"Kathleen Ann Goonan - The Bridge" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goose Mother)

hands, and began to weep. Her thin shoulders shook. тАЬHe had themтАФ
disassembled.тАЭ

тАЬWhat does that meanтАФdisassembled?тАЭ

Did a brief look of satisfaction cross her face? She looked up again.
тАЬIt means that their mindsтАФtheir personalitiesтАФwere erased, using a
disassembly enzyme. At leastтАФI mean, IтАЩm not sure, exactly, how it
works...тАЭ She shook her head in apparent disbelief.

тАЬWhat happened?тАЭ

тАЬI surprised him. The process wasnтАЩt finished, and there were still
loose ends he had to clean up. I had a key, of course, and just came in, a
few days earlier than expected. I called out, got no answer, went looking for
someone. A strange woman came out of the living room and said, тАШWho are
you?тАЩ My father came from the kitchen and she yelled тАШFrank, I thought you
had taken care of this.тАЩ
 тАЬThen I looked over and saw my mother and my sister sitting on the
couch. Their hands were folded in their laps and they were staring straight
ahead. They didnтАЩt recognize me. They didnтАЩt even notice me. I ran over to
them, shook them, screamed at them, cried. тАШWhatтАЩs wrong?тАЩ I kept saying
over and over again. And after a minute, it dawned on me. Both of them,
with that vacant look! I turned to my father and yelled at him to help, to stop
it, to call a doctor. Instead, he grabbed my shoulders, tightly. His face
looked different. Mean; angry. I tried to pull away but he wouldnтАЩt let me go.
I struggled and got loose. Ran out the door, down the street. He followed
but couldnтАЩt catch me.тАЭ

I sipped warm Scotch and surmised that she had not been wearing
her high heels at that time. тАЬI donтАЩt mean to upset you, but you must explain
to me how disassembly happens.тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩm not sure. I always thought it happened to ... other people. Artificial
people. Not me. Not my mother, my sister. Why would I think of it in relation
to us? We areтАФwe wereтАФreal! I never paid any attention to the news
reports or controversy or anything. Certainly not any technical details.тАЭ

I lighted a cigarette. тАЬCertainly creating artificial people is beyond the
means of most people.тАЭ

тАЬMy father is very wealthy. HeтАЩs a well-known lawyer. Frank Quick. We
live ... I mean, I used to live, out in Great Falls. HereтАЩs his address.тАЭ She
slid a folded piece of paper across my desk.

I let it sit there. тАЬI assume that you went to the police.тАЭ

тАЬOh, yes! There was nothing they could do. That was when I found
out, you see, that I was a duplicate. It was quite a shock. I realized that he
was planning to have me disassembled as well. Just get rid of the old