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Veryn ice,Mr.Bekh.Thehouselightsaredown.We reready.
Bekhreachedintohisright-handjacketpocketandremovedthethine lectronic
glovessparklingwiththeirrowsofm inisensorsandp ressors.Hepulledtherightglovet
ight.s moothingallwrinkles. Themater ialc lung
likeasecondskin. Ifyouplease, hesaid.Thegriprolledtheconsoleonstage,positioned
it,lockeditdownwith thedogging pedals, andhurriedoffstageleft throughthe
curtains.
NowBekhstrolledoutslowly.Movingwithgreatcare:t
ubesofglitteringfluidsranthroughhis calvesandthighs, andif hewalkedtoofastthe
hydrostaticbalancewasdisturbedandthenutrientsdidn tgett oh
isbrain.Thefragilityof theperambulatingdeadw
asanuisance,oneamongmany.Whenhereached
thegrab-gravplatehesignaledthestagemanager.Thethug gavethesigntothepanelman,wh
opassedhis fingersoverthecolor-codedkeys,andth egrab-gravplateroseslowly,m
ajestically.Upthrou ghthefloorof thestagewentNilsBekh.Asheemerged,thech
romaticskeyedsympatheticvibrationsintheaudience,and theybegantoapplaud.
Hestoodsilently, headslightlyb owed, accepting theirg reeting.Abubbleofg
asran painfully throughhisback andburst near hisspine.Hislower lipt
witchedslightly.Hes uppressedthemovement.Thenhesteppedoffthep
late,walkedtotheconso le, andbeganpulling ontheother glove.
He wasat all,e legantman,very pale,withharshbroodingcheekbonesand
acraggy,massivenose thatdominatedtheflower-gentleeyes,thethinmouth.Helookedp
roperlyromantic.An importantartistic
asset,theytoldhimwhenhewasstartingout.amillionyearsago.
Ashepulledandsmoothedtheotherg love,heheardthewhispering.Whenonehasdied,one s
hearing becomesterriblyacute. It madelisteningt o one sown performancesthat
muchmorepainful. But heknewwhatthewh isperswereallabout.Ou
ttheresomeonewassayingtoh iswife:
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Ofcoursehedoesn tlook likeaz ombie. They kept him in
coldtilltheyhadthetechniques.Then
theyw iredhimandjuicedhimandbroughthimback.
Andthewifewouldsay, Howdoesi tw ork, howd oes hekeep comingb acktolife,what
isit? Andthehusbandwouldleanfaroveronthear mofhischair,restingh
iselbow,placingthepa lmof
hishandinfrontofhismouthandl ookingw arily aroundtobece
rtainthatnoonewouldoverhearthe blurre dinaccuracie she was about t outter
.Andhewouldtrytotellhi swifeabouttheresidualelectric
chargeofthebraincells,thepersistenceofthemotorresponsesafterdeath,thelingering
mechanical vitalityonwhic
htheyhadseized.Invagueandramblingtermshewouldspeakofthebuilt-inlife-supportsys
tem that keepsthe brai nflushed wit hnecessar
yfluids.Thesurrogatehormones,thechemicalsthattaketheplace ofblood. Youknowho w
theystickanelectricw ireup a frog sleg,when theycutitoff. Okay,well,
whenthelegjerks,theycallthat a galvanicresponse. Now ifyou can get a
wholemanto jerkwhen you put acur
rentthroughhim--notreallyjerking.Imeanthathewalksaround,hec anplay
hisinstrument--
Can hethinktoo?
Isuppose.Idon tknow.Thebrain sintact.Theydon tletitdecay.Whatthey
do ,the yuseeve rypart of thebody for itsmechanical
function--theheart sapump,thelungsarebellows--andtheywireina
bunchofcontactsandleads,andthenthere sakindoftwitch, anartificialb urst
oflife--ofcourse,the yc an
keepitgoingon lyf ive,sixhours,thenthefat igue-poisonss tartto pileu p and
clogthelines--but that slong enough for ac oncert, anyway--
Sowhatthey rereallydoingisthe ytak eaman sbrain,andtheykeep italivebyusingh
isownbody asthelife-supportm achine,
thewifesaysbrightly. Isthatit?Insteadofputtinghimintosomekindof box,theykeep
himin hisown skull, anddoa llthemachineryinsidehisbody-- .
That s it.That site xactly,moreo r less.Moreorless.
Bekhi gnoredthewhispers.Hehadheardthema llhundredsoftimesbefore.InNewYorkand
Be irut, inHanoian dKnossos,inKenyattaandParis.Howfascinatedtheywere.Didtheyc
omeforthe music,ortoseethedeadmanwa lkaround?
Hesatdownontheplayer sledgeinfrontoftheconsole,andlaidhish ands along
themetalf ibers.Adeepb reath:oldhabit,superfluous,
inescapable.Thefingersalreadytwitching.Thepressorsseekingthe
keys.Undertheclose-cropped grayhair,the synapsesc lickingl ikerelays.
Here,now. Timijian sN inth
Sonata.Letitsoar.Bekhclosedhiseyesandputhisshouldersintohisw ork,and fromthe
ringof outputsove rheadcametheproper
roaringtones.There.Ithasbegun.Easily,lightly,Bekhrangintheharmonics, got
thesympatheticpipesvibrating,builtupthetextureofsound.HehadnotplayedtheNinthfo
rtwoyears. Vienna.Howlong istwoyears?Itseemedhoursago.Hestill
heardthereverberations. Andduplicatedthemexact ly;th
isperformancedifferedfromthelastonenom orethanone
playingofarecordingdiffersfrom another.Animage sprang intohismind:aglistening
soniccubesittinga ttheconsoleinplaceofaman.Why dotheyneedme,whe
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ntheycouldputacubeintheslotandhavethesamethinga
tlessexpense?AndIcouldrest.AndIc ouldrest.There. Keyinginthesubsonics.Thisw
onderfulinstrument!Whatif Bachh ad knownit? Beethoven?T o holda
wholeworldinyourfingertips.Theentirespectrumofsound,andthe
colors,too,andmore:h ittingtheaudienceinadozensensesa tonce.Ofcourse,th
emusiciswhatmatters. Thefrozen,unchangingmusic.Thepatternofsoundsemergingn
owasalways,nowas hehadp layed itat thepremierein 19.T
imijian slastwork.Decibel bydecibel ,a reconst ruction ofm yown
performance.And
lookatthemoutthere.Awed.Loving.Bekhfelttremorsinhiselbows;tootense ,thene
rvesbetrayinghim. Hemadethenecessarycompensat ions.Hearing thethunder
reverberating fromthefourthbalcony. What isthism
usicallabout?DoIinfactunderstandanyofit?DoesthesoniccubecomprehendtheBMinorMas
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