"H. L. Gold - And Three to Get Ready" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gold H. L)

It was pretty bad for a while, until Capt. Warren showed up with a big grin on his face. It soured
when he heard that Dr. Merriman had died, but he threw out the idea that the little guy had done it.
Matter of fact, he had the cops put the arm on him and said, "Arnold Roach, I arrest you for
complicity in the murderтАФ" And so forth and so on.
The little guy, whose name turned out to be what Warren said, had been unlucky enough to leave
some fingerprints around. They had him, sure enough, except that he stuck to this whammy story and
hired a good psychiatrist, who got him an insanity plea. So we have him back in the ward here. And if
you think he's given up and started mentioning people's names even once, let alone three times, you're
battier than he is. He screams whenever somebody mentions any name. It's a hell of a job remembering
not to call the patients by name when he's around.
"Look, what do you think?" I asked Dr. Schatz. "Is the guy psychotic or did he cop a lucky plea?"
Dr. Schatz ran his hand across his mouth and talked through his fingers. "I think he's psychotic.
There's never any proof of that, of course, but his behavior bears me out. It's definitely psychotic."
"And what about this story of his about saying names three times? All right, maybe he made up those
items before he showed up hereтАФafter all, they were dead already and nobody could say he had or
hadn't said their names three times before they died. And MichaelsтАФthe little guy helped him shuffle out
with a razor across the throat. But what about Dr. Merriman?"
"I've already told you," Schatz said tiredly. "Cardiac lesion and hypothetical death wish triggered by
suggestion."
I put the mop back in the bucket and began wringing it after a fast swab at the floor. I didn't feel
happy and I showed it.
"That's a guess," I answered. "What if the little guy is right and people do die when he says their
names three times?"
"Why don't you try it and see?" he asked.
I almost upset the pail. "Me? You're the psychiatrist. Why don't you?"
"Because I know it's purely a childish delusion. I don't need any proof."
"That," I said, leaning on the mop, "is not a scientific attitude, Doctor."
"The devil with it," he grunted in annoyance. "If it's bothering you that much, I'll do it."
But he always seems to have something else to do whenever I remind him.



SCIENCE-FICTION rejects the premise that man can travel back into the past through the medium
of a time machine, and that by doing so he can become his own grandfather. Obviously, this is
ridiculous!
But is it?
Try this simple formula: Marry a woman with a good-looking daughter.
Your father, the old codger, likes pretty young girls, so he marries your pretty young stepdaughter,
thus becoming your son-in-law, while your pretty young stepdaughter becomes your mother, since she's
your father's wife.
Now, your wife gives birth to a son тАФ your son who is also your father's brother-in-law and your
uncle as the brother of your step-mother.
So, not to be outdone, your father and mother have a son too, and their son is your brother and your
grandchild too.
Thus, your wife being your mother's mother is your grandmother, while you're her husband and
grandchild too. And since your wife's husband would be her grandchild's grandfather, you're тАФ that's
right!