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

Academician Stein was making worried motions with
his hands to quiet things down. He said, тАЬLook here,
Tracy Cogswell. I thought that we had made clear to you
that the world today produces an absolute abundance for
everyone.тАЭ
тАЬThereтАЩs a limit to everything. Everything just canтАЩt be
free.тАЭ
тАЬTracy, Tracy,тАЭ Betty said. тАЬYou can only eat three or
four meals a day, even if youтАЩre a glutton. You can only
wear one outfit of clothes at a time. You can only sleep in
one bed. You can only ride in one vehicle at a time. You
can only live in one house at a time. All of these things
we have in abundance. Plenty of them for everybody.тАЭ
тАЬAll right, all right,тАЭ he said impatiently. тАЬFor that sort
of thing, okay. But suppose I dialed this distribution
center, or whatever you called it, and ordered all the
diamonds they had in stock. Would they be free?тАЭ
тАЬDiamonds?тАЭ Edmonds said blankly.
Betty said, тАЬWhat in heavens would you want with
diamonds?тАЭ
He looked at her in exasperation. тАЬDiamonds,
diamonds. Flawless blue diamonds. One of the most
vahiable things in the world.тАЭ
тАЬOh,тАЭ Edmonds said. тАЬOf course. They used to be.
Gems. Rubies, sapphires, uh, emeralds. That sort of
thing, what? Jewelry.тАЭ He looked over at Betty. тАЬYou
know. Women used to wear it. Status symbols. That sort
of thing.тАЭ He turned his eyes back to the impatient
Cogswell. тАЬWomen donтАЩt wear jewelry much any more. I
doubt if there would be any diamonds at the local
distribution center but if you wanted some they certainly
wouldnтАЩt take more than twenty-four hours to
manufacture you as many as you wanted.тАЭ
тАЬManufacture?тАЭ
The other nodded. тАЬYes, certainly. If I remember
correctly, a diamond is a pure or nearly pure form of
carbon, crystalized in the isometric system. I believe that
in the old days they were useful as points to tools due to
their hardness. However, we now have artificial
substances that are considerably harder, so diamonds are
no longer utilized. Of course, another factor is that they
were quite rare and difficult to locate and to mine.тАЭ He
frowned and added, тАЬIt seems to me that even in your
day they were already beginning to manufacture
diamonds, werenтАЩt they?тАЭ
Tracy gave up. He sighed and said, тАЬNow that you
mention it, I think they were able to produce small
industrial diamonds. They had to subject carbon to
extreme heat and pressure, or something. Damn it. They
were beautiful! Precious! ThatтАЩs why people wanted