"Mike Resnick - Encounters" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

тАЬRight above us,тАЭ said Ivor. тАЬI hope you like apples.тАЭ
тАЬWhy?тАЭ
тАЬThe Baron is a vegetarian. That's all we have in the house.тАЭ
тАЬMaybe I'll just settle for a quick shave and shower,тАЭ I said.
тАЬWell, that poses another problem,тАЭ said Ivor apologetically. тАЬThis is anold castle. We don't
have any running water.тАЭ
тАЬPerhaps none of that will be necessary,тАЭ said the Baron, working away at the top of the
monster's head. тАЬIf I just takethis shortcut, and bypass these two synapses ... Yes! It's done!тАЭ
тАЬYou got him all hooked up that fast?тАЭ I said.
тАЬWell, he'll be tone-deaf, and I rather suspect he won't be able to play rugby, but except for
that, he should function just perfectly.тАЭ
тАЬI hope so,тАЭ said Ivor. тАЬRemember Number Three? He kept smelling colors and stuffing candy
bars into his ear.тАЭ
тАЬWe learn from our mistakes,тАЭ said the Baron, starting to connect a bunch of wires to all these
metal bits and pieces that were sticking out of the monster. тАЬThat is how we avoid making
them again and again.тАЭ
Well, I couldn't see that a batch of brand-new mistakes in a ten-foot-tall monster was all that
preferable to the same old ones, but it wasn't none of my business, so I just kept quiet and
watched while the Baron finished wiring his creation.
тАЬAll is in readiness,тАЭ he said after another minute or two, and walked to a big metal switch on
the wall. тАЬIvor, Doctor JonesтАФstand back please.тАЭ
He didn't have to ask me twice, and I backed up against the wall, which had a damp and
chilly feel to it, and then he pulled the switch and every gizmo in the place started buzzing
and whistling, and just about the time I was sure he was gonna blow every fuse in the castle
he pushed the switch back to its starting position.
All three of us walked over to the table, and son of a gun if the monster wasn't breathing. The
Baron disconnected all the wires and pulled out a stethoscope and listened to its heart for a
while, and the critter's eyelids kind of fluttered a bit and suddenly I was staring into its wide,
wondering eyes, one brown and one blue.
тАЬWhere am I?тАЭ asked the monster.
тАЬYou're perfectly safe,тАЭ said the Baron. тАЬYou are the late Gustave Book, and I am the Baron
Theodore von Steinmetz. I have re-animated you here in the lower recesses of my castle.тАЭ
тАЬI'm not Gustave Book,тАЭ said the monster. тАЬI'm Gustavethe Book.тАЭ It paused while the Baron
suddenly turned white as a sheet. тАЬSteinmetz, Steinmetz ... тАЬ it muttered, and suddenly it sat
up. тАЬSteinmetz, you owe me three hundred pounds sterling!тАЭ
тАЬWhat are you talking about?тАЭ demanded Ivor.
тАЬNobody welches out on a bet with Gustave the Book,тАЭ said the monster. тАЬLet's have it.тАЭ
Suddenly the Baron turned to Ivor and started hitting him on the top of his head.
тАЬIdiot!тАЭ he screamed. тАЬFool! I ask for a dealer in literature, and you bring me the local
bookmaker! Ithought he looked familiar!тАЭ
тАЬYou,тАЭ said Gustave to me. тАЬTell me what the hell is going on around here! Why is my voice
different? Why does everyone look so small? Since when does my left hand have six fingers?
What has happened to me?тАЭ
тАЬYou were dead, and the Baron brung you back to life,тАЭ I said.
тАЬWell, a form of pseudo-life, anyway,тАЭ corrected the Baron.
тАЬI don't believe it.тАЭ
тАЬMaybe we could all sing you a rousing chorus or two of тАШHappy Birthday', to kind of put you in
the mood,тАЭ I said.
тАЬJust a minute,тАЭ said Gustave. He closed his eyes, then opened them again. тАЬThe last thing I
remember was seeing a car go by, and then a tommy-gun was pumping bullets into me, and