"Paul J. McAuley - Dead Man Walking" - читать интересную книгу автора (Mcauley Paul J)

and gold specimen in a cage of plaited bamboo, was trilling one of BachтАЩs Goldberg
Variations. Willy passed the jar to me and said, тАЬWeтАЩre speaking purely
hypothetically.тАЭ
тАЬOf course.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩve always had a wild streak,тАЭ Willy said, тАЬI wouldnтАЩt put it past you to do
something recklessly brave and dangerously stupid.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm just an ordinary hack,тАЭ I said.
тАЬWho goes for long solitary hikes across the surface. Who soloed that route in
Prospero Chasma and didnтАЩt bother to mention it until someone found out a couple of
years later. IтАЩve known you almost nine years, Roy, and youтАЩre still a man of mystery.тАЭ
Willy smiled. тАЬHey, whatтАЩs that look for? All IтАЩm saying is you have character, is all.тАЭ
For a moment, my hardwired reflexes had kicked in. For a moment, I had been
considering whether or not this man had blown my cover, whether or not I should kill
him. I carefully manufactured a smile, and said that I hadnтАЩt realized that I seemed so
odd.
тАЬMost of us have secrets,тАЭ Willy said. тАЬThatтАЩs why weтАЩre out here, my brother. WeтАЩre
just as much prisoners as anyone in our sticks. They donтАЩt know it, but those
dumbasses blundering about in the files are trying to find a way of escaping what they
are.тАЭ
тАЬAnd thereтАЩs no way you can escape what you are,тАЭ I said. The moment had passed.
My smile was a real smile now, not a mask IтАЩd put on to hide what I really was.
Willy toasted me with his bulb of tea. тАЬAnyone with any sense learns that
eventually.тАЭ
 тАЬYou still havenтАЩt told me how you would catch the assassin.тАЭ
тАЬI donтАЩt intend to catch him.тАЭ
тАЬBut speaking hypotheticallyтАжтАЭ
тАЬFor all we know, itтАЩs the warden. He can go anywhere and everywhere, and he has
access to all the security systems too.тАЭ
тАЬThe warden? Really?тАЭ
Willy grinned. тАЬIтАЩm pulling your chain. But seriously, IтАЩve done a little research
about these things. TheyтАЩre not only stone killers: theyтАЩre also real good at disguising
themselves. The assassin could be any one of us. The warden, you, me, anyone. Unless
this thing makes a mistake, we havenтАЩt got a hope of catching it. All we can do is what
weтАЩre already doingтАФdeploy more security drones, keep the prisoners locked down
when they arenтАЩt working, and pray that thatтАЩll keep a lid on any unrest until that
team arrives.тАЭ
тАЬI guess youтАЩre right,тАЭ I said.
тАЬDonтАЩt try to be a hero, my brother. Not even hypothetically.тАЭ
тАЬAbsolutely not,тАЭ I said.
But one of WillyтАЩs remarks had given me an idea about how to reach out to the
assassin, and my mind was already racing, grappling with what I had to do.
****
I decided that if the assassin really was keeping an eye on the people who were
hacking into the files, then he (or at least, his demon), must be lurking in the root
directory of the data system. That was where I left an encrypted message explaining
what I was and why I wanted to talk, attached to a demon that would attempt to trace
anyone who looked at it. The demon phoned me six hours later, in the middle of the
night. Someone had spotted my sign and wanted to talk.
The demon had failed to identify the person who wanted to talk, and it was infected
with something, too: a simple communication program. I checked it out, excised a few