"Kathleen Ann Goonan - Nanotech 04 - Light Music" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goose Mother)

attack. It had been over twenty years since the last altercation, and
most citizens had been lulled into thinking themselves safe.
She stopped just short of a jagged edge where she could see
through to the level below. There was no way around the hole. She
abandoned the cart, backtracked, and made her way into the
interior past tangled burning debris drenched by sprinklers. Her
throat ached from smoke.
She reached the tower she sought, found a free elevator, and
directed it to go to the fortieth floor, which in an emergency was
designated as a command area.
The door opened on a scene of horror. People lay groaning on the
floor. In the dim light she saw pools of blackness she knew to be
blood. The invaders ignored her. They all seemed to be wearing
black, and were occupied with the information nodes.
Dania was chilled. Clearly whoever had led the attack was
familiar with the cityтАФperhaps someone who had left long ago and
who now returned as some kind of backward king or queen to gain
glory.
A figure advanced toward her threateningly, and she hastily
closed the elevator door and told it to go up, to the level below the
top floor. Her voice shook badly, as did her hands.
As the elevator rose, she realized that the metapheromones that
had bequeathed her with extraordinary intelligence and kept her
secondary personality intact for so long that she had practically
forgotten that she was Dania CooperтАФa grieving, angry,
gene-twisted mother from Salvation, TennesseeтАФwere no longer
being issued by the city.


Emergent Cowboy

When Crescent City Cowboy stepped out of the elevator onto the
dizzying transparent floor, four pirates in black T-shirts shouted
and rushed him. His hand went to his newly grown six-shooters and
he shot without even thinking about it, though he was filled with
horror the next instant, sickened by his readiness to kill.
Two men spun around, cried out, then slumped on to the floor.
The other three staggered backward and supported themselves
against the wall.
Crescent City Cowboy was puzzled, since he saw no blood. He
looked at the barrel of the revolver in his right hand.
The first man sang, тАЬGetting to know youтАФтАЭ
The second one sang, тАЬI get a kick out of youтАФтАЭ
The third one sang, тАЬOoooOAK!lahomaтАФтАЭ
The fourth one wiped a tiny splat of goo from his cheek, looked at
Peabody with disgust, and did not sing. He said, тАЬGoddamn you and
this whole crazy place. I warned them we shouldnтАЩt come.тАЭ He
staggered down the hall, away from the newly made Crescent City
Cowboy and his terrible musical guns.
Crescent City Cowboy stared at them all for a moment. PeabodyтАЩs