Toys Read Online Free PDF Page A

comfortably at three hundred
     miles per hour, even on a surface road.
    “Airspace clearance is set. Estimated flight time: four minutes and twenty-three seconds,” said a different voice, female
     and as familiar as an old friend. “Would you care for a drink? Entertainment of any kind? Sensory stimulation?”
    This was Elle, the artificially intelligent attendant. I hadn’t named the pilot—our relationship was more businesslike—but
     Elle deserved a name.
    “How about some Bach?” I said. “Please, Elle. That would be terrific. Just what I need.”
    “If I might make a suggestion, the Brandenburg Number Six, Allegro, would just about fit our flight parameters.”
    “Perfect.”
    “Perhaps with a multisense track?” she said.
    “Something light, yes.”
    Elle didn’t have a full body, just a pair of slender robotic arms, but they functioned with a precise efficiency that could
     be spellbinding. She slipped the car’s mood helmet onto my head, and I relaxed with the classical music—another of the very
     good things that humans had given the world. How bizarre was that?
    Actually, to be fair, humans were still making a few worthwhile contributions to the world. We Elites weren’t numerous enough
     to fill every role in our society, so we had toconcentrate on managing the vital ones—government, medical, military, law enforcement, telecommunications, media. Consequently,
     well-trained and strictly supervised humans were still manning the orchestras, bands, and studio sessions that we required.
     Humans also had many necessary subservient roles, especially those involving cleaning and waste collection.
    But I believed it was Elite technology that really took classical music to the next level—when the Brandenburg began, I wasn’t
     just listening, I was
experiencing
with all my senses…
    …
drifting along a pure, clear river, with the scent of lilacs in spring wafting through the air.
    Trees along the banks thrust their strong trunks up from the earth, while their branches reach like slender, red-tipped fingers
     to caress the sky.
    Rich, ripe fruit of all varieties hang within easy reach, and alluring nymphlike shapes frolic in the water around me, waving
     at me to come join them in their play…
    The exquisite concerto ended with its last, very memorable drawn-out chord.
    “We’re here, Dr. Baker,” Elle said in the quietest whisper. “Toyz store, Baronville.”
    Damn. I could have used a little more Bach.

Chapter 12
    OWEN M C GILL CERTAINLY hadn’t exaggerated—the crime scene was ugly all right. Eleven dead! The first thing I saw was a butchered male
     body in what looked to be a very expensive navy blue pin-striped suit. The poor fellow’s torso was twisted horribly and partly
     submerged in a veritable lake of his own blood.
    I’d seen plenty of gore before, but this was possibly the worst yet. The most nightmarish aspect of the scene was that the
     victim’s blood had splattered all over some miniature toy horses that had been let out of a stable-themed play set.
    The cat-sized horses were covered head to hoof in blood and were walking around, leaving tiny, crescent-shaped red prints
     on the synthetic marble floor, apparently looking for some miniature oats or hay.
    Creepy
didn’t begin to describe it.
    But the full measure of the massacre, the carnage, was much worse than that initial impression.
    A second corpse, this one female and partially dressed in an expensive gold lamé pantsuit, was lying nearby. Close to that
     were two more female victims. Their trademark pink and blue Toyz shopping bags were scattered everywhere around the courtyard.
    They had been cut in a way that sickened me—torsos savagely ripped open, organs removed, the heads completely gone.
Missing,
in fact.
    As I stared at the gore, and shooed away one of the little horses from the male’s body, McGill came striding over. As always,
     I was glad to see him. My friend is rock solid, dependable, and a good