Infoquake Read Online Free Page A

Primo's overnight."
    "No," said Natch with a sudden diabolical grin, "but four programs just might."
    The apprentices simply stared at him, unable to summon any
coherent words in response.
    "What do you think I've been doing these past few weeks while the
two of you plugged away on NiteFocus 48? I've been working, that's
what. Getting DeMirage 52 and EyeMorph 66 prepared for launch."
    Horvil counted ostentatiously on his fingers. "That's only three.
What's the fourth program?"

    "Mento Calc-U-Later 93.9. That's been ready for weeks now."
    "What? You told me that program was unlaunchable."
    "I lied."

    As the morning wore on, Natch stubbornly resisted all objections to
his plan, though Horvil and Jara tried their best.
    "This all sounds so nebulous," protested Jara. "Who's going to
believe we know anything about terrorist attacks? We're not spieswe're businesspeople."
    "We've got good connections. People will believe them. Besides, we
don't need to come up with any specific information-a rumor of a
rumor, that's all."
    "What if it doesn't work?"
    Natch shrugged. "If it doesn't work, then what's the harm done?"
    "The Council will deny the rumor," interjected Horvil.
    "And knowing the Council, they'll deny it so forcefully that people
will remain suspicious. Nobody ever accused High Executive Borda of
being subtle."
    I could say the same thing about you, Natch, Jara thought to herself. I
don't understand this at all," she said, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "If we have four programs ready to launch on the Data Sea,
why don't we just launch them now? Why do we need Pharisees?"
    Natch shook his head. "First off, the programs aren't good enough
yet," he replied. "We need at least another day to polish them up. And
second, the Patel Brothers have been watching our every move for
weeks now. They know we're eyeing their number one spot on Primo's.
Unless we catch the Patels unaware for a few hours, they'll immediately fire off a barrage of their own upgrades so they can stay on top.
But if we have enough of a cushion, we just might be able to grab
number one for a few hours."

    "What if someone catches us spreading rumors?"
    "Like who?"
    He's right, the fiefcorp analyst reflected bitterly. Truth on the Data
Sea was like the light from an ancient kaleidoscope: tinted and scattered and refracted on all sides. Especially in the bio/logics trade,
where everyone was an interested party. Fiefcorps and memecorps
spread rumors about their competitors all the time. So did the capitalmen who funded them and the channelers who pushed their wares.
Jara remembered the recent case of a woman who planted rumors of
incompetence about her own son to drive him out of business. Or the
case of the fiefcorper who cornered the market on gastrointestinal programming by sabotaging his competitors' sales demos. No charges had
been filed in either case.
    And who stood in Natch's way? The Meme Cooperative-a fumbling bureaucracy.
    Jara thought back to those interminable childhood lectures from
the hive. So if the Meme Cooperative is so incompetent, she had once complained, who's looking out for the little guy? Who's keeping things fair?
    Nobody, her proctor had replied ruefully.
    Nobody? Jara had screamed in youthful outrage.
    Oh, I could tell you what the headmaster wants me to tell you, the proctor
had replied. All that bullshit in the official hive curriculum. "The fluidity of
information on the Data Sea ferrets out weak struts in the economy." "The independent writers, pundits and watchdogs known as the drudges are very effective
at rooting out corruption. " "We rely on the Local Political Representative Associations of Civic Groups-the L-PRACGs, our governments-to keep the free
market in check." But you read the news, Jara. Do any of those statements
sound like the truth to you?
    They had not. But those discussions had all taken place half a lifetime ago, back when a career as a Meme Cooperative bureaucrat or an