Station, стр. 13
"I bet it was that Miles. He can't concentrate onanything besides his music for any length of time. We should'vebeen asked to do it."
"You know Mister Rott loves his original Keys, mydear. From which we are far removed. But enough of the past, whereare our manners? My good sir, I am Jonston Van Vleet, also known asJonny VV, and this is my dearest friend and esteemed equal ReenaSong. What might your name be?"
Hadder forced himself to speak, working hard toremove his eyes from Jonny's suit, which he noticed subtly dancedwith green embers as if logs had just been thrown on a Christmasfire. "I'm Hadder. Marlin Hadder. And yes, I just arrived, althoughI'm not too sure how long ago. And yes, Miles took me to the Perch,but he left me with more questions than answers. And finally, yes,that thing back there, that manikin, scared the shit out ofme."
Jonny VV slapped his hand together loudly. "Oh, howmarvelous, Reena! How absolutely wonderful! We have a project onour hands. It's so great to meet you, Hadder. It's been too longsince someone new showed up. Honestly, most of us thought the bookswere closed, but how happy I am to know that we were wrong. Wherewere you trying to go, Hadder, if you don't mind me asking."
"Miles thought the Celebration Cluster might be agood place to start."
Reena hooked her left arm around Hadder's right."Well, at least boring Miles got that part right."
Jonny took Hadder's left arm. "Indeed, he did, myAsian blossom. Hadder, the Celebration Cluster happens to be wherethe striking Miss Reena and I were heading, as we do on the eve ofevery Haela. We would be honored if you would walk with us. Perhapswe can shed a bit more light on this dark place."
"I would like that."
"Then we're off," said Reena, pulling Hadder andJonny with her.
Hadder's feet moved, but his mind remained frozen,unable to comprehend the things he had witnessed in the past fewhours. Too many questions and still too few answers. Still clingingto a world now closed to him. But at least he was no longer alone,as he distinctively felt two arms helping him along this new,evidently more traveled road.
They walked in silence briefly before Jonny, alreadyshowing himself to be the verbose gentleman that he was, began thelesson.
"So, tell me, Hadder, did that scoundrel Miles tellyou anything of value?"
"He told me about the Bar system. Said I had to getin where I fit in."
Jonny laughed. "Well, at least he shed some light onthat. Life in Station is similar to the Before."
"Miles mentioned the Before."
"Yes, our lives before Station. Anyway, think ofBars as groups of friends. Sometimes you would like to hang outwith this group, other times you prefer that group. This group youcan live with, another you can party with. There's no laws orcontracts here, so it's all a bit of a loosey-goosey arrangement,but we like it like that, don't we Reena."
"Of course. Who needs restrictions?"
"Well, some do, don't they, love?" Both laughed at ajoke Hadder didn't catch. Jonny continued. "Some Bars are justplaces to meet up and have a good time, while others are fornesting, with living quarters beneath them. Rooms are first-come,first-serve, but most people respect if an individual has remainedin the same room for a while, meaning it becomes theirspermanently, or as long as he or she wishes. Some like to createnew homes here, not like Reena and I. True rolling stones, isn'tthat right, darling?"
"No moss here, Jonny."
Hadder's curiosity could be kept silent no longer."And that thing back there, the manikin?"
Jonny stopped walking. "Well now, look around, newfriend Hadder." He waited for Hadder to take in his surroundingsbefore pressing on. "How would you describe Station so far?"
Hadder thought for a moment. "Clean. Manicured.Beautiful. Dim. Alien."
"Well said. The last two are products of the placeitself, but the first three we owe to the hundreds of manikins thatservice Station."
"But what are they? Slaves?" Hadder involuntarilyshuddered at the idea.
"Oh no, dear man, you have to have a soul to be aslave. Manikins are just human-shaped husks preprogrammed withinstructions. Wind-up men and women. They tend the gardens, prepareour food, pour our drinks, and clean up our filth."
"They do more than that, Jonny."
"Quite right you are, my exotic berry. The moreadvanced ones can do wondrous things, like creating breathtakingensembles such as those being worn by your two guides."
"Who do you think made me this Light Crown?"
"Some can play moving music that will make you soblike an infant. Others can paint haunting portraits of loved onesfrom the Before." Jonny leaned in close to Hadder's ear. "Andothers can bring you to the mountaintops of sexual ecstasy."
"Jonny! Oh my god, gross!"
"Sorry, love, just an observation," stated Jonny,throwing a wink towards Hadder for good measure.
"So, manikins do all the work in Station?" askedHadder, still trying to come to grips with these creatures.
Reena responded, "Well, Station wouldn't be much ofa Xanadu if we all had jobs to do, now would it?"
Hadder halted the walk. "Is that what this issupposed to be? Some kind of Utopia?"
Jonny and Reena exchanged wary glances, the firstcrack in their otherwise optimistic projections. Reena answeredwith a question. "What is a Utopia, Marlin? Is it a place that isperfect for everyone all the time? This seems impossible. Or is ita place that merely offers the complete freedom of life andexpression, the elements necessary so that one may craft theperfect life for herself? I think you'll find like so many of ushave that Station is not the former. But it can be the latter."
Hadder still looked confused.
Jonny took his hand. "Come, maybe it's best you seefor yourself. We're almost there."
As the trio walked, their shadows were becomingsimultaneously deeper and yet less defined. Hadder looked up tofind that the Idol Moon was marginally smaller and giving offnoticeably less light than when he first entered the city, clearlytransitioning from Solay to Haela.
The broader path they were now on -