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

A STROLL THROUGH OLD LOS ANGELES

Acacia was antsy. She had been growing progressively more eager since they boarded the subway in
Dallas. Now she tugged at Tony's arm, pulling him away from the check-in counter while he tried to
put his wallet away. "Come on, Tony! Let's get in there before the crowds clog up the works."
"Okay, okay. Where do we go first?"
Memories glowed in her face. "God, I can't decide. Chamber of Horrors? Yeah, there first, then the
Everest Slalom. Love it love it love it. You will too, spoilsport."
"Hey. I'm here, aren't I? There's a fine line between sensible emotional restraint, and the
withdrawal symptoms of a stimulus junky denied her fix."
"You're a wordy bastard," she said, and took off running down the tunnel entrance, pulling at his
arm with both hands. He laughed and let her tow him into daylight.
The impact of Dream Park came suddenly, just beyond the tunnel. From the top of a flight of wide
steps one could see three multi-tiered shopping and amusement malls, each twelve stories high,
that stretched and twisted away like the walls of a maze. The space between was filled-cluttered-
with nooks, gullies, walkways, open-air theaters, picnic areas, smaller spired and domed
buildings, and thousands of milling people.
Acacia had seen it before. She watched Tony.
The air was filled with music and the laughter of children and adults. The smell of exotic foods
floated in the breeze, and mixed there with the more familiar smells of hot dogs, cotton candy,
melted chocolate, salt water taffy and pizza.
Tony was gaping. He looked. . . daunted, overawed, almost frightened.
Clowns and cartoon figures danced in the streets. From this distance it was impossible to tell
which were employees in costume, and which were the hologram projections the Park was so famous
for.
Tony turned to Acacia and found her looking at him, waiting for his reaction with a self-satisfied
smirk. He started to say something, then gave up and grabbed her, swinging her in a circle. Other
tourists stepped politely around them, avoiding flying feet.
"God. I've never seen anything like it. The pictures just don't do it. I never imagined. . ."
Her smile was warmer now, and she clung to him. "See? See?" Tony nodded dumbly. She laughed and
pulled him down the steps, into magic.
The line for the Chamber of Horrors moved forward in fits and starts. The air was already warm;
Acacia wore her sweater draped over one slender arm.
One thing she noticed, that she had seen on her first trip to the Park, and had verified on return
trips: children were far less blown away by Dream Park than were their parents. The kids just
didn't seem to grasp the enormity of the place, the complexity, the expense and ingenuity. Life
was like that, for them. It was the adults who staggered about with their mouths open, while
shrieking, singing children dragged them on to the next ride.
Acacia had worked hard to get Tony to join the South Seas Treasure Game. Dream Park was for kids,
he'd said; Gaming was for kids who had never grown up. Now she chortled, watching him gawk like a
yokel.
There were dancing bears, and strolling minstrels and jugglers, magicians who produced bright silk
handkerchiefs and would no doubt produce tongues of fire as soon as it got dark. A white dragon
ambled by, paused to pose for a picture with an adorable pair of kids in matching blue uniforms.
Overhead, circling the spires of the Arabian Nights ride, flew a pastel red magic carpet with a
handsome prince and an evil visier struggling to the death atop it. Suddenly the prince lost his
balance and dropped toward the ground. Acacia heard the gasps of the spectators, and felt her own