"Follett, James - Earthsearch 00 - Mindwarp" - читать интересную книгу автора (Follett James)

into the box until he was holding three sticks.
Numeric subtraction! The boy understands numeric
subtraction!
Unaware of the inner turmoil he was causing, Ewen placed
the three sticks on the desk and looked inquiringly at his
interviewer.
Father Gilith kept his voice calm. `Very good, Ewen. Now I
want you to arrange them into a triangle using all three
sticks.'
It was the easy part of the test. Ewen looked faintly
contemptuous as he arranged the sticks.
`Now take three more sticks from the box.'
Ewen did so.
`Do you know what sort of triangle that is, Ewen?'
Ewen shook his head.
`It's called an equilateral triangle. The three sides are
of equal length. Now listen carefully, Ewen. You already have
one equilateral triangle on the desk. Using the three extra
sticks, I want you to make three more triangles, all the same
size as the one you have, so that you end up with four
triangles.'
A girl Father Gilith had interviewed an hour before had
solved the problem within the allowed time. After playing
around with the sticks on the flat surface for about three
minutes, it had eventually occurred to her to think in three-
dimensions. She had stood the three extra sticks up to form a
tripod with the apex supported by her finger, and the end of
each of the three legs touching the corners of the triangle
on the desk. The result had been a pyramid with three sides
and a base, making the required four triangles.
But Ewen did not go through the two-dimensional stage.
Without even pausing to think, the moment Father Gilith
stopped talking, he arranged the six sticks into a three-
dimensional pyramid.
`Well I'll be...'
Ewen took his finger away, allowing the tripod to
collapse. He looked worriedly at his interviewer's
thunderstruck expression. `Was that all right?'
`All right?' Father Gilith recovered his composure and
beamed at the boy. `Yes... That's very good indeed, Ewen.' He
slid a datapad and a stylus across the desk. `Do you like
making pictures?'
Ewen nodded. `If you mean drawing, yes.'
The technician shot a glance at the boy to assure himself
that he wasn't being facetious. `Good. Have you ever tried to
draw yourself?'
Ewen gave a little smile and shook his head.
`Well now's your chance, Ewen. I want you to draw a
picture of yourself.'
The boy touched the symbol on the tablet that gave him a