"Larry Niven & Steve Barnes - The California Voodoo Game" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niven Larry)

Mouser smirked, humming with cavalier disregard for his own safety. He had
at least fifty seconds. He knew this world; he understood its rules.

He removed a lockpick from his leather belt pouch and faced the blank wall.

His Thief's vision revealed a tiny flutter in the crystal. A keyhole. He slipped
his key into the slot and began to manipulate it.

Two eyes, a nose, and finally a mouth appeared in the crystal before him.
They watched him speculatively. "Hello there, young man. Are you ready for
a test of skill?"

"Bring it on."

The pick slipped in, and his field of vision expanded. He could see the
workings of the lock. Within his gloves, his fingers tingled. It was a
pleasurable sensation, not yet a warning buzz; it felt rather like snowshoed
ants scampering in rhythmic patterns over his knuckles. The flames were
closer now. His vision was edged in flame even when he focused his
attention down to a narrow line. Now he felt as though he actually were hot
in fact, he was burning up. The air around him was crackling, and the
flames were closer...

He maintained focus on the job at hand, and suddenly the flames
disappeared. There was a crack in the crystal wall, one just tall enough for
Mouser.

The metal framework of the catwalk remained, and he beckoned to the
others. Come on over!

His teammates swarmed across.

Tammi checked her scanner and chuckled grimly. That task had netted
seven hundred points, easy. Her adversaries were just the other side of this
tunnel. She would take the lead, and with just the smallest bit of luck the
adventure would be won in time for lunch. She shucked her cloak and
wiggled through the crack.


*2*тАФScanNet
Alex adjusted his reimaging field, zooming in on one section of the
fractured, inverted L-shape that was MIMIC.

This was no holographic animation or DreamTirne synthesis. Most of the
rotating image was piped in from thousands of scanners, coordinated by
ScanNet's Cray 181 computer.

Sharon was perched on the edge of her seat, watching every move intently.