"David Brin - A Stage of Memory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brin David)

"Your dilemma," Bettide said, "is to choose the memory to be accessed through
the drug. Other than volition--which seems to be locked in your case--the only
other known way would be to use electronic probing. Unfortunately, that method is
out."
"Why?"
"Because the government is not in the business of pandering to destructive and
expensive habits that don't already have a criminal purveyor! We provide you
Temporin to keep you out of the clutches of the Black Chemists and other
underworld sources, and to see that you have every opportunity to freely choose a
productive lifestyle again."
"But if this electrical gizmo is the only way..."
"There might be another." Bettide took off his glasses and wiped them. "It's
untried, and J certainly wouldn't attempt it. But then, I would never have gotten
myself in your fix in the first place. Once again I ask you to accept the coalition's
offer to send you to an ecology camp for a rest and work cure, instead." Bettide
made his entreaty as if he knew what the answer would be in advance.
Derek felt tense under his scalp. He shook his head vigorously, as if to drive out a
threatening uncertainty. "No!... If you won't help me, I'll go to the Black Chemists,"
he threatened. "I swear, I'll--"
"Oh, stop." Bettide sighed in tired surrender.
Derek's headache vanished just as quickly. "Okay." He brightened. "What do we
do?"
"Well try you out on a potent new version of Temporin B the Black Chemists
have just developed and we've managed to resynthesize. One hit drives the reliving
process about five times longer on average, than the old drug, and at three times the
subjective/objective rate."
"But--but that won't help me get back to where I want to go. It'll only make the
sequences go by faster!"
"True. However, some believe your strange type of locked, sequential recall will
break down as more recent memories are accessed. You'll have revisited your entire
life, so to speak, and no long-term memory will have greater excitation potential than
any other."
"I'll have free access again after that?"
"That's my best guess, Derek."
Derek chewed on one end of his moustache. "I'll have to go through some pretty
rotten times," he muttered.
"Quickly, yes." Bettide nodded.
"I don't know." Derek knitted his brow.
Bettide closed the file folder. "Well, our time is up. If you can't decide now, we'll
just make an appointment for next week."
Derek looked up quickly. "I'll do it! Please. Can we start now?"
Bettide shrugged. He opened the cardboard box and put about a dozen small
bottles into a paper bag.
"Sign here." He indicated a release form.
Derek scribbled his signature and took the bottles. They clinked as he rose to go.
"Thanks, Doc. I know you're trying to help. Maybe if I can just get some peace for a
while--get back to Sycamore Street for a rest--I'll be able to think about things..."
Bettide nodded reservedly. But, as Derek opened the door to leave, the doctor
said, "I saw Realm of Magic on the Late Show last week, Derek. I enjoyed it a great
deal. You were very good in that film, even if you were better on the stage."