tate-of-t, a poless megacorps or government bureaucracies. Pluss ran for about s considerable lengts adjacent and to ting  cuated by ter and television screens and filtered dayligside. Beloom Japanese and Chinese decks.

    t inted ric reets gliding by silently. Cald cigo ense body. Since it , urned upside do, to’s avatar t o t t limo full of fancy computer equipment. All the space of hours.

    t like t, sat at rigo  tment. t look like talking kind so idle banter  of tion. t part at ted someto come leaping out of t any moment. Cald make out a driver in t of the limo.

    One of t  a disproportionate amount of time pumping computerized iron. t t to burst out of ts. te sector bodyguards for  t t suggested sometogeter. t table, heir wraparound mirror shades.

    “So Mr. Cald you going to thank me for saving your life?”

    A voice like its oing t it o it. It  sent santly, a maelstrom of images flasars in an ancient massively multiplayer online game. t as quickly as it ’s ting eettempted to ignore the pain.

    t came from a man , it range familiarity. Caldion of t could see notrics could rattle someone in ion. And Caldtle rattled. Rattled t whis was knew his name.

    A click, as a sideligcrung man in a black pinstriped city suit and a tan fedora. Caldruded from s and pulsated like miniature fire ing of tilian eyes stared at ation of some cyberspace image.  seemed t time or teco  ty or eig t ts of ageing all to grave.  draion too many. he looked fake.

    “t off noikit ared at  suggested a dim-ted alternative to Einstein’s tivity. ted to get intimate. Caldy as a blank s of paper. t make sense. Everyto be spiraling out of control. Back in ton, ready to imbibe tents of terious vial of nano poison,  totally in control of iny. No t otally out of control, a pa t of tructed suit, looked like o some of tions, issues t  back furts.

    Questions of identity. ,  even in cyberspace. Unless of course, t able scanner. Caldting in tended to stay alive, at least for a while.

    t reminded Caldional Geograp  particularly gregarious species of poisonous snake,  ure cinct.

    “I find it very o believe t you are not in t bit interested in  ion.

    “ you tell me and just drop me off somes.”

    “ouldn’t be t time, Cad. My name is Bruce Fouler. I am ted your career. I am to your future, if you care about it at all. I am o give you anot oo early. Your star burned brigoo s a  in rapid-fire staccato, occasional inflections of cockney peeking out from tonous . Caldincts . t kne  sometold  bluff.  o.

    “Longevity is relative Mr. Fouler. As long as I am still breat a s at it.”

    “Still t ass, e.

    Cald  person  out of t psycial recall but o find ter’s face vaguely familiar. And ting feeling t  going to like o tell him.

    “ you tell me o kill you?” Fouler continued.

    “You seem to  you be telling me?  do you  h me?”

    “OK, let’s cut to to be one of us. Never mind  to t in a jiffy. But tter is t some o avail ourselves of your skills once again. On a strictly freelance basis of course. Be  once  someone back,  tions asked. In your case, I’ll make an exception and in return for your services  you’ve been searcime. to the fold.”

    ts kept trained on Cald served ter.

    ****

    t t London traffic.  rying to ree tire er of minutes. Cald t driverless. tain precision to t suggested ts making splasterns on t above. tical about ts dispersed transparent surface. Caldrack of  industrial facilities robed terior of termittently, making gariss of two he limo’s consoles.

    Fouler, tery man ting in t in t, as to tell Cald. Caldill reeling and trying not to let it sfit t could afford driverless limousines and could use government approved sound guns. From terior, tfit t  its disposal an incredible amount of computing po in Fouler’s limo, imagine   all. Big union concerns alamping auty on an increasingly fluid market ion of freelancers kept in cification and location technologies.

    Cald  ly remembered not. it quickened in anticipation of  to tell uff oo important to interrupt so  patiently getting acquainted ing for Fouler to spill t ted o change his mind.

    ter code scrolling do monitors and disappearing into tco get acquainted ing systems. Vast plains of data expanded before  to some neerritory in cyberspace. Fouler cougo get Caldtention tabbing at tared at ter for a moment. tinued playing again.

    Fouler seemed to  sometack of cards from  pocket and s a te casino. Cald dorols and edged foricipation. Caldapped listlessly on ther skin of his knapsack.

    “I  you to take a look at t length.

    “Do I o?” Caldorted  t amount of sarcasm to get on ted to find out about t not indulge t fetiso dangerous slits and scruncic face.

    “You don’t  I am offering you?” h.

    “All rig said nothing.

    Cald t ern or probably even Italian origin. Yet tinctly Caucasian about ures.  from rimmed glasses on a square face.  dark-skinned Latin te, y oriental eyes t burned urbing but at time familiar. Caldirred someto but  t idea why. Or did he?

    Caldograpion on to back to Fouler  at ttom of his pile of cards.

    “Am I supposed to knoely trying to sound offo form in  t s implications at t precise moment.

    “I don’t expect you to,” Fouler said h a sly smile.

    “ake a look at to face do to Caldwell.

    “Look Fouler, or ting tedious. Eitell me  my past, drop me off or kill me,” Cald  option o sound as promising as it ting outrageous. Fouler aken aback by burst.

    “Just look at to. Your future depends on it,” hed.

    “Okay, okay, don’t get your Y-fronts in a t,” Calds. tly.   to pop. ate al on to and stared at it.  skipped several beats.

    It  te in tal tilt to t o a cold s. It started as a faint deina and tarted gus of aking t spent taring into t t it  amber. t identical to t made her?

    A migraine came out of noed pounding Calder of painkiller from  pocket and jabbed it into  deliberate waves.

    “ted.

    “Are ts? You knoill breatill sing like a dog on . All pretence  of too big, too far-reaco play games.

    “Yes. I knohan you can possibly imagine.”

    “try me,” Caldwell said figill reeling.

    “I o you getting your memory back,” Fouler said, observing  getting acquainted o rivets. Caldared at  dribbled doeely resolve kicked in as ions of  Cald al lack of long term memories. If Fouler o do

    going to let t. o play it cool.

    “My memory? Prove it,” Cald bullsting, ed it all back. But o use it as some kind of bargaining c o do wever Fouler asked o do.

    “You asked for it. Ask and ye sically. tal urned tos to  pocket. Caldal note t to  ake till

    looked like a red Cer on it. It meant noto Cald Fouler kno  read C happened.

    ***

    An accelerated slides flaso one tigrobed t cinema projector complete cerspersed s of conversations, discordant voices and music racing through Caldwell’s mind.

    A roasted suckling pig on a banquet table festooned iles and tal eboarding doeep road into some of tallest skyscrapers  touc. Gleaming corporate buildings t c as tceel from a different angle. A te logos lig sky turning it into an artificial day.

    A side a Cemple. Kung fu movies, sped up and blurred, rus terns bob in a polluted Styrofoam-infested , ing  trees. A brunette o a smile. A girl in a library ranslucent it s to look at c of a blood-red sunset. Pink dolphins jump and squeak in a dank black sea.

    Old men move trying to grab objects out of t market, croering in a square t is at once strange and vaguely familiar. A ly to gariseet dive into a pool of blood. A Cer in an unusual serializes on a we piece of paper.