Simon Hawke - Psychodrome 01 - Psychodrome.pdf - Simon Hawke - widez2

PSYCHODROME

Simon Hawke

Ace books by Simon Hawke

The Time Wars Series

THE IVANHOE GAMBIT

THE TIMEKEEPER CONSPIRACY

THE PIMPERNEL PLOT

THE ZENDA VENDETTA

Page 1

THE NAUTILUS SANCTION

THE KHYBER CONNECTION

THE ARGONAUT AFFAIR (coming in August)

PSYCHODROME

SIMON HAWKE

ACE BOOKS,NEW YORK

For M. S.

PSYCHODROME

An Ace Book / published by arrangement with

the author

PRINTING HISTORY

Ace edition / July 1987

Page 2

Cover art by Neal McPheeters.

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part,

by mimeograph or any other means, without permission.

For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

200 Madison Avenue,New York,New York10016.

ISBN: 0-441-68791-1

Ace Books are published by

The Berkley Publishing Group,

200 Madison Avenue,New York,New York10016.

PRINTED IN THEUNITED STATES OF AMERICA

-PROLOGUE-

I didn't know if I was in a war or if Psychodrome was playing

Page 3

mind games. It works both ways. You play Psychodrome and

Psychodrome plays you. If this was a hallucinact, the only

way to tell would be when it was over. Assuming I survived. A

hallucinact is not supposed to kill you, but if your mind

believes your death is real, it might persuade your body. And

my body was getting some heavy doses of reality.

The combat armor I was wearing was supposed to be state-of-the-art

equipment, but it was state-of-the-art equipment

that had been contracted out to the lowest bidder, something

you don't really want to think about while under heavy fire. I

couldn't help thinking about it because the recirculating and

cooling system in my suit wasn't working properly. I was

sweating like a pig and having trouble breathing. It felt like

being locked in an ambulatory sauna bath. The home audience

was getting a graphic taste of what it felt like to be a human

tank, advancing through a bug-infested jungle that was bursting

into flame. Of course, if this particular tank took a direct

SIMON HAWKE

hit from a plasma rocket, the "death" of the home audience

would only be a vicarious experience--appropriately edited--and

they could then switch channels and tune into another

Page 4

fantasy. I, on the other hand, would either wake up screaming

or experience an incredibly brief instant of unutterable agony

before I turned into a smoking, gelatinous puddle on the

jungle floor. That's entertainment.

A war always got good ratings. There was a time when I

didn't understand that. As a child, I played with toys of violence

and rained death upon my playmates, who usually stubbornly

refused to die, insisting that I'd missed them. There

would then ensue heated arguments concerning their mortality.

Sometimes the consensus of opinion would declare a pre-pubescent

little soldier KIA, but it didn't really matter except

as a momentary blow to pride. We all lived to die another day.

I didn't understand it--then.

The ugly truth is that violence is life affirming. If it's a fantasy,

it gives you the illusion, the vicarious experience, of confronting

the reality of your own ephemeral existence. If what

you're witnessing is real, it especially compels your fascination.

It may frighten you, outrage you, shock you, or depress

you, but in some deeply buried aspect of your psyche, there is

a frightened little guilt-racked thing that huddles like a Judas,

making you feel good because it isn't happening to you. No .

matter how real the illusion or how graphic the reality, you

Page 5

Simon Hawke - Psychodrome 01 - Psychodrome.pdf

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: