Trafika Europe 14 - Italian Piazza

The Man at One Kelvin Degrees the bystanders, those closer to the machine on the right stepped backward. A man on the side of the insect drew himself up to get a better view. Goldbach was petrified. The technicians looked on, transfixed. Had anyone realized that what lay before them was the corpse of professor Jan De Ruiter? Based on questioning conducted forthwith by the Lombardy Police, apparently not. I continued to scrutinize the scene with the utmost attention. Goldbach’s eyes were half-closed. He moved closer to the machine and stared at the frozen body, then lifted his gaze to observe a row of LEDs blinking indifferently on the front panel. I had the impression that, for a moment, his gaze had focused on a point of the bodywork, unremarkable except for a metal plate with the serial number of the device. I rewound and manipulated the holographic film, shifting the angle of vision and zooming in. Naturally my Rolex couldn’t project a real hologram, but my glasses afforded the identical vision as that obtained by a stationary holographic platform, had I used one. The position of my hand was deciphered by sensors in the strap, which registered movements of the tendons in my wrist. The corpse of professor De Ruiter was crammed inside the cubbyhole of the device, facing forward. Eyes closed, arms hanging inertly down his sides, he was huddled up unnaturally, like a sack hanging from

51