"Larry Niven & Steve Barnes - Dreampark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niven Larry)

creating entertainment for you year after year, while you can smell the air, and taste the rain,
and walk freely about. Well, I have grown tired of it, can you understand that? One of you will
die today, here, in the next few minutes. Who has the weakest heart among you? Soon we shall see."
The door at the far end of the corridor irised open, and the ground underneath their feet slid
toward it. There was light beyond, and as they passed the door they were suddenly in the middle of
a busy street.
Hovercars, railcars, three-wheeled LNG and methane cars, and overhead trams were everywhere,
managing again and again, as if by miracle, to miss the group. The street sign said Wilshire. The
small dark man chuckled and said, "Los Angeles."
Tony looked around, trying not to gawk. How they managed the perspective, he couldn't imagine, but
the buildings and cars looked full-sized and solid. Office buildings and condominiums stretched
twenty stories tall, and the air was full of the sound of city life.
"Please stay on the green path," a soft, well-modulated male voice requested.
"What green-" Tony started to say. But a glowing green aisle ten feet across appeared in the
middle of the street.
"We need strong magic to do what we will do today," the voice continued. "We are going to visit
the old Los Angeles, the Los Angeles that disappeared in May of 1985. As long as you stay on the
path, you should be perfectly safe."
The green path moved them steadily forward, past busy office buildings. Traffic swerved around
them magically. "This is the Los Angeles of 2051 A.D.," the voice continued, "but only a few
hundred feet from here begins another world, one seldom seen by human eyes."
A barrier blocked Wilshire Boulevard. The green path humped and carried them over it. Beyond lay
ruin. Buildings balanced precariously on rotted and twisted beams. They were old, of archaic
styles, and seawater lapped at their foundations.
Ollie nudged Gwen, his face aglow. "Will you look at that?" It was a flooded parking lot, ancient
automobiles half-covered with water. "That looks like a Mercedes. Did you ever see what they
looked like before they merged with Toyota?"
"How long is your memory?" She peered along his pointing arm. "That ugly thing?"
"They were great!" He protested. "If we could get a little closer- Hey! We're walking in water!"
It was true. The water was up to their ankles, and deepening quickly. Magically, of course, they
stayed dry.


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The recorded narrator continued. "The entire shape of California was changed. It is ironic that
attempts to lessen the severity of quakes may have increased the effect. Geologists had tried to
relieve the pressure on various fault lines by injecting water or graphite. Their timing was bad.
When the San Andreas fault tore loose, all the branching faults went at once. Incredible damage
was done, and thousands of lives were lost. . ."
The water was up to their waists, and nervous laughter was fluttering in the air. "Hadn't planned
to go swimming today," Tony murmured.
"We could skinny-dip," Acacia whispered with a tug at her blouse.
Tony clamped his hand down on hers. "Hold it, there. Not for public consumption, dear heart."
Acacia stuck her tongue out at him. He bit at the tip; she withdrew it hastily.
The water was at their chins. The small dark man had disappeared. "Blub," he said. All twenty
sightseers chuckled uncomfortably, and a beefy redheaded woman in front of them said, "Might as
well take the plunge!", grinned, and ducked under.
Seconds later there was no choice; the Pacific swirled over their heads. At first it was murky, as