"Bester, Alfred - Fondly Faranheit (txt)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bester Alfred)

And the thermometer that day registered 92.9░ gloriously Fahrenheit.

So there we were aboard the Paragon Queen en route for Megastar V, James Vandaleur and his android. James Vandaleur counted his money and wept. In the second-class cabin with him was his android, a magnificent synthetic creature with classic features and wide blue eyes. Raised on its forehead in a cameo of flesh were the letters MA, indicating that this was one of the rare multiple-aptitude androids, worth $57,000 on the current exchange. There -we were, weeping and counting and calmly watching.
УTwelve, fourteen, sixteen. Sixteen hundred dollars.Ф Vandaleur wept; УThatТs all. Sixteen hundred dollars. My house was worth ten thousand. The land was worth five. There was furniture, cars, my paintings, etchings, my plane, myЧ Andnothing to show for everything but sixteen hundred dollarsФ
I leaped up from the table and turned on the android. 1 pulled a strap from one of the leather bags and beat the android. It didnТt move.
У1 must remind you,Ф the android said, Уthat I am worth fifty-seven thousand dollars on the current exchange. I must warn you that you are endangering valuable property.Ф
УYou damned crazy machine,Ф Vandaleur shouted.
УI am not a machine,Ф the android answered. УThe robot is a machine. The android is a cbemical creation of synthetic
tissue.Ф - -
УWhat got into you?Ф Vandaleur cried. УWhy -did you do it? Damn you!Ф He beat the android savagely. -
УI must remind you that! cannot be punished,Ф it said-. УThe pleasure pain syndrome is not incorporated in the android synthesis.Ф -
УThen why did you kill her?Ф Vandaleur shouted. УIf it wasnТt for kicks, why did youЧФ . -
УI must remind you,Ф the android said, Уthat the secondclass cabins in these ships are not soundproofed.Ф
Vandaleur dropped the strap and stood panting, staring at the creature he owned.
УWhy did you do it? Why did you kill her?Ф I asked.
УI donТt know,Ф I answered.
УFirst it was malicious mischief. Small things. Petty destruction: I should have known there was something wrong with you then. Androids canТt destroy. They canТt harm. TheyЧФ
УThere is no pleasure-pain syndrome incorporated in the android synthesis.Ф
УThen it got to arson. Then serious destruction. Then assault. . . that engineer on Rigel. Each time worse. Each time we had to get out faster. Now itТs murder. Christ! WhatТs the matter with you? WhatТs happened?Ф
УThere are no self-check relays incorporated in the android brain.Ф
УEach time we had to get out it was a step downhill. Look at me. In a second-class cabin. Me. James Paleologue Vandaleur. There was a time when my father was the wealthiestЧ Now, sixteen hundred dollars in the world. ThatТs all IТve got And you. Christ damn you!Ф
Vandaleur raised the strap to beat the android again, then
dropped it and collapsed on a berth, sobbing. At last he pulled himself together.
УInstructions,Ф he said.
The multiple-aptitude android responded at once. It arose and awaited orders.
УMy name is now Valentine. James Valentine. I stopped off on Paragon Three for only one day to transfer to this ship for Megastar Five. My occupation: Agent for one privately owned MA android which is for hire. Purpose of visit: To settle on Megastar Five. Forge the papers.Ф
The android removed VandaleurТs passport and papers from a bag, got pen and ink and sat down at the table. With an accurate, flawless handЧan accomplished hand that could draw, write, paint, carve, engrave, etch, photograph, design, create and buildЧit meticulously forged new credentials for Vandaleur. Its owner watched me miserable.
УCreate and build,Ф I muttered. УAnd now destroy. Oh, God! What am I going to do? Christ! ff1 could only get rid of you. ff1 didnТt have to live off you. God! If only IТd inherited some guts instead of you.Ф

Dallas Brady was MegastarТs leading jewelry designer. She was short, stocky, amoral and i nymphomaniac. She hired ValentineТs multiple-aptitude android and put me to work in her shop. She seduced Valentine. In her bed one night, she asked abruptly: УYour nameТs Vandaleur, isnТt it?Ф
УYes,Ф I murmured. Then: УNo! No! ItТs Valentine. James Valentine.Ф
УWhat happened on Paragon?Т Dallas Brady asked. УI thought androids couldnТt kill or destroy property. Prime Directives and Inhibitions set up for them when theyТre synthesized. Every company guarantees they canТt.Ф
УValentine!Ф Vandaleur insisted.
УOh, come off it,Ф Dallas Brady said. УIТve known for a week. I havenТt hollered copper, have I?Ф
УThe name is Valentine.Ф
УYou want to prove it? You want I should call the police?Ф Dallas reached out-and picked up the phone.
УFor GodТs sake, Dallas!Ф Vandaleur leaped up and struggled to take the phone from her. She fended him off, laughing at him, until he collapsed and wept in shame and helplessness.
УHow did you find -out?Ф he asked at last.. -
УThe papers are full of it. And Valentine was a little too close to Vandaleur. That wasnТt smart, was it?Ф
УI guess not. IТm not very smart.Ф -
УYour androidТs got quite a record, hasnТt it? Assault. Arson. Destruction. What happened on Paragon?Ф
УIt kidnapped a child. Took her out into the rice fields and murdered her.Ф
УRaped her?Т
УI donТt know.Ф
УTheyТre going to catch up with you.Ф
УDonТt I know it? Christ! WeТve been running for two years now. Seven planets in two years. I must have abandoned a hundred thousand dollarsТ worth of property in two years.Ф
УYou better find out whatТs wrong with it.Ф
УHow can I? Can I walk into a repair clinic and ask for an overhaul? What am I going to say? СMy androidТs just turned killer. Fix it.Т TheyТd call the police right off.Ф I began to shake. УTheyТd have that android dismantled inside one day.
IТd probably be booked as an accessory to murder.Ф
УWhy didnТt you have it repaired before it got to murder?Ф