"Michael McCollum - The Sails of Tau Ceti" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

induced in the sensory centers of the brain.

There were limitations, of course. The wearer had to learn to think in such a manner that the implant
interpreted that mental activity as a command, and not as the background noise that was normal thought.
It was a little like learning to wiggle oneтАЩs ears. No one could precisely describe how to accomplish it,
but once the skill was mastered, it was never forgotten. The implants did nothing to make the wearer
more intelligent. What they did do was provide a phenomenal memory, to the point where one could
тАЬrememberтАЭ things they had never known.

There were other practical limitations on implant use. Most people quickly reached a point where
additional data merely confused them. The problem, long known to students, was known as тАЬavalanche
effectтАЭ because it felt as though one was being buried under an avalanche of data. The symptoms were
that anyone who tried to delve too far into a subject ended up disoriented and muddled.

Curiously, a few people seemed immune to the problem. No matter how complex the task, these rare
minds were able to keep the goal in view without becoming mired down in detail. Such clear-headedness
was an inborn talent. It could not be taught or learned. Those so blessed found themselves in demand as
managers, organizers of complex projects, and most especially, as high level computer synergists.

A synergist was not a computer programmer since the computers had long ago been given the ability to
program themselves. Rather, synergists watched over the flow of the automated software generating
programs, and nudged them in the proper direction. For like the vast majority of human beings,
computers, too, tended to become bogged down in the details.

Upon learning that she was immune to avalanche effect, Tory Bronson switched from the College of Law
to Synergistic Science. There she met Ben Tallen. He was another Synergism candidate. After dating for
most of their sophomore year, they agreed to move in together. As time went on, they began to talk
about landing high paying jobs with some Earth-based megacorp, and though the subject rarely arose,
Tory, at least, had visions of marriage.

A month before graduation, Tory was accessing the list of companies who would be interviewing at the
university placement center and discovered the Starhopper Project. She remembered the lecture she had
attended years earlier and decided to check it out. What she was not prepared for was BenтАЩs reaction
when she told him about it that night at dinner.

тАЬWhat the hell are you interviewing with them for?тАЭ he asked around a crust of pizza.

тАЬIтАЩve got a free period and it sounds interesting.тАЭ

тАЬDonтАЩt be a frump!тАЭ

тАЬWho are you calling a frump, skinker?тАЭ

тАЬYou, if you interview with that damned black sky project. You know who is behind it, donтАЩt you? Old
Centauri Pierce over in Astrophysics! It is his hobby. HeтАЩs gotten a bit of funding from the local yokels
and is now trying to scam Earth into lofting the rest.тАЭ

тАЬSo whereтАЩs the harm in listening?тАЭ

тАЬThe harm, my dear demented love, is the damage you may do to your chances of getting on with an