"Robert A. Heinlein - To Sail Beyond the Sunset" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

Dr Ridpath looked up from scratching PixelтАЩs chin. тАЪFive minutes and forty
seconds.тАЩ
IтАЩm sorry to be late but I was interrupted. A head appeared and spoke to me.
Does that happen often around here? Or am I hallucinating again?тАЩ
тАЪYou really do seem to be a stranger here. ThatтАЩs a telephone. Like this -
Telephone, please!тАЩ
A head appeared in a frame that had contained a rather dull still life, a male
head in this case. тАЪYour call, sir?тАЩ
тАЪCancel.тАЩ The head blinked out. тАЪLike that?тАЩ
тАЪYes. But a girl.тАЩ
тАЪOf course. YouтАЩre female and the call reached you in a bathroom, so the
computer displayed a head matching your sex. The computer matches lip
movements to words... but the visual stays an impersonal animation unless
you elect to be seen. Same for the caller.тАЩ
тАЪI see. A hologram.тАЩ
тАЪYes. Come along.тАЩ He added, тАЪYou look quite fetching in that towel but you
looked still better in your skin.тАЩ
тАЪThank you.тАЩ We went out into the hotel corridor; Pixel cut back and forth in
front of us. тАЪDoctor, what is тАЮThe Committee for Aesthetic DeletionsтАЬ?тАЩ
тАЪHuh?тАЩ He sounded surprised. тАЪAssassins. Criminal nihilists. Where did you
hear of them?тАЩ
тАЪThat head I saw in the bathroom. That telephone.тАЩ I repeated the call, word
for word, I think.
тАЪHmm. Interesting.тАЩ He did not say another word until we reached his office
suite, ten storeys down on the mezzanine.
We ran across several hotel guests who had тАЪjumped the gunтАЩ. Most were
naked save for domino masks but several wore full masks - of animals or
birds, or abstract fantasy. One couple were dressed most gaudily in nothing
but paint. I was glad that I had my terry cloth caftan.
When we reached Dr RidpathтАЩs office suite, I hung back in the waiting-room
while he went on into an inner room, preceded by Pixel. The doctor left the
door open; I could hear and see. His office nurse was standing, her back to
us, talking тАЪon the telephoneтАЩ - a talking head. There appeared to be no one
else in the suite. Nevertheless I was mildly surprised to find that she had
joined the epidemic of skin; she was wearing shoes, minipanties, a nurseтАЩs
cap, and had a nurseтАЩs white uniform over one arm as if caught by the phone
while she was undressing. Or changing. She was a tall and slender brunette.
I could not see her face.
I heard her say, тАЪIтАЩll tell him, Doc. Keep your guard up tonight. See you in jail.
Bye.тАЩ She half turned. тАЪThat was Daffy Weisskopf, Boss. He has a preliminary
report for you. Cause of death, suffocation. But - get this - stuffed down the
old bastardтАЩs throat, before the catsup was poured in, was a plastic envelope
with a famous - or infamous - card in it: тАЮThe Committee for Aesthetic
Deletions.тАЬ тАЪ
тАЪSo I figured. Did he say what brand of catsup?тАЩ
тАЪFer cry eye yie!тАЩ
тАЪAnd what are you doing peeling down? Festival doesnтАЩt start for another
three hours.тАЩ
тАЪLook here, slave driver! See that clock - ticking off the precious seconds of
my life? See what it says? Eleven past five. My contract says that I work until