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‘Because it’s a B, or Beta-type world, right?’

‘Yes Which sort were you from, by the way?’

‘Oh, one of the Gaic They had probleh – anyone as too cyborged couldn’t getyou don’t have anytoo They told me it wouldn’t work here’

‘Not exactly,’ Irene said punctiliously ‘It’s more that no powered device can cross into or out of the Library while still functioning Devices would work perfectly well if you could turn theain once you were in here’

Kai shook his head ‘Notit on and off? I wasn’t really into the ic either I was more heavy on real world stuff, like physical coet picked up for the Library, then?’ she asked

Kai shrugged ‘Well, everyone did research using online tools where I was But fro down old books for this researcher So-tiround, thought IAnd I think I sort of looked a bit too hard Because next thing I was getting a visit from some real hardline people, and they told me I needed to come and work for them’

‘Or?’

Kai glanced at her icily ‘The "or" would have been bad news for me’

Irene was silent for the time it took to walk past several doors Eventually she said, ‘So here you are then Are you unhappy?’

‘Not so ame, you take the risks It was a better offer than soht? One of the people teaching me here, Master Grimaldi, he said that if I’d had a family they’d never have made the offer They’d just have warned me off some other way So I can’t complain about that’

‘Then what can you complain about?’

‘Five years’ They turned a corner ‘It’s been five fricking years I’ve been here studying I know about the ti It’ll have been five years since I dropped out of uys I used to run with, they’ll have moved on or be dead It was that sort of place There was this girl She’ll have moved on to someone else There’ll be new fashions New styles New tech and one and blown themselves up And I won’t have been there for any of it How can I call itparts of it?’

‘You can’t,’ Irene answered