Perdido Street Station - China Mieville [22]
“I was too abstract. I was not worthy of respect. There…was a madness…I was mad. I committed a heinous act, a heinous act…” His words broke down into avian moans.
“What did you do?” Isaac steeled himself to hear of some atrocity.
“This language cannot express my crime. In my tongue…” Yagharek stopped for a moment. “I will try to translate. In my tongue they said…they were right…I was guilty of choice-theft…choice-theft in the second degree…with utter disrespect.”
Yagharek was gazing back at the window. He held his head high, but he would not meet Isaac’s eyes.
“That is why they deemed me Too Too Abstract. That is why I am not worthy of respect. That is who I am now. I am no longer Concrete Individual and Respected Yagharek. He is gone. I told you my name, and my name-title. I am Too Too Abstract Yagharek Not To Be Respected. That is who I will always be, and I will be true enough to tell you.”
Isaac shook his head as Yagharek sat slowly on the edge of Isaac’s bed. He cut a forlorn figure. Isaac stared at him for a long time before speaking.
“I have to tell you…” said Isaac. “I don’t really…uh…Plenty of my clients are…not entirely on the right side of the law, shall we say? Now, I’m not going to pretend that I even slightly understand what you did, but as far as I’m concerned it’s not my business. Like you said, there’s no words for your crime in this city: I don’t think I could ever understand what it was you’d done wrong.” Isaac spoke slowly and seriously, but his mind was already racing away. He began to speak with more animation.
“And your problem…is interesting.” Representations of forces and lines of power, of femtomorphic resonances and energy fields were beginning to leap into his consciousness. “It’s easy enough to get you into the air. Balloons, force manipulation and whatnot. Even easy to get you up there more than once. But to get you up there whenever you want it, under your own steam…which is what you’re after, yes?” Yagharek nodded. Isaac stroked his chin.
“Godspit…! Yes…now that is a much more…interesting conundrum.”
Isaac was beginning to retreat into his computations. One prosaic part of his mind recalled that he had no appointments for some time, and that meant he could immerse himself in research for a little while. Another pragmatic level did its job, evaluating the importance and urgency of his outstanding work. A couple of piss-easy analyses of compounds that he could put off more or less indefinitely; a half-promise to synthesize an elixir or two—easy to get out of…apart from that, it was only his own research into vodyanoi watercræft. Which he could put to one side.
No, no, no! he contradicted himself suddenly. Don’t have to put watercræft aside…I can integrate it! It’s all about elements arsing about, misbehaving…liquid that stands free, heavy matter that invades the air…there’s got to be something there…some common denominator…
With an effort he brought himself back to his laboratory, realized that Yagharek was staring at him impassively.
“I’m interested in your problem,” he said simply. Immediately Yagharek reached into a pouch. He held out a huge handful of twisted, dirty gold nuggets. Isaac opened his eyes wide.
“Well…uh, thank you. I’ll certainly accept some expenses, hourly rates, etc…” Yagharek handed Isaac the pouch.
Isaac managed not to whistle as he weighed it in his hand. He peered into it. Layer on heavy layer of sifting gold. It was undignified, but Isaac felt almost spellbound. This represented more money than he had ever seen in one place, enough to cover a lot of research costs and still live well for months.
Yagharek was no businessman, that was certain. He could have offered a third, a quarter of this and still had almost anyone in Brock Marsh panting. He should have kept most of it back, dangled it if interest waned.
Maybe he has kept most of it back, thought Isaac, and his eyes widened even further.
“How do I reach you?” said Isaac, still gazing at his gold. “Where are you living?”
Yagharek shook his head and was silent.
“Well, I have to be able to reach