SNOW CRASH

“I appreciate your politeness in not wanting to come out and just say no,” Hiro says, “but I happen to know that it is, in fact, not broken, and so I must consider your refusal equivalent to a no.,,

“It’s not available,” the man says. “Someone else is using it.”

“It has not yet left the pier,” Hiro says, “so you can cancel that engagement, using one of the excuses you have just given me, and then I will pay you more money.”

“We cannot do this,” the man says.

“Then I wifi go out into the street and inform the Refus that the Kowloon is leaving for L.A. in exactly one hour, and that they have enough room to take twenty Refus along with them, first come, first served,” Hiro says.

“No,” the man says.

“I will tell them to contact you personally.”

“Where do you want to go on the Kowloon?” the man says.

“The Raft.”

“Oh, well, why didn’t you say so,” the man says. “That’s where our other passenger is going.”

“You’ve got someone else who wants to go to the Raft?”

“That’s what I said. Your passport, please.”

Hiro hands it over. Theman shoves it into a slot. Him’s name, personal data, and mug shots are digitally transferred into the franchulate’s bios, and with a little bit of key.pounding, the man persuades it to spit out a laminated photo ID card.

“You get onto the pier with this,” he says. “It’s good for six hours. You make your own deal with the other passenger. After that, I never want to see you again.”

“What if I need more consular services?”

“I can always go out and tell people,” the man says, “that a nigger with sworth is out raping Chinese refugees.”

“Hmrn. This isn’t exactly the best service I’ve everhad at a Mr. Lee’s Greater Hong Kong.”

“This is not a normal situation,” the man says. “Look out the window, asshole.”

Not much has apparently changed down at the waterfront.

The Orthos have organized their defense in the lobby of the

Spectrum 2000: furniture has been overturned, barricades set up.

Inside the hotel itself, Hiro presumes furious activity is going on.