ref: cde05f4187aed1c77b8efb57ee5dabe8d5d5106d
dir: /troff/029.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 % 75 \ " start with this page number .ds CF [%] \" first numbered page (bottom) .ps 10 .ce .B RETROCAUSALITY \& .ps 8 tags: 1966, lorraine_ipsum, mars2, tab2 .R .PP .ps 10 3 December. Santa busy with his list. .PP .ps 10 Was it taking a long time to walk up this hill, or what? .PP .ps 10 "You can't wear that thing up here." .PP .ps 10 Lorraine Ipsum, mountain Miko at large. .PP .ps 10 "What, \fIthis?\fR Consider it gone." TAB2 stripped off his visor and tossed it over his shoulder, wondering at the proliferating echoes as it clattered down the trail behind him. Somehow this all seemed familiar. It must have penetrated his prior awareness, however briefly, some number of years in the future, when he first recalled this instant, starting awake, or otherwise wondering after all the racket in his head. But it couldn't possibly have been \fIthis\fR loud. .PP .ps 10 "No, the respirator," she said, motioning to his breathing apparatus. .PP .ps 10 "But, I'll die." .PP .ps 10 "We're all dying," she said, and stopped walking. He realized she meant presently. .PP .ps 10 "Yeah, but I need a few extra decades to read all these comic books on my hard drive." He mimed a command sequence purely from memory, suspiciously expert with the possibly\-still\-classified device. Suddenly, her near vision was filled with a crude, three\-dimensional representation of TAB2's vast back issue collection. Like long boxes, receding. He guessed. His own visor was gone. .PP .ps 10 Anyway, what was she doing up here? .PP .ps 10 "Seriously. You have to take that thing off. You look ridiculous, and I can't understand a word you're saying. It's muffling your voice." .PP .ps 10 TAB2 shook his head. "Nope," he said again, settling his stance and crossing his arms. When his words had no visible effect he simply pushed his way through the \fItorii\fR gate and continued on his way. Easy enough. .PP .ps 10 "Black mold," he added, over his shoulder. .PP .ps 10 Lorraine covered her mouth with her hands. Giggled formally. Out of habit, rather than any sense of capitulation to TAB2's overabundance of caution. Belatedly aware of the optics\(emwhy was she covering her \fIown\fR mouth?\(emshe yanked down her hands and scrambled up the trail behind him, her face flush with the effort, her robes flapping in the darkening, dusty wind. .PP .ps 10 It had been a while since the mountain had a visitor.