Mardock Scramble полностью

They entered the lobby to find that their rooms were ready, rooms that the Doctor had reserved using the Humpty’s NetService. The Doctor and Balot went into their adjoining rooms, as if they had just arrived by air and were about to head into the big city later. Well, they had just been flying, of course, but not in the manner that a casual observer would have assumed.

Their bags contained mostly clothes. Once she was in her room, Balot took a dress from her bag. She’d had Oeufcoque make it for her based on pictures from an online catalog. She brushed it down and hung it up neatly on a hanger before taking some shoes and accessories out of the bag and lining them up on the motel desk.

As she was making her preparations, the choker undid itself. It turned inside out in midair, then settled on the shape of a golden mouse, who landed on the desk on two feet before yawning properly.

“We’ve still got plenty of time yet. I’d like to take a nap.” Not waiting for an answer from Balot, Oeufcoque jumped off the desk. He headed straight for the bed, jumped onto the pillow, and rolled over.

Balot followed him to the bed and poked him in his tummy.

–I’ve never seen you act so slovenly before.

She snarced him and laughed.

Oeufcoque shrugged his shoulders. Whatever, he seemed to say. He rolled over, face-up like a human, crossed his arms over his stomach, and stretched his legs out leisurely. Before long he was snoring gently.

Balot gazed at him and thought that he probably did need the sleep—he hadn’t yet recovered completely from his injuries. She decided to leave him alone and took a shower. Then she lay down to study the game rules the Doctor had given her, and before long she found herself feeling sleepy too. The time was just then six thirty. Balot snuggled under the covers next to Oeufcoque, whom she could sense beside her, scratching his belly. She was asleep in no time.

It was almost noon when she was awoken by a call from the Doctor. Oeufcoque was already awake and watching television. On mute—picture only. When she asked him if he could follow what was going on, he replied, “I’m practicing my lip reading.”

What a strange hobby, she thought for a moment, but of course he wasn’t doing it for fun. “It’s a good warm-up exercise for the job we’re about to go on,” Oeufcoque said, and he stepped down on the remote with a tiny foot to turn the picture off.

The two of them headed down to the motel restaurant, where the Doctor was waiting for them. There they had a meal and made their final arrangements. They reconfirmed their next course of action. Then there was a little test. Did Balot understand all the rules for all the main games? The rules themselves were fairly simple. They hadn’t targeted any of the more complicated games in the first place. The problem was that rules always ended up producing winners and losers.

–How much do we need to win? Balot asked, snarcing her Oeufcoque-choker.

The Doctor pursed his lips and pushed his glasses up. “We need to turn two thousand dollars into four million.”

It sounded like a wild dream. But the Doctor just shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I think you’ll understand once you actually start playing. The question is, how to find a way of winning for sure. If we can’t work one out then we’ll have to abandon the plan.”

–Do you really think we have a chance?

“So, uh, it’s not impossible, at least. It’s not as if we’re actually trying to make the money. All you have to do is make contact with the chips while sticking to the rules of the casino—do that and we’ve won. The regular punters are there to try and win themselves some money and experience the thrills of the casino, that’s why they handle the chips. What we want to handle is the golden yoke that’s hidden inside the chips. Without necessarily having to get the shell or egg white in the process…”

–How much money is a million dollars?

The Doctor paused to think. “Let’s see…”

“Don’t think of it as money.” Oeufcoque interrupted them in a small voice that only Balot and the Doctor could hear.

–What do you mean?