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

This scolding outraged Dania, who was so tired that she
trembled. тАЬNo. I ignored you, itтАЩs true. I was warned. ButтАжтАЭ her
eyes burned with unshed tears. тАЬIтАж guess IтАЩve fallen in love withтАж
this way of seeing . This way of being .тАЭ
He knelt next to her and squinted as he studied the DNA
readings that marched across the floor. тАЬIf I didnтАЩt know better, IтАЩd
say you had a touch of Godel in you, even though he wasnтАЩt in our
gene pool. But rest easy, my prettyтАФтАЭ He stood and whirled; his
right hand whipped out a revolver and he fanned the door with
bullets. The pirate in the doorway stopped abruptly and blinked.
She turned on her heel and left, singing something about an
elephantтАЩs eye.
тАЬNow where were we, little lady. Oh yes.тАЭ He squinted at her, his
tan face broken by a million lines. тАЬWant to go back to the
original?тАЭ
тАЬNo. Why wasnтАЩt this model run? WhyтАФтАЭ
тАЬIt was run,тАЭ said Crescent City Shorty gently. тАЬYou are it. Took
a while. Now we know. I have other work to do. Choice: original or
dead. Choose.тАЭ
тАЬOriginal,тАЭ she said with irritation in her voice. тАЬI barely
remember the girl. So na├пve. So stupid.тАЭ
тАЬNot at all,тАЭ he said, and touched the wall where it pulsed yellow.
She closed her eyes in the moonlight and sighed, hearing distant
explosions, feeling the floor rock with closer ones. Twice the process
stopped and had to be started again; each time she sensed
desperation in the Cowboy through her exhaustion.
Over the hours she stirred; once she woke blearily to a loud
rousing chorus of The Sidewalks of New York , and then some
African-based tune she recalled as being popular during the three
years when ships from Africa found their way to Crescent City.
They were all a part of him, part of that fine upstanding Cowboy,
Crescent City Shorty. Radio Cowboy. Whoever he was. He was
jammed full of all kinds of informationтАФmovies, musicals, stuff
from the wild warring multimedia millennium that preceded this
oneтАж The damaged city told her this, much as a mother might
croon a bedtime song to a child.
She woke as Dania Cooper. She sat up, recalling her old body
with shocked surprise.
It was all so familiar. She bore only glimmering memories of
what it had been like to be Crescent City Dania. She was rocked
with regret, and feared the coming deluge of her old selfтАФwild,
impulsive, strewing interpersonal havoc wherever she went like
confetti from a float. тАЬAt least youтАЩre alive,тАЭ she told herself. She
stood up, stretched, and went into the shower. It cut off after two
minutes, leaving her hair filled with shampoo. Cursing and
scrubbing herself with a towel, she walked over to the console to
order some clothesтАФa simple T-shirt, shorts, and sandalsтАФher
uniform. She stopped short as the window cleared in front of her.
The sun shone on a silvery sea far below, littered with vessels.
What she could see of the city was shocking. Huge blasted gaps