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STORY: Logan dips at Rutago's flying stick and runs it at him as the
villain slashed down at him from above. There is a huge explosion. Jess was surrounded
by little children in tanktops, one of 14, a girl with a teddy bear. Jess was unconscious.
They take Jess to a cribroom and close her wounds with synthaskin. Logan has to scale
a tree to get over the barbed Microwire that is around the Nursery. If the adult
children haven't signaled the alarm, the auto nurse might. Logan found a deliveryroom
which had an hourglass which gives each infant its radioactive timeflower. The room
and building have a soft warm, hum that entices Logan to stay, making him want to
sleep, calling him precious, love, calling itself mother. Cribroom L-16 has Autogoverness
K110 find Jess. The nursery defends its children. Logan was in the Love Room and
he disables the governess with a savage blow. They get out of the building. Logan
kicks a roboguard. The pair escape. Logan refound his gun. In the Rapid City Concourse,
a man gives Logan a souvenir-a tiny outhouse made of redwood. Logan disables the
scanner box in the city but the crowd yells, "Runner!" They get to a maze
car but have to get out. The maze car viewscreen said, "Duty. Don't run!"
General Ambrose E. Burnside of the Confederate Army is part of a reenactment of the
Civil War, part of a show. He is an android as are all the soldiers on both sides.
"Remember citizens, there were no runners at Fredericksburg." Logan and
Jess follow a drainage ditch toward a river but to a Union tent. Hitting two androids,
he tosses their uniforms to Jess after disabling them. The two join the Grand Army
of the Potomac. Marye's Heights battle climb. Francis was watching the reenactment.
Logan knows about a maze tunnel he used to play in as a boy. Cannon balls cut into
androids, splitting the hatless Lieutenant in half. A canteen across Logan's chest
saves him from a musket shot. One android says, "Skeedadle, you blue bellies,
back to yer holes! EEEEEEEEEEE-Yow!" A mob trying to see Robert E. Lee were
pushing Jess back toward Francis. Logan takes off his uniform and discards it and
his musket. A tank top wearing long haired little boy tries to sell Logan a replica
of a cannon that fires a real ball, "Put an eye out wit hit if you've a mind
to try." A robot calls Logan citizen Wentworth 10 and tells him he was expected.
He is made to lay in a life drawer. The robot dabbed his temples with saline solution,
connected the rubber terminals to his neck and forehead. Logan relieves his life:
16 in the Nevada Desert, saguaro cactus, snakes, no food or water, 100 miles out
and no weapons. It was day 2 and he was tired. This was to be passed so he could
graduate from DS school. Logan killed the rattlesnake with his heel and ate it. A
runner was ahead of him. Life was in the desert: badgers, bobcats, lizards, foxes,
ground owls. He had to live so that runner could die. He was 7: his flower changed
blue and it was time to change the nursery, his favorite TalkPuppet ALbert 6 was
not allowed by the Autogoverness to go with him. Talkpuppet tells Loge he will never
forget him, never. Albert 6 is put in a box of toys. 4 men ring him when he was 9
years old. He is made to lick the boots of one who has a mohican haircut. They go,
one saying, "We'll find someone with guts." He is 13: riding a devilstick
in Venice above the Piazza San Marco, free. He was 3 years old and the hypnotape
told him of sines and cosines. He was 15 and his Omnite Instructor bowed to him--a
form of self defense. The omnite tells him to learn the combinations, no single blows
in Omnite. All the fine points of each martial art in one deadly form. Logan was
6 now: it was play period and his friend Rob and he were playing. Logan has a stripe
on his shirt (the movie outfit) and makes believe he is a Sandman who shot his friend.
Rob looks Oriental. Logan tells him a Homer never misses anyone. Logan is 19 on leave
in New Alaska with a glass dancer, body coated in shining scales and they listened
to Angerman, the sage of DS with 103 choruses. The serpent woman caressed him in
secret ways to set his blood coursing. He was proud to be among his friends. He was
14 and his handflower was red. Now he was a man, no longer free for the asking. He
has adult duties. He was 20 and on the hunt: the girl had been clever but was trapped
near a wooden fence. He was 21 (we see a man with a jacket in the crowd that has
a back saying CRY BABY) and his palm flower was blinking. He relives all he has been
through with Jessica. Francis is outside the re-live parlor. Logan gets out and goes
to a police paravane, asking him to pick a ride with him--he doesn't want to waste
time. The driver tells him it is okay, a year or so he will be on lastday himself.
The driver comments on the Civil War android battle, commenting that nowadays they
have nothing left to fight for. The driver tells him those lads fought for their
future and that they do not have a future except for Sleep. The driver tells him
he used to have religion but switched. He was a Zen Baptist for awhile, figured there
was a better place beyond Sleep. Logan thanks him for the lift as he tells him to
set him down. The driver asks him if he can give him a ride back to Sleep, Logan
declines. Logan kills and eats a squirrel after making a fire from the four remaining
shells in his gun. He waits at the Maze Entrance and under a tree. Jess came out
of the woods. Jess tells her two boys saw her hand and came after her. Logan tells
her to follow him into the maze. |