: 60. RAY Milgrim, in his stocking fe
Page 238 and 239: “You and that Heidi,” said Fion
Page 240 and 241: “A sigil?” “The sigil of forg
Page 242 and 243: 62. WAKING Milgrim woke with a leg
Page 244 and 245: 63. CURLY STAYS, SLOW FOOD With Gar
Page 246 and 247: filigreed instrument Inchmale had u
Page 248 and 249: 64. THREAT MANAGEMENT The toilet in
Page 250 and 251: “Did you have story time first?
Page 252 and 253: 65. LEOPARD SKIN IN MINIATURE She s
Page 254 and 255: There was something on the bedside
Page 256 and 257: 66. ZIP Benny’s civilian bike, Mi
Page 258 and 259: “We saw him,” Fiona said. “He
Page 260 and 261: 67. A CRUSHED MOUSE Ajay, looking p
Page 262 and 263: translucently ancient waxed cotton
Page 264 and 265: 68. HAND-EYE Now it was Milgrim’s
Page 266 and 267: 69. THE GIFTING SUITE Here?” She
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keeping this on. I’m doing someth
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70. DAZZLE The penguin smelled of K
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couldn’t identify at all. “I’
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“That’s for you to work out. A
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and Heidi, and you and the others,
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he’s sleeping with Hollis. I mean
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Milgrim lowered the helmet to his s
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“I’m sorry,” he said. “What
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73. THE PATCHWORK BOYFRIEND In the
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74. MAP, TERRITORY The heels of Mil
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“I’m not going anywhere without
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76. GONE-AWAY GIRL Milgrim stood, f
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77. GREEN SCREEN The broken wheel o
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“Did you finish your Breast Chase
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78. EL LISSITZKY Care for mineral w
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unless you’re right up on somethi
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Pep, following instructions, hadn
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And then he found Chombo, and Foley
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82. LONDON EYE Thumbing the wings t
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83. PLEASE GO What was that?” she
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84. NEW ONE Fiona’s drone’s bat
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okay?” she’d asked, giving his
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getting him wherever he’s now got
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painfully with the orange leather u
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now.” “At Blue Ant?” Aldous n
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THANKS: My wife Deborah and daughte
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45. SHRAPNEL, SUPERSONIC 46. TORTOI
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