"Poor Planet" - читать интересную книгу автора (McIntosh J T)

But then, SolitaireТs counter-espionage division must be good. Every other
planet in the galaxy, convinced Solitaire had a secret of some kind, had been
trying for a long time to find out what it wasЧand Terran Intelligence would
have known if any of them had succeeded, even if it didnТt know exactly what
they had found out.
We could all guess about Solitaire. None of us knew.
СPleased to meet you, Mr. Harrison,У I said, shaking hands. ФAre you a
historian?У
СNo, why?У
СIt doesnТt matter. Just an idea.У
СIТm sorry, Mr. Horsefeld. I guess I canТt help you in your workЕ but I can tell
you about libraries, hotels, storesЧУ
СThat will be very useful. Hotels first. Where do you suggest I should go?У
Harrison hesitated. УThey told me youТd probably want peace and quiet, a room in
a decent, modest hotel where nobody would bother you. Is that right?Ф
СExactly right.У
СThen maybe youТd like to go to Parkview. ItТs cheap, cleanЧУ
СFine. LetТs go to the Parkview.У I was perfectly happy to let SolitaireТs
counter-espionage division put me where it liked. It would do that anyway.
Harrison took me to the Parkview, a small inn just off Arne Way, the main street
in the city. Then, to my surprise, Harrison seemed not only ready but
apologetically anxious to leave me. IТd expected the devilТs own job getting out
of his sight.
СYou can phone me either at Government House or at home,У he said, giving me
both numbers.
СJust one thing before you go, TomЧmay I call you Tom? WhereТs the nearest music
store?У
СMusic?У he said vaguely, as if he had never heard the word. ФOh, I guessЕ you
could try ProsserТs, just round the corner in Arne Way. I think they sell music
as well as books.У
СExcellent,У I said. ФThat saves me the trouble of asking you where the nearest
bookstore is. Thanks, Tom.У
СThatТs all I can do for you just now?У
СI think so. YouТve been a great help.У
He colored. УItТs nothing,Ф he said self-consciously. УIТll look in this evening
and see how youТre making out.Ф
Then he left. F.R.S. had informed me politely that it knew who I was, that it
had its eye on me, and then left me to wander about Arneville as I pleased.
It might as well have told me in so many words that I wasnТt going to find out
anything.
Lunch at the Parkview was excellent. But why the Parkview, I wondered. IТd heard
of Arne Park, which was about the only thing in Solitaire most people had heard
about. The Park must, however, be at least a mile along Arne Way and was not
visible even from my top-floor bedroom. Nothing in that direction was visible
except the blank wall of a massive office block.
If Solitaire had nothing to hide, I reflected, which was unlikely but not
completely impossible, a known Terran spy might well be treated exactly as I was
being treated. An intelligent counter-espionage division in a world which had no
secretsЧif there was any such worldЧ would realize that the only way to convince
other nations of this was to let them find it out for themselves.