"Paul Di Filippo - Daydream Nation" - читать интересную книгу автора (Di Filippo Paul)

Was this particular iDream simply a random, typically urban intrusion on her voluntarily permeable
privacy sphere, cast by some crude lout looking to impress his buddies? A kind of small mental frottage?
Or was it a sincere attempt to win her attention and speak to her soul, as a prelude to a face-to-face
encounter?

If she was just being cruelly gamed, then whoever had sent the iDream would not respond to Cirri's
Bluetoothed query. But if the sender was genuinely interested in her ...

Before Cirri sent her query, however, she looked around her in an inconspicuous fashion.

An iDream had an effective casting range of only ten feet or so. In that space, there were at least
half-a-dozen attractive men of roughly Cirri's age, and not a single troll. (And oh, yes, at least that many
good-looking women. But Cirri didn't think she gave off the L-word vibe, and in fact had never been on
the receiving end of an iDream from someone of her own gender in the two years she had been wearing
the bindi.)

So far so good. Crossing her fingers in her mind, Cirri sent out her omnidirectional Bluetooth ID signal,
itself limited to the same range as the iDream. Instantly, her National ID signifier would be downloaded
into all the iDreamsCasters in the immediate vicinity. Whoever had sent the iDream her way could now
access certain basic public facts about her, as well as her photo. The sender would know that the chosen
recipient of his dream was willing to meet.

Cirri could have responded by casting her own iDream, of course. But to whom? In a one-on-one
situation, where the sender's identity was obvious, Cirri preferred to respond this way, in fact. A
two-way satisfactory swap of iDreams was the surest confirmation of mutual attraction. But in a situation
like this, Cirri could only hope that the man who had sent her such an appealing iDream would be as
receptive to her fantasies as she was to his.

A man was approaching her table now, smiling. Light brown hair, trim build, dressed sportily, dimpled
chin - what wasn't to like?

Cirri stood up and extended a hand. They shook.

"Ken Clement," said the man. "I hope you enjoyed that little interlude, Cirri. I had a feeling you'd
appreciate a few moments away from the city, your job and all."

"I did, Ken. That was just - just perfect. Did you write that dream yourself?"

"Why - yes, I did."

"Maybe you'd like to discuss your scripting techniques over dinner tonight."

"Of course."

And so her latest romance had begun.

She should have realised it would end badly at the three-month mark, however, when she discovered
that the iDream with which Ken had seduced her had been a cyrano.

Scrolling through the iDreams download website, Cirri had encountered the very same dream, offered as