"Robert A. Heinlein - Waldo" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

necessary to increase the floor space in his offices, he finally
gave in and went subsurface, not so much for the cheapness,
convenience, and general all-around practicability of living in a
tri-conditioned cave, but because he had already become a little
worried about the possible consequences of radiation pouring
through the human body. The fused-earth walls of his new
residence were covered with lead; the roof of the cave had a
double thickness. His hole in the ground was as near radiation-
proof as he could make it.
тАШ-the meat of the matter,тАЩ Stevens was saying, тАШis that the
delivery of power to transportation units has become erratic
as the devil. Not enough yet to tie up traffic, but enough to be
very disconcerting. There have been some nasty accidents;
we canтАЩt keep hushing them up forever. IтАЩve got to do
something about it.тАЩ
тАШWhy?тАЩ
тАЬWhy?тАЭ DonтАЩt be silly. In the first place as traffic engineer
for NAPA my bread and butter depends on it. In the second
place the problem is upsetting in itself. A properly
designed piece of mechanism ought to work - all the time,
every time. These donтАЩt, and we canтАЩt find out why not.
Our staff mathematical physicists have about reached the
babbling stage.тАЩ
Grimes shrugged. Stevens felt annoyed by the gesture.
тАШI donтАЩt think you appreciate the importance of this
problem, Doc. Have you any idea of the amount of
horsepower involved in transportation? Counting both
private and commercial vehicles and common carriers,
North American Power-Air supplies more than half the
energy used in this continent. We have to be right.
You can add to that our city-power affiliate. No trouble
there, yet. But we donтАЩt dare think what a city-power
breakdown would mean.тАЩ
тАШIтАЩll give you a solution.тАЩ
тАШYeah? Well, give.тАЩ
тАШJunk it. Go back to oil-powered and steam-powered
vehicles. Get rid of these damned radiant-powered
deathtraps.тАЩ
тАШUtterly impossible. You donтАЩt know what youтАЩre
saying. It took more than fifteen years to make the
change-over. Now weтАЩre geared to it. Gus, if NAPA
closed up shop, half the population of the northwest
seaboard would starve, to say nothing of the lake
states and the Philly-Boston axis.'
тАШHrrmph- Well, all IтАЩve got to say is that that might
be better than the slow poisoning that is going on now.тАЩ
Stevens brushed it away impatiently. тАШLook, Doc,
nurse a bee in your bonnet if you like, but donтАЩt ask
me to figure it into my calculations. Nobody else
sees any danger in radiant power.'