LeeSki SkiMore's Sci-Fi Site: LevUP the Future.Novel, page 2


    The flesh-toned strip of fibercloth that had been wrapped around the phone's nose 
fluttered overhead, caught in the air currents of the rampway. Eller watched the strip of 
cloth he had cut from pocket of the corp-rep's fibersuit when he had 'borrowed' the 
phone. A bit crazily, he felt as if the rapidly disappearing cloth was waving good-bye.
It had done its job, fooling the 
phone's silicone nose that identified the user by airborne molecular signature. It had gotten
him into the Corp Comp Center undetected. Even so, the comp center's secureware had 
almost caught Eller behind its anti-theft screen.   
     He was free only for the moment. The store's secureware had followed him out into 
the streetnet. It had also alerted the copnet. The copnet would have the Chi' Sprawl's 
legalware take ID's to map the location of everything in the sprawlnet. So, In the middle 
of it all was Eller with an extremely hot comp in his jacket pocket, with an off-line 
phone in his fibersuit's pocket. Its antenna grounded-out so that it was invisible to the 
copnet while he was busy being a private corp rep visiting the Corp Comp Center. 
    "No problem." thought Eller, as he tried to convince himself he was up for a night in 
a tight room with relentless cop-comps that didn't get mad, tired, or leave to pee. "I'm 
staying off-line, until I'm the hell out of here." 
    He walked along the ramp. Slowly at first, then a bit faster, passing a locked-down, 
blanked-out ramp car. He could hear the party going on inside as he went by it. It had 
been a mistake to start walking. Suddenly, he broke into a run, adding as much as he 
could to the ramp's speed. No matter how he kidded himself he knew he had to be far 
away, and back on-line when the identity call came through from the copnet.
    Eller ran with the adrenaline rush of the amateur thief. Running from his act as well 
as arrest. He was only a thief out of desperation as his board was badly broken. Its old 
topo comp down, done it's last count. He couldn't let OBee down. Or could he forget his 
tapped-out stockholders. Most of all, he couldn't forget all the people out 
there waiting for him to prove he couldn't do it; be an independent Stormer.
    Particularly, one who came from the depths of the divi.dole. Rose up to issue 
his own private stock. This was all he had been able to think about the last few 
days, as he waited for the right opportunity to present itself.
    Thanks to the govware's suggestions he had found out about the special model that 
was on display at the Corp Comp Center.
    His panic turned him animal, instant and random, careful plan ignored, forgotten, as 
the running, the fear, the bod-chems, pushed him to panic. He ran, and ran, and 
ran, with the pumped muscles of a professional real-time stormboarder.



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