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

"Quite all right, Mr. Reich. I understand."
"Do you? I don't. Damn D'Courtney!"
In Personnel they were testing, checking, and screening the usual mass
of job applicants... clerks, craftsmen, specialists, middle bracket
executives, top echelon experts. All of the preliminary elimination was
done with standardized tests and interviews, and never to the satisfaction
of Monarch's Esper Personnel Chief who was stalking through the floor in an
icy rage when Reich entered. The fact that Reich's secretary had sent an
advance telepathic announcement of the visit made no difference to him.
"I have allotted ten minutes per applicant for my final screening
interview," the Chief was snapping to an assistant. "Six per hour,
forty-eight per day. Unless my percentage of final rejections drops below
thirty-five, I am wasting my time; which means you are wasting Monarch's
time. I am not employed by Monarch to screen out the obviously unsuitable.
That is your work. See to it." He turned to Reich and nodded pedantically.
"Good morning, Mr. Reich."
"Morning. Trouble?"
"Nothing that cannot be handled once this staff understands that Extra
Sensory Perception is not a miracle but a skill subject to wage-hour
limitations. And what is your decision on Blonn, Mr. Reich?"
Secretary: "He hasn't read your memo yet."
"May I point out, young woman, that unless I am used with maximum
efficiency I am wasted. The Blonn memo has been on Mr. Reich's desk for
three days."
"Who the hell is Blonn?" Reich asked.
"First, the background, Mr. Reich: There are approximately one hundred
thousand (100,000) 3rd Class Espers in the Esper Guild. An Esper 3 can peep
the conscious level of a mind---can discover what a subject is thinking at
the moment of thought. A 3rd is the lowest class of telepath. Most of
Monarch's security positions are held by 3rds. We employ over five
hundred..."
"He knows all this. Everybody does. Get to the point, long-wind!"
"Permit me, if I may, to arrive at the point in my own way. Next,
there are approximately ten thousand 2nd Class Espers in the Guild," the
Personnel Chief continued frostily. "They are experts like myself who can
penetrate beneath the conscious level of the mind to the preconscious. Most
2nds are in the professional class... physicians, lawyers, engineers,
educators, economists, architects and so on."
"And you all cost a fortune," Reich growled.
"Why not? We have unique service to sell. Monarch appreciates the
fact. Monarch employs over one hundred 2nds at present."
"Will you get to the point?"
"Finally there are less than a thousand 1st Class Espers in the Guild.
The 1sts are capable of deep peeping, through the conscious and
preconscious layers down to the unconscious... the lowest levels of the
mind. Primordial basic desires and so forth. These, of course, hold premium
positions. Education, specialized medical service... analysts like Tate,
Gart, @kins, Moselle... criminologists like Lincoln Powell of the Psychotic
Division... Political Analysts, State Negotiators, Special Cabinet
Advisors, and so on. Thus far Monarch Utilities has never had occasion to