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they stay out of sight.
 Not doing a very good job, then, are they? Taki commented.
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 You re supposed to be open minded. That s what the whole thing is about. But
people don t know how to be, see. That s why everything s like it is.
Taki nodded knowingly.  Oh.
Avril was studying Kevin s face.  Why don t you buy it? she asked.
He sighed and gave an easygoing grin, at the same time ruffling his hair with
his fingers. He didn t want to argue it never achieved anything. In any case,
why should it matter to him what somebody else chose to believe? It was their
right, wasn t it?  Oh . . . I just figure that if we d been discovered by
anybody who s come all that way, we d know. It d be like some island in the
Pacific or wherever when the Navy showed up on its way to somewhere in World
War Two. I mean,
you ve got juke boxes and Coca Cola machines, guys with tractors building
airstrips. You know you ve been found. There isn t any doubt about it.
Avril s gaze flickered over his face keenly. Something seemed to tell her that
she could find herself outgunned here if she pressed the point.  I don t buy
it either, she declared, opting for safety, and at the same time shooting up
several points in
Kevin s estimation for astuteness at least. Janna seemed confused by the
sudden desertion. Avril looked around for a way to change the subject and saw
Eric talking with Michelle a few yards away.  Isn t that your dad over there?
she said to
Kevin.
 That s right.
 I was listening to somebody talking about him, Avril went on. He owns some
company around here, right?
 A bit closer to Tacoma.
 They make these little robot guys that you control like VR, except it goes
straight into your brain. You can make them walk around and do all this stuff,
and you feel like you re really inside them.
 Hey, cool, Janna pronounced.
 That s close enough, I guess, Kevin agreed.
 Kinda like ESP, Janna said.
 And is that your mom too? Avril asked Kevin.
 No, just a friend. My mom s at a seminar in Seattle this weekend.
 She s my uncle s business lawyer, Taki said.
 Who, his mom?
 No, her.

 Oh, okay.
Janna was giving Kevin a quizzical look.  They have ESP and stuff like that on
Open Minds sometimes as well. Don t you go for that either?
Kevin started to answer; but almost at once, felt as if he was about to start
lecturing, and checked himself. This was supposed to be a party, after all. .
. . He stole a glance at Taki and winked. Taki returned a faint nod.
 Well, of course, ESP s different, Kevin said.  I can show you that s real.
Has either of you got a quarter? The two girls frowned at each other.  Or it
could be anything, really.
 Oh, I dunno. Lemme see . . . Avril unsnapped the flap of her purse and
rummaged inside.
 Here. Janna produced a handful of coins from a pocket of her shorts.
 Look away, Kevin told Taki. Taki turned his back on them and surveyed the
activity by the pool. Kevin faced the two girls, using his body to screen the
coins displayed in Janna s hand.  Pick one, he invited Avril.
 What is this? she asked suspiciously.
 Just point to one.
 Okay. . . . Avril studied the mix of coins for a second.  That one. It was
a quarter.
Kevin peered at it and addressed Taki s back over his shoulder.  How about
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this, Taki? Now, what is it?
 It s a . . . quarter.
 Okay.
 Oh, my God! Janna exclaimed.
 And the date on it is? . . .
 I m concentrating . . . Taki s voice trailed off. They waited.  1982.
In fact, Kevin had already told him by wording the question in the form of a
magician s code that they played with. Taki turned back, beaming. Janna gaped
in astonishment.
 I don t believe he did that, she stammered.  How did he know?
Kevin shrugged and shook his head.  We don t know how he does it. Maybe it s
something to do with Orientals. You know, them being more spiritual, all that
stuff. . . . He caught Avril s suspicious look.  But not only ESP. Watch
this! He walked the quarter along the backs of the fingers of one hand, first
one way, then back the other. Or at least, it was a quarter. . . .
In fact, he had slipped Avril s quarter to Taki and was performing with
another that he had quietly taken from his own pocket. While the girls
followed what Kevin w a s d o i n g , T a k i l e a n e d c l o s e r a
s i f t o w a t c h, at t h e s a m e t i m e r e a c h i n g
surreptitiously behind Avril and dropping the coin into one of her hip
pockets. Then he backed off and moved behind
Kevin to stand by Janna, making it so natural and inconspicuous that neither
of the girls registered that he had been near
Avril at all.
Kevin tossed the coin from one hand to the other and back again, then held out
both fists, closed.  Which? he invited.
 I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]