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

Part Two
COUNTERREVOLUTION


Chapter One
┬л^┬╗
Tracy Cogswell sent his disbelieving eyes from
Academician Stein, to his daughter, to Jo Edmonds.
He said, тАЬAre you all completely around the bend? You
sit here and tell me youтАЩve pulled me through almost a
century of time. You tell me that you suspended
animation in me, or whatever you want to call it. That
you, against my will, captured my brain, through some
god-awful technique that you have developed, and made
me steal some twenty thousand dollars, betray my
friends, betray comrades who had many a time risked
their lives for me. Betray everything I stood for. And
nowтАжтАЭ
Academician Stein was distressed. тАЬPlease Tracy. You
are still much too weak. DonтАЩt strain yourself. We have
been premature in allowing this to be brought up so
soon.тАЭ
тАЬStrain myself!тАЭ Tracy glared at him. тАЬHere you tell me
that everything IтАЩve fought for all my life has been
achieved. The human race, at long last, has abundance,
no war; disease is practically wiped out. No crime. No
race problemsтАж Now you ask me to join your
organization to overthrow all this. The things IтАЩve always
dreamed of.тАЭ His voice was so high it was all but shrill.
тАЬMy father before me was a revolutionist. After he died,
in a vicious mining strike, my mother raised me in his
tradition. Now you want me to help tear down everything
he stood for. My great grandfather was an abolitionist.
He died in the Civil War thinking he was helping to free
the slaves.тАЭ He laughed bitterly. тАЬA hell of a lot of slave
freeing was done. The poor bastards just went from one
type of slavery to another.тАЭ
тАЬPlease, Tracy,тАЭ Betty said with anxiety in her voice.
тАЬYouтАЩre overwrought.тАЭ
He looked at her and there was a certain
self-deprecation in his expression. He leveled his voice. тАЬI
suppose that IтАЩm not being very coherent.тАЭ
Edmonds had his jade piece out and was flipping it,
over and over again. He said in his usual mild way,
тАЬHardly surprising under the circumstances, old chap.тАЭ
What was there about the guy that continually
irritated Tracy? Well, it didnтАЩt make much difference.
There was no particular reason for him to like him.