Mardock Scramble Vol 1 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

01

A man sipped a scotch at the counter.

excesses of the city: brash, shiny, flourishing.

—the sort you wouldn’t even hear of in the south or west parts of the city—were discussed as if they

The man listened to the noises of the joint, as expressionless as the bartender in front of his eyes.

Right now he worked for Shell. His body was big, but cold-blooded.

Shell took his lead-gray Chameleon Sunglasses off and ordered a gin. Cut a lime in two and drop the

The bartender silently chopped the lime, took a capsule in his hand, and sprinkled its contents on the

The powder was from a Heroic Pill, one of OctoberCorp’s special bargains. It had recently started

the west could actually go for almost ten times the rate in the east. The Social Welfare Department had put

Plaza in Central Park supplied this bar, and most of those who went shopping there returned home with

give up drinking. But whether from the east or west, very few of those people who took the drug actually

“What’s it like to be reborn?” Boiled asked.

Shell smiled a watery smile.

eyebrow. A small pin was embedded there. “I attach a cord here. It’s linked to my frontal lobe with

at the same time. I have to do this once in a while, apparently, or my brain wouldn’t be able to cope with

aftereffects of A-10 surgery, but now I’mfinding it useful in all sorts of other ways.”

“Oh, it is.”A crackly laugh spilled from Shell’s lips. “And when you say you’ll let them fiddle about

You’re treated like royalty.”

asked Boiled.

“And what’s the chance the data is being copied?”

poker game when they have nothing at all in their hand.”

“Who knows. We’re talking about what happens in my dreams, after all.”

as sharp as the glass would be when it smashed. “With my most recent memories, I’m now ready to

proposing myself. My memories are the chips. And in order to beat any concealed card, I have you as my

Boiled nodded silently.

talking about a josh, stuff I don’t even want to remember, stuff that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“I started life as a cheap little bookie—a punter—for OctoberCorp. Then I earned my stripes as a star

job cleaning money. I cooked up schemes to launder their money—and accrue interest at the same time—

the chance to enjoy themselves at preferential rates. I got them to pool the money from their parents’

Shell spoke in a singsong voice. He was in a frighteningly good mood. Shell was a man who was

“But do you think I’m going to settle for that? If that’s all I achieve then how am I different from a

dirty money and take care of the bets. No real difference. So I’m making a deal. To make me one of them.

They should know that—I’ve shown it to them many times over, haven’t I? And then when they

been pointlessly discarding my memories up till now? You must be joking. They’re safely recorded and

Boiled?”

“I’m happy being an empty shell. The contents are still to come. A container to be filled with glory—

At this point Shell finally calmed down. Such was the madness of Shell. Who could understand the

“I think that I’mgoing to work extremely well having you as my employer.”

placed it on top of the counter.

Shell read the article in silence. He ordered a second gin, then looked at the article again. Not read—

“Who is she? This girl?”

“Dreams? Ah, so, the raw material for a Blue Diamond that the cops in our pay were going to collect

his gin. He drank away his possible past along with the lime juice and Heroic Pills. Shell’s next move

“Since when has the case been under someone’s charge?”

some sort of information and filed charges of status fraud and attempted murder,” said Boiled.

you looked into them?”

Shell floated a laugh and nodded. The man in front of him wasn’t the sort to commit an oversight.

effectiveness and broad remit his salary was also in a different league than his predecessors’.

invasion of the enemy’s land across the sea as part of the Commonwealth’s front line of troops. Whereas

extremely pleased with Boiled’s past as a former soldier. Boiled was able to wipe away Shell’s

a most distinguished, talented man.

You could have even called it a troubled expression. Face the same, he spoke the PI’s name:

“An unusual name. Is he fromthe Continent? Did he defect over here during the war?”

from anywhere.”

“We were on the same team, a while ago.”

“He can obtain legal clearance for all territories within a day. He’s going to be exploiting his authority

details of this deal that you’re working on.”

Shell said.

silent.”

Shell seemed somewhat amused. Boiled shook his head slowly and said, “No, he’s a very

His face was serious.

He ordered a third glass of gin and murmured jackpot before taking a sip.

programisn’t adopted then I’mguessing the PIs will lose their jurisdiction to interfere?”

unresolved; that would be quickest,” Boiled informed him blandly, and Shell smiled a satisfied smile at

“I’m relying on you. And it’s fairly certain that the doctors in question aren’t keen on the possibility

“Sure.”

Shell smiled a thin smile and rose from his seat. He moved with such composure that you would never

Then Boiled said to Shell, with emphasis, “I need to hire. I need money.”

death’s door in an ICU somewhere, right?”

“I need someone disposable. Like your past. Each time you discard your past you become sharper, like

Shell made a broad gesture.

news.”

“It’s strange.”

“When I was looking at the article, one of my fingers started throbbing—even though I couldn’t

He rubbed the ring finger on his left hand,

wanted to turn her into an engagement ring? Or was it just a passing fancy with no particular reason

could answer.

the most,” Shell said. “Women try to destroy my mind. Why’s that? They’re just women, right?”

“All it takes is a twenty-grambullet and a person will die,” Boiled whispered in a low voice.

changed color with the passing of time were now a deep violet. Like the color of Shell’s pain. A

“Send me the ring. I’mcounting on you.”

Boiled stared silently at the newspaper cutting on the counter.

≡

Oeufcoque on her shoulder.

of voice.

Yes, of course, I’ve just finished transmitting the files of her conversation with the public prosecutor—

proceedings over the monitor. That’s like asking to put the egg back into the shell after it’s broken.”

The Doctor gave a strangled groan.

toward the government offices, and tell it that, oh, actually we haven’t decided how to cook you yet. Try

At this point the Doctor stopped moving. He stared fixedly at Balot’s face.

I don’t believe it, his body seemed to say, as he stooped over the display to check the data that he had

address. Right next to them was a new set of entirely different files. He opened them and found the data—

“The abilities that your snarc gives you are truly incredible.”

“There’s no one I’ve known who’s been able to manipulate electricity at this level. Or perhaps I

even though almost your whole body is accelerated to such a high level, you’re completely unaffected and

Balot wouldn’t raise her eyes. Her face was downcast, expressionless.

three hundred hours since your operation and you’re defying the boundaries of your threshold of

this hideaway—this shell—forever?”

On her shoulder Oeufcoque looked at the Doctor with a troubled face.

The Doctor spoke in a severe tone of voice. Balot raised her eyes with a jolt. But in the corner of

his job, to look like a charming little stuffed animal.

“She’s nominated us as Trustees, with responsibility for this case. She has to give the courtroom a

properly? Unless we do this, we can’t take a step further, and all there is left to do is sit and wait for the

At that moment there was a pinging noise. The doorbell-like sound that signaled the arrival of an

The data packet he had mailed a minute ago had just bounced back, target address unknown.

surprise.

The message floated up as a single line of text.

“You mean that you can’t trust us?”

understood where she was coming from.

Another ping.

The Doctor was about to say something. Then another pinging sound.

The unaddressed mail had these messages, one by one.

isn’t it, Oeufcoque? Whatever dangers we come across…”

“Hey, say something, will you?”

–You were both peeping at me for ages.

–The two of you brought me back to life, then raped me.

strength.

Balot hung her head in shame. It wasn’t like she was trying to forcefully impart a message—more like

“When I was accepted onto the government’s research team, I received a couple of hundred counseling

with a deep understanding of ethics and morality.”

“Well, I drowned in that ocean of counseling and became completely impotent. As a result, I split up

are even times when I start feeling like I’ve become a saint or something—”

Oeufcoque tried to interrupt, but the Doctor was having none of it.

The voice now showed a hint of anger, and Balot’s shoulders flinched. But the Doctor was polite

resort to more than words.

you from where you were to an emergency hospital. The enemy would have gotten wind of your

quack like me comes in. As I diagnosed it, a normal skin graft wouldn’t have been anywhere near enough.

On this point I think we’re in agreement, amI right?”

language of posh princesses, but simple, direct language that hit Balot with everything she needed to

And that was good enough for Balot. The Doctor didn’t notice that this was one of the reasons that

on other things.

to make sure you had the ability to resist. Now, shall we have Oeufcoque give his testimony at this

He pointed at Oeufcoque as if to say that he wasn’t the only villain in the piece.

“All right, Doc. My response. We could have handed you over to the care of the public bodies in

are those within the police forces who almost look upon that sort of thing as a second job. And so we

resistance.”

–Powers of resistance?

Another pinging sound.

Oeufcoque gave a little shrug of his shoulders. That was the last reply.

The Doctor turned to the display and nimbly took the files one by one and collated themin a single file

would be deleted, but the Doctor just carried on reading them.

consciousness,” the Doctor said, face still turned to the display.

technology and planning and threw it all together, and had the computer interrogate the mix. It’s one of the

we looked at the results after the prescribed six hours of interrogation, and then while you were asleep

wasn’t shouting now. He was informing her calmly, as if he were reciting a poem.

There was a short gap in the conversation, but before long there was another ping right before the

–I know that excuse. You men are all the same. “It’s what you wanted, you were asking for it.”

Balot stared nervously at the Doctor’s profile as she watched him read the sentence. Keenly. With the

on the base of Balot’s neck, as if to praise her for her bravery.

anew what he had gained and what he had lost. The meaning of the phrase that he’d said to Balot,

An almost diffident sound pinged before the Doctor’s eyes.

The Doctor took this, and her earlier words, and stuck them into the file he had opened. As if he were

your heart, Oeufcoque. I’ve been doing the maintenance on your guts all these years, after all. We’ll use

His facial expression was calmbut also a little twisted.

rebuilding the body of a fifteen-year-old girl and getting her to stand in front of a court.”

–Rune-Balot.

case by their proper name. Rune-Balot. You’re competent enough to be able to give informed consent to

Again Balot’s head was bowed, eyes downcast.

Oeufcoque.

Oeufcoque answered in her place, meekly.

that she’d been wearing since she emerged fromthe insulator.

her manipulated ID canceled.”

“So you weren’t particularly hiding away, then? Why didn’t you say so?”

“And I suppose you’re going with her, right? In an I’m your bulletproof armor kind of way? But take

will try something.”

experience my usefulness when it comes to dealing with Scramble 09 cases.”

He chose a cash card and handed it to Balot.

She stared at the Doctor’s face before almost secretively taking it fromhis hand.

takes a bit of time for the approval to come through. So, in the meantime, this is your property. Ask

No man had ever given her money in this way before. Balot stared at the Doctor’s face with

“Indeed. So. Looks like this is going to be the first test of your abilities. It’s certainly worth doing

abusing him.”

shoulder. This mouse had listened to her heart in a way no one ever had before. And with a precision that

countless things she wanted himto understand.

Balot returned to the room she had been allocated—the old morgue—and opened up the packages one

was a rather snug little outfit. No skirt, but shorts.

“Ah…” he exclaimed, rather unenthusiastically.

blouse sleeveless, and Balot indicated by gesturing that she would add arm-warmers to it.

finished.”

When he was directly below the doorknob he leapt up—quite a jump for a mouse—and turned the

suspenders holding up his pants and hoisted himinto the air.

called a Peeping Tomagain…” Oeufcoque said somewhat miserably.

She then took some clothes and ran into the bathroomwith them. After a while Oeufcoque stood up and

to stay put. Her face showed unease rather than anger. Like when she said she was afraid at the display on

“Fine, fine. I’ll wait—no, stand guard—here. Don’t you worry.”

“You’d be able to sense what was happening on this side of the door, you know. You’re still very

so anxious—it’s your new powers that bring home the fact that no one is there,” Oeufcoque muttered,

down at him.

straight down. Her hair was newly grown—regenerated by the Doctor fromthe remnants of her old hair—

fingertips, covering the backs of her hands with triangular pieces of cloth, her middle fingers jutting

staggered unsteadily in her knee-high boots toward an abruptly rising Oeufcoque, twisting her body from

nice.”

When Balot heard this, she squeezed both arms together. Her attitude suggested that she preferred a

packages and fastened a few tightly around her hips and stomach and also her legs. Over this she put on a

didn’t wrap up tight.

“Hmm… I like to think that my own doctor’s whites are something special, but I think I may have met

Balot scowled a little at the Doctor’s honesty.

make sure you take your medicine with you. There are still a few places where your cortex hasn’t

Balot made a gesture in front of her outfit. I’m plenty warm enough, she seemed to say. Then she

“Well then, shall we head off?”

wrapped himself around Balot’s neck, then extruded the shape of a piece of metal.

Balot touched this, entwined it in her fingers as if she were meditating on it. When she let go the piece

The Doctor looked at the pendant with a complex expression.

“Well, it’s good that we’re flexible enough to offer a variety of different services…”

“Can we reconfirm that we have all our necessary documents, Doctor? And can you let the public

proxy, but the question is whether that would be enough to get the Broilerhouse moving.”

and a money game—run by the letter of the law.”

this case.”

“Sorry about earlier.” The voice sounded a bit different now. In tone, if not timbre.

“I hurt your feelings. But thank you. And I’ll be sure to pay you back your money.”

speaking? It’s pretty disconcerting.”

–I can’t remember what my own voice sounds like.

wheezy breath. Like a draft in a wind tunnel.

who spoke, in his real voice.

Balot took one step out of the doorway and stood still. She looked petrified.

disruptions in the surrounding air.

From beyond the buildings in the distance that intersected like a chess board, she heard the noise of a

Everything was different fromanything Balot had ever before experienced.

up, and different again from when she’d arrived in Mardock City 170 miles to the north. The time in her

“Let’s go straight to the main street. We can hire an electric car,” Oeufcoque said fromher neckline.

sidewalk was clean and tidy, with manicured lawns on either side of the street. It really didn’t look like

After a short walk she came to a small shopping mall. A hardware store, a computer shop, a

She arrived at a large intersection and was assaulted by dizziness. Her attention had been focused on

sidewalk for a while, considering what the best thing was to do. She soon decided. She set her own

A circle of roughly fifteen meters in diameter. That was Balot’s personal space.

There was a car kiosk on the other side of the intersection. Balot crossed at the green light—walk

the traffic lights. She comprehended them fully, down to the fact that they moved like clockwork, never

Balot gently brushed against the pillar supporting the traffic lights. She gently interfered—snarced the

The signals on the traffic lights quickened. Seeing the light had started flashing, pedestrians sped up,

surprised expression.

There was a billboard for eCar Rentals. Just below was a sign: MINIMUM AGE 14 YEARS. Balot stared

Fifteen had snuck up on her. And she was still fifteen.

On the other side of a thick layer of bulletproof glass, the shopkeeper sat reading a magazine.

He looked at her carefully. Balot pointed at the rental sign and touched the crystal at her neck.

Balot spoke like a machine, lips tightly sealed, and the shopkeeper watched her with a vague

“We also have a car suitable for the disabled. What do you think? You get free parking with those

Balot gave a small nod and stuck her cash card in the window.

Rune-Balot, she wrote on the blank form that she was given. Oeufcoque secretly whispered the

Oeufcoque said.

–Yes, I’ll be fine.

“It’d be swell if it didn’t come back broken, that car. And if you encounter any trouble I’d appreciate

–I’ll be fine.

obligatory lecture about fastening her seat belt as he handed over the keys.

navigation system, started up and offered a list of possible routes to take.

She sensed the car’s structure and applied her will. There was no steering wheel or mirrors, and the

the eCar regulations. There was a stereo and TV, and the TV started up automatically with a sightseeing

The car pulled out into the intersection, accompanied by an uplifting tune. Warm rays of sun filled the

light.

“Stop it, Balot.”

“Are you being threatened by the traffic lights at the moment? To the extent that you feel your life is in

His voice was strict. Balot gnawed on her lips. Cheerful music was still playing.

She asked directly through the car speakers without using Oeufcoque’s body. She sounded somewhat

“I was observing your self-restraint. Ideally your powers should be used purely for self-defense. One

yourself.”

She tried to lift the electronic restraint on the car, and found she could, increasing the speed further

“What about your seat belt? You want to drive the car at full speed, have some fun? Then let’s set our

–Why are you suddenly being nice to me again?

obeying.”

be telling her this.

“It’s a perfectly legitimate forwarding address. There’s an apartment and a postal address there. It’s

–Are you angry with me? Because I tampered with the traffic lights?

by a car, it’d be you who was hurt, not me. Even if someone died as a result of your actions I’m sure no

then another similar accident, well, I’d give you a good cross-examining, but I still wouldn’t be angry.

–I just got a bit carried away. Don’t get so mad at me. I was enjoying our shopping trip.

You don’t want to throw away your rights to use your Scramble 09 powers, right?”

“I’m not mad at you. You’ve got such incredible aptitude. I was surprised by your manipulation of the

You’re full of surprises.”

“Okay, okay, sorry.”

“Sure. And for my part, I’ve no desire to make you obey any arbitrary rules.”

“In other words, when I’m telling you no, I’m talking about a fairly basic precept when it comes to

something then I won’t be doing it either. Absolutely not. As a basic precondition for my being with you.

At that moment, out of nowhere, she remembered the Doctor’s words. Balot had chosen her current

thought, an established fact.

After that she put on her seat belt and reduced the speed of the car.

of the imposing Trump Tower. Balot snarced the car and changed its destination to the East Side.

around her were gasoline-powered cars, and among the proliferating shopping malls of the Cheap

Now and then men would wolf-whistle at Balot, seeing her in the car alone, but they showed no signs

Balot opened the window and sniffed the air, which carried a hint of brine.

As she got out of the car and started walking, she came across a gathering of obviously able-bodied

for the handicapped.

gate slammed shut. As one, their faces turned to the emergency aid button. Faces that were silently

permit.

signal.

Oeufcoque seemed about to say something else, but in the end that was all he said.

The people were coming and going purposefully, and the occasional pair of Hunters—the city police

walked with a sense of purpose, and there was no particular scent of anyone on this street looking to find

Responding to her surroundings, Balot put on a purposeful expression and started walking. Her heels

“Let’s get some papers. It’s hard to keep track of what you’ve spent when you’re using a card.”

They found a nearby ATM and used the card to draw out a wad of notes.

much and wanted to take fewer than ten, but Oeufcoque said that she would be better off having a few

She folded the crisp new bills in half and crammed them into her card holder. She put one bill in her

She bought a bag from a stall inside the mall using this bill. Seeing the crumpled note the shopkeeper

Balot meekly obeyed the rules of the street.

away in her bag, and now, instead of scrunching up another bill, she captured the movements of all people

She wore her bag diagonally over her shoulder and then put her jacket on over it in order to protect it

Now all she had to do was think about what she wanted to put in the bag.

hairpins, then wandered aimlessly through the mall. Clothes and shoes, jewelry, electronics, ethnic goods.

That frame doesn’t suit the picture, or you could make one of those using my body as a mold, that sort

“Aren’t you starting to get hungry?” Oeufcoque asked. He’d been keeping track of Balot’s biorhythm.

was no danger.

“Of course. I was asking for you. I don’t really need much, after all.”

food and drink stalls, and found a block of open-air food carts. Balot headed in that direction.

There were white plastic tables and chairs in a courtyard, and Balot went up to the tableware section

races, and anyone working at the stalls could handle a number of different languages. They picked themup

even when they couldn’t understand a word of what the other person was saying.

Her main dish was a plate of Tick Noodles smothered in red Charlie Sauce. It contained boiled squid

on the bone.

Oeufcoque watched with admiration as Balot skillfully used her chopsticks.

way to turn one piece of cutlery into two smaller pieces.”

forming two piles.

She transmitted the words to Oeufcoque electronically as she ate. Well, wasn’t this convenient? She

–I think I’d probably be good at excavating fossils, that sort of thing.

–I’d like to, but maybe I’m saying that because it’s the only thing I can think of that’s at all

Balot started thinking about the things that had died such a long time ago. Things that had been buried

to be dug up again?

Oeufcoque changed the subject. “Isn’t it about time for your medication?”

had given her. Skin stabilizers, hair growth agents, medicine to fix her eyelashes, vitamins, calcium

As she swallowed her medicine she thought about the fossils. One fossil in particular. A swirling

feet that they used to crawl along the seabed?

asked.

They were in the form of some computer graphics projected onto the wall of a building. Balot stopped

The shop sold Eject Posters. Small square boxes that, when fitted to a wall, would project images

card that contained over a hundred different pictures of fossils.

is pretty dull,” said Oeufcoque.

walked on, eyes on the instruction manual. Computer simulations of live ammonites, nautiluses, trilobites,

of silver and gold and crystal.

–Is it okayif I buy a few things I like?

Balot went to the stationery section of a department store and bought a PDA—the sort a child might

shop that she happened to pass by. Because she liked its bright poppy red and the design of the case.

becoming one.

in the blues.

“Stop, Balot. I’ll be waiting outside, so…”

Balot’s shoulders. Balot correctly read his path of flight and plucked himup by his suspenders midflight.

He spoke so pitifully that she snarced him, making him turn into an alarm bell. A poppy-red alarm

movement.

He spoke as if to a child who was scared of the dark.

The toilets were clean and empty. She went into the stall at the very end, loosened her belt, and

Relief and anxiety assaulted her in equal measure as her lower body was freed fromits wrapping.

bright white hydration cream on her palm and rubbed it on her stomach and thighs. These were the only

As she rubbed the cream into her skin it started peeling off, like the thin membrane of a boiled egg.

She sat on the toilet, waiting to pee. She stared absentmindedly at the linoleum wall with not a single

All of a sudden she felt that something was not quite right. As she did her business she thought about

Her urine smelled of medicine. A result of the eighteen different pills she had to take every day.

Your psyche is incredibly tenacious—the Doctor was full of admiration. But Balot thought that, in all

as much as she could handle.

away, there was still a faint smell of medicine in the air. She fixed her clothes and fastened her belt even

Then she put her mind to her earlier feeling that something was out of place.

button. She gave the bubble a wrench and it came off easily, and, shaking it, a tiny fingertip-sized camera

Balot expanded her consciousness and interfered with the camera’s magnetic field, snarcing it.

by bit by images of the department store’s mascot doll waving into the camera. As if someone wearing the

Balot then put the camera back and took the lipstick fromher bag.

She wrote on the wall right next to the bubble. And then she added this:

Balot left the booth. Purely for self-defense, she murmured to herself as she washed her hands.

a camera. Balot knew this fact all too well. Bribes given to the cleaners and security guards.

expensive items on display in order to encourage real customers to spend more.

03

Balot’s shoulder. Without missing a beat he ran to her neck and became a choker complete with crystal

“You took your sweet time.”

“Look, I…”

“Camera?” Oeufcoque thought about this for a while before it clicked. “You mean illegal cameras set

–But do you really understand? What that means to me?

also embarrassed. Mortified. That’s what you smell of, anyway.”

“Body odor. A mouse like me can read emotions through body odor. Didn’t you know?”

grief.

“Oh, sure, sorry. If I’mabsolutely honest I can’t tell exactly how you’re feeling. I don’t really have the

Balot found that her feelings were calmed down somewhat by Oeufcoque’s words.

Oeufcoque was now attuned to Balot’s change of heart, as if he were sniffing everything up. He

atmosphere.

The Internet café that Oeufcoque was talking about was on the top floor of the department store.

line of the sea.

When the waiter came over to take her order, Balot ordered a cappuccino by pointing at the menu, and

She was about to connect to the net but then she stopped herself.

They’d completely forgotten about this since the spy camera incident. Oeufcoque cheerfully agreed.

booklet for the CG fossils. She chose the yellow and marked one of the words in the heading of the

Then she snarced the PDA and brought up the word that she had just highlighted. The name of a large

personal impressions. The same color as agate, or If these were still alive I’d like one as a pet, that sort

–I’m going to make a dictionary. My own original.

–Well, I always wanted to go to school and have a dictionary like everyone else. The sort of

“And you could still go to school. As soon as this case is closed we’ll apply for re-enrollment.”

–Children who don’t have any get put in the Welfare Institute. I don’t want to go back there.

–They don’t think of me as a child. Not their child, anyway.

electronic signal.

“Is it

Chapter end