Нейромант
Chapter 1
Casehadneverseenhimwearthesamesuittwice,althoughhiswardrobeseemedtoconsistentirelyofmeticulousreconstructionsofgarmentsofthepreviouscentury.Heaffectedprescriptionlenses,framedinspiderygold,groundfromthinslabsofpinksyntheticquartzandbeveledlikethemirrorsinaVictoriandollhouse.
HisofficeswerelocatedinawarehousebehindNinsei,partofwhichseemedtohavebeensparselydecorated,yearsbefore,witharandomcollectionofEuropeanfurniture,asthoughDeanehadonceintendedtousetheplaceashishome.NeoAztecbookcasesgathereddustagainstonewalloftheroomwhereCasewaited.ApairofbulbousDisney-styledtablelampsperchedawkwardlyonalowKandinsky-lookcoffeetableinscarlet-lacqueredsteel.ADaliclockhungonthewallbetweenthebookcases,itsdistortedfacesaggingtothebareconcretefloor.Itshandswerehologramsthatalteredtomatchtheconvolutionsofthefaceastheyrotated,butitnevertoldthecorrecttime.Theroomwasstackedwithwhitefiberglassshippingmodulesthatgaveoffthetangofpreservedginger.
`Youseemtobeclean,oldson,’saidDeane’sdisembodiedvoice.`Docomein.’
Magneticboltsthuddedoutofpositionaroundthemassiveimitation-rosewooddoortotheleftofthebookcases.JULIUSDEANEIMPORTEXPORTwasletteredacrosstheplasticinpeelingself-adhesivecapitals.IfthefurniturescatteredinDeane’smakeshiftfoyersuggestedtheendofthepastcentury,theofficeitselfseemedtobelongtoitsstart.
