"Dick, Philip K - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dick Phillip K)

"This is Deckard. How much is an electric ostrich?"
"Oh, I'd say we could fix you up for less than eight hundred dollars. How soon did you want
delivery? We would have to make it up for you; there's not that much call for Ч "
"I'll talk to you later," Rick interrupted; glancing at his watch he saw that nine-thirty had
arrived. "Good-by." He hurriedly hung up, rose, and shortly thereafter stood before Inspector
Bryant's office door. He passed by Bryant's receptionist Ч attractive, with waist-length
braided silver hair Ч and then the inspector's secretary, an ancient monster from the
Jurassic swamp, frozen and sly, like some archaic apparition fixated in the tomb world.
Neither woman spoke to him nor he to them. Opening the inner door he nodded to his
superior, who was busy on the phone; seating himself he got out the specs on Nexus-6,
which he had brought with him, and once more read them over as Inspector Bryant talked
away Ч
He felt depressed. And yet, logically, because of Dave's sudden disappearance from the
work scene, he should be at least guardedly pleased.


FOUR

Maybe I'm worried, Rick Deckard conjectured, that what happened to Dave will happen to
me. An andy smart enough to laser him could probably take me, too. But that didn't seem to
be it.
"I see you brought the poop sheet on that new brain unit," Inspector Bryant said, hanging
up the vidphone.
Rick said, "Yeah, I heard about it on the grapevine. How many andys are involved and how
far did Dave get?"
"Eight to start with," Bryant said, consulting his clipboard. "Dave got the first two."
"And the remaining six are here in Northern California?"
"As far as we know. Dave thinks so. That was him I was talking to. I have his notes; they
were in his desk. He says all he knows is here." Bryant tapped the bundle of notepaper. So
far he did not seem inclined to pass the notes on to Rick; for some reason he continued to
leaf through them himself, frowning and working his tongue in and around the fringes of his
mouth.
"I have nothing on I my agenda," Rick offered. "I'm ready to take over in Dave's place."
Bryant said thoughtfully, "Dave used the Voigt-Kampff Altered Scale in testing out the
individuals he suspected. You realize Ч you ought to, anyhow Ч that this test isn't specific
for the new brain units. No test is; the Voigt scale, altered three years ago by Kampff, is all
we have." He paused, pondering. "Dave considered it accurate. Maybe it is. But I would
suggest this, before you take out after these six." Again he tapped the pile of notes. "Fly to
Seattle and talk with the Rosen people. Have them supply you a representative sampling of
types employing the new Nexus-6 unit."
"And put them through the Voigt-Kampff," Rick said.
"It sounds so easy," Bryant said, half to himself.
"Pardon?"
Bryant said, "I think I'll talk to the Rosen organization myself, while you're on your way." He
eyed Rick, then, silently. Finally he grunted, gnawed on a fingernail, and eventually decided
on what he wanted to say. "I'm going to discuss with them the possibility of including several
humans, as well as their new androids. But you won't know. It'll be my decision, in conjunction
with the manufacturers. It should be set up by the time you get there." He abruptly pointed at
Rick, his face severe. "This is the first time you'll be acting as senior bounty bunter. Dave
knows a lot; he's got years of experience behind him."