"Spider Robinson - The Free Lunch" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Spider)

definitely . . . . . . different . . . . . . happening . . .

Was there a sound in the air, behind or beneath the sound of Annie's breathing? A kind of hum? The harder
he tried to answer the question, the more uncertain he became. Was there some unfamiliar smell in the
room? Again he was unsure. Was . . . what-ever it was . . . coming more from one direction than another?
Impossible to say.

The more negative reports came in from his senses, the more convinced he became that something was
happening, somewhere.

He knew the sensible thing was to roll over and go back to sleep. Even if he could figure out what was going
on, and even if he concluded something needed to be done about it, he wouldn't be able to do it. His
hostess-mentor, whom he did not want to piss off, was asleep next to him. He was exhausted himself and
sensed he had a big day ahead of him tomorrow.

Heart pounding, he slipped from the bed, so stealthily that Annie's breathing never changed. He had no idea
what kind of signal he was picking up, but perhaps if he moved his detectors around, he could triangulate on
the thing. He paused for a moment, closed his eyes, and set out across the dark room.

The nameless event did seem to change in some way as he moved. But it did so almost at random, so that
the information he gained still refused to collapse into any kind of useful pattern. He changed direction a
couple of times to no avail.

"Your diet must be about fifty-fifty, carrots and locoweed," Annie said softly.

He froze.

"I can't figure out what in the name of God's labia majora you think you're doing . . . but I'm impressed by
how well you're doing it in the dark. You must have eyes like a cat."

"Actually, I've got my eyes closed," he said. "I looked around before when the light was on."

"You look around a room once, and you can navigate it in pitch dark?"

"Uh ... I mean, well, yeah. I guess. Sorry I woke you."

"What the hell were you doing, practicing square dance?"

"I ... well, I ... I thought I heard something. Or something."

"Oh." She sat up. "I see. Interesting. I think I'm starting to understand."

"What?"

"Why I picked you."

"Picked me for what?"

"To be my friend."