"Johnson, Annabel And Edgar - The Danger Quotient - uc" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johnson Annabel And Edgar)

Except a tinny sneer from the speaker on the terminal
linking me with Pokey downstairs. "INSUFFICIENT TIME AL-
LOWED TO RESET SEQUENCE." In other words, You re-
versed too fast, stupid. It's part of Pinocchio's built-in
sophistication to criticize, but that high boyish voice mode
drives me up the wall. K/CЧ2 was only eleven years old
when he did the lingual programming, so it's like being
lectured by a pipsqueak.

With the third mouse I waited a full minute, then tried
to retrieve. Again, nothing.

"SUGGEST YOU IMMOBILIZE SUBJECT."

"Obviously," I agreed between gritted teeth. Ungrateful
little beast, it had probably wandered off into the twentieth
century and lived happily ever after. The machine is only
effective in an area one meter square, no matter where you
are in time. 1 incarcerated Mouse Four in a lab cage and
sent the whole works through. Still no retrieval.

"FAULTY METHODOLOGY. PROBABILITY THAT ONLY
LIVING MATTER REFRACTS."

Right again, of course. The cage must have destructed
in transit and test subject was off playing cribbage with
Mouse Three. By then I was sweating. I mean. 1 should
have thought of that myself.

But it's hard to concentrate in the lousy atmosphere of
the lead-box. The only part of our complex built above

ground, it's a small, windowless lab constructed of heavy
concrete and shielded entirely with lead, used mostly to
take UV readings. The ventilators never work well, and it's
overcrowded with all my equipment. But it's the only pos-
sible place I could set up, because the refractor doesn't
send you around geographically, not a centimeter up or
down or sideways. If you built it underground, you'd find
yourself reassembled in an early grave.

I mopped my face, got another mouse and tranquilized
it with a crumb of sleepy-cheese. My own invention, if
anybody cares. I hate sticking hypodermic needles into the
tab animals; 1 have a strong sympathy for themЧmaybe
because I'm their second cousin once removed. Anyhow
when I sent him off, he was one laid-back rodent. (I think
that's the correct term. I've been boning up on 1981 slang.)