13. Catwalk

Slick Henry, Cherry, and Gentry inch a stretcher across a swaying catwalk above Factory’s floor. Slick carries the heavy head end with batteries; Gentry guides the feet, lit by the sleeper’s bio-readout. Slick regrets giving Gentry Kid Afrika’s drugs, which have left Gentry manic and unpredictable.

Gentry produces optic jumpers, intent on tapping the sleeper’s LF connections despite Cherry’s warning that interrupting input could kill the decker by crashing autonomic functions. Gentry removes his gloves, loosens two fittings on the slab above the sleeper’s head, and inserts splitters. The sleeper grunts, but Cherry checks the readout and reports stable signs.

As Gentry jacks the jumpers into his consoles, he rhapsodizes about “worlds within worlds” and claims their actions are prefigured by his earlier work. Slick hopes Gentry will crash soon so they can retreat, but Gentry remains focused, declaring he will see the form of the universe the guest is voyaging in.

Gentry powers the holo projection table to visualize the LF’s content. The instant he touches the control, he screams, leaving Slick and Cherry on the catwalk with the stretcher and an ominous sense that Gentry has encountered something overwhelming inside the tapped feed.