"Davis, Jerry - Elko the Potter" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davis Jerry)

Burns had taken him out on a balcony on the top floor of the West
Tower, and let him behold the wonders of 22nd century
civilization. It spread like a carpet across the Livermore Valley,
covering the mountains to the west and continuing on to the sea.
"Wheels," Raymond had told him. "Everywhere you look, you see
wheels. It all started with you, Elko. The cart you built for your
father. You are the father of everything you see today. The day
you put that cart together was the decisive moment in the history
of Mankind."
Even with his new found understanding of this alien world
called "The Future," this concept still boggled his mind. These
people had build a devices that, though manipulating the basic
fabric of reality, was able to reach back through the ages and
scoop him out of the water. They saved his life and brought him
here so they could honor him as the father of technology, and
allow him to teach a class in pottery in the Great Hall of
Learning.
Here he was, elbow to elbow with the great minds of the ages,
just because he put four wheels on two sticks and attached a
basket to the top. It didn't make sense to him.
"So, you're the inventor of the wheel." Elko looked up at the
man who spoke. He was tall and had a charming smile, and his name
tag read, "John Kennedy, Great Political Leader." John introduced
himself and shook Elko's hand, then indicated a short, dark-haired
man standing next to him. "Elko, this is my good friend Franz.
Franz Kafka. He's a famous writer."
Franz shook hands with Elko. "I program computers, now," he
said.
"Computers made of dirt! Digital logic!" Elko blurted. He
covered his mouth with his hands, and shook his head.
"Recent language upload, eh?" John said. "Don't worry, it
calms down after a few days." He and Franz sat down across from
Elko, each with their own cafeteria trays. "The foods here's
great, isn't it?"
"Preprocessed cloned non-cholesterol!" Elko blurted.
"Fabricated meat food product!"
"Amazing, isn't it?"
"I never did like greasy food," Franz said. "It always gave
me indigestion."
"It must be a real change for you, Mr. Potter. Food-wise as
well as everything else. I heard you made an over seven-thousand
year leap."
"Eight-thousand," Franz said. "He's from around six-thousand
B.C."
"Before Christ . . . imagine that!"
"Millennium!" Elko blurted. "Cosmos!"
"Wasn't that right around the time of the invention of the
written word itself?" Franz said. "Did written language exist
during your time period?"
"Hieroglyphics!" Elko's mouth spat the word out violently,