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"did I had an extremely expensive wife - she would see a new car that she liked and just buy it... under California law I was bound to buy her debts. I think I turned out 16 novels in five years."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| Motorized Combat Boots | ||
| Russian army-surplus self-propelled footgear. |
It's important to have an edge when you're on the street; Spring-Heeled Jack is somewhat more fleet of foot than the average chelovek.
| Spring-Heeled Jack runs blind, blue fumes crackling from his heels. His right hand, outstretched for balance, clutches a mark's stolen memories. The victim is sitting on the hard stones of the pavement behind him. Maybe he's wondering what's happened; maybe he looks after the fleeing youth. But the tourist crowds block the view effectively, and in any case, he has no hope of catching the mugger. Hit-and-run amnesia is what the polis call it, but to Spring-Heeled Jack it's just more loot to buy fuel for his Russian army-surplus motorized combat boots. |
| From Accelerando,
by Charles Stross. Published by Ace in 2005 Additional resources -
|
Readers should note that Spring Heeled Jack is a well-known character from English folklore from the Victorian era. Spring Heeled Jack is also a great example of a very early urban myth spread by racy news accounts - yes, even in 1837.
Thanks to Armchair Anarchist for the tip on this one.
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