Adjacent Fields
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Science Fiction set in today's world, not tomorrow's. What really happens when truly disruptive technology shows up? Rama has — real, demonstrable, and working — teleportation.
What happens when investors, governments, and thieves wrestle for control of it? How far will Brother Weave go to stop it?
How does this technology link a piano virtuoso, a con man, a dead girl's brother, and a grocery clerk to a deranged monk and the man who keeps escaping from a mental institution?
Contents
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Chapter I - INTELLECTUAL CURRENCY
Chapter I - INTELLECTUAL CURRENCY
The blue compact rental car worked its way through the early morning London streets. Baron turned down the volume on the radio slightly so he could better hear the GPS. It wasn't his first trip, but the roads were still unfamiliar. The oddly accented voice directed him toward his destination: Heathrow airport.
"Not happy, Baron?" Theo asked over the music coming from the radio.
"The concert was well received," Baron said, avoiding the question.
"Afraid of the airport, perhaps?" Theo asked.
Baron had started having that dream again. It always repeated exactly, down to the least detail. In the dream Baron is on an airplane. No one else is seated. One by one, people walk past him, despite the plane being empty. Each one glares at him but continues walking. When they reach the back, they leap out of the doorway to their death. When the parade finally stops, the last one, a woman with a determined look in her eyes, grabs his sleeve and pulls him along toward the exit. When she jumps, she takes him with her.They fall, and fall and fall. Finally, he sees the ground.
He sees it with remarkable clarity. All the other leapers are standing, safe. They watch him plummet with a smug satisfaction. The woman separates from him and floats down. Despite the fact that he is hurtling and she is moving slowly, she lands first. A moment later, he hits with terrible impact. Darkness. He wakes, dazed and shaken, just after the moment of his death.
This dream has made him afraid. Because it was an irrational fear, he did not yield to it. To honor his schedule of performances, air travel was mandatory. This conversation with Theo, however, was optional. Baron shut the radio, abruptly cutting off the song Moonlight Sonata. When he turned toward the passenger seat, no one was there.
"Sorry, Theo. I don't want to talk about it," Baron said
* * *
In midtown Manhattan, Rama, a short, gray-haired man wearing a tiny hearing aid and thick glasses, peeked into the small conference room. No one noticed him standing by the barely open doors, like a beggar staring at a feast. In a way, in this place, he was a beggar. He needed these people. He needed their money....
"Not happy, Baron?" Theo asked over the music coming from the radio.
"The concert was well received," Baron said, avoiding the question.
"Afraid of the airport, perhaps?" Theo asked.
Baron had started having that dream again. It always repeated exactly, down to the least detail. In the dream Baron is on an airplane. No one else is seated. One by one, people walk past him, despite the plane being empty. Each one glares at him but continues walking. When they reach the back, they leap out of the doorway to their death. When the parade finally stops, the last one, a woman with a determined look in her eyes, grabs his sleeve and pulls him along toward the exit. When she jumps, she takes him with her.They fall, and fall and fall. Finally, he sees the ground.
He sees it with remarkable clarity. All the other leapers are standing, safe. They watch him plummet with a smug satisfaction. The woman separates from him and floats down. Despite the fact that he is hurtling and she is moving slowly, she lands first. A moment later, he hits with terrible impact. Darkness. He wakes, dazed and shaken, just after the moment of his death.
This dream has made him afraid. Because it was an irrational fear, he did not yield to it. To honor his schedule of performances, air travel was mandatory. This conversation with Theo, however, was optional. Baron shut the radio, abruptly cutting off the song Moonlight Sonata. When he turned toward the passenger seat, no one was there.
"Sorry, Theo. I don't want to talk about it," Baron said
* * *
In midtown Manhattan, Rama, a short, gray-haired man wearing a tiny hearing aid and thick glasses, peeked into the small conference room. No one noticed him standing by the barely open doors, like a beggar staring at a feast. In a way, in this place, he was a beggar. He needed these people. He needed their money....