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"Take it. Don't worry", Sagamoto said.
Valentine accepted it and the woman recorded his ID number on a clipboard. Her smile brightened by another couple of watts. "Thank you. There is a FAQ and a list of security restrictions in the guidebook. Failure to comply with speech codes on page three will result in loss of Inside privileges. Mount Omega is a discrimination-free zone. Mount Omega is smoke-free since 2024. Mount Omega is proud to be Working for Victory under VO-2011 protocols under the Just Human Rights and the Resistance Acts. For more information on any of these initiatives, consult your selected representative".
Valentine felt air moving, like a fresh breeze outside. The strong air currents indoors weren't exactly disturbing, but they lent an unreality to the cavernous underground.
"We call this level Grand Central", Sagamoto said, pulling Valentine out of the way of a platoon of soldiers with Marine Corps insignia walking toward the entrance, two navy officers in timber stripes trailing behind, one carrying a camera with a long telephoto lens. "Sometimes people come up here just for the chance of seeing a fresh face. Above this level is the atrium, and there are greenhouses that are
the next best thing to going outside on your vacation. Getting to be Outside again is a big recruiting incentive for the military, but people generally find out it's not all it's cracked up to be".
"That why you signed up?"
"Wanted to go out and change the world. Felt like it for a while... I was helping refugees relocate".
"Same here", Valentine said.
Sagamoto pulled the string on his paperlike pants and he opened his waistband, as though they were two little boys comparing genitals. Valentine saw a wide plastic tube emerging from a fleshy hole just above his line of pubic hair. "My first battle didn't quite work out the way I thought. Have to stick close to medical care now".
They stepped under a big electronic board, above a guarded alcove with four banks of elevators, where LED lights spelled out activity on different levels. Congress was in session, and various cases were being heard in courts, including the Supreme Court.
"You heard of that butterfly's wings stuff?" Valentine said.
"When there's no lower intestine left to stitch..."
"No, it's this theory... a butterfly flaps its wings in China and you get snow in Virginia. Little, imperceptible events have big repercussions later. Maybe you caused two people to meet out there, and their kid grows up to be the next George Washington".
"I heard that kind of thing from the rehab team. They don't have to wash out colostomy bags... look, Valentine, I'm not challenging. You were trying to be nice". He took a deep breath. "Sure. You never know. At least I tried. I'm still trying, just in a different way. Looks like you've had a near retirement or two yourself".
Valentine opened the guidebook. The map of Mount Omega was a combination of a cross section of the decks of a ship and a subway chart. He tried to find their location on Grand Central.
Sagamoto pulled it out of his hands, snapped the rubber band back on, and shoved it in Valentine's pocket. "That thing's useless. The map makes a lot of sense once you already pretty much know your way around. As for all the rules... just be polite and wait your turn in line,
and if the police tell you to do something, do it. Just a second, I'm going to use one of the phones and get in touch with the senator's office.
"As a visitor, you really just need to know about the Mall, the Hill, the Point, and the George. The Mall's just below Grand Central - there are a couple of escalators just ahead there. The Hill's at the end of the Mall - it's an old indoor arena the reps and senators use for Congress. Point is above us - it's pure military. The George is where guests stay - it's also off Grand Central here. Of course there are archives and sewage treatments and waste and workshops and everything we need to keep going, plus the housing levels. The vice president and Speaker and chief justice all get windows and patios. The rest of us make do with twenty minutes in the UV rooms every day". An elevator opened and a small throng emerged. "And I think this is your aide".
A woman with wide eyes and tired hair, but almost glamorous thanks to her choice of scarf and gloves and satchel, broke away from the group leaving the elevator. She had an ID printed on a half-Capitol-dome, half-eagle-wing design, her picture and a thumbprint superimposed.
"Hello, Captain", the aide said. "Good to see you again. Is this our contact?"
Valentine extended a hand: "David Valentine. Southern Command, and lately Pacific Command".
She shook it: "Daphne Trott-Diefenbach, Senator Bey's chief military aide. I bet you're hungry".
More than half the people walking the wide corridor of Grand Central looked hungry to Valentine. "I'm all right".
"Well, I could use a bite. Captain, join us?"
Sagamoto took a step back. "No. I've got to log paperwork on the fresh face here".
"Thank you, Captain", Valentine said.
"Just doing my bit. Ma'am", Sagamoto said, turning.
"Then it's us. I'll take you down to the Mall... it's worth seeing", she said. "Can I call you David, or do you do Dave?"
"Most people just use Val", Valentine said.
"I'm Ducks, then".
