by Christian Kuras "We’ve wasted all morning already." Isaac was exaggerating, it was ten o’clock. He shot impatient glances like wounded lit- tle animals at his two friends as they left the cave- cool atmosphere of the underground. Stepping into the light-flooded street above was an abrupt pas- sage. The precise rays of mid-morning sunshine cut away at the shadows clinging to them as they emerged to join the hundred interlocking proces- sion-ways of the busy lane, a twisting rope of peo- ple glutting itself on the sunlight. "What’s your hurry, mate?" John was thinking an afternoon pint. But he wouldn’t pro- pose something like that. Not until too late, that is. Not until he was already dragging his friends into the pub. Anna said nothing, blinking at the harsh brightness. "Tm not hurried, just hate wasting time. Gotta capitulate on the day ‘n’ all that." "Capitalize, you mean." Anna corrected him automatically, almost absently. "Whatever." Isaac turned his head. He could feel his ears burning. "Anyway, I said capital- ize, maybe you heard wrong. Same thing anyway." He turned to look at the colorless buildings they were passing, pressed together and flat faced like surprise. "It’s not the same at all." Anna was sud- denly engaged, but kept her voice down. She tried not to be the pedant, almost succeeding. John’s head snapped away from its duti- ful examination of a passing blonde, as if it had sud- denly been cut from a tether, and turned to them. "Did you ever play that game when you were little, Chinese Whispers?" Isaac nodded in recollection, Anna’s brows pressed together in puzzlement. "It’s when you all get into a long row or circle and a sentence starts at one end and everyone along the line whispers it to the person next to them until it reaches the end and by then it’s usually dis- torted into a different sentence." John interjected, "Not a line, it’s always a circle. That’s the whole point, innit? That the sen- tence or whatever gets back to the person who said it, but by then it’s different. All that stuff about degradation and source and... " He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. "Sometimes someone along the line didn’t like the phrase and made up a new one, but you never knew who it was..." "Okay, yeah, we used to play that, but we always called it Deaf Telephone." "What kind of a name is that?" fired Isaac, but with claws retracted. Anna rolled her eyes. The three of them were drifting towards a large market square, nurturing a collective vague- ness of intent. Isaac was glad not to be lingering in John’s sitting room all morning while John enacted the extended ceremony of getting up. He and Anna were staying in the flat John shared with his broth- er while they were in the city. The square came into view between two renovated Georgian buildings housing slick-as-you- like boutiques on the ground floor. John sighed. The market was thronged with bodies sedulously bustling about each other like electrons in a tangle of wires. Most of the square was dominated by the two-storied market building in its center, all colon- nades and everything from jacket potatoes to silver jewelry. Anna decided she wanted to look at some rings, and only a glimmer of protest flashed across John’s face then disappeared. He didn’t rel- ish the prospect of all those people, but was content enough to follow his friends’ lead. Isaac lead the way through a crowd that had looked much denser from a distance than it proved to be in reality. Stull, they had to fight the currents of people. Anna and Isaac scanned the jewelry stands, she out of interest, he out of solidarity. John perused the crowd. The sky was beginning to cloud over as the noon approached. It had been somewhat of a Cimmerian summer that year. There was a din of people around them. Isaac and John allowed themselves to be led through it by Anna’s whim. John sighed again. He bought a packet of crisps and went off to one of the many benches lining the square to wait for the other two. He sprawled in the bench and pushed his spec- tacles up, kicking reflexively at the swarming pigeons. Pulling open the crisps, he conspicuously eyed passing girls, more than once forgetting his hand distractedly in the packet while his gaze fol- lowed the rolling hips of a figure strolling by. His gaze fell on Anna, visible through the masses at some distance, looking through the wares at a mar- ket-stall. He looked at her for half a minute before he realized he was doing it and reached into his packet of crisps, shaking his head ever so slightly. Isaac was following Anna, but was actu- ally looking at anything but jewelry. He examined the shape of the arches between the columns, the pattern of tiles on the ground, the smell of his grandmother’s house in the wake of a thickly dressed woman. His mind was absorbed in an eye patch like a trap door, the sugar-cane colour of a tourist’s coat, the recurrent and barely intelligible bark of a newspaper seller above the din. He eyed the ubiquitous pigeons, continually rearranging themselves along the eaves of the market, making occasional fluttering descents to the square to feed on the fistfuls of bread crumbs scattered for their benefit. Each was identical to the next and he won- dered how it could be possible to tell them apart. There were too many of them even to count. Copies of the universal pigeon. The sky had become overcast, and the crowd was thinning in anticipation of rain. The air was heavy with tension. Isaac looked to Anna only to see that she had already walked away towards John. He followed, frowning. "Find anything?" John asked, not getting up. Chinese Whispers "No, not really." Anna sat down beside him. "Where to now? I think it'll rain." Isaac didn’t want to sit down, so that Anna and John would not get the idea that he was settling in. "Ill have to be the pub, won’t it?" There was something satisfied and almost smug in John’s tone. He grinned. Circumstance had done the dirty work for him. Anna pretended not to have heard. Isaac shrugged and thought about how she would act surprised when they got to a pub, as if that was obviously not to be considered and had taken her off-guard. But she’d still go, she’d allow herself to be taken. They were just about to leave, Isaac had already turned and the others were getting up, when they saw themselves walk into the square. Sure enough, it was Isaac, Anna and John who they observed walking out of an adjoining lane. Exact replicas of themselves, undulating across the square. They were dressed differently, and they came from a different direction, but even their man- ner was identical. The three friends gaped. Neither of them even moved. Isaac took a step back and fell into both of his friends’ laps. They watched their own doubles wander into the crowd, apparently unaware of them. After seeing them walk halfway across the square, then stop to confer, presumably about their plans, Isaac declared, "We’re going to follow them." When the group of doubles, whose manner in walking and arranging themselves was identical to the three friends’, began to leave the square together, Isaac got up to trail them and the two others attended him. Just as a fine rain was beginning to fall, they went around the corner of the immense opera under renovation, disappearing behind its sagging skin of translucent plastic sheeting. The three friends waded into streets of people like blunt shock, hardly registering what was happening. Anna became amused. "If you two are thinking what I’m thinking, those three people looked a lot like us, but why are we following them?" "I think, somehow, that that was us." Isaac said this under his breath. "I know I must sound completely incredulous—" "Credulous." Anna looked away only slightly embarrassed. Isaac turned to her in surprise, but con- tinued undeterred, "credulous...yes...but I think this may not be something we can explain right now. That’s why I want to see what it’s all about." John’s eyes were staring ahead, fixed on the backs of the other group. His mouth hung slightly open in wonderment. Isaac was excited. "Should we talk to them?" "Let’s just see where they’re going" sug- gested John. "This is ridiculous." Anna was beginning to sound uncertain. While the three friends were trying to catch up with their lookalikes, these three had decided to duck into a pub. The double of John had decided a quick pint was advisable since it looked like such a nice pub. The three doubles went in, slowly advancing to the bar as they examined the low-ceilings, dark wood and green upholstery of the small space, crowded with low round tables. It was about three-quarters full on account of the rain, which was gaining in strength outside. Nearing the bar, the double of John raised his eyebrows as he looked to his companions. "What’ll you have?" The barkeeper ceased the circular motion of wiping the counter and turned in their direction. "I don’t know," said Isaac, "what’re you having? Lager?" "Just a coke, please." Anna got a disap- proving look from John, but he nodded. "I’m gonna have a Guiness, yeah?" John looked at Isaac. "I think I'll have a Stella, if that’s alright." "Sure. Anna, you sure you don’t want a pint?" "No, I’m fine." John put his elbows up on the bar, across from the barkeeper. "Pint of Stella, one Guiness and one coke." “Diet! "Diet," John repeated. They got their drinks and decided to go to a table at the rear of the pub. After having tailed their doubles around the corner of the Opera, Isaac, Anna and John had encountered a street quickly clearing as a strong vertical current of rain developed. And no doubles. "I must be crazy," muttered Isaac. "Only its not just you," countered John. Anna shook her head. They went down that street, then checked some of the others branching off of it, even venturing a quick look down some of the small lanes, just in case. Finally, they decided that they had lost their doubles. They were back at the Opera. Anna bunched her shoulders up against the rain. "You see, I told you it was nothing. Can we get out of the rain now? Please?" John was amicable to the idea, and Isaac looked too baffled to make a decision. "How about this pub? Looks nice." Anna nodded ascent, then grabbed a fist- ful of Isaac’s jacket and dragged him narrow-eyed and perplexed after John into the pub. The air in the pub was humid. The place had low-ceilings, dark wood and fleshy green upholstery. There was a crowd of people standing, and all the low round tables were occupied. It smelt of wet clothing, beer and cigarette smoke. John made his way toward the bar, and then he turned to his friends. "What’ll you have?" The barkeeper looked up from the pint glasses he was putting through the washer and turned in their direction. "I don’t know," said Isaac, "T think just a Stella." : influx: Magazine Aprill999 49 by Christian Kuras “We've wasted all morning already” ac was “exaggerating, it was ten ‘clock He shot impatient pances ike wounded it tle animals at his two fiends as they left the cave ‘ool atmosphere ofthe underground. Stepping into the lighe-looded street abore was an abrupt pas- ‘sage: The prec ra of mid-morning sunshine cut foray at the shadows clinging to them as they ‘emerged to join the hundeed intedocking proces- Son-rays of the busy lane, a twisting rope Of peo le gluting itself on the sunlight. What's your hurry, mate” John was thinking an afternoon pint. But he wouldn't pro- pose something like that. Not unt oo late, that Not until he was already dragging his fiends into she pub. ‘Anna sid nothing, blinking atthe harsh brightness. "’m not hurried, jst hate wasting time Gora capitulate on the day all that" "Capitalize, you mean” Anna corrected him atomaticalls almost absent "Whatever" Irate turned his head, He oul fel his cars burning. "Anywa I said capital Jac, maybe you heard wrong. Same thing anyway" He turned to look atthe colorless buildings they were passing, pressed topether and fat faced ike surprise. "es not the same a all." Anna was sud- enly engaged, but kept her voice down She ted ‘ot tobe the pedant, almost succeeding John’s head snapped away from is dus ful examination ofa pusing blonde as ifithad sud ‘enly been cut from a tether, and turned £0 thers, "Did you ever ply that game when you wee litle, Chinese Whispers” sate nodded in recollection, Anna's brows pressed together in puzsement “It's when you all ge int along row or “Gc and a sentence sats atone end and everyone long thelne whinpers tothe person nex to them Tut it teaches the end and by then is usually is torted ito a diferent sentence” in intersected, "Not a fine is aways 3 circle That’ the whole point ani? That the sen fence or whatever gets back the person who sid it but by then it different. All that stuff about eeradation and source and." He tiled off Shrugging his. shoulders. "Sometimes. someone long the ine dda’ like the pease and made up 3 ‘ew one ut you never knew who i ws. Otay, yeah we used to play that, but we bay called it Deal Telephone” "What Kind of a name is tht” fd aac, but with claws retracted. Ana rolled er os “The three of them were drifting rowands a large market square, nurturing elective ague- ‘ess of intent. naa was glad not to be lingering a John’ siting room all morning whe John enacted the extended ceremony of geting up. He and Anna ‘wore staying in theft Jo shared wih his brot= cewhile they were in the iy. “The square came into view between 100 renovated Georgian buildings housing sick-as-7our lke boutiques on the ground Noor. Jon sighed The market was thronged with bodies sedulously ‘busting about each other like electrons ina tangle of wires. Most of the square was dominated by the two-stoied market building in its enter, all ola rades and everthing fom Jacket potatoes 0 ser jewelry. ‘Anna decided she wanted 10 look at Some rings, and only ghmmer of protest flashed crore John’s face then disappeared. He didn't ih the prospect ofall those people, but was content nought follow his fiends lead. Iaae lead the ‘ray through a cow that had looked much denser from a distance than t proved tbe in reality. Sil, ‘hey had to fght dhe eurents of people ‘Anna and Isaac seanned the jewelry stands, she ou of interest be out of solidarity. Joba peruse the crowd, The sky was begining to cloud, ‘ver asthe noon approached Ithad been somewhat (ofa Cimmerian summer thi year. “Thete was a din of people around them. Isaac and John allowed themselves 0 be led ‘through it by Anna's whim. John sighed again. He ‘bought a packet of criss and went off o one ofthe ‘many benches ining the square to wait forthe other two. He sprawled in the bench and pushed his spec= tacles up, Kicking reflsively at the swarming pigeons. Pulling open the crisps he conspicuously ‘Syed passing gil more than once forgeting his Iman intact in the packet wile hi gaze fl- lowed the rolling hips of igure stoling by. His fe fll on Anna, vale through the masses at ‘Some distance, looking through the wares at a mar etatall, He looked at he for half a minute before he realized he was doing it and reached into his packet of ergy, shaking his head ever o sight aac was following Anna, but was atu ally looking at anything but Jewelry: He examined the shape ofthe arches between the colamny the ppauern of tes on the ground, the smell of his frandmothers house ip the Wake of a thickly Srescd woman, His mind was abrobed in an eve patch Ikea tap door, the sugarcane colour of 3 {ourist’s cout, the recurrent and barely intelligible bark ofa newspaper eller above the din. He eyed the ubiguitous pigeons, continually earanging themelies along the eaves of the market, making ‘cessonal tering descents tthe square to feed fom the ffl of bread erumbs scattered for their ‘benefit. Each was identical tothe next and he won" TMhere were too many of tem even 0 count Copies tthe universal pison, The shy had Become overcast, and the rod was thinning in anticipation of rai, The air ‘wan heavy ith tension. nae looked to Anna only to See that she had aleady walked away towards John. He followed, frowning “Find anything Joho asked, not geting "Noy not really” Anna sar down beside Where to now? I think il ri,” Teaae dide’e want t0 sit down, so that Anna and Joba ‘vould ot get the idea that he es seting in “Tel ave tobe the pub, won't io" There was something sated and almost smug in John's tone: He grinned. Circumstance had done the dirt ‘work for him. Anna pretended not to have heard. Issac shrugged and thought about how she would ‘act surprised when they got a pub, a if that was ‘briowsly not to be considered and had taken her ‘offguard, But shel sll go she'd allow herself be taken. “They were just abou to leave, ate had aready turned and the others were geting UP, when they saw themselves walk into the square Sore enough was Ista Anna and John who they ‘observed walking out of an adjoining lane. Exact replicas of themselies, undulating across the Square. They were dressed diferenty, and they ame from a diferent direction, but even thei man ner wat identical. The thre frends gape. Nether tof them even moved, Isaac took a sep back an fll nto both of is rend laps. “They watched their own doubles wande fnto the crowd apparently unaware of them. After Seeing them walk halfsay across the square, then Stop to confer, presumably about thei plans, Bane Aeclared, "Were going to follow them "When the troup of doubles, whose manner in walking and ging themcves was identical t0 the thee frends’ began to leave the square together, Isaae 30% up to wail them and the two others attended fim, st ava fine rain ws beginning to fll hey ‘went afound the comer of the immense opers “under renovation, disappearing behind its sagging shin of wanslucent plastic sheeting “The thre fends waded into strets of people like blunt shock, hardly registering what was happening. Anna became amuse. "Ifyou S40 are thinking what f'm thinking, those three people Tooked a Tot like us, but Why are we following them? think, somehow, that that was us Trane said this under his breath. "Throw I mist sound completely increduous-" “Credalous” Anna looked avay only slighty embarrassed. Tsaac turned to her in surprise, but con- tinued undeterred, "eredloun yen but Think this may not be something we ean explain eight ‘ow. That's why Iwant to see whats all about" Toa’ eyes were staring ahead, fixed on the backs of the ether group. His mouth hung slightly open in wondeement Tease was excited. "Should we tlk 10 hem? "Let's jus see where theyre going” sug ested John, "This ridiculous” Anna was beginning to sound uncertain Chinese Whispers While the thre fiends were tying to catch up with thei lofalkes, these three had ‘ecidd to duck nto a pub The double of Joi had decided quick pint was advisable since it loked like such a nice pub, The three doubles went i, slowiy advancing to the bar as they examined the Tow-clings dark wood and grcen upholstery ofthe small space, crowed with low round tables. Te was bout three-quarters full on account of the rain, ‘which was gning in strength outside. Nearing the bar, the double of John raised his eyebrows as he Iooked to his companions. "Wha'l you have” ‘The barkeeper ceased the circular ‘motion of wiping the counter and turned in their direction." don't Kaow” said Isaac, “what you tbering? Lage" “Justa coke, please” Anna got a diap- proving look rom John, but he nodded. “Tm gonna have a Guines, yeah” Joba “Tehink have a Stl if thas alight” “Sure. Anna, you sure You don't want a Iooked a pine "Nom fine” John put his elbows upon the bar, across from the barkeeper. "Pint of Stell, one Guiness and one coke.” "Diet * "Diet" John repeated. They got their rinks and decided to go to. able a the rear of the pub. After having ald their doubles around ‘the corner ofthe Opera, Isaac, Anna and John had encountered a street quickly clearing a song ‘Serica curren of sn developed. And no doubles “Tus be crazy,” muttered Isaac. “Only it ot just you,” countered Joba, ‘Anna shook her head ‘They went down that street, then checked some ofthe others branching off of even Senturing a quick look down some of the small Tanes, jus in case. Finally, they decided that they had lost thei doubles They were backatthe Oper ‘Anna bunched her shoulders up agaist the rai "You se, told you it was nothing Can we et out of the rain now? Please?” Jon was amicable to the ia and Ysane looked too bald to make decision Flow about this pub? Looks nice.” ‘Anna nodded ascent then grabbed a fst- fl of Ina’ jacket and dragged him narrow-eyed and peeplexed after Joba into the pub “The air inthe pub was humid The place had tow-ceiings, dark wood and fleshy green Upholten. There was a crowd of people sanding, andl he low round tables were oecupied Ke smelt ‘of wet clothing, beer and cigarette: smoke. John ‘made his way toward the bar and then he turned his friends, “What you have” “The barkeepe looked up ffom the pint influx’ Magazine April 1999 49 mi