"David Marusek - Getting to Know You" - читать интересную книгу автора (Marusek David)

тАЬYou did? You called?тАЭ Nancy looked upset. тАЬI told him there was
something wrong with the houseputer, but he didnтАЩt believe me.тАЭ

Someone appeared behind Nancy, a handsome man with wild, curly,
silver hair. тАЬWhoтАЩs this?тАЭ he said in an authoritative baritone. He looked
Zoranna over. тАЬYou must be Zoe,тАЭ he boomed. тАЬWhat a delight!тАЭ He
stepped around Nancy and drew Zoranna to him in a powerful hug. He
stood at least a head taller than she. He kissed her eagerly on the cheek. тАЬI
am Victor. Victor Vole. Come in, come in. Nancy, you would let your sister
stand in the hall?тАЭ He drew them both inside.

Zoranna had prepared herself for a small apartment, but not this
small, and for castoff furniture, but not a room filled floor to ceiling with
hospital beds. It took several long moments for her to comprehend what
she was looking at. There were some two dozen beds in the
three-by-five-meter living room. Half were arranged on the floor, and the
rest clung upside-down to the ceiling. They were holograms, she quickly
surmised, separate holos arranged in snowflake fashion, that is, six
individual beds facing each other and overlapping at the foot. WhatтАЩs more,
they were occupied by obviously sick, possibly dying, strang-ers. Other
than the varied lighting from the holoframes, the living room was unlit. What
odd pieces of real furni-ture it contained were pushed against the walls. In
the corner, a hutch intended to hold bric-a-brac was appar-ently set up as a
shrine to a saint. A row of flickering votive candles illuminated an old
flatstyle picture of a large, barefoot man draped head to foot in flowing
robes.

тАЬWhat the hell, Nancy?тАЭ Zoranna said.
 тАЬThis is my work,тАЭ Nancy said proudly.

тАЬPlease,тАЭ said Victor, escorting them from the door. тАЬLetтАЩs talk in the
kitchen. WeтАЩll have dessert. Are you after dinner, Zoe?тАЭ

тАЬYes, thank you,тАЭ said Zoranna. тАЬI ate on the tube.тАЭ She was made to
walk through a suffering manтАЩs bed; there was no path around him to the
kitchen. тАЬSorry,тАЭ she said. But he seemed accustomed to his unfavorable
location and closed his eyes while she passed through.

The kitchen was little more than an alcove separated from the living
room by a counter. There was a bed squeezed into it as well, but the
occupant, a grizzled man with an open mouth, was either asleep or
comatose. тАЬI think Edward will be unavailable for some while,тАЭ Victor said.
тАЬHouseputer, delete this hologram. Sorry, Edward, but we need the space.тАЭ
The holo vanished, and Victor offered Zoranna a stool at the counter.
тАЬPlease,тАЭ he said, тАЬwill you have tea? Or a thimble of cognac?тАЭ

тАЬThank you,тАЭ Zoranna said, perching herself on the stool and crossing
her legs, тАЬtea would be fine.тАЭ Her sister ambulated into the kitchen and
flipped down her walkerтАЩs built-in seat, but before she could sit, a mournful
wail issued from the bedroom.