"Ed Howdershelt - 3rd World Products 1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Howdershelt Ed)

Nothing they or anyone else did appeared to evoke any sort of response from the ship, but they had an
effect on the local economy, which started booming because of off-duty military personnel and
day-trippers coming to see the ship.

Some people panicked and left the area as if that would somehow save them from the probable
capabilities of a ship that could travel between the stars. This being an area well-stocked with retirees, it
wasn't surprising that a few extra heart attacks were recorded before the weekend.

A number of people threw UFO parties on the beach for the rest of the week. Most of the parties were
of a tone similar to hurricane parties, rife with the undertone of impending doom as people used booze,
drugs, and an undercurrent of simple fear to excuse their excesses.

Give people a few days to get used to something and they'll start trying to find the humor of a situation.
All the usual tourist jokes were rewritten appropriately and entrepreneurs began hawking тАЬalienтАЭ
tee-shirts and bumper stickers.

By then the beaches were packed with gawkers, UFO enthusiasts, and religious nuts who were waiting
to either die, to be saved, or to be picked up by the aliens.

At a number of points along the beaches you could buy a thirty-second look at the ship through
someone's telescope. Prices varied tremendously, but even the twenty-dollar waiting lines were long.

Everybody had theories about why the ship had arrived, but predictably enough, there seemed to be only
two main camps of opinion. Some people thought a benign and helpful race of aliens intended to dispense
information that would save us from ourselves. Others thought that when the ship's doors opened the
world would come to an end.

When Dave Cooke called me around seven Friday night to bitch about the pool tournament at Crabbit's
Pub having been canceled, I told him I'd drop in anyway for a few games.

At the bar, Dave asked me what I thought, then interrupted and proceeded to tell me what he thought,
which is typical behavior for Dave. He figured it was a colony ship and that we were like the Indians
when the Mayflower arrived.

He summed it all up with тАЬ...All of which means goodbye to us. We'll either be annihilated or assimilated
if we don't become part of their menu.тАЭ

The bartender, Susie, said she thought that the aliens were here to invite us to join them in space
exploration. Dave just stared at her as if she was nuts. She told him he was always too negative and
asked what I thought.

тАЬYeah. Sure. He's too negative,тАЭ I said. I handed her my empty bottle and she deftly swapped it for a full
one.

After a sip, I said, тАЬAnd maybe you're too positive, Susie. Why would these aliens have any reason to do
or be what any of us might expect or want? Why would they want or need our help to explore?тАЭ

I took another sip of beer and said, тАЬFigure that before they made it into space they had to become the
top of their food chain, and all that, just as we have. A non-competitive species wouldn't be flitting
around in space at all or hanging over our Gulf of Mexico in a big silver ball.тАЭ