"Paul Di Filippo - Stink Lines" - читать интересную книгу автора (Di Filippo Paul)

ridding Earth of myaccidental plague? I'm sure that a grateful global populace
would let you nameyour reward afterward."A puzzled expression occluded the
Mayor's features, and his thought balloonchanged to a depiction of a shyster
trying to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to atube. "Will I, ah, be, er, alive
afterwards to enjoy my reward?""Of course. The one catch is that you'll have
to stay in orbit for a yearfirst."Mayor Ramie pondered this proposal
momentarily, his exteriorized thoughtssymbolically represented by a slate with
the equation 2 + 2 = ? chalked on it.Finally he consented, saying, "It's only
because I trust you personally, Gyro."Genuinely touched, Gyro clapped a hand
on the Mayor's shoulder. The utility fogproduced a synthetic puff of dust and
a couple of moths, as if the Mayor'sclothes had been hanging in a closet for
decades.With the Mayor's consent secured, Gyro got busy with his simple plan,
a basicvariation on the Pied Piper fable.Above all, the fog was cerebrotropic,
flocking to individual loci of thought.All Gyro had to do was make one
amplified pointsource of thought that outshoneall others. So as not to
interfere with this fogseductive broadcast, the humanbait should possess very
few of his own thoughts to project.Floyd Ramie matched that description to the
tenth decimal place.With Li'l Bulb's help, Gyro quickly cobbled together a new
version of histhinking cap, one that simply radiated an irresistible
come-hither to the fog.Once all the principals were assembled at Disney's
Florida launching site, MayorRamie had been hustled aboard the ship wearing
the activated cap. The instantresults were impressive.All the fog in the
immediate vicinity began to collect above the rocket, forminga thought balloon
large as a dirigible. This massive balloon depicted nothingbut two gigantic
words:COME HERE!The urge to swarm now radiated outward from one nanodevice to
another. Even asthey gravitated toward the impulse, they passed the baton of
command backwardsto more distant fellows. In a week's time, every iota of
utility fog from aroundthe planet had collected here, or died trying. In their
amalgamated mass, theynow formed a flat sheet spreading above many square
miles centered around therocket. Thick as clouds, the fog allowed a level of
illumination equivalent to astormy day.Standing at the distant mission
control, Gyro felt immense satisfaction. Thesolution was so elegant it almost
made him forget his initial stupidity. Nothingremained except to send Mayor
Ramie into space, taking the utility fog with him."I guess it's time," Gyro
announced.Ginger stopped dictating her latest dispatch into her pocket-pal
long enough tosqueeze Gyro's hand. "I'm proud of you, Gyro. You never gave
up.""Maybe that quality of mine has its drawbacks. Never giving up on you was
whatcaused this whole mess in the first place.""Oh, Gyro, what woman wouldn't
be flattered that someone loved her enough torisk the end of civilization as
we know it to win her?"Li'l Bulb corkscrewed his finger at the level of his
temple and turned away indisgust. Gyro and Ginger kissed. Then, using his own
pocket-pal, Gyro triggeredthe launch.The inventor had expected the rocket to
pierce the semi-living cloud, soarahead, then pull the fog behind it. But he
had forgotten the cloud'sself-positioning routines. Seeking to maintain a
stable distance from therocket, the cloud lifted first above the needle-nosed
ship as soon as it sensedmovement. As the rocket climbed, the cloud went with
it as a cloak, as if itwere an enormous, message-imprinted, fluted silk
handkerchief caught on the prowof the rocket.Soon the rocket and its companion
dwindled to a dot. Cheers erupted from happybystanders. Ginger held up her
communication device so that Gyro could make apublic statement."Citizens of