Memetic Drift - J.N. Chaney Page 0,82

around me closely to figure out the local tastes. Once I had a sense of it, I bought myself several sets of clothing, a haircut from an expensive salon, a top of the line dataspike, and real leather shoes.

I used my new dataspike to find a real estate agent who could help me buy an apartment in Solovyov’s building. In less than five minutes, I was scheduled for an appointment the next day. With nothing else I could do until then, I went out for dinner in Solovyov’s neighborhood to learn the area, hoping I might be lucky enough to catch sight of him out in the open.

I had no such luck, but the steak was excellent. Not many people could afford to eat real meat on an outer world. A passing observer would find at least that much evidence I was the man of means I pretended to be. I slept that night in a lavish hotel and went to meet my real estate agent the following morning, dressed in my expensive natural-fiber suit.

The realtor was a short man with drooping jowls and a lisp. He spoke at length about all the luxurious amenities the property had to offer.

“You’ll never lack for anything in Windsor on Highfall, sir, I assure you of that. From the on-site fitness center to the unit’s private theater, everything is top of the line by even terran standards. Beyond top of the line. To everyone who meets you, your choice of living space will speak of your good taste.”

I tuned him out, responding with the occasional sound of vague agreement. He talked the entire way over from his office to the property, pausing only to greet the young receptionist in the Windsor’s lobby. I caught her eye and gave her a smile.

Downstairs, the realtor took me through the apartment he wanted to sell, explaining every last nuance of what made the place so special and unique. I heard all about the storage solutions, the integrated media system, and even about the architect who designed the building. He touched on the local politics in Valhalla, and which organizations wanted to do what about the real estate industry.

I told him I was certainly interested and that I would give it some thought. He walked me out, and we took the elevator back up to the ground floor. As we walked out of the building and down the skyway, he reiterated his selling points with minor variations of what was clearly a practiced script. I thanked him for his time at the train station and wished him a good day.

“It was a pleasure talking with you, Mr. Bartlett,” he insisted. “I mean that.”

He clasped my hand with both of his own, desperately trying to convince me of his sincerity. I smiled warmly and assured him that the pleasure was all mine, and that it was a rare treat to speak with an agent so knowledgeable about not only the property but the area as well. That seemed to do the trick, and the man finally let go of my hand.

He boarded a maglev, and I waved to him through the window as it departed. Once it was out of sight, I left the station and walked back up the skyway. I returned to the Windsor on Highfall and approached the front desk where the pretty receptionist looked up and smiled.

“You’re back.”

“I am.” I grinned, leaning close and mirroring her body language. “And I have a small problem—ah sorry, I know my agent said it, but I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Lera.”

“Lera, I’m Tim.”

“What can I help you with, Tim?”

“Well, my agent offered to show me the gym, and I turned him down. Now that I think about it, I’ve changed my mind, but he’s already heading back to his office and it’d be embarrassing to have to call him back. I’d really like to get a look at that gym before I make my decision on the property. Could I—”

She nodded helpfully. “Oh yeah, of course. It’s just down the hall there. I’ll key you in.”

“Thank you, love, I appreciate it.” I gave her a wink and passed through the security door, then I turned toward the elevators as soon as I was out of sight.

I called the elevator and selected the penthouse level, reaching for my skeleton key in anticipation of an access code. Surprisingly, the selection flashed green and the elevator began its descent. The lack of a passive security layer told me there was