"Stephen Kenson - Technobabel" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kenson Stephen)

can't remember anything?"
If Papa Lo is upset at being interrupted he doesn't show it. Instead he
smiles. "Yes," he says. "Temporary memory loss is not uncommon with the
experience of the Resonance, although I think you will find that your memory
will be much improved when you have fully recovered, and that you will recall
events and information with great clarity from now on.
"Unlike the other tribes of the city," he continued, "we are the
Walkers-of-the-Network, the intermediaries between the world of the physical
and the world of light and knowledge." He reverently brushed a hand across the
smooth plastic finish of one of the pieces of hardware laid out on the floor.
"The Matrix is a place that exists within the infinite data-space of the world
network, the grid. It is another world created by computers and mathematics, a
world we can visit using computers as our gateway to enter and explore."
I recalled the smooth metal of the jack behind my ear and my fingers went to
it, almost unconsciously. Papa Lo smiled again and brushed away some of his
long, white hair to show a similar plug, rimmed in white porcelain and chrome,
behind his own ear.
"Yes. With this," he said, touching the jack lightly with one finger, "we can
connect ourselves directly to the computer and read its signals. The machine
transmits the world of the Matrix into our minds and we can learn its paths
and its secrets. There are many things to be learned in the world

of light and many who want to protect those secrets. That is how our tribe
prospers; by entering the world of light and bringing back knowledge that is
of value to the people, like shamans and sorcerers gain knowledge when they
travel into their spirit realms.
"You showed considerable talent in entering and working in the Matrix. You
knew something of computers and learned quickly how to use what we have here
and what I have to teach. I decided you were ready to attempt the Resonance.
It is an experience, an initiation. It shows you the deep secrets of the
Matrix, secrets even I am not privy to." He paused for a moment, his eyes
wistful. "If only I were years younger .. . but it is not my destiny to
experience the Resonance, only to guide those who can. Such as I guided you.
You are the oldest youth I have seen who had the potential for the Resonance,
so I prepared you and brought you to experience the initiation. Now we need to
see if you were successful. Tell me what you can remember of the time before
we found you."
I don't know how, but I know what he says is true. I think I can trust this
strange old man. Even if I can't, I have much to gain and nothing to lose, so
I sit in his circle of hardware and tell him as much as I can remember, from
the moment I first became aware in the alley to my escape from the Tamanous to
finally collapsing from exhaustion where the other members of the tribe found
me. I don't mention the dream at first, but Papa Lo asks if I recall any
dreams, so I tell him what I can and he gives a kind of satisfied nod.
"You have been fortunate beyond what most people will ever know," he said.
"The Matrix has favored you and you have succeeded in the Resonance. You are
more than any other mere traveler in the world of light, you are a follower of
the way of the machine. An initiate. A technoshaman."
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"I will show you soon," he says, "but first I need to check your condition and