113 (Twinmaker)

plans

Clair didn't waste time making plans. The council of war took place in the Farmhouse's main hall within minutes of Mallory's death. Again, I could not tell what was going through her mind. She wanted resolution, but did she want revenge too? After all, she had just witnessed the death of her best friend's body. That must have shocked her deeply. But if it showed, it showed in ways I was unable to interpret.

Turner: "We must leave here immediately. We're putting you all at risk."

Arcady: "You won't be leaving alone. It's our fight too, now."

Jesse: "But where do we go? What are we supposed to do?"

Clair: "Ant Wallace is still our best hope. If we show him Libby's body, he'll have the evidence he needs to act. But we need to do get to him quickly, before the dupes find another way to get to us."

Arcady: "I agree. Time is short, and taking this on singlehandedly is just stupid. We need the watchdog on our side."

Turner: "The watchdog is toothless. It hasn't even barked in years."

Axel: "You obviously haven't smuggled any illicit molecules recently. Or tried to sell a bootleg Mona Lisa."

Gemma: "Small fry. People ever knew what d-mat could really do to them, the world economy would grind to a halt."

Axel: "That's our leverage, then. We force them to act. They'll have no choice when we're banging on their door."

Dyta: "Do they have a door?"

Arcady: "They do. In Manhattan."

Jesse: "We're exposed here. We should leave right now."

Turner: "All right, I agree." (sounds of dissent) "Friends, we need to go for one simple reason. If Wallace won't listen, WHOLE will be there to take direct action."

Jesse: "What does that mean, exactly?"

Turner: "It means whatever it needs to mean."

Clair: "So how do we get there? We can't fly or they'll shoot us down. We could drive, but they'd always be one step ahead of us. The booths are smashed so we can't even think about using them."

Arcady: "There's a better way: train hobbyists."

Clair: "You must be joking."

Arcady: "No, the farm uses them all the time. A working line runs right across our property. Engines go by once a day-out west at dawn, back east at dusk. We catch the next one, we'll be on the coast in two days, maybe sooner."

Gemma: "What about when we reach the coast? You can't really expect us to swim the rest of the way."

Arcady: "Of course not. We're going to take a submarine."

Clair: "Come on, be serious."

Arcady: "I am. And they won't believe it either. That's why it's the perfect plan."