Lyman had taken to showing up on Alan’s stoop in the morning sometimes, on his way to work, for a cup of coffee. He’d taken to showing up at Kurt’s shop in the afternoon, sometimes, on his way home from work, to marvel at the kids’ industry. His graybeard had written some code that analyzed packet loss and tried to make guesses about the crowd density in different parts of the Market, and Lyman took a proprietary interest in it, standing out by Bikes on Wheels or the Portuguese furniture store and watching the data on his PDA, comparing it with the actual crowds on the street.He’d only hesitated for a second when Andrew asked him to be the inaugural advisor on ParasiteNet’s board, and once he’d said yes, it became clear to everyone that he was endlessly fascinated by their little adhocracy and its experimental telco potential.“This party sounds like a great idea,” he said. He was buying the drinks, because he was the one with five-hundred-dollar glasses and a full-suspension racing bike. “Lookit that,” he said.From the Greek’s front window, they could see Oxford Street and a little of Augusta, and Lyman loved using his PDA and his density analysis software while he sat, looking from his colored map to the crowd scene. “Lookit the truck as it goes down Oxford and turns up Augusta. That signature is so distinctive, I could spot it in my sleep. I need to figure out how to sell this to someone—maybe the cops or something.” He tipped Andy a wink.Kurt opened and shut his mouth a few times, and Lyman slapped his palm down on the table. “You look like you’re going to bust something,” he said. “Don’t worry. I kid. Damn, you’ve got you some big, easy-to-push buttons.”Kurt made a face. “You wanted to sell our stuff to luxury hotels. You tried to get us to present at theSkyDome. You’re capable of anything.”“The SkyDome would be a great venue for this stuff,” Lyman said settling into one of his favorite variations of bait-the-anarchist.“The SkyDome was built with tax-dollars that should have been spent on affordable housing, then was turned over to rich pals of the premier for a song, who then ran it into the ground, got bailed out by the province, and then it got turned over to different rich pals. You can just shut up about the goddamned SkyDome. You’d have to break both of my legs andcarry meto get me to set foot in there.”“About the party,” Adam said. “About the party.”“Yes, certainly,” Lyman said. “Kurt, behave.”Kurt belched loudly, provoking a scowl from the Greek.
Lyman had taken to showing up on Alan’s stoop in the morning sometimes, on his way to work, for a cup of coffee. He’d taken to showing up at Kurt’s shop in the afternoon, sometimes, on his way home from work, to marvel at the kids’ industry. His graybeard had written some code that analyzed packet loss and tried to make guesses about the crowd density in different parts of the Market, and Lyman took a proprietary interest in it, standing out by Bikes on Wheels or the Portuguese furniture store and watching the data on his PDA, comparing it with the actual crowds on the street.
He’d only hesitated for a second when Andrew asked him to be the inaugural advisor on ParasiteNet’s board, and once he’d said yes, it became clear to everyone that he was endlessly fascinated by their little adhocracy and its experimental telco potential.
“This party sounds like a great idea,” he said. He was buying the drinks, because he was the one with five-hundred-dollar glasses and a full-suspension racing bike. “Lookit that,” he said.
From the Greek’s front window, they could see Oxford Street and a little of Augusta, and Lyman loved using his PDA and his density analysis software while he sat, looking from his colored map to the crowd scene. “Lookit the truck as it goes down Oxford and turns up Augusta. That signature is so distinctive, I could spot it in my sleep. I need to figure out how to sell this to someone—maybe the cops or something.” He tipped Andy a wink.
Kurt opened and shut his mouth a few times, and Lyman slapped his palm down on the table. “You look like you’re going to bust something,” he said. “Don’t worry. I kid. Damn, you’ve got you some big, easy-to-push buttons.”
Kurt made a face. “You wanted to sell our stuff to luxury hotels. You tried to get us to present at theSkyDome. You’re capable of anything.”
“The SkyDome would be a great venue for this stuff,” Lyman said settling into one of his favorite variations of bait-the-anarchist.
“The SkyDome was built with tax-dollars that should have been spent on affordable housing, then was turned over to rich pals of the premier for a song, who then ran it into the ground, got bailed out by the province, and then it got turned over to different rich pals. You can just shut up about the goddamned SkyDome. You’d have to break both of my legs andcarry meto get me to set foot in there.”
“About the party,” Adam said. “About the party.”
“Yes, certainly,” Lyman said. “Kurt, behave.”
Kurt belched loudly, provoking a scowl from the Greek.