"Fontana,.D.C.-.Questor.Tapes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Fontana D C)

"Are you saying you can throw any number you want?" "Can I expose any combination of cube faces?" He nodded and displayed his fingers. "Quite easily, by calculating the friction of the tabletop plus the angle and energy imparted to the cubes." A thought occurred to him as he studied Jerry's startled face. "Or is it immoral to use my sensory apparatus in this fashion?"
Jerry's principles shook-and succumbed. "Uh ... no. They do call these 'games of skill.'" He dug out his wallet and gave Questor his money. They angled their way into a place at the crap table.
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The player rolling the dice crapped out, and the croupier collected the dice. Questor leaned in slightly. "May I participate?"
The croupier pushed the dice toward him with the stick. Questor extended the pound notes. The croupier looked at him scornfully and handed him two low-denomination chips. Questor ignored the sarcastic ripple of amusement that went around the table and put the two chips on the line. Jerry covertly nodded that this was correct.
Questor picked up the dice. His fingertip sensors transmitted the information on their weight and measurements while his eyes surveyed the table, calculating length and breadth, the friction effect of the green baize surface, the exact force of the throw required. As soon as the information computed, he positioned the dice in his right hand and tossed them out awkwardly.
The dice bounced and rolled and came up a four and a three. "Seven," said the croupier tonelessly. "Pay the line." He pushed two more chips toward Questor.
Questor examined the odds marked in the boxes on the field and nodded. "I will wager next on each cube with two dots."
"Four the hard way," the croupier said. He placed the chips on the table so the bet was correct.
Questor picked up the dice, again swiftly calculating the force, angle, and bounce needed. Then he rolled. The dice stopped with each face exposing two spots.
"Four ... the hard way," the croupier said blandly. He had known it to happen. He began to push the chips toward Questor.
"Permit it to accumulate, please," Questor said.
"What's that?"
Jerry stepped in, smiling as appealingly as he knew how. "He means let it ride."
The croupier shrugged and began to stack the chips on the table. Questor started to position the dice in his fingers again.
Jerry nudged him discreetly and whispered, "I think, you should throw something else."
Questor thought about it briefly and realized that Jerry
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was correct. The mathematical odds of his rolling the same number the same way twice were quite large, therefore unbelievable to the average human. Besides, there were better odds on the table. He addressed the croupier. "May I wager it all within the rectangle labeled 'craps-eight to one'?"
The croupier stared at him, nonplussed. "Within the craps rectangle?"
Questor nodded blandly. "This is my first gambling. I find it quite interesting."
The croupier suspiciously studied Questor but finally began to put down the bet. He had decided, as had the manager, that these two were American tourists and as such were entitled to more tolerance for their madness than would normally be given.
"The gentleman says any craps."
Questor carefully positioned the dice, calculated the required measurements, and tossed the cubes. They bounced, hit the end of the table, fell back, and came up with one spot on each exposed surface.
The croupier's voice was decidedly weak. "Snake eyes."
Questor busily scanned the board. "I perceive I have made an error. I will expose the same faces for the fifteen-to-one odds."
The croupier's eyes narrowed into suspicious slits, but he moved the chips to the proper square. Jerry nervously glanced around and was horrified to see almost everyone in the casino moving toward the table to watch-including the casino manager. But before he could speak to Questor, the android had made his swift calculations and thrown the dice again.
There was a gasp from the onlookers as the dice bounced up snake eyes again. The croupier placed another large stack of chips beside the ones on the table. The denominations had grown larger.
Jerry anxiously tugged at Questor's sleeve. "That's enough. Come on."
Questor looked at him blandly. "The specie amount-" He corrected himself. "The money we have isn't enough
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yet." He turned back to the croupier politely. "Wager it on the ... snake eyes again, please."
There was a mad flurry of hands reaching in to scoop their chips off the table. Luck is one thing. Tempting fate is another. Questor had the calculations down pat now and threw the dice with no hesitation. They danced across the green surface of the table and came to rest in front of the manager. Snake eyes.
The croupier and the casino manager exchanged glances in the confusion and babble of astonished chatter that went up around the table. The manager nodded almost imperceptibly.
Jerry saw it, too, and before him rose visions of muggings, of then: bullet-riddled bodies found on the moors. He gripped Questor's elbow frantically. "Questor, please..."
"It is quite all right, Mr. Robinson. Trust me."
The croupier scooped in the dice and deftly palmed them, substituting another pair taken from a slot in the table directly in front of his belly. The move was smooth, unnoticeable unless one paid extremely close attention. He shoved the dice toward Questor with the long stick.
Questor picked them up and instantly felt the difference in them. The weight and even the shape were not quite what he had handled before. Because of the weight factor, force and angle of bounce would be negated. The only answer was to reshape them and redistribute the weight. Unobtrusively, as he scanned the table, he clenched the two cubes in his hand, exerting immense pressure on them.
"Your term for twelve?" he asked.
"Box cars," said the croupier.
"Place the entire wager on box cars, please."
The croupier did so, barely hiding a smug grin. There were no other bets on the table as Questor prepared to roll again.
He threw. The two white cubes tumbled, rolled-and settled, exposing the double sixes.
The crowd roared. The croupier and the casino manager were stunned, but there was nothing to do but pay off. The croupier began to stack large-denomination chips on
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the table. Jerry paled as he saw the manager nod to two large, broad men who looked very out of place in tuxedos. The gorilla cage at the zoo would have been more appropriate.
He turned to Questor in time to hear the android say, "That will be sufficient. Thank you very much."
"You're leaving?"
"I have enjoyed the experiment, but this accumulation of money is enough. Thank you."
At a signal from the manager, the croupier began to scoop the chips into a container. Two bounced off and rolled under the table. The croupier knelt and reached around under the low-slung mahogany table, but was unable to locate the chips.