76 The Big Move (1/2)

There was no shortage of volunteers to visit the Amazon colony in the New World. They all volunteered, in fact, even the Weeping Sisters - Sheila and Mary. Nembutal and scotch sounded real good to Amanda's girls. They were prepared to go to a newly hostile New World for that.

Amanda ended up pouring a drink for each of them. She lined up the glasses and placed the pill in front of the row. She said:

”The first person to touch a drink must also take the pill.”

”Easy,” said Sharon right away. She stepped forward and picked up the pill and popped it in her mouth. Then she washed it down with her scotch, and put the glass back on the table. She did it so fast it was over before any of the remaining girls managed to get their hands on the drinks.

”I can use the rest,” she told Amanda. ”It was a hell of a ride. How are you holding up?”

”I'm fine,” said Amanda. She hadn't done coke for quite a while, and the tiny toot she'd had was still working wonders. She said:

”Tell Linda I'll be waking her up soon. She needs a break, she's been there for ages. You just keep everything calm and peaceful until it's time to split, okay?”

”How are we going to this? And where are we going to go?”

”I don't know yet. I'll find out right away. Problem is, I've got stationary phone numbers for just a handful of the fan clubs. Four or five in all of North America.”

”Shit.”

”Yes. Well, three or four, really, because I remember one of these is in Albuquerque. We don't wanna go there.”

”I agree. I - wow. I think I'd better go lie down. Anything in particular you want me to tell Linda?”

”Just a thank you. I'll talk to her here when she's awake and back.”

”Okay.”

Sharon started turning to go, then looked at Amanda and said:

”You want me to start getting stuff together for the move? Like, to the new colony site? I don't think Skykomish is a good idea.”

”Neither do I. We're not moving the colony, Sharon. We're liquidating it, and starting a new one. And we'll start it from somewhere else than Seattle.”

”Good idea,” said Sharon. ”Just wake me up before you pull my implant, okay? I don't want to experience dropping dead over there.”

”Promise. Sweet dreams.”

”Thanks.”

Sharon left, and when she opened the heavy door to the hall Amanda suddenly realized she couldn't hear the Bandidos talking or moving around. They seemed to be all gone from the house. Sharon shut the door behind her and Amanda looked at the girls that remained and saw all the glasses were empty, and all the eyes were on the bottle on the coffee table. It was more than half full, and the girls' eyes were full of desire.

Alcohol, the magic drug, thought Amanda. The only drug that was also food, highly calorific food in fact. The drug that made it possible to stay constantly high, and live on without having to bother about eating. It might not be a long, healthy life, but it definitely could be a happy life, as long as one stayed drunk all the time.

But that was where complications ensued: staying drunk all the time cost money, and it was difficult to make money while staying constantly drunk. It was one of those situations that are commonly known as serious life dilemmas, and Amanda couldn't recall knowing or even hearing of more than half a dozen people who had really managed to pull off that number. It was a hard number to pull off, the digits just didn't jell, they couldn't jell when one of the parties was seeing them double.

”That's for later, girls,” she told all the hungry eyes. ”And anyway I haven't had a drink myself, have I? Give me your glass, Fiona, I'm too lazy to go all the way to the cabinet.”

She poured herself a drink, making sure it was exactly the same size as theirs. She raised her glass in a salute to them all and drank quickly, hiding the grimace she made when she saw all those eyes focused on her drink. She said:

”It would be best if we all got some rest as well. Sharon and Linda will deal with everything over there. Make sure to tune out - mute the signal so that you all get some real rest.”

Then she went looking for the Bandidos.

She saw the first of them emerge from behind the house the moment she walked out. He was wheeling a family-sized rickshaw: an ancient-looking motorcycle whose front fork had been exchanged for a wheeled platform big enough to seat six, provided fat Pierce took the driver's seat. She watched the remaining Bandidos troop out from behind the house, all carrying huge backpacks bulging with stuff, with Pierce bringing up the rear pushing a second motorbike rickshaw. Its platform was half-filled with bundles wrapped in garbage bags. Amanda recognized the bags she'd bought back in the days when garbage was a problem.

Pierce stopped and looked up at her and grinned and wheezed:

”Hey. We parked those round the back, just in case. You know, those fucking patrols. I've talked to the boys and it's a deal. You got two more hours, twenty over there.”

”You said twenty four hours.”

”Well, that was a while ago. The clock sure didn't stop when I said that. It's six minutes per hour, right? Oh yeah, one more thing. We're taking your implant kits and beds and scrolls. Not all, we've left you ten kits and ten beds and two scrolls. That's more than enough for all of you here.”

”You can't do that!”