"Rudy Rucker - The Man Who Ate Himself" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rucker Rudy)

parks. Some giraffes were stalking through the tall grass to our right, and just ahead of us a tremendous
snake lay sunning himself.

Still accelerating, Harry detoured around the snake, knocking a cloud of winged insects out of the
elephant grass. The unexpected lurch made me smack my head on the edge of the window. Suddenly I'd
had enough.

I reached my left foot over and stepped on the brake. Hard. At the same time I took the key out of the
ignition and pocketed it. Far behind us, the android fired another shot. You could hardly hear it over the
steady chirping of the insects.

"Harry, the car's rented in my name. You could have broken an axle just then, And we've got some
delicate machinery in the trunk. What are you trying to prove?"

We'd skidded to a stop half off the road, some hundred feet past that huge snake. It was watching us
with glassy eyes, and seemed to be nibbling its tail. Marston's house was still out of sight.

Finally Harry answered. "You know how I feel, Fletch. I don't like Marston. He's stupid. He's a bully."
Harry's hands clenched and unclenched on the wheel. "I knew a kid just like him in eighth grade. Donny
Lyons. Every day Donny Lyons would knock me down and steal my dessert. Until one day I hid one of
my father's false teeth inside a Twinkie." Harry let out one of his weird giggles.

"Look, Harry. Marston wants to give us a lot of money to help float his corpse in outer space forever.
We're going to take the money. We need it because for some crazy reason you wouldn't let me market
that waste disposal device of your..."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I know, Harry. Just let me finish. The point is that we can take Marston for a lot of bucks. You told me
you don't see how his capsule can avoid crashing ... sooner or later. So just remember that we're
screwing him. But, please, for God's sake, don't tell him. Then everyone'll be happy."

"Everyone except his wife."

"Look, how's she going to know if Marston's capsule falls into a star somewhere? As if she'd care
anyway.

She's not even thirty! Now, will you trade places with me and let me drive?"

Harry opened his door and got out heavily. It was hot, and the plastic seat was sweaty where he'd sat. I
waited a minute before sliding over. Harry stood next to the car and stared back at that snake.

"Isn't there some myth?" he said when he got back in. "About a snake who swallows his own tail?"

"Yeah. I don't know." I rolled up my window. There was something moving towards us through the tall
grass on our left. It would by typical of Marston to have lions loose to handle intruders. I started up the
engine and drove on.

There was a second fence around Marston's house and lawn. They were set in a crater-like depression a
hundred meters across. The old man was out in front, leaning on a hoe and waiting for us. I couldn't