"Dick, Philip K - Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch v1.1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dick Phillip K)

УItТs a deal,Ф he said, and rang off.
A half hour later in his Jaguar he landed on the elevated field of her conapt building.
Pat wore a sweater and slacks; the swimsuit, she explained, was on underneath. Carrying a picnic basket, she followed him up the ramp to his parked ship. Eager and pretty, she hurried ahead of him, pattering along in her sandals. It was all working out as he had hoped; this was going to be a swell day after all, after his initial trepidations had evaporatedЕ as thank God they had.
УWait until you see this swimsuit,Ф she said as she slid into the parked ship, the basket on her lap. УItТs really daring; it hardly exists: actually you sort of have to have faith to believe in it.Ф As he got in beside her she leaned against him. УIТve been thinking over that conversation we hadЦlet me finish.Ф She put her fingers against his lips, silencing him. УI know it took place, Walt. But in a way youТre right; in fact basically you have the proper attitude. We should try to obtain as much from this as possible. Our time is short enough as it isЕ at least so it seems to me.Ф She smiled wanly. УSo drive as fast as you can; I want to get to the ocean.Ф
Almost at once they were setting down in the parking lot at the edge of the beach.
УItТs going to be hotter,Ф Pat said soberly. УEvery day. IsnТt it? Until finally itТs unbearable.Ф She tugged off her sweater, then, shifting about on the seat of the ship, managed to struggle out of her slacks. УBut we wonТt live that longЕ itТll be another fifty years before no one can go outside at noon. Like they say, become mad dogs and Englishmen; weТre not that yet.Ф She opened the door and stepped out in her swimsuit. And she had been correct; it took faith in things unseen to make the suit out at all. It was perfectly satisfactory, to both of them.
Together, he and she plodded along the wet, hardpacked sand, examining jelly fish, shells, and pebbles, the debris tossed up by the waves.
УWhat year is this?Ф Pat asked him suddenly, halting. The wind blew her untied hair back; it lifted in a mass of cloudlike yellow, clear and bright and utterly clean, each strand separate.
He said, УWell, I guess itТsЦФ And then he could not recall; it eluded him. УDamn,Ф he said crossly.
УWell, it doesnТt matter.Ф Linking arms with him she trudged on. УLook, thereТs that little secluded spot ahead, past those rocks.Ф She increased her tempo of motion; her body rippled as her strong, taut muscles strained against the wind and the sand and the old, familiar gravity of a world lost long ago. УAm I whatТs-her-nameЦFran?Ф she asked suddenly. She stepped past the rocks; foam and water rolled over her feet, her ankles; laughing, she leaped, shivered from the sudden chill. УOr am I Patricia Christensen?Ф With both hands she smoothed her hair. УThis is blonde, so I must be Pat. Perky Pat.Ф She disappeared beyond the rocks; he quickly followed, scrambling after her. УI used to be Fran,Ф she said over her shoulder, Уbut that doesnТt matter now. I could have been anyone before, Fran or Helen or Mary, and it wouldnТt matter now. Right?Ф
УNo,Ф he disagreed, catching up with her. Panting, he said, УItТs important that youТre Fran. In essence.Ф
УСIn essence.Ф She threw herself down on the sand, lay resting on her elbow, drawing by means of a sharp black rock in savage swipes which left deeply gouged lines; almost at once she tossed the rock away, and sat around to face the ocean. УBut the accidentsЕ theyТre Pat.Ф She put her hands beneath her breasts, then, languidly lifting them, a puzzled expression on her face. УThese,Ф she said, Уare PatТs. Not mine. Mine are smaller; I remember.Ф
He seated himself beside her, saying nothing.
УWeТre here,Ф she said presently, Уto do what we canТt do back at the hovel. Back where weТve left our corruptible bodies. As long as we keep our layouts in repair thisЦФ She gestured at the ocean, then once more touched herself, unbelievingly. УIt canТt decay, can it? WeТve put on immortality.Ф All at once she lay back, flat against the sand, and shut her eyes, one arm over her face. УAnd since weТre here, and we can do things denied us at the hovel, then your theory is we ought to do those things. We ought to take advantage of the opportunity.Ф
He leaned over her, bent and kissed her on the mouth.
Inside his mind a voice thought, УBut I can do this any time.Ф And, in the limbs of his body, an alien mastery asserted itself; he sat back, away from the girl. УAfter all,Ф Norm Schein thought, УIТm married to her.Ф He laughed, then.
УWho said you could use my layout?Ф Sam Regan thought angrily. УGet out of my compartment. And I bet itТs my Can-D, too.Ф
УYou offered it to us,Ф the co-inhabitant of his mindbody answered. УSo I decided to take you up on it.Ф
УIТm here, too,Ф Tod Morris thought. УAnd if you want my opinionЦФ
УNobody asked you for yours,Ф Norm Schein thought angrily. УIn fact nobody asked you to come along; why donТt you go back up and mess with that rundown no-good garden of yours, where you ought to be?Ф
Tod Morris thought calmly, УIТm with Sam. I donТt get a chance to do this, except here.Ф The power of his will combined with SamТs; once more Walt bent over the reclining girl; once again he kissed her on the mouth, and this time heavily, with increased agitation.
Without opening her eyes Pat said in a low voice, УIТm here, too. This is Helen.Ф She added, УAnd also Mary. But weТre not using your supply of Can-D, Sam; we brought some we had already.Ф She put her arms around him as the three inhabitants of Perky Pat joined in unison in one endeavor. Taken by surprise, Sam Regan broke contact with Tod Morris; he joined the effort of Norm Schein, and Walt sat back away from Perky Pat.
The waves of the ocean lapped at the two of them as they silently reclined together on the beach, two figures comprising the essences of six persons. Two in six, Sam Regan thought. The mystery repeated; how is it accomplished? The old question again. But all I care about, he thought, is whether theyТre using up my Can-D. And I bet they are; I donТt care what they say: I donТt believe them.
Rising to her feet Perky Pat said, УWell, I can see I might just as well go for a swim; nothingТs doing here.Ф She padded into the water, splashed away from them as they sat in their body, watching her go.
УWe missed our chance,Ф Tod Morris thought wryly.
УMy fault,Ф Sam admitted. By joining, he and Tod managed to stand; they walked a few steps after the girl and then, ankle-deep in the water, halted.
Already Sam Regan could feel the power of the drug wearing off; he felt weak and afraid and bitterly sickened at the realization. So goddamn soon, he said to himself. All over; back to the hovel, to the pit in which we twist and cringe like worms in a paper bag, huddled away from the daylight. Pale and white and awful. He shuddered.
ЦShuddered, and saw, once more, his compartment with its tinny bed, washstand, desk, kitchen stoveЕ and, in slumped, inert heaps, the empty husks of Tod and Helen Morris, Fran and Norm Schein, his own wife Mary; their eyes stared emptily and he looked away, appalled.
On the floor between them was his layout; he looked down and saw the dolls, Walt and Pat, placed at the edge of the ocean, near the parked Jaguar. Sure enough, Perky Pat had on the near-invisible Swedish swimsuit, and next to them reposed a tiny picnic basket.
And, by the layout, a plain brown wrapper that had contained Can-D; the five of them had chewed it out of existence, and even now as he lookedЦagainst his willЦ he saw a thin trickle of shiny brown syrup emerge from each of their slack, will-less mouths.
Across from him Fran Schein stirred, opened her eyes, moaned; she focused on him, then wearily sighed.
УThey got to us,Ф he said.
УWe took too long.Ф She rose unsteadily, stumbled, and almost fell; at once he was up, too, catching hold of her. УYou were right; we should have done it right away if we intended to. ButЦФ She let him hold her, briefly. УI like the preliminaries. Walking along the beach, showing you the swimsuit that is no swimsuit.Ф She smiled a little.
Sam said, УTheyТll be out for a few more minutes, I bet.Ф
Wide-eyed, Fran said, УYes, youТre right.Ф She skipped away from him, to the door; tugging it open, she disappeared out into the hall. УIn our compartment,Ф she called back. УHurry!Ф
Pleased, he followed. It was too amusing; he was convulsed with laughter. Ahead of him the girl scampered up the ramp to her level of the hovel; he gained on her, caught hold of her as they reached her compartment. Together they tumbled in, rolled giggling and struggling across the hard metal floor to bump against the far wall.
We won after all, he thought as he deftly unhooked her bra, began to unbutton her shirt, unzipped her skirt, and removed her laceless slipperlike shoes in one swift operation; he was busy everywhere and Fran sighed, this time not wearily.
УI better lock the door.Ф He rose, hurried to the door and shut it, fastening it securely. Fran, meanwhile, struggled out of her undone clothes.
УCome back,Ф she urged. УDonТt just watch.Ф She piled them in a hasty heap, shoes on top like two paperweights.
He descended back to her side and her swift, clever fingers began on him; dark eyes alit she worked away, to his delight.
And right here in their dreary abode on Mars. And yetЦthey had still managed it in the old way, the sole way: through the drug brought in by the furtive pushers. Can-D had made this possible; they continued to require it. In no way were they free.
As FranТs knees clasped his bare sides he thought, And in no way do we want to be. In fact just the opposite. As his hand traveled down her flat, quaking stomach he thought, We could even use a little more.



FOUR

At the reception desk at James Riddle VeteransТ Hospital at Base III on Ganymede, Leo Bulero tipped his expensive hand-fashioned wubfur derby to the girl in her starched white uniform and said, УIТm here to see a patient, a Mr. Eldon Trent.Ф
УIТm sorry, sir,Ф the girl began, but he cut her off.
УTell him Leo Bulero is here. Got it? Leo Bulero.Ф And he saw past her hand, to the register; he saw the number of EldritchТs room. As the girl turned to the switchboard he strode in the direction of that number. The hell with waiting, he said to himself; I came millions of miles and I expect to see the man or the thing, whichever it is.