"Damon Knight - Turncoat" - читать интересную книгу автора (Knight Damon)

doing is selling large quantities of merchandise at the same time and offering a premiumтАФthere will be a
contract for the consumer to sign, over and above the analogue treatment. However, the contract is
renewable yearly, and the treatment is permanent."
The assembled gentlemen smiled the sort of smiles acquired at poker tables and board meetings.
"A more important question might be," said a red-faced man with a clipped white mustache, "can you
get the analogue facilities? I thought that was all owned by the government."
"No, Colonel," said the chairman, "I believe you will find that the Kusko Psy-chiatric Institute is a
private, non-profit institution, licensed and subsidized by the government. The use of the analogue
facilities is controlled by statute, but it is an interesting fact that according to the law, anyone can get
analogue treatment, for a fee, to prevent him from doing any-thing he does not wish to do, except of
course for legally compulsory acts. Gen-tlemenтАФ"
He spread his hands. "I have too much respect for your intelligence to belabor the obvious to you.
Let me be brutally frank. There it is. If we don't take it first, somebody else will."

2130: INSIDE the multiple carapace formed by his two thin undershirts, the heavier, weighted stole,
young Arthur Bass itched intolerably.
Sweat trickled down his ribs across the exact focus of the itch, not relieving it but coaxing it to still
greater viru-lence. Bass clenched his teeth and stared rigidly out across the massed hats of the Sunday
crowd. Under the cod-like eye of Senior Salesman Leggett, he dared not scratch, wriggle or even
change his expression.
Cursing himself silently for the frail-ty of his flesh, he waited until Leggett had done with his customer,
then en-tered the amount of the last purchase on his machine, totaled it, and tore off the itemized tab,
together with the custom-er's credit card. The customer, a jaun-diced, shriveled little woman, thrust out a
liver-spotted hand for them, but Leg-gett's voice stopped her.
"There is still time to alter your pur-chase, madam. This sweater"тАФhe point-ed to the image on the
screen behind him тАФ"is acceptable enough, I grant you, but this oneтАФ (thirty-seven-oh-nine-five, Bass,
quickly)тАФis guaranteed to wear out in half the time."
Bass relaxed, sweating harder, having managed to finish punching the code just as Leggett ended his
sentence. The cus-tomer stared timidly at the flimsy, bright-pink garment that was now displayed on the
screen, and said something totally inaudible.
"You'll take it, then," said Leggett. "Splendid. Bass, if you pleaseтАФ"
"No," the customer said in a louder voice, "I can't, Salesman. I jist can't. 'V go m' worshing-machine
payments to make, and m' houserent's due, and m' husband's been crippled up with's back all this month.
And I can't."
Leggett achieved a noteworthy sneer simply by exposing an additional eighth of an inch of his rabbity
incisors. "I un-derstand perfectly, madam," he said. "There is no need to explain to me." His cold eye
raked her and passed on. "Next!"
Crushed, the little woman turned away without seeing the tab and credit card that Bass held out to
her, and he had to lean down from his platform and press them into her hand. In the process, as stole and
jacket swung away from his body, he plunged his free hand under them and raked his nails across his
short ribs, once, twice, before he straightened again.
The relief was exquisite.
The next customer was a stout man in a plain unquilted jacket and breeches, with not more than a
half-dozen bangles at his wrist. Beside him, as he climbed up to the dais below Leggett, was a
moon-faced boy of about eleven, dressed in blouse and knee-breeches so much too small for him that he
could barely move.
"Onward, Salesman," the fat man wheezed. "It's my boy Tom, come to get his first suit of man's
clothes."
"Onward. High time, too, I should say," Leggett rejoined frostily. "How old is the boy?"
"Just ten, Salesman. Big for his age." Leggett's glance visibly congealed. "How long since his