"C M Kornbluth - Thirteen O'Clock" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kornbluth C M)

prescription. It's what I call a neat dodge-eliminates the balneum mariae entirely from the processing, cuts
down drying time-maybe you aren't familiar with the latest things in the line?"

"Sorry, no."

"Oh. Well, then, hi came those plugs of Almarish. Flying goonsquads that wrecked plants and shops on
order; spies, provocateurs, everything. Soon they'd run out every racketeer in the place and hi-jacked
them lock stock and barrel. Then they went into politics. There was a little scandal about buying votes
with fairy gold-people kicked when it turned into ashes. But they smoothed that over when they got in.

"And then-! Graft right and left, patronage, unemployment, rotten food scandals, bribery,
inefficiency-everything that's on the list. And this is their fifth term. How do you like that?"

"Lord," said Peter, shocked. "But how do they stay hi office?"

"Oh," grinned his friend. "The first thing they did was to run up some imposing public works-tall
buildings, bridges, highways and monume'nts. Then they let it out that they were partly made of half-stuff.
You know what that is?"

"No," said Peter. 1'What is it?"

"Well-it's a little hard to describe. But it isn't really there and it isn't really not there. You can walk on it
and pick it up and things, but-well, it's a little hard to describe. The kicker is this. Half-stuff is there only
as long as you-the one who prepared a batch of it that is-keep the formula going. So if we voted those
leeches out of office they'd relax their formula and the half-stuff would vanish and the rest of the buildings
and bridges and highways and monuments would fall with a helluva noise and damage. How do you like
that?"

"Efficiency plus," said Peter. "Where's this Almarish hang out?"
 "The mayor?" asked his cell-mate sourly. "You don't think he'd be seen in the city, do you? Some
disgruntled citizen might sic a flock of vampires on his honor. He was elected in absentia. I hear he lives
around Mal-Tava way."

"Where's that?" asked Peter eagerly.

"You don't know? Say, you're as green as they come! That's a pretty nasty corner of Ellil-the nastiest
anywhere, I guess. It's a volcania region, and those lava-nymphs are tough molls. Then there's a
dragon-ranch around there. The owner got careless and showed up missing one day. The dragons broke
out and ran wild. Anything else?"

"No," said Peter, heavy-hearted. "I guess not."

"That's good. Because I think we're going to trial right

now." A guard was opening the door, club poised. "His honor, Judge Balthazar Pike will see you now,"
said the warden. Peter groaned.

The half-breed demon, his sartorial splendor of the preceding afternoon replaced by judiciary black silk,
smiled grimly on the two prisoners. "Mr. Morden," he said indicating the erstwhile manufacturer, "and
Mr.-er-ah?"