"Michael Flynn - Falling Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Flynn Michael)

The Dow fell below 12,000.
By the time the first bite of winter set in, unemployment topped ten percent, and men and women who
might otherwise have been blowing smoke, pharming genes, or hacking cheese were now hustling lunch
money. The Dip, they called it, hoping by name-magic to lessen its severity. Riots broke out in Cleveland,
the Bronx, and elsewhere тАФ in January, in the bitter cold and knee-deep snow. Crowds bundled in down
jackets and moon boots set buildings afire тАФ though perhaps only for the heat. The magtrain line that
wound through the valley below Musconetcong Mountain cut back to two trains a day, then ran
sporadically, then stopped entirely.
It was foolish to ponder individual blame. Adam Van Huyten often chastised himself for causing the Dip:
but his revelation of the fraud on Leo was only one factor among many. The Social Security crisis. Roberta
CarsonтАЩs announcement on the web of the oncoming asteroid. The federal shutdown of the orbital trade тАФ
as if the answer to high blood pressure was to stop the heart. Even had Mariesa known of her cousinтАЩs
plans and foreseen their consequences and forestalled his actions, the trigger would only have been
something else.
In itself, the Dip of тАЩ17 was no great thing; not in the same league as 1893, let alone 1929 or 1873. It was
the timing more than the magnitude that mattered. For during all that long, cold, lonely winter the asteroid
called тАЬthe BeanтАЭ spiraled closer and closer to Earth.
Sleet curled across the flank of First Watchung Mountain outside the broad windows of the chairmanтАЩs
office at Van Huyten Industries. Mariesa van Huyten waited patiently and studied the eddies and whorls
while her cousin, Chris, dealt with yet another interruption. She did not envy the man on the screen, who
was, after all, only doing his job. Mariesa drank her tea. There was a woman reflected in the window: an
old woman with lines around her eyes, soberly dressed in dark winter worsted. She did not know who it
was.
тАЬOf course, I understand, Chris,тАЭ the man on the pee-phone said. тАЬWe all face unexpected shortfalls; thatтАЩs
what a line of credit is for. To even out those little bumps. Though I guess what Dolores Pitchlynn gave
you was more like a pothole тАжтАЭ
Chris van Huyten never showed anger. He was never known to raise his voice or to pound the table.
When his frustration with fools and villains grew overwhelming, it showed only in a slightly stiffer bearing
and a tendency to esoteric sarcasm. Generally, he relied on an iron sense of fairness and an even more
iron sense of honesty. As those who worked most closely with him said, you might not like where you
stood with him, but at least there was no mistaking where that was.
тАЬPitchlynn, I can handle,тАЭ Chris said. тАЬStrap on a parachute and shove her out the plane. On second
thought, no parachute. And she pays her own SEC fine. Bring Marcel Reynaud over from Ruger AG to
clean shop. Pegasus rides out a bumpy year, but she keeps flying. ItтАЩs the bureaucrats thatтАЩve blindsided
me, Ira.тАЭ
Ira spread his hands. тАЬThey had to do something.тАЭ
тАЬDid they? Okay, I can see the safety inspection on the station тАФ Bullock may have cut more corners than
we know of тАФ but, be honest, Ira: Who would do a more thorough job? The Orbital Safety Commission, or
the tenants and consortium partners, whose livelihoods тАФ whoselives тАФ depend on proper
maintenance?тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs like the kids say, Chris. тАШNo flubber on that one.тАЩтАЭ
A moment of silence followed. Then ChrisтАЩs voice went flat. тАЬYouтАЩre not going to fulfill your end of the
contract.тАЭ
Ira stopped smiling. тАЬThe bankтАЩs in a liquidity crisis. RutellтАЩs Social Security bond issue is sucking the
capital pool dry.тАЭ
тАЬWonderful. On the one hand, they screw with the interest rates, like they did in тАЩ29, and turn a market
crash into a full-blown depression. Meanwhile, with the other hand, they grab up all the spare change in
sight. It must be a rule: Secure all livery portals, subsequent to equine egress.тАЭ
тАЬChris, no offense, but you and I donтАЩt have to worry about retirement. When the economy downshifted,
Congress lost a yearтАЩs lead time on the Social Security Reform Bill. Rutell had to act fast.тАЭ