Trafika Europe 14 - Italian Piazza

The Man at One Kelvin Degrees of a seventeenth-century man at arms, yet managed to move with a grace I’d never be able to imitate. In their alcove, the string quartet had moved on to jazz. I didn’t recognize the author, but I found the music excellent. At the center of the room a few people were already dancing. Avoiding any contact with the guests, I approached the dance floor and glanced around me. I was trying to identify an avatar that might match my newly-formed idea of countess Selmo Rossi, when the chat cube delivered a message from Silver. “Captain, come here immediately.” What had he discovered? Making my way up the stairs, I saw him staring at a painting on the wall between two large windows overlooking the park. “I’m about to perform some little-known hacking. While you follow me, I’ll make sure our avatars are monitored by an agent. There’s something I have to show you, but you’ve got to see it with your own eyes, or you won’t believe me.” What followed was a peculiar experience. Without activating controls of any kind, I was expropriated of my virtual body. It was like a flight take-off. I could see Athos, seemingly engaged in pleasant conversation with Grimaud and commenting the picture before them. In my disembodied form, I floated towards the ceiling.

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