Rainbows End Read Online Free
make me wrong.”
Günberk nodded. “If we are right about these labs and if we fail to properly… deal… with them, that could be the end of history. It could be the end of all the striving for good against evil that has ever been.” He shook himself, abruptly returning to the practical. “And yet we are reduced to working through this damned rabbit person.”
Alfred said gently, “I’ve studied Rabbit’s track record, Günberk. I think he can do what we need. One way or another. He’ll get us the inside information, or he’ll create enough chaos — not attributable to us — that any evil will be clearly visible. If the worst is true, we’ll have evidence that we and China and even the nonculpable parties in the U.S.A. can use to stamp this out.” Suppression attacks on the territory of a Great Power were rare, but there was precedent.
All three were silent for a moment, and the sounds of the festival afternoon swept around Vaz. It had been so many years since his last visit to Barcelona… Finally, Günberk gave a grudging nod. “I’ll recommend to my superiors that we proceed.”
Across the table, Keiko’s prismatic imagery shimmered and chimed. Mitsuri’s background was in sociology. Her analyst teams were heavily into psychology and social institutions — much less diversified than the teams working for Alfred, or Günberk. But maybe she would come up with some alternative that the other two had missed. Finally she spoke: “There are many decent people in the American intelligence community. I don’t like doing this behind their back. And yet, this is an extraordinary situation. I have clearance to go ahead with Plan Rabbit — ” she paused ” — with one proviso. Günberk fears that we’ve erred in the direction of employing an incompetent. Alfred has studied Rabbit more, and thinks he’s at just the right level of talent. But what if you are both wrong?”
Günberk started in surprise. “ The devil !” he said. Alfred guessed that some very quick silent messaging passed between the two.
The prisms seemed to nod. “Yes. What if Rabbit is significantly more competent than we think? In that unlikely event, Rabbit might hijack the operation, or even ally with our hypothetical enemy. If we proceed, we must develop abort-and-destroy plans to match Rabbit’s progress. If he becomes the greater threat, we must be prepared to talk to the Americans. Agreed?”
“ Ja. “
“Of course.”
Keiko and Günberk stayed a few minutes more, but a real café table on C. de Sardenya in the middle of the festival was not the proper place for virtual tourists. The waiter kept circling back, inquiring if Alfred needed anything more. They were paying table rent for three, but there were crowds of real people waiting for the next available seating.
So his Japanese and European colleagues took their leave. Günberk had many loose ends to deal with. The inquiries at CDD must be gracefully shut down. Misinformation must be layered carefully about, concealing things both from the enemy and from security hobbyists. Meantime, in Tokyo, Keiko might be up the rest of the night, pondering Rabbit traps.
Vaz stayed behind, finishing his drink. It was amazing how fast his table space shrank, accommodating a family of North African tourists. Alfred was used to virtual artifacts changing in a blink of the eye, but a clever restaurateur could do almost as well with physical reality when there was money involved.
In all Europe, Barcelona was the city Alfred loved the most. The Rabbit was right about this city. But was there time to be a real tourist? Yes. Call it his annual vacation. Alfred stood and bowed to the table, leaving payment and tip. Out on the street, the crowds were getting rather extreme, the stilt people dancing wildly about among the tourists. He couldn’t see the entrance of the Sagrada Familia directly, but tourism info showed the next certain tour slot was ninety minutes away.
Where to spend his
Günberk nodded. “If we are right about these labs and if we fail to properly… deal… with them, that could be the end of history. It could be the end of all the striving for good against evil that has ever been.” He shook himself, abruptly returning to the practical. “And yet we are reduced to working through this damned rabbit person.”
Alfred said gently, “I’ve studied Rabbit’s track record, Günberk. I think he can do what we need. One way or another. He’ll get us the inside information, or he’ll create enough chaos — not attributable to us — that any evil will be clearly visible. If the worst is true, we’ll have evidence that we and China and even the nonculpable parties in the U.S.A. can use to stamp this out.” Suppression attacks on the territory of a Great Power were rare, but there was precedent.
All three were silent for a moment, and the sounds of the festival afternoon swept around Vaz. It had been so many years since his last visit to Barcelona… Finally, Günberk gave a grudging nod. “I’ll recommend to my superiors that we proceed.”
Across the table, Keiko’s prismatic imagery shimmered and chimed. Mitsuri’s background was in sociology. Her analyst teams were heavily into psychology and social institutions — much less diversified than the teams working for Alfred, or Günberk. But maybe she would come up with some alternative that the other two had missed. Finally she spoke: “There are many decent people in the American intelligence community. I don’t like doing this behind their back. And yet, this is an extraordinary situation. I have clearance to go ahead with Plan Rabbit — ” she paused ” — with one proviso. Günberk fears that we’ve erred in the direction of employing an incompetent. Alfred has studied Rabbit more, and thinks he’s at just the right level of talent. But what if you are both wrong?”
Günberk started in surprise. “ The devil !” he said. Alfred guessed that some very quick silent messaging passed between the two.
The prisms seemed to nod. “Yes. What if Rabbit is significantly more competent than we think? In that unlikely event, Rabbit might hijack the operation, or even ally with our hypothetical enemy. If we proceed, we must develop abort-and-destroy plans to match Rabbit’s progress. If he becomes the greater threat, we must be prepared to talk to the Americans. Agreed?”
“ Ja. “
“Of course.”
Keiko and Günberk stayed a few minutes more, but a real café table on C. de Sardenya in the middle of the festival was not the proper place for virtual tourists. The waiter kept circling back, inquiring if Alfred needed anything more. They were paying table rent for three, but there were crowds of real people waiting for the next available seating.
So his Japanese and European colleagues took their leave. Günberk had many loose ends to deal with. The inquiries at CDD must be gracefully shut down. Misinformation must be layered carefully about, concealing things both from the enemy and from security hobbyists. Meantime, in Tokyo, Keiko might be up the rest of the night, pondering Rabbit traps.
Vaz stayed behind, finishing his drink. It was amazing how fast his table space shrank, accommodating a family of North African tourists. Alfred was used to virtual artifacts changing in a blink of the eye, but a clever restaurateur could do almost as well with physical reality when there was money involved.
In all Europe, Barcelona was the city Alfred loved the most. The Rabbit was right about this city. But was there time to be a real tourist? Yes. Call it his annual vacation. Alfred stood and bowed to the table, leaving payment and tip. Out on the street, the crowds were getting rather extreme, the stilt people dancing wildly about among the tourists. He couldn’t see the entrance of the Sagrada Familia directly, but tourism info showed the next certain tour slot was ninety minutes away.
Where to spend his
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