"Asimov, Isaac - The Naked Sun UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

The endless, hiving corridors of the Cities, he thought, alive with


people; apartments, community kitchens, factories, Expressways; all comfortable and warm with the evidence of man.
And he himself was isolated i~i the cold and Teatureless air in a small bullet of metal, moving through emptiness.
His hands trembled, and he forced his eyes to focus on the strip of paper and read a bit.
It was a short story dealing with Galactic exploration and it was quite obvious that the hero was an Earthman.
Baley muttered in exasperation, then held his breath momentarily in dismay at his boorishness in making a sound.
It was completely ridiculous, though. It was pandering to childishness, this pretense that Earthmen could invade space. Galactic exploration! The Galaxy was closed to Earthmen. It was pre-empted by the Spacers, whose ancestors had been Earthmen centuries before. Those ancestors had reached the Outer Worlds first, found themselves comfortable, and their descendants had lowered the bars to immigration. They had penned in Earth and their Earthman cousins. And EarthТs City civilization completed the task, imprisoning Earthmen within the Cities by a wall of fear of open spaces that barred them from the robot-run farming and mining areas of their own planet; from even that.
Baley thought bitterly: Jehoshaphat! If we donТt like it, letТs do something about it. LetТs not just waste time with fairy tales.
But there was nothing to do about it, and he knew it.
Then the plane landed. He and his fellow-passengers emerged and scattered away from one another, never looking.
Baley glanced at his watch and decided there was time for freshening before taking the Expressway to the Justice Department. He was glad there was. The sound and clamor of life, the huge vaulted chamber of the airport with City corridors leading off on numerous levels, everything else he saw and heard, gave him the feeling of being safely and warmly enclosed in the bowels and womb of the City. It washed away anxiety and only a shower was necessary to complete the job.
He needed a transientТs permit to make use of one of the cornmunity bathrooms, but presentation of his travel orders eliminated any difficulties. There was only the routine stamping, with privatestall privileges (the date carefully marked to prevent abuse) and a slim strip of directions for getting to the assigned spot.


Baley was thankful for the feel of the strips beneath his feet. It was with something amounting to luxury that he felt himself accelerate as he moved from strip to moving strip inward toward the speeding Expressway. He swung himself aboard lightly, taking the seat to which his rating entitled him.
It wasnТt a rush hour; seats were available. The bathroom, when he reached it, was not unduly crowded either. The stall assigned to him was in decent order with a launderette that worked well.
With his water ration consumed to good purpose and his clothing freshened he felt ready to tackle the Justice Department. Ironically enough, he even felt cheerful.
Undersecretary Albert Minnim was a small, compact man, ruddy of skin, and graying, with the angles of his body smoothed down and softened. He exuded an air of cleanliness and smelled faintly of tonic. It all spoke of the good things of life that came with the liberal rations obtained by those high in Administration.
Baley felt sallow and rawboned in comparison. He was conscious of his own large hands, deep-set eyes, a general sense of cragginess.
Minnim said cordially, УSit down, Baley. Do you smoke?Ф
УOnly a pipe, sir,Ф said Baley.
He drew it out as he spoke, and Minnim thrust back a cigar he had half drawn.
Baley was instantly regretful. A cigar was better than nothing and he would have appreciated the gift. Even with the increased tobacco ration that went along with his recent promotion from C-~ to C-6 he wasnТt exactly swimming in pipe fixings.
УPlease light up, if you care to,Ф said Minnim, and waited with a kind of paternal patience while Baley measured out a careful quantity of tobacco and affixed the pipe baffle.
Baley said, his eyes on his pipe, УI have not been told the reason for my being called to Washington, sir.Ф
УI know that,Ф said Minnim. He smilecL УI can fix that right now. You are being reassigned temporarily.Ф
УOutside New York City?Ф
УQuite a distance.Ф
Baley raised his eyebrows and looked thoughtful. УHow temporarily, sir?Ф
УIТm not sure.Ф
Baley was aware of the advantages and disadvantages of teas-


signment. As a transient in a City of which he was not a resident, be would probably live on a scale better than his official rating entitled him to. On the other hand, it would be very unlikely that Jessie and their son, Bentley, would be allowed to travel with him. They would be taken care of, to be sure, there in New York, but Baley was a domesticated creature and he did not enjoy the thought of separation.
Then, too, a reassignment meant a specific job of work, which was good, and a responsibility greater than that ordinarily expected of the individual detective, which could be uncomfortable. Baley had, not too many months earlier, survived the responsibility of the investigation of the murder of a Spacer just outside New York. He was not overjoyed at the prospect of another such detail, or anything approaching it.
He said, УWould you tell me where IТm going? The nature of the reassignment? What itТs all about?Ф
He was trying to weigh the UndersecretaryТs УQuite a distanceФ and make little bets with himself as to his new base of operations. The УQuite a distanceФ had sounded emphatic and Baley thought:
Calcutta? Sydney?
Then he noticed that Minnim was taking out a cigar after all and was lighting it carefully.
Baley thought: Jehoshaphat! HeТs having trouble telling me. He doesnТt want to say.
Minnim withdrew his cigar from between his lips. He watched the smoke and said, УThe Department of Justice is assigning you to temporary duty on Solaria.Ф
For a moment BaleyТs mind groped for an illusive identification:
Solaria, Asia; Solaria, Australia. . .
Then he rose from his seat and said tightly, УYou mean, one of the Outer Worlds?Ф
Minnim didnТt meet BaleyТs eyes. УThat is right!Ф
Baley said, УBut thatТs impossible. They wouldnТt allow an Earthman on an Outer World.Ф
УCircumstances do alter cases, Plainclothesman Baley. There has been a murder on Solaria.Ф
BaleyТs lips quirked into a sort of reflex smile. УThatТs a little out of our jurisdiction, isnТt it?Ф