police constable amir mistry, v.p.d.!

sure. if you wanna tell it.

okay. do you have, like, a screen or something?

go on.

only because they're all illegal.

yup, i gotcha *real* good.

what's a termite?

ha! you know what the second sign is? checking!

( frowning. ) well, uh . . . do you? uh, have hair on your palms?

well, i lived in an undercity, so . . . not much!

oh! no, it's an expression.

( smiling. ) hey, you know what the first sign of madness in synths is? hair on the palms of your hands.

uh-huh, uh-huh. got it.

hey, am i crazy or does she, have, like, *no* eyebrows?

. . . right. ( moving wet hair from his face. he has a kind of doubtful squint. )

well, you run into any *pervs*, you let me know - i'm a cop!

aw, geez . . . how am i gonna get into the restaurant now? it's no shirt no shoes no service, and on greek tuesday, too!

well thanks anyway, ma'am . . . hey, you should be careful, ma'am, your shirt looks exactly like mine.

hey has anyone seen my shirt i think i left it here while i was going for a swim . . .

aww, you wanna see me? you're sweet. okay, sounds interesting, i'm in.

( a pleased grin. if he was a dog his tail would be wagging like crazy. )

aw, thanks!

sure. what is it?

huh? what? sorry, i wasn't listening. it was like . . . i dunno, kinda fuzzy for a sec there.

hey, thia? i don't wanna sound mean or anything, but *nobody* calls them head-phones anymore. that's *so* 28th centuy.

they're *ansibles*.

oh, is this one of those old fashioned head-phones?

okay! ( sticking it in his ear. ) what does it do?

kinda tempted to let 'em . . . i could carry 'round a roboamir like a tamagotchi in my pocket

what's with all these robogirls trying to download my brain?

ooh! ( sharp inhale through his teeth. ) 😬 yeah, i don't love that!

like, a bad law isn't a good rule to live by. sometimes it's our duty to go against a law that's on *paper*, y'know? 'cos that's not the law. that's some corpo's wet dream.

call it a *cop out* - ha, get it? - but i'd say that the law is something we all kinda . . . agree to, something which we say 'yup, that's a rule we should follow', and if you don't, there's some kind of punishment. that doesn't mean everything that's legal is *right*.

i mean, it depends what you mean by 'law' first, right?

hey, cass? you're the coolest girlfriend i could ask for.

( a laugh. ) not once. it was kind of risky, but i had a fun time. and i think you learn the most out the people around you in the undercities, you know? on the dance floors, that's where you find the latest drugs or the hottest weapons. it was just a little lonely at the end of the day.