"Gordon R. Dickson - The Last Master" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

that seemed to hold all the cards. He had foreseen the ombudsmanтАЩs suggestion and waited for the other
to make it. Now, as if trapped by it, he would proceed to take the same RIV injection that had ruined
Wally. It was a gamble, admittedly, but the odds were all on his side. The chance of two disastrous
results from that drug in the same family must be statistically so tiny as to approach nonexistence. For the
rest, the kind of a small loss or gain in I.Q. that more commonly took place would be unimportant. A
small loss would not matter much; a small gain would be all to the good.

The point was that by taking the drug he would certify to the red-tape society his determination to make
something of himself in its own terms. In addition, by showing a good slice of his hitherto hidden ability
after his treatment, he could claim that heтАЩd undergone a rise in intellectual capacity from the drug, a claim
no one could dispute. That would allay suspicion about his sudden blossoming; and with that much to go
on, plus bluff when necessary, simple hard work and a grim determination to take any means to power
should move him swiftly up the work-ladder.

In the end, he would get what he wanted for Wally, from this system that valued position so highlyтАж

тАЬтАФMr. Ho!тАЭ

It was Carwell talking. Ett had almost forgotten he was still in the RIV clinic, waiting for signs of effect
from the drug.

тАЬHow do you feel?тАЭ Carwell asked. тАЬAll right?тАЭ

Ett nodded.

тАЬWell, then,тАЭ said the physician. тАЬThe immediate period when reaction might be expected has passed.
LetтАЩs get you back to the preparation room.тАЭ

He reached out and touched the table controls near EttтАЩs head. The grav table rose slightly into the air
and floated out the way it had come, the door to the corridor opening automatically before it. The
supports behind and around EttтАЩs head and neck fell back, leaving him free to move his head again.

тАЬIтАЩll come with you, of course,тАЭ said Dr. Carwell.

He followed the programmed path of the tableтАЩs motive machinery, back to the preparation room,
where EttтАЩs clothes waited for him, neatly on hangers.

тАЬYou still feel exactly the same?тАЭ Carwell asked.

тАЬThatтАЩs right,тАЭ said Ett.

тАЬYou can get up and dress, then,тАЭ said the physician. He watched as Ett did so, asking twice again if Ett
felt a reaction of any sort.

тАЬI thought,тАЭ said Ett, as he pressed shut the closure slit on his shirtfront and prepared to leave the room,
тАЬyou didnтАЩt expect anything like that so soon?тАЭ

тАЬNo physical reaction, of course,тАЭ said Carwell. тАЬProbably never. But you might be noticing some
mental alterationsтАФanything at all, including mild hallucinations.тАЭ