Read Matrix Man for Free Online Page B

capacity to wire up via the suite's second cord had he wanted to. But she didn't want to, and it was her suite, and her mind.
    The next few hours were spent in near darkness as Kim played recordings made from both the eye cam and the robo cam from beginning to end.
    At times Corvan called for a squeeze zoom, having her blow up a particular area of the frame, or asked for audio enhancement, which allowed him to hear background sounds more clearly.
    The key section started at the point where the WPO troopers left the aircraft and headed toward their objective. Corvan swore softly as he watched himself discuss how the aircraft would support Captain Dietrich while the real action took place somewhere outside.
    Then came the distant sound of automatic weapons, and Corvan asked Kim for a replay. She gave it to him in slo-mo with the gain cranked up all the way. Each shot sounded like the long, drawn-out roar of a jungle beast. It went on and on, but the sound Corvan was listening for was nowhere to be found.
    When it was over, Kim ordered Val to hit "pause" and waited for Corvan to explain. He frowned as he did so.
    "In their subsequent press release, the WPO claimed that the dissidents fired first, but they didn't have automatic weapons, and as you just heard, it was an automatic weapon which fired first."
    Kim thought for a moment and said, "So the troopers fired first and lied about it. That isn't good, but it doesn't prove premeditated murder. The troopers are scared, a weapon goes off, and it triggers a firelight. Unfortunate, but hardly a conspiracy."
    Corvan nodded slowly. "You're right, of course . . . and what proof we have is something less than overwhelming. The WPO would maintain that single shots were fired but not picked up on the audio. You and I know that's damned unlikely, but we can't prove it."
    Just then Val's soft voice flooded Kim's mind. "There is a special report coming in off the net," the computer said. "It is being carried on every channel. Do you wish to see it?"
    "Put it on," Kim replied silently. She turned to Corvan. "There's something heavy coming in off the net. Thought you'd want to see it."
    Corvan looked up at the program monitor with sudden interest. Like every other reop, he was hooked on the very stuff that he provided to others.
    The "SPECIAL BULLENTIN" graphic came up along with a voice which said the same thing. Then the picture shattered into a complicated tile wipe and reassembled itself into a shot of Ken Whitworth. He wore expression two, a slightly smug version of number one, which said, "I know something that you don't."
    "Ladies and gentlemen, at two-thirty this afternoon News Network 56 was notified that President Hawkins wished to make a special announcement, and ever since that time the capital has been rife with rumor. At least one highly placed source told me that the president has changed his mind regarding the possibility of a single world government, and will announce that, calling upon Congress to lend their support. If so, this would be a tremendous surprise, since President Hawkins has long indicated his opposition to establishment of a single world government anytime soon and might represent a historic turning point for the world as a whole."
    The shot changed to show President George Manley Hawkins taking a seat behind his desk and looking up into the camera. As he did so, Whitworth's voice became a dramatic whisper. "Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States."
    Corvan had interviewed the president on a couple of occasions, and while the reop didn't necessarily agree with all of the president's policies, he liked the man and felt the country was lucky to have him during a difficult period. Cynical though Corvan was about politics and politicians, he still liked the look of the president's square jaw, his flashing brown eyes, and the laugh lines around his mouth. Of all the world's leaders this one came the closest to what he thought a statesman should