Грань будущего
Chapter 5
Shestopped,andhervoicecrackledoverthecommlink.Herhigh,delicatevoice,sooutofplaceonthebattlefield:
"What’sitlooklikeI’mdoing?"
"Itlookslikeyou’retryingtofuckingkillme!"
"HumansperceiveMimictransmissionsasdreams.Ourbrainsaretheantennasthatreceivethosetransmissions.Butit’snotjustone-way.Ourbrainsadapt-webecometheantennas.I’mnotevenloopinganymore,butI’mstillconnected;IcanstillsensetheserverMimicbecauseIamstillanantennamyself.Themigrainesareasideeffect.You’vehadthem,haven’tyou?"
"Whatareyoutalkingabout?"
"That’swhythelooprepeatedlasttime,eventhoughyoudestroyedthebackups.Youdidn’tdestroytheantenna-thatwasme."
"Rita,Idon’tunderstand."
"Itworksbothways.Ifyoubecomeanantenna,theMimicswillstillbeabletoloop.I’manantenna.You’retrappedinaloop.Youkillme,theloopdoesn’tpropagate.Ikillyou,it’sforreal.Forever.Onlyoneofuscanescape."
Noneofitmadeanysense.I’dbeenanewrecruittrappedinatimeloopIdidn’tunderstand.I’dprayedtobecomeasstrongastheValkyrieIsawstridingthebattlefield.I’dgottenmyselfturnedintoacorpsecountlesstimestryingtofollowinherfootsteps,andafter160tries,I’dfinallyearnedtherighttostandatherside.We’dfoughttogether,laughedtogether,eatenlunchandtalkedbullshittogether.I’ddraggedmyselfthroughHelltogetnearher,andnowtheworldwasgoingtotearusapart.
