"Blish, James - Beep" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blish James)

technical. There's another part of the prediction that lists
the number and class of ships you will send to protect the
Brindisithe prediction says they'll be sufficient, by the way
and I'm keeping that to myself, to see whether or not it
comes true along with the rest. If it does, I think I've hired
myself a correspondent."
"If it does," Weinbaum said, "you've hired yourself a
jailbird. Let's see how much mind reading J. Whatsit Stevens
can do from the subcellar of Fort Yaphank."
3
Weinbaum let himself into Stevens's cell, locking the door
behind him and passing the keys out to the guard. He sat
down heavily on the nearest stool.
Stevens smiled the weak benevolent smile of the very old,
and laid his book aside on the bunk. The book, Weinbaum
knewsince his office had cleared itwas only a volume
of pleasant, harmless lyrics by a New Dynasty poet named
Nims.
"Were our predictions correct, Captain?" Stevens said. His
voice was high and musical, rather like that of a boy soprano.
Weinbaum nodded. "You still won't tell us how you did it?"
"But I already have," Stevens protested. "Our intelligence
network is the best in the Universe, Captain. It is superior
even to your own excellent organization, as events have
shown."
"Its results are superior, that I'll grant," Weinbaum said
glumly. "If Dana Lje had thrown your letter down her
disposal chute, we would have lost the Brindisi and our
Dirac transmitter both. Incidentally, did your original letter
predict accurately the number of ships we would send?"
Stevens nodded pleasantly, his neatly trimmed white beard
thrusting forward slightly as he smiled.
"I was afraid so," Weinbaum leaned forward. "Do you
have the Dirac transmitter, Stevens?"
"Of course, Captain. How else could my correspondents
report to me with the efficiency you have observed?"
"Then why don't our receivers pick up the broadcasts of
your agents? Dr. Wald says it's inherent in the principle that
Dirac 'casts are picked up by all instruments tuned to receive
them, bar none. And at this stage of the game there are so
few such broadcasts being made that we'd be almost certain
to detect any that weren't coming from our own operatives."
"I decline to answer that question, if you'll excuse the
impoliteness," Stevens said, his voice quavering slightly. "I am
an old man, Captain, and this intelligence agency is my sole
source of income. If I told you how we operated, we would
no longer have any advantage over your own service, except
for the limited freedom from secrecy which we have. I have
been assured by competent lawyers that I have every right
to operate a private investigation bureau, properly licensed,