"David Prill - Rocket Fall" - читать интересную книгу автора (Prill David)

to provide the propulsion for the Painships once they reach the Other Realms. Here come the Ethyls
now, a more disconsolate group of individuals you'd be hard-pressed to findтАФthey're really looking
tormented today, Walter! I'll see if I can interview one of them now. Ma'am, ma'am, just a quick question
or two, I know you're busy. So, where do you call home?"

"I hurt inside."

"I bet you're from the village, most of you are. Now, how does it feel to be part of this grand and may I
say noble endeavor, rescuing our Baron's bride from the clutches of all Eternity?"

"I hurt inside."

"Well, I'm sure you do. Don't we all! And how long have you been in the fuel cells? тАж Don't remember?
Well, they always say memory is the first thing to go. Any last words before you embark to the Other
Worlds?"

"I hurt inside."

"Back to you, Walter!"

"Swell interview, Larry. Now we head to Stan Stein, who is over in Pain Management. Stan?"

"That's right, Walter. I'm here up close and personal with Otto Jedermann, Fear Engineer First Class,
one of the top sadists in his field. He's outfitted in the traditional leather mask, cat-o'-nine-tails, and
pocket protector. Otto, I imagine the nerves are a little jumpy this evening."

"You always get butterflies at a time like this, Stan. I'm just trying to stay within myself, stay focused."

"That's a very modest assessment of your talents, Otto. Folks, I can tell you that Otto Jedermann has all
the tools, he's been around since the first test frights began, and is arguably the most versatile of the
Engineers of Fear. The Rack of Loneliness, The Iron Maiden of Broken Dreams, The Garrote of
Regrets, The Brank of Shame, it doesn't matter: if it hurts, he's had a hand in it, usually up to the elbow.
Otto, could you explain in layman's terms exactly how the whole sadistic schematic works?"

"My pleasure, Stan. It's a simple calculus of fear. Pain is the surest pathway to send soul energy to the
Other Realms. The Baron has conducted double-blind, triple-amputee studies that have demonstrated
this fact. Pain is introduced to the volunteers, although it's not always simple physical pain. It could be
psychic pain, spiritual pain, the pain of never-ending nightmares, simple daily degradations, it really varies
from person to person. That energy is then accumulated and introduced into the Painships through a
transsacrum injection. Of course, for the launch itself, an immense amount of energy is required, so some
of the Ethyls are actually part of the gantry apparatus, hooked up to the Painships to provide adequate
power for lift-off. The remainder ride in the fuel coffins within the Painships themselves."

"Fascinating, Otto. Now about тАж"

"Sorry to interrupt, Stan, but Roderick Armstrong is walking past our booth тАж Mr. Armstrong do you
have a minute, sir? Yes, folks, it's Roderick Armstrong, Baron Armstrong himself, inventor of the
Painships. (lowers voice) As you all know, the Baron's wife, Madeline, died suddenly three years ago at
the tender age of twenty-three. Her body has been preserved in a nitrogen-cooled casket in the
catacombs of the castle, awaiting the return of her immortal soul тАж Baron, sir, how are things looking