AfterNet 01 - Good Cop Dead Cop

can see anything on the floor.”
    Confused, she did as he asked, feeling stupid, and came back down.
    “See anything?” he asked.
    “Kind of. Sort of an outline in one corner, like where the walls of a room used to be.”
    “Go over to the outline, see if you can tell what it is.” She walked over to where she saw the outline, which was not quite as distinct close up. She bent down and rubbed her finger in what looked like sawdust.
    “I think it’s sawdust, maybe from plywood or particle board,” Munroe said.
    “Could be, I guess,” she said. She turned to address McCracken and found that he’d been looking over shoulder.
    “How’d they bring the stuff?”
    “Rental trucks. You know, big panel trucks like UPS uses.”
    “Do you remember what company … the rental trucks, I mean.”
    “Ryder? I think. Maybe,” he said.
    She heard Munroe’s voice in her ear again. “Take a look at the floor a couple of feet to your right. Do those look like tracks?”
    She looked and saw parallel marks on the floor that looked like tracks, the kind casters would make. She also found another set of tracks. All the tracks were parallel to what would be the long wall of the “room” defined by the dust outline.
    “Sort of. I guess. And what does this prove?” she asked.
    “I have no idea.”
    She turned back to McCracken. “Ever notice these before?” pointing at the floor.
    He looked at the tracks. “No, not really. This group was actually pretty neat. The place usually gets trashed. That’s why the owner spray paints everything twice a year.”
    “OK, we done this time, Alex?” she asked. When she got an affirmative she thanked McCracken again and he showed her out.
    They returned to their car and discussed what they had learned while he also checked his email.
    “So, what does any of this mean?” she asked. “Do you think there was … foul play?” She said the last words dramatically; sorry it would be lost in translation.
    “Like I said, I have no idea.”
    “Oh come on. You’re not seriously suggesting something did happen, are you? Alex, the dead get trapped all the time. What makes you think this is any different.”
    “Because I just got my reply back from AfterNet security. Sgt. Johnson visited the Denver entertainment forum the day before she disappeared too. I think she was here, too.”
    — & —
    The void became light again and form and substance returned. He replayed the scene in the park but this time it didn’t feel like he was moving against his will. It felt more like he wanted to go where his “dream” was taking him.
    This time when the woman took his hand he felt that he was following her, was responding to her lead. He could imagine what her hand must feel like. He remembered the feel of flesh. He saw a gust of wind move the trees and he could see how it moved her dress and he knew that he could hear the sounds the fabric must be making. And when she turned to look at him and her lips moved, he knew that he could hear her say his name, “Brian.”

Chapter 6
Excerpt from Howard Branff’s Quick Thinking, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Trust my Lizard Brain, Little, Brown, 1997
… it evolved for the purpose of staying alive. So it had to be fast. It had to be able to assimilate and process thousands of points of relevant data and make a decision. But now the brain is encumbered with lots of irrelevant data: What will others think? Do I look fat in this? I have to work with this person. What’s she got stuck in her teeth? Am I going to get paid?
If you could control the data the brain gets, make it relevant to the process, you will make the right choice. If you don’t think about it too much …
… because split-second thinking can often find the right answer. You will probably buy the car that’s right for you by pointing at its picture on a chart, as long as you do it within two seconds. That doesn’t mean you’ll buy a car that’s right for the planet, that will please your girlfriend or that will be maintenance free. But all in all, you’ll be happy with it.
Knowing this, then, we can see why focus groups, especially marketing focus groups, often fail spectacularly. Putting some people in a room and talking for two hours might produce thoughtful, well-reasoned arguments for why a person should buy something, but it doesn’t mean they really will or will really be happy with their choice.
It would be far more useful if you could capture someone’s