The Simulacra

If they've got Al, he decided, they might as well have me, too. Pushing through the knot of onlookers, Ian stepped up on to the lot and approached the nearest NP man.

‘Move on,' the grey-clad NP man said to him, motioning.

‘Take me,' Ian said. ‘I'm in on it.'

The NP man glared at him. ‘I said get going.'

Ian Duncan kicked the NP man in the groin.

With a curse the NP man groped in his coat, whipped out his pistol. ‘Damn you, you're under arrest!' His face had turned green.

‘What's going on here?' another NP man, higher in rank, demanded, walking up.

‘This jerk just kicked me in the crotch,' the first NP man said, holding his gun pointed at Ian Duncan and trying to keep from being ill.

‘You're under arrest,' the higher-in-rank NP man informed Ian.

‘I know,' Ian said, nodding. ‘I want to be. But eventually this tyra

‘What tyra

From the office in the centre of the lot Al appeared; he walked over sombrely. ‘What are you doing here?' he asked Ian. He did not look very pleased to see him.

Ian said, ‘I'm going along with you and Mr Kongrosian and Chic Strikerock. I'm not going to be left behind. There's nothing here for me, now.'

Opening his mouth, Al started to say something. But then a government ship, a gleaming silver and yellow offtrans vehicle, appeared overhead and began, with a tremendous series of noises, carefully to land. The NP men at once cleared everyone back; Ian found himself herded along with Al, over to a corner of the lot, still under the dark scrutiny of the first NP man, the one whom he had kicked in the groin, the one who now had it in for him.

The offtrans ship landed and from it stepped a young woman. It was Nicole Thibodeaux. And she was beautiful slim and beautiful. Luke had been wrong or lying. Ian gaped at her, and, beside him, Al grunted in surprise and said under his breath, ‘How come? I'll be darned; what's she doing here?'

Accompanied by an NP man of evidently colossal rank, Nicole bobbed across the lot to the office, she hurried up the steps, entered and approached Richard Kongrosian.

‘It's him she wants,' Al said in an aside to Ian Duncan. The piano player. That's what all this is about.' He got out an Algerian briar pipe and a pouch of Sail tobacco. ‘Can I smoke?' he asked their NP guard.

‘No,' the NP man said.

Putting his pipe and tobacco away, Al said wonderingly, ‘Imagine her coming here to Jalopy Jungle Number Three. I never would have figured on that.' Suddenly he grabbed Ian by the shoulder and squeezed violently. ‘I'm going over to her and introduce myself.' Before their NP guard could say anything Al started off at a trot; he threaded his way among the parked jalopies and in a split second he had vanished.

The NP man cursed impotently and prodded Ian with his gun. A moment later Al reappeared, at the entrance to the small office building in which Nicole stood talking to Richard Kongrosian. Al opened the door and pushed inside.

Richard Kongrosian was saying as Al opened the office door, ‘But I can't play for you; I smell too bad! You're far too close to me -- please, Nicole, dear, stand back, for chrissakes!' Kongrosian retreated from Nicole, glanced up and saw Al, and said appealingly, ‘Why did you take so long demonstrating that jalopy? Why couldn't we just have taken right off?'

‘Sorry,' Al said. To Nicole he said, ‘I'm Al Miller. I operate this lot.' He held out his hand to her. She ignored the hand, but she was looking his way. ‘Mrs Thibodeaux,' Al said, ‘let the guy go. Don't stop him. He has a right to emigrate if he wants. Don't make people into wooden slaves.'

That was all he could think of to say; it spilled out and then he was silent. His heart laboured. How wrong Luke had been. She was as beautiful as he could possibly imagine; it confirmed everything he had seen before in his original brief one-time glimpse from a distance.

Nicole said to him, ‘This is not your business.'

‘Yes, it is,' Al said. ‘Literally. This man is my customer.'

Now Chick Strikerock found his voice. ‘Mrs Thibodeaux, it's an honour, an incredible honour, to -- ‘ His voice wavered; he gulped air, trembled. And he could not continue. He backed away from her, frozen into silence, as if he had been turned off. Al felt disgusted.

‘I'm a sick man,' Kongrosian mumbled.

‘Bring Richard along,' Nicole said to the high NP official who stood beside her. ‘We're returning to the White House.'

To Al she said, ‘Your little lot can remain open; we're not interested in you one way or another. Some other tune, perhaps ... ‘ She eyed him, without malice, and, as she had said, without interest.

‘Stand aside,' the high-ranking grey-uniformed NP official ordered Al. ‘We're going out.' He shoved past Al, leading Kongrosian by the arm, businesslike and tough.

Nicole followed slightly after the two of them, her hands in the pockets of her long leopard-skin coat. She seemed pensive now, and had become silent. Withdrawn into her moody thoughts.

‘I'm a sick man,' Kongrosian mumbled once more.

To Nicole, Al said, ‘Can I have your autograph?' It was an impulse, a whim from the unconscious. Pointless and futile.

‘What?' She glanced at him, startled. And then she showed her even white teeth in a laugh. ‘My god,' she said, and then passed on out of the office after the high-ranking NP official and Richard Kongrosian. Al was left behind with Chic Strikerock, who was still trying to find words by which to express himself.

‘I guess I don't get her autograph,' Al said to Strikerock.

‘W-what do you think of her?' Strikerock stammered.

‘Lovely,' Al said.

‘Yes,' Strikerock said. ‘It's incredible; I never expected ever to actually see her, you know, in real life, actually. It's like a miracle, don't you agree?' He crossed to the window to peer after Nicole as she and Kongrosian and the NP bigwig moved towards the parked offtrans ship.

‘It would be easy as hell,' Al said, ‘to fall in love with that woman.' He, too, watched her depart. So did everyone else, including the squad of NP men. Far too easy, he thought.

And -- he would be seeing her again, presently he -- and Ian, too -- would be playing their jugs before her. Had that changed? No. Nicole had specifically said that no one was under arrest; she had countermanded the NP's order. He was free to keep the lot open. The NP would be leaving after all.

Al lit his pipe.

Coming up beside him, Ian Duncan said, ‘Well, Al, she cost you the sale of a jalopy.' By Nicole's order, the NP had let him go; he, too, was free.

Al said, ‘Mr Strikerock will still take it. Won't you, Mr Strikerock?'

After a pause Chic Strikerock said, ‘No, I've changed my mind.'

‘The power,' Al said, ‘of that woman -- ‘ He cursed, loudly and explicitly. And scatologically.

Chic Strikerock said, ‘Thanks anyhow. Maybe I'll see you some other time. Concerning that.'

‘You're a fool,' Al said, ‘to let that woman scare you out of emigrating.'

‘Maybe so,' Chic agreed, nodding.

Obviously it was hopeless to try to reason with him. Al could see that; so could Ian. Nicole had won another convert and she was not even here to enjoy it; she was not even interested. ‘Back to your job, is it?' Al said.

‘That's right.' Strikerock nodded. Back to the stale routine.'

‘You'll never make it here to this lot again,' Al said. ‘This is undoubtedly absolutely the last chance you'll ever have to break away in your entire life.'

‘Maybe so,' Chic Strikerock said, nodding morosely. But he did not budge.

‘Good luck,' Al said bitingly, and shook hands with him, ‘Thanks,' Chic Strikerock said, with no trace of a smile.

‘Why?'

Al asked him. ‘Can you explain to me why she affected you so?'