David Edelman - Infoquake

Jara could hear her mother's accusation across thousands of kilometers: Why do you have to stick with biollogics? Why not become a politician or a civil servant? Or maybe an artist like your sister?

No, Jara retorted silently. Bio/logics was all she knew, all she had ever cared about, and she was simply too old to start fresh somewhere else, to stumble through all the virginal mistakes you had to endure in any new industry.

If only she had gotten a chance to deliver that presentation. If only she had not been yanked away from her trial by fire before she had tasted the flame.

Suddenly, Jara felt the full force of Natch's insidious offer bear down upon her. Now she understood the feral smile that had taken possession of the fiefcorp master's face last night. If she left the fiefcorp now, she would have enough to be comfortable. Not rich, not poor, but comfortable. Natch was asking her a question.

Do you want to settle for comfortable?

Jara pounded her open palm against the floor until the cool tile stung her flesh. How could she not have seen? She should have known that Natch's apparent act of generosity would eventually turn out to be a referendum on him. He had offered her the choice of giving up, of resigning herself to mediocrity and comfort; or of staying with the fiefcorp, of driving ahead, of tilting against self-loathing and dissatisfaction until they yielded or she died trying. There was no third path. To continue in the fiefcorp world under a different corporate umbrella was to become Natch's competitor, and Natch had ably demonstrated he could vanquish any competition. But to quit was to admit she had failed.

Why don't you reframe the question? asked an interior voice she recognized as Horvil. Poor, sweet Horvil, so untouched by the world's misery. Don't accept the question on his terms. Ask your own question.

But Natch had cannily eliminated all other questions during their years in business together. One touch at a time, he had broken down her defenses and seduced her into his ethos. Jara had become a slave to Natch's worldview-and what was worse, she had willingly held out her wrists for the cuffs.

I'm sorry, Horv, she thought, but I don't know how to reframe the question anymore.

I have no other answers to give.

Jara got up and straightened out her robe, as if wrinkles in the fabric were a sign of poor character. She slunk into the breakfast nook and ordered herself a pigeon's dinner: snap peas and steamed rice, raw cauliflower, and water, cold and sharp as the edge of a knife. And as the twenty-fourth hour crept by, unheralded, Jara sat and forked food into her mouth, desperately trying to convince herself she was hungry.

For more comprehensive definitions and background articles on some terms, consult the website at http://www.jump225.com.

TERM 49th Heaven aft Allahu Akbar Emirates Allowell analyst Andra Pradesh DEFINITION A decadent orbital colony, known for its loose morality; originally founded by one of the Three Jesuses as a religious retreat. One of the descriptive components of a program that help the Data Sea sort and catalog information. See also fore. A nation-state that once existed in what is now mostly Pharisee territory. "Allahu Akbar" means "God is great." An orbital colony, saved from extinction by High Executive Tul Jabbor. One of the standard positions in a fiefcorp. Fiefcorp analysts typically focus on areas such as marketing, channeling, finance and product development. A center of culture on the Indian subcontinent. Home to Creed Surina and the Gandhi University. bio/logics black code bodhisattva capitalman carbonization economics ChaiQuoke channel channeler Cisco bars are categorized with the letters of the Roman alphabet (A to Z), and are largely indistinguishable to the naked eye. They interact with virtual code through holographic extensions which are only visible in MindSpace. The science of using programming code to extend the capabilities of the human body and mind. Malicious or harmful programs, usually designed and launched by seditious organizations. The spiritual leader of a creed. Most creed organizations are spearheaded by one individual bodhisattva. Some creeds are run by an elected body of major and minor bodhisattvas. Individual who raises start-up money for fief- corps. Following long tradition, the term is gender-neutral. A colloquial term for a type of economy where fiefcorps form quickly to serve a specific purpose, and then dissipate to make room for new ideas. A popular tea-flavored beverage. The process of marketing and selling products, usually to groups rather than individuals. A businessperson responsible for driving sales to specific markets. A major population center, known in ancient times as San Francisco.

The chronicling of modern history began with Sheldon Surina's publication of Towards the Science of BiolLogics and the New Direction for Humanity. Surina started the Reawakening, which ended the period of the Big Divide that began with the Autonomous Revolt. The publication of Surina's paper is considered to be the Zero Year of the Reawakening (YOR).