>My computer is OK. It’s me that’s the problem.>
>Tell big brother.> Slip wrote.
>I’m under arrest by the government.>
>What? Why?> Three chatters at once.
Salander summed up her situation in five lines, which were greeted by a worried muttering.
>How are you doing?> Trinity wrote.
>I have a hole in my head.>
>I can’t tell the difference.> Bambi wrote.
>Wasp has always had air in her head.> SisterJen wrote, and that was followed by a spate of disparaging remarks about Wasp’s mental abilities. Salander smiled.
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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I don’t know how much you understand of what is happening outside your locked room, but strangely enough (despite your personality), you have a number of loyal idiots working on your behalf. I have already established an elite body called The Knights of the Idiotic Table. We will be holding an annual dinner at which we’ll have fun talking crap about you. (No, you’re not invited.)
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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You’re the hacker; work it out! Kalle B.
Salander laughed aloud for the first time in weeks. Touché. She thought for a few seconds. Then she picked up the stylus and wrote the number combination 9277, which corresponded to the letters W-A-S-P on the keyboard. ( … )
It did not work.
She tried 52553, which corresponded to the letters K-A-L-L-E.
That did not work either. Since Blomkvist presumably intended that she should use the computer, he must have chosen a simple password. He had used the signature Kalle, which normally he hated. She free-associated. She thought for a moment. It had to be some insult. Then she typed 74774, which corresponded to the word P-I-P-P-I - Pippi Fucking Longstocking.
The computer started up.
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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She sighed and plugged in her laptop. She had nineteen new emails. Four were spam. Someone wanted to sell her Viagra, cyber-sex with “The Sexiest Lolitas on the Net” for only $4.00 per minute, “Animal Sex, the Juiciest Horse Fuck in the Universe,” and a subscription to fashion.nu. The tide of this crap never receded, no matter how many times she tried to block it. Another seven messages were those so-called Nigeria letters from the widow of the former head of a bank in Abu Dhabi offering her ludicrous sums of money if she would only assist with a small sum of start-up money, and other such junk.
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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What irritated her most was that they kept brushing off her arguments with patronizing smiles, making her feel like a teenager being quizzed on her homework. Without actually uttering a single inappropriate word, they displayed an attitude that was so antediluvian it was almost comical. You shouldn’t worry your pretty little head over complex matters, little girl.
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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Swedish democracy is based on a single premise: the Right to Free Speech (RFS). This guarantees the inalienable right to say, think, and believe anything whatsoever. It embraces all Swedish citizens, from the crazy neo-Nazi living in the woods to the rock-throwing anarchist - and everyone in Sweden.
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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‘It was just that sort of bureaucratic procedure I wanted to avoid.’
‘Understood, but I’m responsible for Salander, and if she’s going to be taken to court in the near future, we need to have clear documentation of all the measures we have taken. So we’re bound to observe the bureaucratic procedures.’
( … )
‘But while we’re discussing bureaucracy, there is a risk that her condition may continue to deteriorate. I’m only interested in her well-being.’
‘So am I,’ Jonasson said. ‘And between us, I can tell you that I see no sign of mental illness. She has been badly treated and is under a lot of pressure. But I see no evidence whatsoever that she is schizophrenic or suffering from paranoid delusions.’
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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Besides, he had - literally - rooted around in her brain. Someone who rummaged around in your brain had to be treated with respect. To her surprise she found Dr. Jonasson’s visits pleasant, despite the fact that he poked her and fussed over her fever chart.
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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She just wanted to be left in peace. When it came down to it, she was the one who would have to live with herself.
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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But Salander did not have the remotest wish to talk about her feelings or her actions. Her life was her own business. It was not her fault that her father had been a pathological sadist and murderer. It was not her fault that her brother was a murderer. ( … ) She was not the one who had killed Svensson and Johansson. She was not responsible for appointing a guardian who turned out to be a pig and a rapist.
And yet it was her life that was going to be turned inside out. She would be forced to explain herself and to beg for forgiveness because she had defended herself.
“
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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson)
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