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page0088.mm
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<p>Page 88.</p>
<p>“Don’t
get me wrong,” said the Manager. “I don’t want to
denigrate your contribution.” He smiled. I did not feel
reassured. I felt locked up. My brain was trying to remodel the last
two months in order to fit new input: <em>these in-house test
subjects... we’ve already begun</em>. It was drawing resources
away from other functions. I was hanging. “But I’d be a
fool to ignore the commercial possibilities. And I hope I’m not
a fool.” He smiled again.</p>
<p>“The thing
is, Charlie, they’re not really your parts,” said
Cassandra Cautery, from somewhere behind me. “They’re the
company’s.”</p>
<p>The Manager
chuckled. “Nobody’s talking about taking away your
parts.” His eyes moved at Cassandra Cautery, and she closed her
mouth with an audible click. “As long as Dr. Neumann remains a
valuable member of Better Future, he can have all the parts he
wants.”</p>
<p>“Of course.
That’s what I—”</p>
<p>“What Cassie
means is that the time has passed when you were this company’s
only design-capable employee. That’s a credit to you, by the
way. You should be proud of the way your people have picked up your
skills and knowledge. It means we can move you into an area even
better suited to your unique skills and experience.”</p>
<p>My
brain said: <em>Lola has an Augmentation</em>.
That was all it had so far. It was still trying to figure out why she
hadn’t told me about it. Did Lola not trust me? How could she
talk to the company and not me?</p>
<p>“Our first
test subjects... well, they experienced some issues,” said the
Manager. His tie matched the drapes. I wondered if that could be
coincidence. “Post-traumatic stresses. Psychotic breaks. That
kind of thing. It was a real surprise, since you hadn’t
demonstrated any such symptoms. It got us thinking about the
psychology. And what we decided is that you, Dr. Neumann, would be
absolutely terrific at guiding these people through the recovery
process. I mean, look at you! You’re inspiring. You could work
wonders assisting our test subjects adjust to life with an
Augmentation.” Behind him, the sun moved behind a cloud.
“Especially... well, that particular test subject who doesn’t
know she has one.”</p>
<p>Because the logical
part of my brain was occupied, it did nothing to stop the raw,
instinctive jolt of rage that burst through my body. That’s my
explanation, anyway, for why my Contours twitched, and I kicked the
Manager through the window.</p>