"Robert Reed - X-Country" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reed Robert)

I stared at Kip for a long while. From high in the hills, we heard yelling and
then an incoherent young voice, male and furious. ThatтАЩs when I finally asked, тАЬHow
would I know which arrow was the first arrow?тАЭ

Kip didnтАЩt answer.

тАЬAre they different colors? Are they labeled? What?тАЭ

But he didnтАЩt seem particularly interested in the topic. Standing up abruptly,
he turned. I hadnтАЩt heard any noise, but he must have. To somebody still not visible,
he said, тАЬOver here. IтАЩm over here.тАЭ
One of his ex-girlfriends emerged from the shadows. Half our age and
perfectly fit, she was lovely and she was fuming. With a voice verging on a scream,
she reported, тАЬThereтАЩs barely a trail up there. Kip? Kip? I thought you had this all
figured out.тАЭ

To her and to me, he said, тАЬI do.тАЭ

тАЬBullshit,тАЭ she told him.

He said nothing.

Then one of the young stallions emerged from the opposite end of the
clearing. тАЬHey, Kipper,тАЭ he began, one hand wiping at a ragged cut on his bloody
forearm. тАЬPeople are wandering around everywhere, Kipper. TheyтАЩre lost, and
theyтАЩre pissed. ItтАЩs a mess up there!тАЭ

The race director shrugged his broad shoulders. Then he sat down again, and
the two competitors turned back into the trees. A few more curses drifted over us,
wandering in from random directions. Finally Kip turned to me, still smiling, saying,
тАЬX,тАЭ with a soft, careful voice.

тАЬHuh?тАЭ I muttered.

тАЬIn mathematics,тАЭ he told me, тАЬit is the symbol for quantities unknown.тАЭ

I offered a weak nod. Nothing more.

тАЬDo you know why?тАЭ He winked, explaining, тАЬThat great old mathematician,
Descartes, wrote La Gomtrie. His original manuscript was full of equations using a,
b, and c for what is known. While x, y, and z represented mystery numbers. But
when the book was being typeset, the printer didnтАЩt have enough of ys and zs for all
of the equations. So he mostly used the x, which is where the time-honored
convention first began.тАЭ

I said, тАЬHuh,тАЭ again.

тАЬX,тАЭ he said, making crossed line in the grass between his feet. тАЬThe symbol
is one of the first marks made by any child, if only by accident. And it surely must
have been one of the earliest geometric forms drawn by ancient hominids. DonтАЩt you