"Lem - Seventh Voyage" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lem Stanislaw)

vortex was, according to the map, rather unusual--it had two foci,
side by side. But by now I was too desperate to concern myself with
this anomaly.



Part 4. The Thursday Me
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After several hours of bustling about in the engine room my hands
were filthy, so I went to wash them, seeing as there was plenty of
time yet before I would be entering the vortex. The bathroom was
locked. From inside came the sounds of someone gargling.
"Who's there?!" I hollered, taken aback.
"Me," replied a voice.
"Which me is that?!"
"Ijon Tichy."
"From what day?"
"Friday. What do you want?"
"I wanted to wash my hands..." I said mechanically, thinking
meanwhile with the greatest intensity: it was Wednesday evening, and
he came from Friday, therefore the gravitational vortex into which
the ship was to fall would bend time from Friday to Wednesday, but
as for what then would take place within the vortex, that I could in
no way picture. Particularly intriguing was the question of where
Thursday might be. In the meantime the Friday me still wasn't
letting me into the bathroom, taking his sweet time, though I
pounded on the door insistently.
"Stop that gargling!" I roared, out of patience. "Every second is
precious--come out at once, we have to fix the rudder!"
"For that you don't need me," he said phlegmatically from behind the
door. "The Thursday me must be around here somewhere, go with
him..."
"What Thursday me? That's not possible..."
"I ought to know whether it's possible or not, considering that I'm
already in Friday and consequently have lived through your Wednesday
as well as his Thursday..."
Feeling dizzy, I jumped back from the door, for yes, I did hear some
commotion in the cabin: a man was standing there, pulling the
toolbag out from under the bed.
"You're the Thursday me?!" I cried, running into the room.
"Right," he said. "Here, give me a hand..."
"Will we be able to fix the rudder this time?" I asked as together
we pulled out the heavy satchel.
"I don't know, it wasn't fixed on Thursday, ask the Friday me..."
That hadn't crossed my mind! I quickly ran back to the bathroom
door.
"Hey there, Friday me! Has the rudder been fixed?"
"Not on Friday," he replied.
"Why not?"
"This is why not," he said, opening the door. His head was wrapped