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"I have good news and bad news," Nelson announced

Nelson was dressed, as always, in a black T-shirt and jeans, his dirty feet shoved into a pair of flip-flops A fast-talking Rhodes scholar with not one but two PhDs from MIT-biochemistry and advanced infor by a mile, a fact that he knew only too well He still had the young person’s predisposition to regard the world as a series of vaguely irritating probleh their relationship was cordial, Nelson had a habit of treating Guilder like a doddering elderly parent, a figure of respect but no longer quite worthy-which was exasperating, couy who seeh not, Guilder had to adht to Guilder’s fifty-seven, and everything about Nelson conspired to n of her?"

"Nada" Nelson scratched his scraggly beard "We’re not getting any of the of sleeplessness He needed to go home for a shower and a clean suit He hadn’t left the office in two days, grabbing only a feinks on the couch and living on junk froers, too Nuood news?"

"Depends on how you look at it From a free-speech point of view, probably it’s not the best, but it looks like souess would be NSA, or else one of Lear’s little pets finally got to him Either way, the dude’s off-line in a permanent way"

Last Stand in Denver: Guilder had watched his videos, like everybody else You had to hand it to the guy for balls Theories abounded about his identity, the general consensus being that he was ex-military, Special Forces or SEALs

"So what’s the bad?"

"New nuoriths like to eat Which I could have told them if they’d asked Either that or so about the last ti with Nelson felt like trying to corral a five-year-old A genius five-year-old, but still "Please, just spit it out"

Nelson shrugged "As it now stands, based on theat aon the order of thirty-nine days"

"For the coasts you mean?"

"Um, not exactly"

"What then?"

"The entire North Aray shadoooped over Guilder’s vision; he had to sit down

"A response is already in the works at Central," Nelson continued "My guess is they’ll try to burn it out Major population centers first, then anyone else who gets left behind"

"Christ alhty"

Nelson frowned "Small price to pay, on the whole I knohat I’d do if I were, say, the president of Russia No way I’d let this juht, and Guilder knew it He realized his right hand had begun to tre the spasesticulation seeun to shake as well He felt the incoh Probably it was the stress He sed effortfully, a taste of bile in his throat

"Find that girl"

Once Nelson was gone, Guilder sat in his office for a fewhad passed, but not the ih-a symptom euphemistically known as "e a single, cleansing bark Jesus, he sounded possessed He hoped nobody outside had heard

He departed the building, got his car froe Toyota Caton He wanted to clean himself up, but this suddenly seemed like work; he poured hi for each of the networks, right down to the Weather Channel, to brand the ean ("Nation in Crisis," etc), and all the broadcasters looked harried and sleep-deprived, especially the ones reporting froround, long lines of vehicles creeping past, everybody pointlessly honking The whole country was seizing up like a bad transmission He checked his watch: 8:05 In less than an hour, the o dark