"Resnick, Mike - Oracle 3 - Prophet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike) "Easier than walking five miles," answered Lomax. "Do all the Frontier worlds have these things?"
"Hardly any of them do," said Lomax. "Olympus isn't really a Frontier world." "The charts say it is." "Oh, it's in the Inner Frontier," agreed Lomax. "But it's too built up, too civilized. The real Frontier keeps moving toward the Core, while the Democracy keeps absorbing the worlds on the outskirts." "That's what I want to see," said the Kid. "The real Inner Frontier." Lomax jerked his thumb in the direction of a travel agency they were passing. "Be my guest." "I can wait a few days." "How comforting." Lomax checked a street number. "We're coming to another change of slidewalks. Get ready." This time the Kid moved as gracefully as Lomax, and after a short interval they stepped onto the pavement in front of the Hotel Apollo. "Is this the place?" asked the Kid, looking at the steel and glass structure confronting them. "If my information is correct," said Lomax. The Kid grimaced. "Who could live in buildings like this? There's no room to turn around." Lomax looked amused. "Oh, no more than thirty or forty trillion people. You belong to a race of social animals, Kid." "Not me," answered the Silicon Kid. "Living like this would drive me crazy." Lomax walked up to the main entrance. The Kid was about to try to step into the lobby, but Lomax reached out a hand and restrained him. "What's the matter?" asked the Kid. "Wait," said Lomax. "You're not on Greycloud any longer." An alien doorman, reddish and mildly humanoid, nodded a pleasant greeting and uttered a single command, dispersing the energy field that protected the entrance. "Welcome to the Hotel Apollo, the finest hostelry on all of Olympus," it said in heavily accented Terran. "How may I be of assistance to you?" "We've come to visit a friend," said Lomax. "Excellent," said the doorman. "Everyone should have friends." "His name is Jason Cole." "Alas, Jason Cole is not in residence at this moment." "We'll wait." "He has been gone for twenty-three days," answered the doorman. "He may be gone for twenty-three more." "I am afraid that we empty the lobby every night at midnight," continued the doorman. "You cannot wait here." "That was never our intention," said Lomax. "We'll wait in his room." "That is not permitted." "Sure it is," said Lomax, pulling out a large bankroll and thumbing through it. "Hardly ever," said the alien. "You're sure?" asked Lomax, peeling off a pair of bills. "I am almost certain." "What a shame," said Lomax, adding a third bill to the two. "Except on special occasions," answered the alien, grabbing the bills and tucking them into its uniform. "How lucky for you that this is a special occasion." "What's his room number?" "I will take you there myself," said the doorman. "It' s not necessary." "Ah, but it is." "Why?" "Because if you do not need my help to gain entrance to Jason Cole's room, then I cannot permit you to wander the corridors of our establishment without supervision." Lomax smiled. "We'll follow you." "This way, please," said the alien, waddling off to the airlift. They floated up to the forty-third floor, then emerged into a slow-moving corridor that took them past a number of rooms until they reached the one they wanted and stepped off. "We are here," it announced, allowing the door's sensors to examine his palm and retina. Finally it uttered a code in its own tongue, and the door dilated, revealing the interior of a small apartment. "I will leave you now," said the alien. "But I must warn you that I will have our security forces monitor your movements once you emerge from Jason Cole's apartment." Lomax nodded "I would expect no less from the finest hostelry on all of Olympus." The alien bared its teeth in what passed for a grin. "One question," said Lomax as the alien was about to leave. "Yes?" Lomax held up another bank note. "Who is Jason Cole's employer?" |
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