"Robert A. Heinlein - The Door into Summer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

This time he looked horrified. тАЮMister- Uh, I didnтАЩt get your name?тАЬ
тАЮDan Davis.тАЬ
тАЮMr. Davis, once a man enters our door he is under the benevolent
protection of Mutual Assurance. I couldnтАЩt let you go to Central Valley.тАЬ
тАЮHow do you plan to stop me? Judo?тАЬ
тАЮPlease!тАЬ He glanced around and looked upset. тАЮOur company is an ethical
company.тАЬ
тАЮMeaning that Central Valley is not?тАЬ
тАЮI didnтАЩt say that; you did. Mr. Davis, donтАЩt let me sway you-тАЮ
тАЮYou wonтАЩt.тАЬ
тАЮ-but get sample contracts from each company. Get a lawyer, better yet,
get a licensed semanticist. Find out what we offer-and actually deliver-and
compare it with what Central Valley claims to offer.тАЬ He glanced around again
and leaned toward me. тАЮI shouldnтАЩt say this-and I do hope you wonтАЩt quote me-but
they donтАЩt even use the standard actuarial tables.тАЬ
тАЮMaybe they give the customer a break instead.тАЬ
тАЮWhat? My dear Mr. Davis, we distribute every accrued benefit. Our charter
requires it . . . while Central Valley is a stock company.тАЬ
тАЮMaybe I should buy some of their- Look, Mr. Powell, weтАЩre wasting time.
Will Mutual accept my pal here? Or not? If not, IтАЩve been here too long
already.тАЬ
тАЮYou mean you want to pay to have that creature preserved alive in
hypothermia?тАЬ
тАЮI mean I want both of us to take the Long Sleep. And donтАЩt call him тАЪthat
creatureтАЩ; his name is Petronius.тАЬ
тАЮSorry. IтАЩll rephrase my question. You are prepared to pay two custodial
fees to have both of you, you and, uh, Petronius committed to our sanctuary?тАЬ
тАЮYes. But not two standard fees. Something extra, of course, but you can
stuff us both in the same coffin; you canтАЩt honestly charge as much for Pete as
you charge for a man.тАЬ
тАЮThis is most unusual.тАЬ
тАЮOf course it is. But weтАЩll dicker over the price later . . . or IтАЩll
dicker with Central Valley. Right now I want to find out if you can do it.тАЬ
тАЮUh. . .тАЬ He drummed on his desk top. тАЮJust a moment.тАЬ He picked up his
phone and said, тАЮOpal, get me Dr. Berquist.тАЬ I didnтАЩt hear the rest of the
conversation, for he switched on the privacy guard. But after a while he put
down the instrument and smiled as if a rich uncle had died. тАЮGood news, sir! I
had overlooked momentarily the fact that the first successful experiments were
made on cats. The techniques and critical factors for cats are fully
established. In fact there is a cat at the Naval Research Laboratory in
Annapolis which is and has been for more than twenty years alive in
hypothermia.тАЬ
тАЮI thought NRL was wiped out when they got Washington?тАЬ
тАЮJust the surface buildings, sir, not the deep vaults. Which is a tribute
to the perfection of the technique; the animal was unattended save by automatic
machinery for more than two years, yet it still lives, unchanged, unaged. As you
will live, sir, for whatever period you elect to entrust yourself to Mutual.тАЬ
I thought he was going to cross himself. тАЮOkay, okay, now letтАЩs get on
with the dicker.тАЬ
There were four factors involved: first, how to pay for our care while we