ref: cde05f4187aed1c77b8efb57ee5dabe8d5d5106d
dir: /troff/022.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 % 57 \ " start with this page number .ds CF [%] \" first numbered page (bottom) .ps 10 .ce .B LOCAL GHOSTS \& .ps 8 tags: 1965, mars2, spiro_mold, sue .R .PP .ps 10 1 October, the following year. .PP .ps 10 The transition was winding down. Families faced a mandate to vacate the mancamp by close of business, 31 December, tits and all. Get your shit and hit the door. Auld acquaintances would soon be forgot. .PP .ps 10 There were perks. Transit betwixt MARS2 and MARS3 was now reliable and cheap. Spiro had taken to making the trip on his days off from school. The new facility was still stumbling in its first tentative steps on newborn legs, and all the adults were distracted with extra duty, so Spiro was able to ship himself back and forth several times a week. No one much missed him in class. It was a long trip, but at least the serpents had cable. .PP .ps 10 Spiro reclined on his cushioned seat, the back of his bald head acquiescing to the mandatory imprint of a pink doily draped over top of its velour head rest, representing the serpent's last line of defense against human filth. But, anemic in its aspect, it neglected to defend the rest of the seat. He decided to inspect the CATV once again for injection attacks before finally releasing himself entirely from liability. He flipped the switch. For all his efforts he was unable to guarantee what might come out of the screen. .PP .ps 10 Presently, there appeared an external view of the serpent (a visible descendant of last year's school buses, but nobody who hadn't been there would have recognized the fact), frame rate in sync with moments of unsupported transit when it broke contact with the ground and appeared to float, glowing genially above the cooling Martian sand. Such a display inspired the feeling of being stared at, and Spiro quickly switched it off. .PP .ps 10 "Welcome, Spiro," said Sue. .PP .ps 10 Spiro recognized her voice.