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In fact, you haven't heard it since you got here.

You dust off and briefly consult your topographical maps of the Teenage Psychosphere. It remains as wondrous and enigmatic as you left it.

You remember him saying that, a long time ago. Chant-like. A little ritual.

A theory often dismissed as rumour, but taken more seriously on the top levels of the Operant Bureau: the Luzian political ministry are all identical psychic grafts of the same ancient philosopher.

Holiday memories of your mother, struggling with an antenna, trying to access foreign cartoons -- through the static, glimpses of a shaggy, vintage vagina.

Sounds familiar... she's talking about Goat-Eyes, the lovelorn soul of many endeavours.

The Ultra Violeti encountered this man. He scared them.

When you were sixteen you once put your blood type down as 'mysterious' in an attempt to impress a vaguely attractive doctor.

Where do you recognise that gesture from?

A far too familiar gesture -- something grinds and sparks against the inside of your skull.

Not precise, no. But not a liar either.

'Ritual' brings up zero matches in the Tempo archives. Or any archives.

The teen with the scarf. Though you recall him as more scarf than teen...

Oh yeah. You did let it slip back there.

The inner city gangs of Rega Seven regularly use teenage girls as assassins.

Oh yeah. You did let it slip to her.

CASCADE: 'Are you sure it's okay to just... leave them behind, M?' CONTROLLER: 'They're assets, CASCADE.'

Not that, probably. The man was a committed homosexual.

Ouroboros Black. Tempo's brand.

This is the version of yourself who stood taciturn and vacant at the back of the student socialist meetings. Frustrated by inaction, angry at everything.

You always knew that something like this would happen to you. Something very bad and very serious.

That's why he's drooling. The memory of your caress.

A new and strange crime added to your ever-lengthening rap sheet.

Your recall the THWACK of foot making contact with his forehead. He looks hurt, lost. His glasses are on wrong.

No partner and no dependents according to the old spy.

''Gunshot victim D, long-range penetration. Anterior left chest entry wound w/ surrounding burning stain. No exit. Extraction impossible without death.'

PORTOFIRO 91: Network DISSOLVED. 5 Assets and 1 Operant LOST. CASCADE: EXTRACTED. Competency rating: INDETERMINATE. Loyalty rating: INDETERMINATE.

As with all mammals, eyeball size is disproportionate to the skull that houses them, creating that adorable pleading expression.

Staring at the frail shape in bed, Poor Dante's words echo in your mind.

The old prisoner said that the more formative the memory, the better.

The device requires an internalised memory. Check your conditioning, operant.

Imprint your memory onto PSEUDOPOD.

The discoloured wrapper depicts a red-cheeked child with a charming sledge. You haven’t seen this brand in years.

Staring at the frail shape in bed, the old prisoner's words echo in your mind.

A phone line from five years ago connects:

... In the hot tub. You have half of the crime in your pocket right now.

Bad news. He has.

Berrion bombs, like the pilots mentioned. An erasure, near noiseless.

Reno -- the city's pre-eminent capitalist and head of Renotel, of the dolphin-themed payphones.

The master treaty that Ended History and stagnated all current world affairs, signed ninety-six years ago by the Developed World and the Superbloc.

Hence the origins of its most abiding name.

Reno -- the city's pre-eminent capitalist and head of Renotel, of the dolphin-themed payphones.

EMTERR, a.k.a. L'Empire sans Territoire, a.k.a. 'The Bank'. Equal parts global development fund and spy service. Linchpin of the Developed World.

Eno -- her father's name. You saw it in the document you read in the filing cabinet.

The largest corporate entity in Portofiro, with a monopoly over the city's telecommunications. Their logo is a cheerful dolphin.

To Eszti's right -- a man with a familiar mop of upstanding hair.

Azzurri mob is a foreign crime syndicate you've only heard about in passing, always with a warning to stay away.

KALEIDOSCOPE said that this is where he gave him the red disc.

The red disc in Foto 24, the one PSEUDOPOD was listening to the night before your arrival -- this is what did him in.

558 skill checks - ZERO PARADES field manual - Page 5 of 12