Vernor Vinge - Rainbows End

The Mysterious Stranger waved them on through the brush. "A tradition?" he said. "But that would be a plus. Like panty raids and putting automobiles on top of administration buildings. The sort of thing that made American universities great."

Rivera puffed along. "Maybe. We've had a lot more business since the library went virtual, but — "

Robert was still watching the mobs beyond the hill. "I thought the whole point of belief circles was that they can coexist in the same space."

"In principle," said Rivera. They took a big detour around a space that was dark even in the virtual. Sharif's image seemed to flicker and jerk. So few people walked through this area that the random network was sparse and your wearable had to make way too many guesses.

"But," Rivera continued, "the library is a tight fit. In principle we can morph to support the multiple beliefs, like on Pyramid Hill. In fact, our environment is often too close for conflicting haptics. So the administration tried to satisfy the Scoochis by giving them some space underground." Rivera paused, and Robert almost ran him over. "You knew that wouldn't work, didn't you?" Carlos was looking at Stranger-Sharif, or what Robert saw as Stranger-Sharif.

The Stranger turned and smiled. "I gave you the best advice I had, dear boy."

"Yeah." Rivera sounded close to surly. He looked over his shoulder at Robert. "What does he have on you, Professor?"

"I — — "

"Ah, ah, ah!" interrupted the Stranger. "I think we'd all be more comfortable without such revelations."

"Okay," said both victims.

"In any case," said the Stranger, "I'm rather proud of how I've morphed the Librareome controversy into this conflict between belief circles. This riot will distract people who would otherwise be paying attention to other things — such as what we're doing."

They were well south of the library now, out of the trees and coming down a steep slope. Just ahead was Gilman Drive. Carlos walked heedlessly into the street. The cars slowed or speeded up or changed lanes so there was always a wide bubble of empty space around him. Robert hesitated, looking for a crosswalk. Damn . Finally he scooted after Carlos, out into traffic.

Miri stopped ON the north side of Gilman Drive.

"So where are they going?" said Juan.

"They're coming down to Gilman Drive." Viewpoints in the eucalyptus showed Robert and the librarian, Carlos Rivera, walking through deep brush. The pictures were fragmentary, since there weren't many cameras there, but Miri was sure no one was pulling a swap on her. The two would reach the roadway in a couple of minutes.

"But that's true of anyone coming south."

Miri stopped her bike, put a foot on the ground. "Look! You want me to say I don't know where they're going, is that it?"

The Orozco kid stopped his wikiBay bike beside her. "Honest, I'm just wondering."

Xiu Xiang popped into existence, and a moment later, so did a young version of Lena Gu. Their images were Barbie-doll stiff, but every day they got better. For instance, Lena had mastered facial expressions — and right now her look was stern. "Juan isn't the only one with this question, young lady. If you don't know , you should say so."

Xiu just sounded anxious. "Lena and I are driving around the north side of campus. Maybe my research was all wrong. How can we help if the action is on the south?"

Miri struggled to make her own voice serene. "I think you got it right, Dr. Xiang. Juan and I have been following Robert closely, but now… I guess I don't know where he's going. That makes it even more important that we stay spread out. Please Dr. Xiang, if you and Lena can stay on the north side, that would be best." Over the last few days, Xiu had done some good detective work; she could be really smart when she wasn't doubting herself. They knew that Huertas kept the Librareome shredda in his labs on the north side. If Robert's friends planned a "direct protest," that would be the sensible place for them to break in. So why aren't Robert and the others heading that way ? Big boogers of uncertainty were beginning to form.

But Dr. Xiang nodded, and not even Juan Orozco asked the obvious embarrassing questions. This was still the Miri Gang. For better or worse.

The treetop cams had lost sight of Robert and Mr. Rivera. Miri dropped those viewpoints and glanced up the hillside, almost with a naked-eye perspective. The other two were still out of sight. They could come out on Gilman Drive almost anywhere.

Miri licked her lips. "The main thing is to keep these — "

" — crazy fools — " said Lena.

" — from doing anything too destructive."

"Yeah," said Juan, nodding. "Who do you think that remote guy is, the one who's walking with them?"

"What?" Juan was a mostly clueless kid, but sometimes he was accidentally very sharp. Miri played back her last images of Robert and Mr. Rivera. Those pics were fragmentary, but Juan was right. The two were looking at a consistent location that drifted along with them — and granting it a certain amount of open space. So. A private presence.

Juan said, "I'll bet they're seeing Zulfi Sharif."

"I'll bet you're right." Not for the first time tonight, she tried to bring up her Sharif control. Still no response.

So do something ! "C'mon, Juan." She walked her bike out onto Gilman Drive, crossing the lanes slowly enough not to get a ticket.

Xiu and Lena drifted along. "Traffic is heavy," said Lena.

"It's the belief-circles clash. People are attending in person." The gaming buzz had come out of the blue, but Miri could not imagine that it was coincidence. Setting this up must have involved deep coordination. Even though the clash was still just rumor, there was a huge turnout. The cars around them were dropping off passengers. People were laughing and shouting and talking, and walking toward the library. The sidewalks on the other side of Gilman Drive were all but empty.

She reached the far curb and looked back. "Come on , Juan!"

Now the sky above the library was twisting violet, a very nice fractal effect from some art co-op in northern China. She glanced at network status… It wasn't just automobile traffic that was heavy. She could see network trunks lighting up all over California. There were millions of viewpoints being exported from UCSD's campus. There were hundreds of thousands of virtual participants. As Juan caught up with her, she said, "It's a whirlwind. Like a big game first-day."

The boy nodded, but he wasn't paying attention. "Look what I found in the street."

The gadget was half crushed. Metal fibers hung from one side.

She waved for him to drop it. "Roadkill. So?" If a node lost connectivity and then got into the street — well, something that small would get run over.

"I think it's still online, but I can't get a catalog match."

Miri looked closer. There was spiky flickering, but no response. "It's pingless wreckage, Juan."

Juan shrugged, then dropped the gadget into his bike bag. He had a blank look. He was still searching. "It looks like a Cisco 33, but — "

Fortunately, Orozco had not distracted everyone. Lena said, "Miri. I've found Robert and the Rivera fellow." There was a pause while Lena got the camera ID. There! Robert and Rivera were crossing the roadway a quarter mile west of them.

"We're on it, Lena!"

In Robert's time, this side of Gilman Drive had been Quonset huts. In later years, classic University of California concrete had housed the medical school. Now there was Pilchner Hall, which like almost everything else on campus looked as temporary as the old Quonsets.

The Mysterious Stranger led Robert and Carlos into the building. Real light followed them in concentrated pools, while farther down the hall the view was virtual. There might have been other people in the building, but the Stranger avoided them. He headed down a stairway, into a warren of tiny rooms. In places the floor was dusty. Elsewhere it was polished clean, or covered with streaky scrape marks. "Heh," said the Stranger, pointing at the scrapes. "Tommie has been at work. This whole floor has been rearranged for tonight. And there are parts that just won't show on the university's security plan."