"Mack Reynolds - After Utopia" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reynolds Mack)

She was obviously a skilled driverтАж or pilot, as the
case might be.
тАЬI sometimes get my dates mixed,тАЭ Betty said, making
a small moue. тАЬBut I thought that you were beginning to
get air-cushioned cars, hover-craft, that sort of thing, in
your time. And hadnтАЩt Norman Dean already begun his
work?тАЭ
тАЬNever heard of him,тАЭ he said. Cogswell was looking
down at the countryside beneath him.
Tangier had changed considerably. It had obviously
become an ultrawealthy resort area. Gone was the
Casbah, with its Moorish slums going back a thousand
years and more. Gone was the medina with its teeming
thousands of poverty-stricken Arabs and Riffs.
Tracy grunted to himself. He supposed that as EuropeтАЩs
and AmericaтАЩs wealthy had discovered the climactic and
scenic advantages of northern Morocco, they had
displaced the multitude of natives who had formerly
made uncomfortable by their obvious need those few of
the well-to-do who had lived here before. The rich hate to
see the poor; it makes them uncomfortable. Tracy
Cogswell remembered the old story about the lush in the
nightclub listening tearfully to a plaintive blues singer
and saying, тАЬThrow her out, sheтАЩs breaking my heart.тАЭ
There were quite a few of the flying cars such as he
and Betty were in. That was a good thing, though. With
flight on various levels, there was no congestion.
However, he assumed that probably other traffic
problems had evolved.
Betty put on speed and in a matter of five or ten
minutes they were circling Gibraltar, perhaps the worldтАЩs
most spectacular landfall. Here too the signs of the
military of his own period had given way to villas and
what he assumed were luxury apartment buildings.
Tracy said, тАЬWhere are all the stores, garages, and
other business establishments?тАЭ
She said, тАЬUnderground.тАЭ
тАЬWhere you canтАЩt see them and be bothered by their
unattractiveness, eh?тАЭ
тАЬThatтАЩs right,тАЭ she told him, evidently missing his
sarcastic note.
They flew north along the coast, passing Estapona,
Marbella and Fuengirola. Cogswell was impressed. Even
in his own time the area had been booming, but he had
never expected to see anything like this. Why, the whole
coast seemed dotted with villas.
тАЬItтАЩs much too crowded,тАЭ Betty said in disgust. тАЬIтАЩve
always been amazed that so many people gravitate to the
warm climates.тАЭ
He said impatiently, тАЬEveryone would, wouldnтАЩt they,