"Alfred Bester - Demolished Man, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bester Alfred)

room. "This is Gus Tate, a quack-one. Next to him, Sam & Sally @kins. Sam's
another of the same. She's a baby-sitter-two. They're just in from Venus.
Here on a visit..."
"H-How---I mean, how do you do?"
"That fat man sitting on the floor is Wally Chervil, architect-two.
The blonde sitting in his (lap)▓ is June, his wife. June's an editor-two.
That's their son, Galen, talking to Ellery West. Gally's a
tech-undergrad-three..."
Young Galen Chervil indignantly started to point out that he'd just
been classed 2nd and hadn't needed to use words in over a year. Powell cut
him off and below the girl's perceptive threshold explained the reason for
the deliberate mistake.
"Oh," said Galen. "Yep, brother and sister 3rds, that's us. And am I
glad you're here. These deep peepers were beginning to scare me."
"Oh, I don't know. I was scared at first, but I'm not any more."
"And this is your hostess, Mary Noyes."
"Hello, Canapes?"
"Thank you. They look delicious, Mrs. Powell."
"Now how about a game?" Powell interposed quickly. "Rebus, anyone?"
Outside, huddled in the shadow of the limestone arch, Jerry Church
pressed against the garden door of Powel's house, listening with all his
soul. He was cold, silent, immobile, and starved. He was resentful, hating,
contemptuous, and starved. He was an Esper 2 and starved. The bend sinister
of ostracism was the source of his hunger.
Through the thin maple panel filtered the multiple TP pattern of the
party; a weaving, ever-changing, exhilarating design. And Church, Esper 2,
living on a sub-marginal diet of words for the past ten years, was starved
for his own people---for the Esper world he had lost.
"The reason I mentioned D'Courtney is that I've just come across a
case that might be similar."
That was Augustus Tate, sucking up to @kins.
"Oh really? Very interesting. I'd like to compare notes. Matter of
fact, I made the trip to Terra because D'Courtney is coming here. Too bad
D'Courtney won't---well, be available." @kins was obviously being discreet
and it smelled as though Tate was after something. Maybe not, Church
speculated, but there was some elegant block and counter-blocking going on,
like duellists fencing with complicated electrical circuits.
"Look here, peeper, I think you've been pretty snotty to that poor
girl."
"Listen to him shoot off his mind," Church muttered. "Powell, that
holy louse who had me kicked out, preaching down his big nose at the
lawyer."
"Poor girl? You mean dumb girl, Powell. My God! How gauche can you
get?"
"She's only a 3rd. Be fair."
"She gives me a pain."
"Do you think it's decent... marrying a girl when you feel that way
about her?"
"Don't be a romantic ass, Powell. We've got to marry peepers. I might
as well settle for a pretty face."