"Rudy Rucker & Bruce Sterling - Hormiga Canyon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rucker Rudy)

тАЬI need to change,тАЭ admitted Stefan.

The ants gathered rapidly around the bait, climbing on top of each
other in their eagerness to feed. Stefan squatted to stare. тАЬWow, weтАЩre
drawing a matinee crowd!тАЭ

тАЬYeah, we got a big pop hit,тАЭ observed Jayson. The diverse crowd of
ants included little foragers, big-jawed soldiers, curvaceous nurses, boxy
undertakers...

Stefan pointed. тАЬThat oneтАЩs big as a rubber beetle! She must be a
queen or something!тАЭ

тАЬSquash her first,тАЭ said Jayson, plucking a rumpled pack of cigarettes
from his pants pocket.
 тАЬIтАЩm gonna capture her! A specimen like this belongs in a science
museum.тАЭ Stefan hopped up and fetched nonconductive plastic tweezers
from his electronics toolbox.

But when he leaned in to clutch the biggest ant with the tools of
scienceтАФwhoa, the ant shrank to a pencil-dot and disappeared into the
floor boards.

тАЬFeeling very strange!тАЭ exclaimed Stefan. тАЬDid you see?тАЭ

тАЬThese ants are shifty mofos; I donтАЩt like тАШem,тАЭ said Jayson, lighting
his cigarette. He dialed up his lighterтАЩs flame to make a small blowtorch.
тАЬThese website-eaters must have swallowed some chips by now. Tea
partyтАЩs over, girls.тАЭ

Scorched by JaysonтАЩs lighter flame, the ants milled, panicked, and
dispersed.

StefanтАЩs smart-dust scanner was the size of a pen, with a wireless
connection to his laptop. Most of the dust was still half-glued on the floor,
so it was hard to find a clear signal. Stefan tapped eagerly at his laptopтАЩs
keyboard, tweaking the scanner. Enthralled by discovery, heтАЩd forgotten all
about the pain in his wrists.

The smart-dust signals were vanishing through the walls of his
apartment. With some bloodhound-style electronic tracking, Stefan found
that the signals converged onto a winding ant highway running through his
sun-baked yard.

тАЬSee, Jayson, those ants donтАЩt live anywhere near my house.тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩll bring the gasoline,тАЭ said Jayson, opening the last Mexican beer. тАЬI
saw a five gallon can in your garage by the leaf-blower.тАЭ

They followed the signals up Mr. NoorтАЩs long driveway, the gas