"Asimov, Isaac - Brin, David - Foundations Triumph" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

A planet of continents and seas and mountain ranges, where cities glittered as part of the landscape, instead of utterly dominating it. A beautiful world that Hari used to visit all the time when he was First Minister, accompanied by his gracious and beautiful wife, back in the days when he and Daneel thought that astute use of psychohistory might actually save the empire, instead of planning for its eventual demise.

"Welcome to the second imperial capital, m'lords," said the young porter.

"Welcome to Demarchia."



-9-



Dors felt obliged to confess.

Her report to Daneel Olivaw kept getting delayed by one thing or another, until she finally arrived back home on Smushell. Then she ran out of excuses.

"I tried to destroy the renegade robot, R. Lodovic Trema," she recited in a coded transmission to her leader, keeping her voice levels even and emotionless. "The fact that I failed does little to mitigate my act, which contradicted your apparent wishes, Daneel. I therefore await your orders. If you wish, I will surrender my duties here to another humanoid and proceed to Eos for diagnosis and repair."

Eos, the secret repair base that Daneel maintained for his cabal of immortal robots, lay halfway across the galaxy. It would be wrenching for Dors to leave Klia and Brann at this point in their lives, when they were creating precious mentalic babies so important to Daneel's long-range plans. But Dors was used to doing her duty, even when it hurt... such as when she had to leave Hari Seldon.

rough monotones. And yet, Dors detected a tenor of blithe amusement.

"Now, Dors. In light of what just happened, would it be wise for me to answer that question?"

She responded with a shrug. If Lodovic had wanted to retaliate, it would have been easy at that point.

"Did I just kill a doppel? A dummy copy?"

"Will you hold it against me that I was so untrusting, Dors?"

Standing there, as Panucopia's sun gradually set and their shadows lengthened, she had estimated the odds that Lodovic's real brain lay inside the tiktok. If so, a second shot would eliminate the enemy for good.

"May I note one interesting observation, Dors?" The automaton had buzzed. "You just used the word 'kill' instead of 'destroy' or 'deactivate.' Shall I take that as a small sign of progress in our relationship?"

She was tempted to use the blaster again. But then, in all probability his real brain was somewhere in the forest, out of reach, controlling doppels from some hidden place of safety. So instead, with a humanlike sigh, she put away the pistol and reached for the box.

"There will be another time," she said, taking up the burden as gingerly as a human would pick up a crate of poisonous snakes.

"That is what we robots have always been able to say, Dors. But time may be running out for our kind, sooner than you think."

The only dignified thing she could do at that point was to let him have the last word. So Dors had turned without farewell and begun her long voyage home.

All the way back to Smushell, her sole company had been Lodovic's gift, the ancient head. For a week it stared at her- metal-skulled and gem-eyed-containing the inactive brain of R. Giskard Reventlov.

Giskard the founder, who long ago helped Daneel develop the Zeroth Law.

Giskard the savior, who sacrificed himself in the act of rescuing human destiny, while ruthlessly destroying humanity's birthplace.

Giskard the legendary, first of the mentalic robots, capable and willing to guide humans, nudging and shifting their thoughts and memories ... for their own good.