"A Day's Work On The Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moscoe Mike)

She smiled at that and asked about my access to a computer. I sent her a download of the Vehicle Remote Control system Jer had built for me with its latest updates and additions. That earned a raised eyebrow.

"Quite a rig you have."

"We built it ourselves. Well, actually, Jer, my boy .а.а.ah, the guy next door, built most of it. HeТll fix anything that breaks."

She looked at me, big smile on her face. "I bet he will. HereТs a number. Dial it tomorrow at 1:30 a.m. GMT," she glanced offscreen, "that will be 5:30 p.m. your time, and you start work." I didnТt tell her I knew darn well what GMT time it was here. Rovers ran on GMT. I was too happy at the moment to take the time to straighten out a grownup who thought I was dumb.

I called Jer on our network. "I got the job! I start working on the Moon tomorrow after school!"

Next afternoon, on the walk home from school, I wanted to celebrate. Jer suggested a milkshake. "Naw. ThatТs here and gone. I want something I can keep." I headed across the street, dodging traffic, Jer dodging right behind me. Some old timers in a fifth wheel rig were laboring up the hill, we squeaked across just ahead of them. The gray-haired lady driving just shook her head as she went by. I laughed.

"Where are we going?"

"The Teddy Bear Factory!"

"Not again."

"And whatТs wrong with a cute, cuddly little teddy bear?" WeТd had this conversation before. Many times before.

"Nothing, if youТre a girl."

"And whatТs wrong with a girl?"

There, I had him. DidnТt used to. But the last couple of years, that was the winning line. Well, not always. Sometimes heТd won with "YouТre not going to waste money on fluff that would buy rover time." He was quiet today as I eyed the different furry options. They were so cute. IТd just die if I ever found a bear in a spacesuitЦon a rover.

"You know, maybe you could buy one today. You know, to celebrate."

I grabbed his hand, felt for a pulse, then brushed my hand over his forehead. He didnТt pull away like he used to. "Help, police! Some aliens have stolen my friend. Jer would never say something like that."

He ignored my carrying on, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and explained himself. "Well, you know, if youТre working for Artemis, youТre jacked directly into their system. If the locks arenТt too tight, maybe I could get a hold of the downlink from the rovers. Go direct to the source."

"You mean we could have it all!" I screamed, pulling him into a hug.

"I think so." Jer actually turned red. I gave him a kiss and he got redder.

"LetТs get home. Make sure everything is ready. Race you." I won. HeТs the brains of the act; IТm the muscle. My system came up without a hitch. I was ready fifteen minutes early, so I ran an old rover drive while I waited. At 5:29 sharp, I dialed in, ready for anything.

I got a flat video. All kinds of dumb stuff on how IТd get paid, (slow and not much), what my benefits were, (none), how IТd have to have my school report card copied to them. They had a reward program, extra money for good grades, a bonus on top of that for honor classes. What do you know, JerТs pushing might actually make me a few extra bucks. Only after I passed a test on that junk was I allowed into the interesting stuff. And that was a disappointment again.

They were starting me out as a cook!

They had a cook-bot that made the pizza and stuff from scratch. Most of the ingredients were still lifted from Earth, but the flour was moon-grown. My job was to take the orders and see that the bot didnТt waste anything making them.

Somebody else got to oversee the delivery-bot.

"I think you have to get promoted up to delivery," Jer said. "DidnТt you see that part in the employee briefing?"

IТd missed that.