The Pieces of My Self

12 - Cicada Stridulation

LILLIAN

The Knightly Estate, 3 June 2174, Friday

We strolled through a tiled terrace and formal garden, past blooming magnolias that mixed with the scent of newly mown grass, along a pebble path that scrunched under our feet—me, the giant, Debra, the Lilliputian. The AS followed us with a tray of drinks.

"Be careful where you walk," she said.

I'm not that well-coordinated and didn't want to look stupid by falling into the pond, so I stepped carefully and tried to focus on the Zen stones that snaked a path across the water. A strange-looking fish popped up near the surface and surprised me. I wondered if it was alive or animatronic.

"I love this place," she said, climbing steps into a gazebo. "Henri wanted to make it more like a real swamp, but I hated the bugs, so we compromised, and he lost."

She plopped onto a seat and motioned for me to follow. There were fans in holders on each bench. Every well-equipped gazebo should have them. She took one and touched the icon of a red flower on the fan grip to direct a cool breeze toward her face. Since I was already sweating from the heat, I did the same. It was wonderful.

"So, now we can get down to business?"

"Just one more thing," she said, as the robot placed a tray of iced tea and cookies on a small table between our benches.

"Usher, please step outside the gazebo, block the bugs, and sing that Figaro song from Carmen. Make it full volume and continue until I tell you to stop."

The AS dutifully moved to the steps, faced toward the mansion, and began a loud, perfect baritone with musical accompaniment: "Largo al factotum della citta. Presto a bottega che l'alba e gia..."

Just after I clamped hands over my ears, she threw a switch on her bench and silence reigned below the gazebo roof.

"This is just a little joke I play on Them," she said, removing her sandals and flexing bare feet. "The silencer works both ways. Seems like magic to me. Not even signals from your netcard or apparel get through the barrier. Everything is nulled out or jammed. That's what Henri told me when he built it. The gazebo is one of only two places on the estate that are very private."

I screwed up my face. "What do you mean, a joke on Them?"

"The people who try to listen and watch and track me, dear. I also use Usher's body to block them from lip reading. If I were Them, I'd be very frustrated."

"Unless, of course, They enjoy opera sung by a robot."

Debra laughed out loud. "Quite so."

"Why do you think They are watching you?"

"We're in a race to break a code, dear. Tony tells me that LESA is trying to crack it. I confirmed this with a friend who works there. The agency's motivation is quite different from mine, but I have no doubt they—and our supreme president—will nationalize my money when they find it. If that happens, you don't get your bonus. And of course, I'll be on the government's shit list—rebranded as an enemy of the state."

"I thought your husband was a national hero. Doesn't that give you some protection?"

"We live in a world where illusions pass as reality." She poured iced tea from a carafe into a glass. "Have you found anything yet?"

"I'm just getting started."

She sipped, eyes on me, saying nothing.

I felt uneasy and wanted to fill the silence, so I offered an explanation. "Tony wants me to funnel everything I find through him first. He says he won't pay me unless I do that."