"Lem - Automathew's Friend" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lem Stanislaw)

Table of Contents

Part 1. Alfred.
Part 2. The Storm.
Part 3. Friendly Advice.
Part 4. "Nearly Nowhere" and "Nowhere."
Part 5. Indestructible Friend.
Part 6. A Lifelong Grudge.

Part 1. Alfred

A certain robot, planning to go on a long and dangerous voyage,
heard of a most useful device which its inventor called an electric
friend. He would feel better, he thought, if he had a companion,
even a companion that was only a machine, so he went to the inventor
and asked to be shown an artificial friend.
"Sure," replied the inventor. (As you know, in fairy tales no one
says "sir" or "ma'am" to anyone else, not even to dragons, it's only
with the kings that you have to stand on ceremony.) With this he
pulled from his pocket a handful of metal granules, that looked like
fine shot.
"What is that?" said the robot in surprise.
"Tell me your name, for I forgot to ask it in the proper place of
this fairy tale," said the inventor.
"My name is Automatthew."
"That's too long for me, I'll call you Autom."
"Autom's from Automatom, but have it your way,-- replied the other.
"Well then, Autommy my lad, you have here before you a batch of
electrofriends. You ought to know that by vocation and
specialization I am a miniaturizer. Which means I make large and
heavy mechanisms small and portable. Each one of these granules is a
concentrate of electrical thought, highly versatile and intelligent.
I won't say a genius, for that would be an exaggeration if not false
advertising. True, my intention is precisely to create electrical
geniuses and I shall not rest until I have made them so very tiny
that it will be possible to carry thousands of them around in your
vest pocket; the day I can pour them into sacks and sell them by
weight, like sand, I will have achieved my most cherished goal. But
enough now of my plans for the future. For the time being I sell
electrofriends by the piece and cheaply at that: each costs as much
as its weight in diamonds. You'll see, I think, how very reasonable
the price is, when you consider that you can put an electrofriend in
your ear, where it will whisper good advice and supply you with all
kinds of information. Here's a bit of soft cotton, you stop up the
ear with it so your friend won't fall out when you tilt your head.