Net Force - Tom Clancy [90]
But how does it do that? Bella yelled.
He glanced back at her. Her hair streamed free behind them, whipping back and forth in the wind.
Easy. If were in totally different modes, my program just overlays the other guys imagery. Angle and relative speeds will be the same-air, water, land, even fantasy. If we are in similar enough modes-like the truck is doing roads and not water or something else-my program will take his image and stet it, to keep the VR speeds up. Most people who meet pick one program or the other and use it. Otherwise, you get a couple of microseconds lag on the refresh rate.
Ah, I see.
That truck? Its really a big info packet. It contains a lot of code, so it moves slow. Watch.
He twisted the throttle and the Harleys powerful engine roared. They passed the lumbering truck, and whipped back in front of it as a car approached from the other direction.
Wheee! Bella said.
Oh, he liked the sound of that.
So this is all off-the-shelf software?
Well, Ive modified this one a bunch.
You can do that?
Sure. I could write one from zero, but its easier to alter an existing one.
Could you show me how to do that? Write my own program?
Yeah, sure, nopraw. Its not that hard.
Exemplary!
In that moment, Tyrone remembered talking to his father. Offer the locals something they cant get from your enemy, hed said. Although Tyrone didnt really see Bonebreaker as an enemy, exactly, the old man was right. Tyrone had something LeMott didnt have, a skill, a talent, and right at this moment, Bella wanted it. This was dee-eff-eff for sure, data flowin fine to the fourth power!
They came to an intersection with a stop signal. CyberNation was to the left. Maybe he should take her there? It was interesting the few times hed explored it, but they didnt let you see the really good stuff unless you joined, and that wasnt gonna happen. He could hear his father: Give up your citizenship to join a computer country that doesnt exist? I dont think so.
Cross-traffic rolled past, and Tyrone was so much in his own head that he almost missed the Vette when it zipped across the intersection.
Almost. A mental alarm went off. Corvette Corvette what-?
Oh, yeah, Jay Gees bulletin in yesterdays Email. Keep your eyes open for a young guy in a business suit driving a blue Vette.
The car was past before he had a chance to see the driver, and there were two cars and a small van lined up in front of Tyrone at the light. Probably it was nothing.
On the other hand, maybe it was something. He ought to at least check it out, right? And if Bella asked, hed have to tell her why, wouldnt he?
Bonebreaker wasnt helping out a major federal agency, was he?
Tyrone tapped the Harleys gears into first and gave it a little gas. He pulled over onto the shoulder and zipped past the waiting cars, earning a couple of horn blasts for his trouble.
Whoa! Is this legal?
Well, not really, Tyrone said, but we gotta do it. They reached the corner, and he leaned into it, straightened it out, upshifted and goosed the bike. You see that blue Vette up there?
Yeah?
I need to check it out. Im, uh, helping out a buddy of mine at Net Force.
Net Force? Really?
Oh, yeah. Jay Gridley, hes their top computer guy. I do stuff for him every now and then.
Wow. Exemplary, Ty!
Was that his imagination, or did she tighten her grip around his waist a little?
Can we catch him?
Nopraw. Theres not much that can outrun me in this scenario. Hang on.
Definitely, she was holding him tighter. Yes!
Sunday, October 3rd, 9:58 p.m. Grozny
Plekhanov was on his way back from the bank in Zurich when he saw the motorcycle coming up fast behind him. He frowned, felt a moment of worry. He watched the bike in his rearview mirror. It wasnt long before the vehicle caught up with him. It swung out into the incoming lane, then started to pass, apparently oblivious to the lorry bearing down from the opposite direction on the narrow two-lane feeder road. He watched the