"FWLS37" - читать интересную книгу автора (A Future We'd Like to See)

be a hell of a lot of questions to answer. I do know one thing."

"Yeah?'

"I ain't alone in here no more."

*

I related what I saw. Big cloud, it enveloped him, the ride
down here, the quasi-examination. Everything.

"So what happened?" I re-asked.

"Damned if I know."

"Well, speculate!"

"Alright! Lemme think."

"If you're a program, how come you need to think? I mean,
isn't it instantaneous or--"

"Simulation! I'm human, mind-wise, as far as I know. Gotta
lengthen thinking time, reflex, everything. It's part of my
nature... alright. Let's see. Some thing attacked me, I passed
out, now we're here."

"Yeah, you and me."

"No, we as in me and the thing. I can tell it's in my OS
somewhere... I can't tell what it is, or where, just that it's
trying to control me. I keep trying to get angry, for no reason.
I've been fighting it... this is really weird, man. Ever see the
Exorcist? Old flick?"

"No."

"Well, let's just say I'm expecting pea-soup time any second
now. I need help, man... gotta figure out what's going on. I
better write this down, in case I flip out between here and
there..."

Twinkie patted his pockets for a pen, found one, then
scribbled down an address on my hand.

"Now you keep what I am under your hat. You and that chick
doc of yours. I've been having mucho laff-laff as a human and
intend to survive to stay that way. Now, if you'll excuse me,
I'd better go into shutdown mode before it spreads any farther
and I start ripping off heads. I'm not too heavy, I hope?"