"Jason Gould - The Seven Wonders Of The Modern World" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gould Jason)

bullet found its intended target. I watched, terrified.
Some troops, unable to resist longer, put themselves deliberately on their
own bayonets. One man, who according to the programme had once sold crack
to five-year-olds, sprinted towards the glass and blew out his brains just
inches from the front row. It was bad, bad sportsmanship, and the
spectators booed. It spread, and a few more put their guns in their
mouths. The crowd stood, and booed louder, and a couple of people walked
out in disgust. The suicides would make page one of the newspapers
tomorrow. It was obscene.
After perhaps half a dozen such acts of selfishness the war was postponed
and the lights flickered on. An apologetic MC took the microphone, his
face serious. He said that these men and women had already fought several
times that day, and the audience would be entitled to a full refund on all
tickets. He added that the next evening's show would feature fresh,
healthy armies. Ripped up betting slips were tossed in the air in protest.
I glanced at my parents and saw that they were kissing. It was the first
time I'd seen them show affection for each other. I asked if we could go
back to our room. I said I was feeling unwell.
'Stay down here and explore the museum for a while,' said my father.
'We'll see you in about an hour.'
They disappeared towards the stairs, holding hands and talking in close
whispers. I looked around and saw that many couples were enjoying similar
embraces. I went outside and sat in the car park till one in the morning.
When I crept into bed my parents were curled into each other in the middle
of the mattress. Pulling back the duvet on the single bed at the side of
the room, I saw that my father had placed on the pillow a rifle and a pile
of shiny, polished bullets. The accompanying note said: To Tom, with love.
We stayed a full week at the museum, and though my friends begged me to
relate every minor detail when I got home, I refused to say a single word
about that terrible place. Today, of course, I realise how ill I am; but
medication can do amazing things, and soon I hope to be able to return to
the International Museum of War and enjoy as a man what I was unable to
enjoy as a boy.

Four: Soul Gadget (R.R.P. 99p)
Nominated by: Professor Joseph Abelson of Stockholm
Professor Abelson's Winning Phrase: "A recent survey indicated that 90% of
adults do not believe in an afterlife, and only 36% would buy one if the
opportunity arose."
This speech was delivered by Alexis Saakval after she received her Nobel
Peace Prize. All acknowledgements have been edited out:
"All history is not the history of class struggle, but the history of
emotional conflict. If you strip away the particulars you will discover
human emotion bubbling away at the core. It is human emotion that keeps us
awake at night, that causes us pain and grief each time we watch the news.
Emotion is our weakness.
Better, then, would be a world free of emotion; a world in which there is
no place for tears, for saying, 'Dear God! Dear God!' Such a world would,
I know, be free of art, but this is the price we must pay for contentment.
Such a world is now within our grasp.