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.And not a block away was the parking garage the dead man had a receiptfrom.At the end of a long trek up a carefully edged sidewalk slicing through aputting-green lawn, Nick saw the script lettering next to the door saying EDFdid indeed stand for what he thought it stood for.He opened the door and walked in.The carpet felt as thick as the grass hadlooked.The music was soft and apparently meant to be soothing, a musakversion of "In my Room" by the BeachBoys.A tall man with hollow cheeks appeared through a curtain formed of tapestrystrips."May I help you, sir?" In another century, he could well have been abutler.His nose hairs made his mustache fuller.His voice reminded Nick ofthe voice onJiffon's phone."Yes.I came to see Sylvia Harley.""I'm sorry, sir.Only immediate family members are allowed.""Well, I'm almost immediate family.We were engaged.""I'm sorry, sir--""And I was thinking of paying for storage for myself in the event thatsomething should happen to me."Page 56 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Well, sir, seeing as how you were so close to Ms.Sylvia.I'm Alvin Hodges."Alvin led Nick through a doorway at the back of the house and along a corridorangling toward the rear of the lot, where a more modern building lay.Framedpictures lined the corridorwall, presumably all of them "befores." Nick recognized at least four peoplehe'd seen on the society pages.At one of the picture, he paused."SoBentley Parsons is a client, too?""Yes, sir.His body was fairly badly crushed by a hit-and-run driver, but hisbrain is in tip-top shape.As soon as medical science is ready for braintransplants, Mr.Parsons will be ready to come in out of the cold." Alvinchuckled at what he must have thought was a joke."But Sylvia won't have to wait that long, will she?""I'm afraid she will, sir.You no doubt know that she drowned.As it turnsout, she was found before her brain suffered irreversible damage.Unfortunately, when the rescue team attempted open heart massage, they didenough damage to her heart and lungs that, even if she were alive, she'd needtransplants.Besides that, all we at Evergreen preserve is the head alongwith the brain stem and the upper section of the spinal cord.None of thesepeople will be revived until medical science can replace most of the rest ofthe body, and until we know much more about the aging process.I hope thatwith the progress they're making today, they'll be revived and up and aroundin perhaps twenty years.""That's seems like a long time."Alvin nodded.They walked in silence a few paces and Nick said, "So, how long have you folksbeen in business? I sure wish you'd been around when my brother--""About a year, sir.When your brother--""I'd rather not talk about it.""Certainly, sir.Ah, here we are."Alvin led Nick through another door, this one considerably more sturdy thanthe first door.The room beyond was a little like a laundromat, but muchcolder and with no coin slots.Rows of cabinets lined the floor, and Nickcould see his breath in the air.Nick stopped in front of the first cabinet and peered through the slantingoval window at the top."I can't see anything.""That's where we keep the Popsicles, sir.""That's what you call them?""No." The man snapped the latch and opened the front of the cabinet.Hewithdrew a fudgesicle and offered it to Nick."Oh, I see.All right.Thanks."Nick tore open the wrapper and started nibbling on the fudgesicle as theywalked down the aisle.Dead faces stared through the frosty windows."Miss Sylvia is right here," said Alvin.He rested his fingers on top of acabinet, and Nick moved closer.As Nick neared the glass, Alvin started toremove his hand from the frosty sheen on the cold cabinet top.He couldn't;his fingers were stuck.Nick saw the man's dilemma and winced."Here, let me help."He gave Alvin's hand a sharp pull, and the fingers came loose from the cabinetwith a pitiful ripping noise.Two patches of skin stayed on the ice."Ah, sorry about that," Nick said.Nick moved back to Sylvia's cabinet and noticed her name on a tag just underthe oval window.The window was slightly frosty.Nick wiped away some frostand condensation and peered through the window.He sucked in a deep breath ashe sawSylvia's face, small mole and all, her eyes closed, her skinPage 57 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmltinged lightly blue.Nick stood up."Why does she look so far away from the window? The cabinetdoesn't even look that deep.""For safety, the head is placed well away from the observation port.Ms.Harley's head is actually about halfway between the floor and the window,facing the rear of the cabinet.A mirror at the rear lets us see her face.We have numerous sensors installedin each cabinet, but the observation port lets the family see their loved one,and lets us make occasional visual checks.""Could I see her father, too? We were friends.""Surely, sir."As Alvin escorted Nick along the aisle, Nick glanced at more of the faces andmemorized several of the other names."What happens in the case of someonewith a severe head wound?""Typically such victims are not candidates for Evergreen.But the lucky ones, the ones whose brains are intact, will no doubt be forevergrateful to Evergreen.When they finally awake, they may well be immortal."Nick didn't comment on the choice of the word "lucky."Seconds later they arrived at Ted Harley's cabinet.Nick saw the face fromthe newspaper photo, hair combed just the same way, with Harley looking asthough he were just taking a quick nap.Nick wondered if sutures inside Harley's lips held them closed as if the bodywere at a funeral."God, I just can't believe they're both gone," Nick said finally."I know exactly how you feel, sir."Right, thought Nick.The musak had switched to Simon andGarfunkle's "Sounds of Silence."Alvin went on."But when they awake, they will have the last laugh.Theywill never have felt better.""Well, thanks for letting me see them.""You're quite welcome.As long as you're here, you said you'd like to take abrochure that explains our services?""Yes, of course."Back in the lobby, Alvin handed Nick a letter-sized file folder full of salesliterature."Here you are, Mr.--""Rice.Edgar Rice."* * *"Nick Naught Private Investigations," Nick said into the phone."Jeez, Nick.Why don't you get an answering machine? Itried to get you all afternoon," said Ricardo, a buddy of Nick's who didcomputer searches for him.Nick often did enough legwork that he didn't needRicardo as much, but for the last few days he hadn't felt much like driving."It's a long story.What do you have?""I got answers back on all those names." Ricardo was a terrific researcher.Nick wouldn't have minded having Ricardo helping him with some of the actualfield work, too, butRicardo's idea of living dangerously was buying a car with a side mirror thatdidn't say, "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.""And? Anything in common?""A little.They're all A-plus ratings or better.""Makes sense.Evergreen's probably not cheap.What else?""They all checked out during the last year.""Okay.Evergreen's probably fairly new, so that's not suspicious.""Their credit ratings are zilched out.""They're all dead [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.And not a block away was the parking garage the dead man had a receiptfrom.At the end of a long trek up a carefully edged sidewalk slicing through aputting-green lawn, Nick saw the script lettering next to the door saying EDFdid indeed stand for what he thought it stood for.He opened the door and walked in.The carpet felt as thick as the grass hadlooked.The music was soft and apparently meant to be soothing, a musakversion of "In my Room" by the BeachBoys.A tall man with hollow cheeks appeared through a curtain formed of tapestrystrips."May I help you, sir?" In another century, he could well have been abutler.His nose hairs made his mustache fuller.His voice reminded Nick ofthe voice onJiffon's phone."Yes.I came to see Sylvia Harley.""I'm sorry, sir.Only immediate family members are allowed.""Well, I'm almost immediate family.We were engaged.""I'm sorry, sir--""And I was thinking of paying for storage for myself in the event thatsomething should happen to me."Page 56 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Well, sir, seeing as how you were so close to Ms.Sylvia.I'm Alvin Hodges."Alvin led Nick through a doorway at the back of the house and along a corridorangling toward the rear of the lot, where a more modern building lay.Framedpictures lined the corridorwall, presumably all of them "befores." Nick recognized at least four peoplehe'd seen on the society pages.At one of the picture, he paused."SoBentley Parsons is a client, too?""Yes, sir.His body was fairly badly crushed by a hit-and-run driver, but hisbrain is in tip-top shape.As soon as medical science is ready for braintransplants, Mr.Parsons will be ready to come in out of the cold." Alvinchuckled at what he must have thought was a joke."But Sylvia won't have to wait that long, will she?""I'm afraid she will, sir.You no doubt know that she drowned.As it turnsout, she was found before her brain suffered irreversible damage.Unfortunately, when the rescue team attempted open heart massage, they didenough damage to her heart and lungs that, even if she were alive, she'd needtransplants.Besides that, all we at Evergreen preserve is the head alongwith the brain stem and the upper section of the spinal cord.None of thesepeople will be revived until medical science can replace most of the rest ofthe body, and until we know much more about the aging process.I hope thatwith the progress they're making today, they'll be revived and up and aroundin perhaps twenty years.""That's seems like a long time."Alvin nodded.They walked in silence a few paces and Nick said, "So, how long have you folksbeen in business? I sure wish you'd been around when my brother--""About a year, sir.When your brother--""I'd rather not talk about it.""Certainly, sir.Ah, here we are."Alvin led Nick through another door, this one considerably more sturdy thanthe first door.The room beyond was a little like a laundromat, but muchcolder and with no coin slots.Rows of cabinets lined the floor, and Nickcould see his breath in the air.Nick stopped in front of the first cabinet and peered through the slantingoval window at the top."I can't see anything.""That's where we keep the Popsicles, sir.""That's what you call them?""No." The man snapped the latch and opened the front of the cabinet.Hewithdrew a fudgesicle and offered it to Nick."Oh, I see.All right.Thanks."Nick tore open the wrapper and started nibbling on the fudgesicle as theywalked down the aisle.Dead faces stared through the frosty windows."Miss Sylvia is right here," said Alvin.He rested his fingers on top of acabinet, and Nick moved closer.As Nick neared the glass, Alvin started toremove his hand from the frosty sheen on the cold cabinet top.He couldn't;his fingers were stuck.Nick saw the man's dilemma and winced."Here, let me help."He gave Alvin's hand a sharp pull, and the fingers came loose from the cabinetwith a pitiful ripping noise.Two patches of skin stayed on the ice."Ah, sorry about that," Nick said.Nick moved back to Sylvia's cabinet and noticed her name on a tag just underthe oval window.The window was slightly frosty.Nick wiped away some frostand condensation and peered through the window.He sucked in a deep breath ashe sawSylvia's face, small mole and all, her eyes closed, her skinPage 57 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmltinged lightly blue.Nick stood up."Why does she look so far away from the window? The cabinetdoesn't even look that deep.""For safety, the head is placed well away from the observation port.Ms.Harley's head is actually about halfway between the floor and the window,facing the rear of the cabinet.A mirror at the rear lets us see her face.We have numerous sensors installedin each cabinet, but the observation port lets the family see their loved one,and lets us make occasional visual checks.""Could I see her father, too? We were friends.""Surely, sir."As Alvin escorted Nick along the aisle, Nick glanced at more of the faces andmemorized several of the other names."What happens in the case of someonewith a severe head wound?""Typically such victims are not candidates for Evergreen.But the lucky ones, the ones whose brains are intact, will no doubt be forevergrateful to Evergreen.When they finally awake, they may well be immortal."Nick didn't comment on the choice of the word "lucky."Seconds later they arrived at Ted Harley's cabinet.Nick saw the face fromthe newspaper photo, hair combed just the same way, with Harley looking asthough he were just taking a quick nap.Nick wondered if sutures inside Harley's lips held them closed as if the bodywere at a funeral."God, I just can't believe they're both gone," Nick said finally."I know exactly how you feel, sir."Right, thought Nick.The musak had switched to Simon andGarfunkle's "Sounds of Silence."Alvin went on."But when they awake, they will have the last laugh.Theywill never have felt better.""Well, thanks for letting me see them.""You're quite welcome.As long as you're here, you said you'd like to take abrochure that explains our services?""Yes, of course."Back in the lobby, Alvin handed Nick a letter-sized file folder full of salesliterature."Here you are, Mr.--""Rice.Edgar Rice."* * *"Nick Naught Private Investigations," Nick said into the phone."Jeez, Nick.Why don't you get an answering machine? Itried to get you all afternoon," said Ricardo, a buddy of Nick's who didcomputer searches for him.Nick often did enough legwork that he didn't needRicardo as much, but for the last few days he hadn't felt much like driving."It's a long story.What do you have?""I got answers back on all those names." Ricardo was a terrific researcher.Nick wouldn't have minded having Ricardo helping him with some of the actualfield work, too, butRicardo's idea of living dangerously was buying a car with a side mirror thatdidn't say, "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.""And? Anything in common?""A little.They're all A-plus ratings or better.""Makes sense.Evergreen's probably not cheap.What else?""They all checked out during the last year.""Okay.Evergreen's probably fairly new, so that's not suspicious.""Their credit ratings are zilched out.""They're all dead [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]