"Dream Park" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niven Larry)

"Vaguely."
"Look for the internal logic, always. And who are you? Are you with Acacia?"
"Tony McWhirter." He put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close enough that her dark hair pillowed against his. "We're together, yes."
"Wonderful. You'll have a great time. Hey, Acacia, remember the 'Frost Holocaust'?"
It sparked an elfin grin of remembrance. "Who could forget those dog packs? And you should see my pictures of the mutants. Some of them didn't come out too well on film, though."
"I hear the holos are hellaciously sharper this year. Shouldn't be a problem." He thought for a moment, then continued, "We can expect a forest or tropic region. I doubt Lopez would use any common or well-known myth-pattern, so we'll have to be on our toes. We may or may not be allowed modern weapons. I'll get all of that information tomorrow. Magic Users are probably Go, maybe some Swordspersons, an Engineer or two, a couple of Thieves. . ."

The doorman was appropriately cadaverous. He wore a tattered black hat, and a motheaten cloak that dragged loose threads on the ground. He opened the door for Gwen and Ollie, stepping out of their way with creaking torpidity. "This way, young masters," he rumbled.
"Will you look at this?" Ollie whispered to Gwen, goggle-eyed. The tram had unloaded them at the Haunted House, the theme hotel east of the main amusement area. They were still underground, in a depot decorated in Early Caligari. Cobwebs festooned the corners of the station, and crawling things with glowing red eyes stalked their strands. The path before them led into a hallway with a glass ceiling.
Gwen looked up. "Wow." It was their own reflection; but as they proceeded, the flesh began to melt off their bones. When they reached the end of the corridor their reflections were a pair of skeletons shambling back to the mausoleum after a hard night's haunt.
"I don't know if I really want to open the door," she said. Ollie edged it open with his fingertips. It creaked hideously.
The lobby was dim, and decorated in blacks and dark reds. Even the couches and chairs were somewhat foreboding. The red seat cushion on one dark chair gave it the unmistakable appearance of an open mouth. The ceiling was low. Flickering candelabra supplied the light.
A lovely hostess in a flowing, wraith-white gown greeted them. Her red lipstick was just bright enough to bring out the paleness of her cheeks. She brought one delicate hand up to her mouth and coughed politely, then favored them with a dazzling smile.
"Good morning, my name is Lenore and I'd like to welcome you to the Haunted House, one of the nine Dream Park hotels. This is a theme hotel, so be ready. Anything can happen."
The check-in terminal bore the guise of a great orchid plant; and the lovely flowers bowed toward them in entirely too friendly
a fashion. Ollie fished out his preregistration card and allowed a flower to take it. A quick display of words and numbers ran up the orchid-festooned screen; then the words "Adolph Norliss and S. 0. room 7024."
Ollie looked at Lenore curiously. "S. 0.? What's that?"
She laughed sweetly. "Significant Other. I assume that you and the lady aren't married?"
"Oh, yeah. We're engaged. . ."
"Then if she's not your wife or your sister, she's a Significant Other."
Gwen sniffed. "You could have just listed my name."
Ollie looked uncomfortable. "That's my fault, I guess. I wasn't absolutely sure we would be coming together." He retrieved his card.
Lenore led them off to a brace of elevators. Gwen walked with her head turned to look up into Ollie's face.
"And if I hadn't come, who would you have invited?"
He walked on, ignoring her question for a few steps, and she tugged at his sleeve. "Ollie? Who would you have invited?"
He was trying, without terrific success, to hide a smile. "Oh, I don't know. Anyone who could pay half the bill, I guess."
"You guess?"
They had reached the elevator. Lenore motioned them in. "Room seven-oh-two-four, on the seventh floor. And I hope you have a pleasant stay here at Dream Park." She gave the slightest of curtsies, and slowly turned transparent. Only her ringing laughter was still with them as the doors slid shut.
Ollie's jaw hung slack. He said, "Heyyy. . ."
Gwen shook her head. "That was really good. I'm impressed." Her face sobered, and she squared her chunky body up to him. "Ollie, would you really have come with somebody else if we hadn't made up?"
Ollie looked stonily ahead, trying to pretend he was still thinking about Lenore.
"Ollie? I wouldn't have come without you. Really."
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Gwen started to speak, but the opening hiss of the door silenced her. Ollie stepped out, then stopped and turned. "I thought you said you were coming with Furburger or whatever his name is."
"Feinburger."
"Feinburger. Well?"
"Oh, you nut, I wasn't really gonna go with Gordon. All he ever wants. . . all he wanted was to get into my pants anyway. I just didn't want you to think you had to feel sorry for me." She brushed a strand of her short yellow hair into place. "Honest."
"Well. . ." Ollie hesitated, then turned and started down the ball. She had almost to run to catch up, to hear him say softly, "I made the reservation for two 'cause I hoped you'd come with me, and I didn't put a name down because I was scared you wouldn't."
Gwen seemed about to speak; then she linked anus with him and matched him stride for stride down the hall. Finally, as if she couldn't stand it any longer, she swung him around and kissed him hard. With her hands locked behind his neck she looked dead into his eyes and said in all seriousness, "Adolph, I love you. I really do. But sometimes I could just break your kneecaps."
He smiled at her, and it stayed warm. "Hey, I think this is our room." He clicked his registration card into the slot in the door and it creaked open. From within the room there came a widening beam of dark purple light.
"Holy spit." Ollie pushed the door further open, then stepped in, Gwen close behind. The room was an Edward Gorey opium dream. Dark twisted plants grew meter-high from rudely-stitched planters made of some kind of animal skin. The canopy over the bed fluttered without a breeze. Rain blew against the panes with a sound of crackling bacon. Things moved out there in the dark, and even the shadows on the wall seemed to flux with a strange rhythm. When Gwen looked at the bed closely she could see that the spread was slowly rising to normal level, as if someone had gotten off it the instant before the door opened.
She said, "Wow. This is really. . ."
"Really what? Come on, don't keep me hanging."
"Hush, I'm being terrorized. This is too much! Ollie, I adore this room." She stood on tiptoe and bussed him. "I'm very glad to be your Significant Other. Let's get the luggage out of the lift and get to bed. Tomorrow starts early."


Chapter Four


THE MASTER DREAMERS