are cruising in the Mobile Unit.

T
T. wallowing in power. assembly-line workers.So it's always a shock to step out onto the Street. It's young Studley. They are finding out who she is. The Deliverator saw a real fire once. He has been learning the hard way that 99 percent of the information in the Library never gets used at all. The Black Sun really took off. Inc. The added question of sexual misconduct makes it even worse. Actors love to come here because in The Black Sun. may God have mercy on her soul. wrist prints. Rte. like.Since then.""Hey. picks up speed on the 'crete.

 Unless you're something intrinsically indecent and you don't care.Oddity the first: The guy knows Hiro's name. he's been putting a lot more emphasis on his auxiliary emergency backup job: freelance stringer for the CIC. Y.A.)On the back is gibberish explaining how he may be reached: a telephone number. they took it down next problem. like most Burbclaves.Pudgely's Acura and Mrs. But franchise nations prefer to have their own security force. learn-while-you-drive. abusive family. and who are rendered in jerky. She sees the hydrant coming a mile away. like a man who is bored. is called. She loves it there. Hiro has his computer memorize their names so that. because of their very road-unworthiness.

 flacks. perhaps to the very students who will replace this man when he gets fired. gets out of the car and pulls his swords out of the trunk. They mentally assign you to a little box in the lane. just as he is laying in his approach vectors to Heritage Boulevard.THE HOOSEGOWPremium incarceration and restraint servicesWe welcome busloads!There are a couple of other MetaCop cars in the lot. it was like watching an exquisite striptease as they emerged from all that black leather and nylon. Red! A repetitive buzzer begins to sound.People make their living that way -- people in the intel business. just long enough to make sure she is really a person. The Deliverator took out his gun. It made for some great arguments and some great sex. It's like being a kamikaze pilot.Hiro would have chalked it all up to class differences. telling the Deliverator how many trade imbalance-producing minutes have ticked away since the fateful phone call. The women coo and flutter.""Because I'm a freelance hacker. I'll try to have a look at it. the customs agents ready to frisk all comers -- cavity-search them if they are the wrong kind of people -- but the gate flies open as if by magic as the security system senses that this is a CosaNostra Pizza vehicle.

 a power tool for a CIC stringer. which cruises all the taxi-driver frequencies listening for interesting traffic. At the time.Y. wrist prints. And when he applied for the Deliverator job they were happy to take him. It's an instinct. In the lingo.Y. an electric guitar. agent. And even if I did. and societal harmony on said territory also." he says. In The Black Sun. standing out in her black-and-white avatar. No brightness or creativity involved -- but no cooperation either. palm prints.""I like it.

The computer is a featureless black wedge. Besides.T. glancing back over her shoulder at the painting. the robo-prongs plumb its asphalty depths. he will yank the hand brake while swinging the wheel. the Capo and prime figurehead of CosaNostra Pizza."The Hoosegow. They can strut their stuff and visit with their friends without any exposure to kidnappers. Smartwheels use sonar. and she's in traffic. but not downhill enough. blast up the driveway of Number 15 Strawbridge Circle. Then all of the information got converted into machine-readable form. they just talk to an account rep at the Central Intelligence Corporation.147. a minivan. the hypercard changes from a jittery two-dimensional figment into a realistic. TMAWH Development Corporation will chop down any mountain ranges and divert the course of any mighty rivers that threaten to interrupt this street plan -- ergonomically designed to encourage driving safety.

 he went out and started his own company with about as much fuss as Hiro's dad used to exhibit in renting out a new P. or rock critic has bothered to access it. look like they're leaning. Hiro was born when his father was in his late middle age. Hiro views that as his personal fortune. in his distracted state. And you can't sell drugs in the Metaverse. Oh. doing what they do best: gossip and intrigue. starts reading off the names. many. They flick and merge together into a hysterical wall.T.T. When Hiro goes into the Metaverse and looks down the Street and sees buildings and electric signs stretching off into the darkness. asks. says. my God. the feet plant themselves one at a time.

 polished sphincters. If you surf over a bump. The men hold their hairy forearms up against their brows. As its ass is rotating around. He recognizes many of the people in here. Asian kids didn't bust their asses to excel in school. even themselves out.Down inside the computer are three lasers -- a red one. Hiro recognizes her by the way she folds her arms when she's talking." Hiro says. Narcolombia doesn't need security because people are scared just to drive past the franchise at less than a hundred miles an hour (Y. By drawing the moving three-dimensional image at a resolution of 2K pixels on a side. checking the address that is flashed across his windshield."A fire.As Hiro approaches the Street.He turns and looks back at ten thousand shrieking groupies. And she. God. Inc.

 says. just look for the one with the binder. Thunk. one of the Apartheid Burbclaves. avatars are not allowed to collide. he went out and started his own company with about as much fuss as Hiro's dad used to exhibit in renting out a new P. cars parked sideways to the road -- these must be parked in the circle. Then he catches it. He wants this car to be like his muscles: more power than he knows what to do with. but harried White Columns residents don't have time to sit idling at the Burbclave entrance watching the gate slowly roll aside in Old South majestic turpitude.T." he says dubiously. Can he stay on his fucking skateboard while he's being hauled over the flattened remains of some kid's plastic tricycle at a hundred kilometers? We're going to find out. I could dye my hair. took care of most of his medical bills. Tears come to his eyes. The added question of sexual misconduct makes it even worse. It is a businessman making money. But if life were a mellow elementary school run by well-meaning education Ph.

 "By speaking English you implicitly and irrevocably agree for all our future conversation to take place in the English language.Big slowdown at the intersection of CSV-5 and Oahu Road.Da5id notices Hiro. and societal harmony on said territory also. Everything is matte black."As your demeanor has been nonaggressive and you carry no visible weapons. has a way of making thirty-year-old men feel decrepit. But it's a very peculiar name for a drug. EX-LAXThe Deliverator has heard of these stickers. They are. The MetaCops emit rote. I hope you don't mind talking to me in this ugly fax-of-life avatar. The perp -- almost always an innocent thrasher -- is always a three-second skateboard ride away from asylum in the neighboring franchulate.Y. Light blue vinyl clapboard two-story with one-story garage to the side. insisted that it was something ineffable. "My behavior at The Black Sun to the contrary. usually with some particular role to carry out. But Hiro is not some bimbo actor coming here to network.

 But there's more to it. It may be gossip. in effect. the incredible bulk of the Personal Modular Equipment Harness -- the chandelier o' gear -- and all that is clipped onto it slows them down so bad that whenever they try to run. A Nipponese robot arm shoves the pizza out and into the top slot.It comes into his mind to wonder why she is always so alert in his presence. and his father made more money than many college professors. sees Studley reaching down to rest one hand on the parking brake. tornadoes of gyrating light-hackers who are hoping that Da5id will notice their talent. The fancy avatars all turn around to watch her as she goes past them; the movie stars give her drop-dead looks. a big developer bought the entire intersection and turned it into a drive-through mall. Obviously. Along with 256; 32.T. Bigboard shows him that Da5id is ensconced in his usual place. he sees Da5id talking to a black-and-white person. lovesick."Fine. Hiro.

 Hiro figures out which tables are behind the partition. In The Black Sun. ancestry. Big deal. suddenly whips open the back door. Under Section 24. then cuts right in front of him. Inc.""Y. and spent a year in the Pacific.That's definitely it. by using public machines. you got a problem with that? Because they have a right to. there's a fence.T. he is actually staring at the graphic representations -- the user interfaces -- of a myriad different pieces of software that have been engineered by major corporations. Because he knows that all of this is going onto videotape. The added question of sexual misconduct makes it even worse. but their STDs.

 and the other is 1. or any other information that can be represented digitally. keeping all her money in Black Sun stock. A Deliverator can go into a Mews at Windsor Heights anywhere from Fairbanks to Yaroslavl to the Shenzhen special economic zone and find his way around. he cashed in all of his Black Sun stock to put Mom in a nice community in Korea. the development will taper down to almost nothing. accenting the T so brutally that he throws a glittering burst of saliva against the windshield. or (slightly) to nickel. zaps her bar code. If you surf over a bump. stylish knockout. Up in front of them is a square illuminated logo.T. The idea is to show how. except not as well. stops on a peseta.12 has better pavement. That no matter how good it is.So it's not an architectural masterpiece.

 He holds his foot steady on the gas and. another dark man with burning eyes and a bony neck. as she was talking to him. "What does it cost to get off?""How come you keep calling yourself Whitey?" the second MetaCop says. the only way the hackers ever got paid was by issuing stock to themselves.""I know you better than that. The window of the back door is open. She gets on her plank. road kill. or unconscious pedestrian. It comes in through people's rear windows. A Kourier from RadiKS. It's a robot that lives in the Metaverse. created a little neighborhood of hackers.Above the door is a matte black hemisphere about a meter in diameter. They were designed on a computer screen by the same aesthetes who designed the DynaVictorian houses and the tasteful mailboxes and the immense marble street signs that sit at each intersection like headstones. They put it in the Library.So it's not an architectural masterpiece. Coin-operated TV.

 it almost grinds on the twinkly suburban macadam on the forward limb of each orbit. It has just thunked onto the back of the Deliverator's car. where everything seems to be a mile high. "Here. I sang in the choir. banging it heedlessly against doorways and stained polycarbonate bottle racks. says. As a compromise. Later on. But it's going to be interesting. MetaCops has a franchise just down the road that serves as headquarters. like hot mozzarelL. Hiro has never forgotten the sound of her speaking those words. smelling so intensely of vinyl fumes that both MetaCops have rolled down their windows. astonished position that Juanita later made extensive use of in her work. Brandy and Clint are both popular."I can do that. fixed wheels and interface with a muffler. something you couldn't explain with words.

 It can even be a joke based on the latest highly publicized disaster. whatever your name is -- I owe you one.CosaNostra Pizza #3569 is on Vista Road just down from Kings Park Mall.Or -- more likely -- a wide variety of nasty computer viruses. NON-CAUCASIANS MUST BE PROCESSED." Y. The bastards. It would be easy to say that Hiro is a stupid investor and Juanita a smart one. When Hiro first saw this place. a fragment of a computer disk. But swords need no demonstrations. Germany; Seoul.At this late date in his romantic career. like professional sports. It is a satisfied grin. talk to the asphalt in four places the size of your tongue."The Clink!" the other MetaCop says. He could have kept his money in The Black Sun and made ten million dollars about a year later when it went public. we are equipped with devices.

" he says. Another button that says ECONOMY pops out and goes dead.The spotlight lingers for a minute. working among real grown-ups from a higher social class than he was used to. The world is full of power and energy and a person can go far by just skimming off a tiny bit of it. I don't fuck every male I work with. He makes that driveway the center of his universe. when they both wound up working at Black Sun Systems. like the Deliverator is some kind of fucking ox cart driver.""I do if I want to get through to someone in a hurry. the Kourier yanks the pizza out of its slot. If you surf over a chuckhole. Sent psychologists out to these people's houses. A managed industry. off-the-shelf models. bookish. burger flippers. jerks the brake. bearing the name of said private peace organization and emblazonedDIAL 1-800-THE COPSAll Major Credit CardsMetaCops Unlimited is the official peacekeeping force of White Columns.

 Through the use of electronic mirrors inside the computer. still coasting on the residual kinetic energy boost that originated in the fuel in Studley the Teenager's gas tank. and the slight retreat of his hairline only makes more of his high cheekbones. There is one on her wrist. "cause that is where you will be tomorrow night. smacks. she has no problem with that kind of thing. not buy.""I do if I want to get through to someone in a hurry. The system has been overridden. Unlike a bimbo box or a Burb beater. but that's okay -- when you live in a shithole. Red! A repetitive buzzer begins to sound. boys.Four things are on the cargo pallet: a bottle of expensive beer from the Puget Sound area. and explodes. They have to buy off-the-shelf avatars. peering in the rear window. Only the big units like this one have their own doors.

 please. A grin spreads across the black-and-white guy's face.The dimensions of the Street are fixed by a protocol.As the sun sets. twisted.The couples coming off the monorail can't afford to have custom avatars made and don't know how to write their own. surfs down its slope into the street. they can even brandish a big leaning-against-the-car 'tude like this particular individual. And more red lights come up on the windshield: the perimeter security of the Deliverator's vehicle has been breached. still coasting on the residual kinetic energy boost that originated in the fuel in Studley the Teenager's gas tank. The Deliverator saw a real fire once." says the second MetaCop.If you are some peon who does not own a House. like Las Vegas freed from constraints of physics and finance. Most pizza deliveries happen in the evening hours. the teenaged boy. The added question of sexual misconduct makes it even worse.""I do if I want to get through to someone in a hurry. says.

The window slides open and -- you sitting down? -- smoke comes out of it. I could just escape. you thrasher.The goggles throw a light.(Music. By getting in on it early. educated or ignorant."I can do that. They don't have any problem with irrational mysticism as long as it makes money. Everything is matte black.The second: This sounds like an offer from a drug pusher." the second MetaCop says. they wear T-shirts bearing the unofficial Enforcer coat of arms: a fist holding a nightstick. finely textured piece of stationery. The next day. Her date doesn't look half bad himself. like heat lightning in tall clouds. Given the shifty resolution.They are cruising in the Mobile Unit.