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Fragments of a Hologram Rose

by William Gibson

й 1977 UnEarth Publications

VERSION 1.1 (Feb 04 00). If you find and correct errors in the text, please
update the version number by 0.1 and redistribute.

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That summer Parker had trouble sleeping.

There were power droughts; sudden failures of the delta-inducer brought
painfully abrupt returns to consciousness.

To avoid these, he used patch cords, miniature alligator clips, and black
tape to wire the inducer to a battery-operated ASP-deck. Power loss in the
inducer would trigger the deck's playback circuit.

He brought an ASP cassette that began with the subject asleep on a quiet
beach. It had been recorded by a young blonde yogi with 20-20 vision and an
abnormally acute color sense. The boy had been flown to Barbados for the
sole purpose of taking a nap and his morning's exerciseon a brilliant
stretch of private beach. The microfiche laminate in the cassette's
transparent case explained that the yogi could will himself through alpha
to delta without an inducer. Parker, who hadn't been able to sleep without
an inducer for two years, wondered if this was possible.

He had been able to sit through the whole thing only once, though by now he
knew every sensation of the first five subjective minutes. He thought the
most interesting part of the sequence was a slight editing slip at the
start of the elaborate breathing routine: a swift glance down the white
beach that picked out the figure of a guard patrolling a chain link fence,
a black machine pistol slung over his arm.

While Parker slept, power drained from the city's grids.

The transition from delta to delta-ASP was a dark implosion into other
flesh. Familiarity cushioned the shock. He felt the cool sand under his
shoulders. The cuffs of his tattered jeans flapped against his bare ankles
in the morning breeze. Soon the boy would wake fully and begin his
Ardha-Matsyendra-something; with other hands Parker groped in darkness for
the ASP deck.

Three in the morning.

Making yourself a cup of coffe in the dark, using a flashlight when you
pour the boiling water.