"Peter F. Hamilton - The White Stuff" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Peter F)

"We don't want to halt it, just change it."

"So, broadly speaking, would you describe yourself as an anarchist, or just another rainbow Nazi?"

"Don't say stuff like that. Nigel, be straight, d'you think it's possible for someone like you to love
someone like me?"

He grinned savagely, she didn't get itтАФtoo young. "Let me show you instead."

When she was finally asleep he went through her bag. Usual teenage junk, except for a wad of seven
hundred quid in new twenties held together by elastic bands. No hint to the origin of afto-aspro.
The only thing he didn't understand was a slim oblong of plastic with chrome-silver surfaces, about the
same size as a credit card.
"I want a favour from you," he asked her over breakfast.

Miranda giggled. "I thought I did all that last night."
"I want you to find out more about afto-aspro."

"You got all I know."

"Listen, you want to be like me, to run in my world, move in my circles?"

"Maybe." She nodded, face all dumb and serious. "You ain't how llkia said you would be. And this
placeтАж I had a good time last night, Nigel. Honest. That's not greedy, is it? Not to want that?"

"Nothing like. Motivation makes the world go round. You have to give people incentives. As a race we
need to create and achieve; the alternative is stagnation."

"Right. Yeah."

"This is your chance to achieve, Miranda. You can come in with me, I can make you part of my deal. All
I need is the name of the company which produces afto-aspro. I can buy up their stock and cut myself in
for a big percentage. It'll be like knowing the lottery roll-over numbers in advance. Now do you want a
piece of that? Do you want last night to be every night?"

"You shitting me?"

"Just bring me the information."

***

Trouble mugged Nigel as soon as he reached the floor. Everyone was on their feet screaming into
telephones. The markets were going crazy. High Street banks had reported a massive surge in demand
for gold sovereigns. There was no logical reason for it. Of course the banks didn't stock the coins, they
had to be ordered from the Bank of England.

There was a similar demand sweeping the entire European mainland. Not from dealers, but from the
public. Gold prices grew by the minute. Nobody knew what was happening. Yesterday's nervousness
blossomed out into full-scale panic.