"Henry Kuttner - Mimsy Were The Borogoves" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuttner Henry)

тАЬNot to them. Emma is probably quicker at understanding x than is Scott, for her mind isnтАЩt yet conditioned to this
environment.тАЭ
Paradine said, тАЬBut I can remember plenty of things I did as a child. Even as a baby.тАЭ
тАЬWlell?тАЭ
тАЬWas IтАФmad then?тАЭ
тАЬThe things you donтАЩt remember are the criterion of your madness,тАЭ Holloway retorted. тАЬBut I use the word
тАШmadnessтАЩ purely as a convenient symbol for the variation from the known human norm. The arbitrary standard of
sanity.тАЭ
Jane put down her glass. тАЬYouтАЩve said that induction was difficult, Mr. Holloway. But it seems to me youтАЩre making
a great deal of it from very little. After all, these toysтАФтАЭ
тАЬI am a psychologist, and IтАЩve specialized in children. IтАЩm not a lay-
man. These toys mean a great deal to me, chiefly because they mean so little.тАЭ
тАЬYou might be wrong.тАЭ
тАЬWell, I rather hope I am. IтАЩd like to examine the children.тАЭ
Jane rose in arms. тАЬHow?тАЭ
After Holloway had explained, she nodded, though still a bit hesi-tantly. тАШWell, thatтАЩs all right. But theyтАЩre not
guinea pigs.тАЭ
The psychologist patted the air with a plump hand. тАЬMy dear girl! IтАЩm not a Frankenstein. To me the individual is
the prime factorтАФnat-urally, since I work with minds. If thereтАЩs anything wrong with the youngsters, I want to cure
them.тАЭ
Paradine put down his cigarette and slowly watched blue smoke spiral up, wavering in an unfelt draught. тАЬCan you
give a prognosis?тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩll try. ThatтАЩs all I can say. If the undeveloped minds have been turned into the x channel, itтАЩs necessary to divert
them back. IтАЩm not saying thatтАЩs the wisest thing to do, but it probably is from our stand-ards. After all, Emma and
Scott will have to live in this world.тАЭ
тАЬYeah. Yeah. I canтАЩt believe thereтАЩs much wrong. They seem about average, thoroughly normal.тАЭ
тАЬSuperficially they may seem so. TheyтАЩve no reason for acting ab-normally, have they? And how can you tell if
theyтАФthink differently?тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩll call тАШem,тАЭ Paradine said.
тАЬMake it informal, then. I donтАЩt want them to be on guard.тАЭ
Jane nodded towards the toys. Holloway said, тАЬLeave the stuff there,

But the psychologist, after Emma and Scott were summoned, made no immediate move towards direct questioning.
He managed to draw Scott unobtrusively into the conversation, dropping key words now and then. Nothing so
obvious as a word-association test; cooperation is nec-essary for that.
The most interesting development occurred when Holloway took up the abacus. тАЬMind showing me how this
works?тАЭ
Scott hesitated. тАЬYes, sir. Like this.тАЭ He slid a bead deftly through the maze, in a tangled course, so swiftly that no
one was quite sure whether or not it ultimately vanished. It might have been merely legerdemain. Then, againтАФ
Holloway tried. Scott watched, wrinkling his nose. тАЬThatтАЩs tight?тАЭ тАЬUh-huh. ItтАЩs gotta go there.тАЭ тАЬHere? Why?тАЭ
тАШWell, thatтАЩs the only way to make it work.тАЭ But Holloway was conditioned to Euclid. There was no apparent
reason why the bead should slide from this particular wire to the other. It looked like a random factor. Also, Holloway
suddenly noticed, this wasnтАЩt the path the bead had taken previously, when Scott had worked the puzzle. At least, as
well as he could tell.
тАЬWill you show me again?тАЭ
Scott did, and twice more, on request. Holloway blinked through his glasses. Random, yes. And a variable. Scott
moved the bead along a dif-ferent course each time.
Somehow, none of the adults could tell whether or not the bead van-ished. If they had expected to see it disappear,
their reactions might have been different.
In the end nothing was solved. Holloway, as he said good night, seemed ill at ease.