Everyone In Silico | Page 7

there's not much to tell them apart. Plus, I always sell to tourists, so I know they'll be on a plane pretty soon, and it'll get confiscated."
"Yeah, the Drive's filthy with tourists these days. Lots of people doing a final tour before they upgrade. Easy pickings."
Nicky took another sip and looked up at the ornamental ceiling, water stained but still grand. "Yeah. I feel kind of bad about it, but there's no real harm done. If they have the money to fly or upgrade then they can afford to support the local culture."
"Desperate times require desperate measures," murmured JK. "Can I feed them a tea leaf?"
"Don't, you freak, they have a very strict diet." Nicky looked away from the ceiling and straight at JK. "The thing is, though, I don't feel like these are desperate times. I've been living off this scam for a half-year now. But..." She lolled her head again. "Just because I'm clever enough to find ways to live decently in this shitty world doesn't mean the world isn't shitty."
JK turned away from the cage and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Well," he started, a tea leaf sticking out from a corner of his mouth. He sucked on it thoughtfully. "It's not that things are getting worse. In some ways... they're getting better. Easier, anyway. Less hassles. It's just that the world is… losing relevance." He pulled the leaf out from between his lips and dropped it into the mug.
"I don't want you tripping out on my living room floor," Nicky warned. "This is a respectable place."
"It's seriously just tea, Nicky," JK said. "From India."
"How did you get a hold of raw organic stuff?" she challenged. "Not from your mail-order club?"
"It's not through the mail, anymore," he said vaguely.
"Your job is completed," said Nicky's watch. "Would you like to..."
Nicky shut it up with a tap and set her tea down. "I'll grab it, just stay here."
She made her way up to the attic, opened the EasyBake and carefully took out the sheaves of seeds. With minor spills, she was able to slide most of them into the original container (hoping that was what JK wanted) and seal the lid. Then she made her way down, telling the system to save and shut itself down, feeling her body complain as she climbed down from the lab. She was too tired to do any more work tonight. The tea had failed her.
JK was back at the cage, looking at the flukes.
"Want one? Only ten grand!" Nicky cracked as she handed him the container.
"Fantastic," he said, looking inside.
"Yeah, the machine doesn't divide by colour," Nicky said. "You'll have to do that by hand."
"You wouldn't believe how much stress this saves me, Nicky, you're an angel."
"Not an octopus?" Nicky said, tugging on her pigtails.
"Same difference," JK laughed. "Seriously, last time I had to go to Kinko's -"
"They don't have EasyBakes there," she said.
JK nodded. "I know, but they do organic duplication. But I was incredibly nervous the whole time, assuming they'd make me fill out an intent-of-use form -"
"What are you doing with them, anyhow?" Nicky said, hoping to stop the waves of gratefulness before they built into a tsunami.
"Another new growth party. Hopefully you'll be able to go to this one."
"Well, hopefully you'll tell me about this one," Nicky said, poking his big chest.
"I know, sorry about that."
"Mmm-hmm."
"But now you're practically a patron. So I'll send you the coordinates."
"Excellent," Nicky said, stifling a yawn.
JK grabbed his backpack from where he had laid it beside the couch and opened it up. He noticed something there and pulled it out. "Oh yes." He took a little holocoin out and tossed it on the floor. A unicorn crawled out of it and pranced in a circle, stopped, seemed to notice Nicky and said in a whinny, "Come to see Mike Narc's show!"
JK was putting away the container. "I figured you're working with similar themes..."
Nicky gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Sorta." The show invite was a floating, large-bosomed woman now, who was intoning the time and place. "I met him once, and he struck me..." She looked at JK. "Do you know Mike?"
JK made the finger gesture for a little.
"I dunno. Maybe I'll go," Nicky said, picking up the coin projector.
"He's a bit arrogant," JK said, putting on his backpack.
"Yes."
They laughed at her vehemence.
"It might be the fact that we're working in similar territory, though," Nicky admitted.
JK shook his head. "It's so different though, in terms of treatment."
Nicky squinched up her mouth, nodded. "I think so."
JK noticed the time. "Holy yikes, I gotta scram." He reached for the door. "Seeya!"
Nicky turned and walked into the living room, grabbed the jar of tea. "Not without this you're not."
"Shit!" JK said, shouldering off and opening his backpack. "Can't forget that. OK seeya for real this