"Anthony, Piers - Adept - 03 - Juxtaposition" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

CHAPTER 1

Clef

"I could give you some sleepfog," the lady robot said.
"You stayed awake all night researching, and the Game is
this afternoon. You have to rest."

"No dmgsl" Stile snapped. "Better to be keyed up than
fogged out."

"Better yet to be rational," she said.

He shook his head, looking at her. She was so exactly
like a woman that most people never realized the truth.
Not only could she function in all the ways of a living
human female, she was extremely well formed. Her hair
was a sun-bleached brown, shoulder length; her lips were
full and slightly tinted, kissable; her eyes were green be-
hind long lashes. She was the sort of creature rich, lonely
men obtained to gratify their private passions more per-
fectly than any real woman would. But Stile knew her for
what she was, and had no passion for her. "This is one
time I wish I could just dick off the way you can."

"I wish I were flesh," she said wistfully. She was pro-
grammed to love him and protect him and she was abso-
lutely true to her program, as a machine had to be. "Come
onЧI'll put you to sleep." She took Stile's head in her lap
and stroked his hair and hummed a lullaby.

Oddly enough, it worked. Her body was warm and soft,
her touch gentle, and he had complete faith in her motive.
Stile was dose to few people and he tended to feel easier
around machines. His tensions slipped away and his con-
sciousness followed.

He found himself dreaming of the time several days
before, when he had passed the Platinum Flute on to the
musician Clef and guided the man across the curtain. In
this dream he followed Clef's consciousness, not his own.
1

2 juxtaposition

Somehow this did not seem strange. Stile had felt an instant
and deep camaraderie with the man when they played
music together. Stile himself was highly skilled with a
number of instruments, but Clefs musical ability amounted
to genius. It had been impossible to remain aloof from a