ref: cde05f4187aed1c77b8efb57ee5dabe8d5d5106d
dir: /troff/017.ms/
\" This master file produces text suitable for a 6"x9" paperback. .ds CH \" turn off page numbering (top) .B .nr HM 1i \" header margin .nr FM 1i \" footer margin .nr LL 4.25i \" line length .pl 9i \" page length .po .87i \" page offset (from left) .nr PS 8 \" font point size \" .kern \" pairwise kerning (groff only) .hy 14 \" automatic hyphenation \" .nr VS 24 \" double space .fp 1 R GA \" URW Garamond .fp 2 I GI .fp 3 B GM .fp 4 BI GMI .fp 5 CW H \" Helvetica .LP \& .nr % 47 \ " start with this page number .ds CF [%] \" first numbered page (bottom) .ps 10 .ce .B TIME AND TITLE \& .ps 8 tags: 1964, jerrymander_mold, mars2, tab1 .R .PP .ps 10 31 October, All Hallows Eve. .PP .ps 10 Uprange. .PP .ps 10 "This job is haunted. Resonating in its time\-studied particulars with the ghosts of a hundred thousand early retirees, voluntary and otherwise." .PP .ps 10 Jerrymander crouched with his elbows digging into his knees, chin propped up on the heels of his hands, as TAB1 scooped shovel loads of action figures into the open burn pit. He inhaled the resulting black smoke, savoring the highly collectible outgassing of all their useless, previous efforts. .PP .ps 10 "Every time a wave of them gets fired, we turn around and hire a brand new batch. It would make more sense to just hold onto the ones we've already prised from the sands." .PP .ps 10 Jerrymander inhaled deeply, internalizing the irony. .PP .ps 10 "Some of them \fIare\fR moving to the new facility," TAB1 said, heaving another shovel full onto the fire. "But most of these, TBQH, are peg warmers, anyway." .PP .ps 10 A gregarious black column of smoke twisting in the Martian wind was a regular feature of the scenery for employees long jaded by reportable environmental offenses, but this one seemed to be attracting local children. .PP .ps 10 Wearing... costumes? .PP .ps 10 "Halloween," TAB1 said, leapfrogging Jerrymander's stillborn query. .PP .ps 10 TAB1 shoveled a single figure into each outstretched Halloween bag as the children filed by. He remained silent, in compliance with his filecard description, but not altogether unfriendly. .PP .ps 10 Jerrymander reached into his back pocket for the contract book.