"Shane Tourtellotte - Swap-Out" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tourtellotte Shane)

swab. He cleaned out the cable jacks with practiced ease, inserting the swab without
needing to feel around for the openings.
For the main socket, he wired himself to a small processor on the table before
unhooking his module. Different brushes worked out the three prong-holes. With that
finished, Egan picked up and attached his night-module. Technically he wasn't supposed
to sleep with an implant, but that was old advice from over-cautious and short-sighted
doctors.
He eased himself down on his ergonomic pillow, built with a notch for the hardware,
and let himself drift off.
***
The smoothness of the dreamscape turned jagged. Shards pierced his brain. His mind
began tearing apart.
He awoke, frozen. Gingerly, he moved his head, and felt the prongs click back into
place. He lay panting in relief, until the sleep-facilitating program reasserted itself.
_I have to find something to stop me from tossing_, he thought before falling back to
sleep.
***
Two weeks later, a pause while a new file uploaded allowed his eyes to drift to the
contraption on Kell's head. A thick band arched along her crown, supporting a squarish
block at the back of her neck that was also braced on her collarbone. Dense brown hair
spilled off both sides of the block, leaving a channel between her shoulder blades.
Egan unhooked from his workstation, walked over, and waited until Kell noticed him.
"You're kidding," he said.
She flipped up her monitor visor. "Actually, yes." She smiled at his puzzlement. "It's a
test brace, so my doctor can adjust the real thing to minimize the stress on my upper
body. This is just a weight," she added, tapping the block.
Egan snorted, exaggerating the natural derision. "And you expect to go out in public
looking like that. Boy, if you thought losing the Rapunzel look was going to crimp your
social life -- "
"It's only for work. The company will cover most of the cost that way. When I go home,
it stays here." She arched an eyebrow at him. "That's all I ever meant it to be."
He leaned in close. "That's not all it will be. You'll find out. You'll want to use it for
something outside work, just for convenience. Then it'll be something more, and
something more, until it becomes a part of your life." He ignored Kell's shudder. "So since
that's going to happen anyway, why not go all the way?"
"Anything I can help with, Mister Brock?" Grete Larssen, the office manager, walked
up, trying to appear casual.
Egan's tone shifted. "Just inquiring about her ... device." He withdrew to his desk
before Larssen could suggest it. He watched Larssen speak to Kell, with a subtle gesture
in his direction. Kell shook her head.
Larssen came over. "Work going well, Mister Brock?"
"As well as always," Egan said, jacking back into his workstation.
 "You're still comfortable working in an office environment? The position was never
required to be permanent. You can return to working from home any time, without
prejudicing your standing with the company."
"It would prejudice my bonus. No thanks."
Larssen's voice dropped. "Then recall that this arrangement exists for customer and
image relations. We need to look our best."
"And a cyber doesn't look right? That could be fun to argue in court."
"You know I didn't mean that," said Larssen, but she looked shaken. "Nothing