"Asimov Isaac - Gold, The Final Science Fiction Collection" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

ROBERT L. FORWARD, A PLUMP, cherubic physicist of Hughes Research Laboratories at Malibu, and occasional science fiction writer, was demonstrating the mechanism in his usual bright and articulate manner.
ДAs you see,У he said, Дwe have here a large spinning ring, or doughnut, of particles compressed by an appropriate magnetic field. The particles are moving at 0.95 times the speed of light under conditions which, if I am correct, a change in parity can be induced in some object that passes through the hole of the doughnut.У
ДA change in parity?Д I said. ДYou mean left and right will interchange?Д
ДSomething will interchange. IТm not sure what. My own belief is that eventually, something like this will change particles into antiparticles and vice versa. This will be the way to obtain an indefinitely large supply of antimatter which can then be used to power the kind of ships that would make interstellar travel possible.У
ДWhy not try it out?У I said. ДSend a beam of protons through the hole.У
ДIТve done that. Nothing happens. The doughnut is not powerful enough. But my mathematics tells me that the more organized the sample of matter, the more likely it is that an interchange, such as left to right, will take place. If I can show that such a change will take place on highly organized matter, I can obtain a grant that will enable me to greatly strengthen this device.У
ДDo you have something in mind as a test?У
ДAbsolutely,У said Bob. ДI have calculated that a human being is just sufficiently highly organized to undergo the transformation, so IТm going to pass through the doughnut hole myself.У
ДYou canТt do that, Bob,У I said in alarm. ДYou might kill yourself.У
ДI canТt ask anyone else to take the chance. ItТs my device.У
ДBut even if it succeeds, the apex of your heart will be pointed to the right, your liver will be on the left. Worse, all your amino acids will shift from L to D, and all your sugars from D to L. You will no longer be able to eat and digest.У
ДNonsense,У said Bob. ССIТll just pass through a second time and then IТll be exactly as I was before.У
And without further ado, he climbed a small ladder, balanced himself over the hole, and dropped through. He landed on a rubber mattress, and then crawled out from under the doughnut.
ДHow do you feel? Д I asked anxiously.
ДObviously, IТm alive,У he said.
ДYes, but how do you feel?У
ДPerfectly normal,У said Bob, seeming rather disappointed. ДI feel exactly as I did before I jumped through.У
ДWell, of course you would, but where is your heart?У
Bob placed his hand on his chest, felt around, then shook his head. ДThe heartbeat is on the left side, as usual--Wait, letТs check my appendicitis scar.У
He did, then looked up savagely at me. ДRight where itТs supposed to be. Nothing happened. There goes all my chance at a grant.У
I said hopefully, ДPerhaps some other change took place.У
ДNo.У BobТs mercurial temperament had descended into gloom. ДNothing has changed. Nothing at all. IТm as sure of that as IТm sure that my name is Robert L. Backward.У

IASF 1/87



FRUSTRATION

HERMAN GELB TURNED HIS HEAD TO watch the departing figure. Then he said, ДWasnТt that the SecretaryУ
ДYes, that was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Old man Hargrove. Are you ready for lunch? Д
ДOf course. What was he doing here?У
Peter Jonsbeck didnТt answer immediately. He merely stood up, and beckoned Gelb to follow. They walked down the corridor and into a room that had the steamy smell of spicy food.
ДHere you are,У said Jonsbeck. ДThe whole meal has been prepared by computer. Completely automated. Untouched by human hands. And my own programming. I promised you a treat, and here you are.У
It was good. Gelb could not deny it and didnТt want to. Over dessert, he said, ДBut what was Hargrove doing here?У
Jonsbeck smiled. ДConsulting me on programming. What else am I good for?У
ДBut why? Or is it something you canТt talk about?У
ДItТs something I suppose I shouldnТt talk about, but itТs a fairly open secret. There isnТt a computer man in the capital who doesnТt know what the poor frustrated simp is up to.У
ДWhat is he up to then?У
ДHeТs fighting wars.У
GelbТs eyes opened wide. ДWith whom?У
ДWith nobody, really. He fights them by computer analysis. HeТs been doing it for I donТt know how long.У
ДBut why?У
ДHe wants the world to be the way we are--noble, honest, decent, full of respect for human rights and so on.У
ДSo do I. So do we all. We have to keep up the pressure on the bad guys, thatТs all.У
ДAnd theyТre keeping the pressure on us, too. They donТt think weТre perfect.У
ДI suppose weТre not, but weТre better than they are. You know that.У
Jonsbeck shrugged. Д A difference in point of view. It doesnТt matter. WeТve got a world to run, space to develop, computerization to extend. Cooperation puts a premium on continued cooperation and there is slow improvement. WeТll get along. ItТs just that Hargrove doesnТt want to wait. He hankers for quick improvement--by force. You know, make the bums shape up. WeТre strong enough to do it.У
ДBy force? By war, you mean. We donТt fight wars any more.У
ДThatТs because itТs gotten too complicated. Too much danger. WeТre all too powerful. You know what I mean? Except that Hargrove thinks he can find a way. You punch certain starting conditions into the computer and let it fight the war mathematically and yield the results.У