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

Emily was smart and decent, just his type. ButтАФthe thing wasтАФhe couldnтАЩt
possibly think about Emily without also thinking about work. Those years of
servitude were something he wanted to forget. In any case, right this minute
he was for sure too busy to call Emily, what with all these frigginтАЩ ants.

Stefan glared at his unshaven clown-haired visage in the mirror. He
knew in his heart that he was being stupid. How many more women were
likely to ask for face-time with him? HeтАЩd never get another such offer from
kind-hearted Emily Yu. There were a million pretty women in L.A., but never
a lot of Emilys. Call her now, Stefan, call her. Do it. You have ten thousand
phones in here. Call.

All right, in a minute, but first heтАЩd call his landlord about the ants.

Back in his living room, long tendrils of ants were spreading out from
the TV. Amazingly tiny ants: they looked no bigger than pixels, and their
jagged ant-trails were as thin as hairline cracks. They were heading for the
laundry baskets.
 тАЬNot my cell phones, you little bastards,тАЭ cried Stefan, hauling his
baskets outside to the dilapidated porch.

He found a phone that seemed to hold a charge.

тАЬCall Mr. Noor,тАЭ Stefan instructed. HeтАЩd cloned a single phone
account across all ten thousand of his phones.

He heard ringing, and then his landlordтАЩs dry, emotionless voice.

тАЬThis is Stefan Oertel, Mr. Noor. From the cottage in the back of your
estate? IтАЩm being invaded by ants. I need an exterminator right now.тАЭ

тАЬHyperio,тАЭ said Mr. Noor. тАЬYou tell Hyperio, he fixes that.тАЭ This was Mr.
NoorтАЩs usual response. Unfortunately Mr. NoorтАЩs handyman Hyperio was
some kind of illegal, who appeared maybe once a month. Stefan had seen
Hyperio just the other day, trimming the bushes and hand-rolling cigarettes.
This meant that the ants would rampage unchallenged for weeks.

тАЬDoes Hyperio have a telephone?тАЭ asked Stefan. тАЬDoes he even
have a last name?тАЭ

тАЬUse poison spray,тАЭ said Mr. Noor shortly. тАЬIтАЩm very busy now.тАЭ Mr.
Noor was always on the phone to rich friends in the distant Middle East.
End of call.

Stefan snorted and squared his shoulders. The ant-war was up to
him.

He found his cyber-tool kit and extracted the coil of a flexible
flashlight. He poked his instrument through the slots in the back of his TV.
The ants had settled right in there, ambitious and adaptable, like childless