"C M Kornbluth - The Luckiest Man In Denv" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kornbluth C M)

accusation?



"Answer him, Reuben," May said kindly.

"I am May's man Reuben, of the eighty-third level, an Atomist," he said.

"Explain," said the other general heavily, "if you can, why all eighteen of the warheads you procured
today failed to fire."

"But they did!" gasped Reuben. "The Recon missile report said there was blast damage from the three
that got through and it did,n't say anything about the others failing to fire."

The other general suddenly looked sick and May looked even kindlier. The man who wore the stars
turned inquiringly to the chief of the Maintainers, who nodded and said: "That was the Recon missile
report, sir."

The general snapped: "What I said was that he would attempt to sabotage the attack. Evidently he failed.
I also said he is a faulty double, somehow slipped with great ease into my good friend May's
organization. You will find that his left thumb print is a clumsy forgery of the real Reuben's thumb print
and that his hair has been artificially darkened."

The old man nodded at the chief of the Maintainers, who said: "We have his card, sir."

Reuben abruptly found himself being fingerprinted and deprived of some hair.
"The f.p.s check, sir," one Maintainer said. "He's Reuben."

"Hair's natural, sir," said another.

The general began a rearguard action: "My information about his hair seems to have been inaccurate. But
the fingerprint means only that Ellay spies substituted his prints for Reuben's prints in the files-"

"Enough, sir," said the old man with the stars. "Dismissed. All of you. Rudolph, I am surprised. All of
you, go."

Reuben found himself in a vast apartment with May, who was bubbling and chuckling uncontrollably until
he popped three of the green capsules into his mouth hurriedly.

"This means the eclipse for years of my good friend Rudolph," he crowed. "His game was to have your
double sabotage the attack warheads and so make it appear that my organization is rotten with spies.
The double must have been under post-hypnotic, primed to admit everything. Rudolph was so sure of
himself that he made his accusations before the attack, the fool!"



He fumbled out the green capsules again.

"Sir," said Reuben, alarmed.