<P><B>Chapter 5 - In the Interim
<P>"As silly as this is, he thought, it's frightening. Something is being done to me and by a mere thing, here in my own house. Before my very eyes."
<P>-Philip K. Dick, A Scanner Darkly
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<P>Little was spoken as Agent Tiberius was loaded onto the helicopter on the roof of the office building. Carson's soldiers kept an eye out with their assault rifles, but the warfare from the streets had died down, and no one took much interest in the airlift. The helicopter merely lifted off and set out for some distant point as yet unknown to its wounded passenger.
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<P>The translator and one of Carson's engineers stayed behind to complete the business arrangements with Mr. Omatsu. Tiberius still had no idea of how close to completion the artificial intelligence was. "Need-to-know" basis did not yet apply to him within this group. Still, Tiberius would've appreciated a simple "thank you" over the infolink instead of the silent treatment prescribed to him.
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<P>The doctors that greeted the nano-augmented agent upon his arrival at the makeshift hospital were equally stoic. While he was being escorted down the carpeted, softly-lit corridors, Tiberius realized that he was in a hotel. Medical equipment had been hauled in and set up in some of the rooms. To his amazement, he saw that he was not the only patient here.
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<P>"Who are all these people?" he asked the first doctor. The single-word response "patients" didn't really answer his question. "I mean, are they other agents, unfortunate scientists...Why does Carson need a hospital, and if he has so many connections, why can't he secure a real one?"
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<P>"Sit down here," replied the doctor as they arrived at the room. "Try to remain still. This is not a lengthy procedure so we'd better get it over with."
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<P>"Why the rush?"
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<P>"Just stay calm, and we'll have that bullet out in no time. Looks like you need to be patched up some more anyway."