"Kim Newman - Tomorrow Town" - читать интересную книгу автора (Newman Kim)

"It was a Hugo Award, the highest honour the science fiction field can bestow.
Zhoule won his murder weapon for Best Novelette of 1958, with the
oft-anthologised 'Court Martian.' "

"Are we then to be the police of the future? Do we get to design our own
uniforms?"

"We're here because Tomorrow Town has no police force as such. It is a
fundamental of the social design that there will be no crime by the year
2000."

"Ooops."

"This is a utopian vision, Vanessa. No money to steal. No inequality to foster
resentment. All disputes arbitrated with unquestionable fairness. All zenvols
constantly monitored for emotional instability."

"Maybe being 'constantly monitored' leads to 'emotional instability.' Not to
mention being called a 'zenvol.' "

"You'll have to mention that to Big Thinks."

"Is he the boss-man among equals?"

Richard chuckled. "He's an it. A computer. A very large computer."

Vanessa snapped her fingers.
"Ah-ha. There's your culprit. In every sci-fi film I've ever seen, the
computer goes power-mad and starts killing people off. Big Thinks probably
wants to take over the world."

"The late Mm Zhoule would cringe to hear you say that, Vanessa. He'd never
have deigned to use such a hackneyed, unlikely premise in a story. A computer
is just a heuristic abacus. Big Thinks can beat you at chess, solve logic
problems, cut a pop record, and make the monorail run on time, but it hasn't
got sentience, a personality, a motive, or, most importantly, arms. You might
as well suspect the fridge-freezer or the pop-up toaster."

"If you knew my pop-up toaster better, you'd feel differently. It sits there,
shining sneakily, plotting perfidy. The jug-kettle is in on it, too. There's a
conspiracy of contraptions."

"Now you're being silly."

"Trust me, Richard, it'll be the Brain Machine. Make sure to check its
alibi."

"I'll bear that in mind."