"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Crunchers, Inc." - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

CRUNCHERS, INC. by KRISTINE KATHRYN RUSCH

This past spring was a fruitful time for Kristine Kathryn Rusch. In addition to seeing
her well-received fantasy novelette, тАЬExcept the Music,тАЭ in our April/May issue, she
had the lead story in the March/April Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and the cover
story in the April Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. In her latest tale, she returns
to science fiction to investigate lifeтАЩs balance sheets.

****

The scream from the middle office was loud and long.

тАЬDamn,тАЭ said Edith. тАЬWeтАЩve just lost another one.тАЭ

Sure enough, Reginald Waterston burst out of the office, slamming the door
against the wallтАФthe windowed one, with the expensive glass that formed its own
shutters.

He stopped at EdithтАЩs deskтАФthey all stopped at her desk, for reasons she
never quite fathomedтАФand said, тАЬMy grandfather gave me a horse!тАЭ

Edith resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She folded her hands on top of the file
that she hadnтАЩt been studying, and leaned forward. The computer built into her
desktop beeped, letting her know that, on its screen, it already had ReginaldтАЩs
personnel file, his suggested severance pay, and his recommendation letter.

тАЬA real horse?тАЭ she said, pretending interest in Reginald WatersonтАЩs
revelation.

тАЬA plastic horse. From 1942. It had no chips in the paint at all.тАЭ Reginald
Waterston was forty-two himself, balding, with a tummy that needed a bit of tuck.
His suit fit looselyтАФsomething Edith would have told him to change if she had been
his company advisorтАФand he needed to trim his fingernails.

Employees five cubicles over slid their chairs toward the aisle. People were
leaning around the ancient gray formations, so that all she could see were eyes.

Rows and rows of eyes.

It was different every time, with every single Actuarial Engineer. And everyone
except Edith thought these outbursts were interesting.

Edith resisted the urge to sigh. She needed Reginald to get the point, and if
she followed his inane line of reasoning, she would be listening to the poor man all
day.
 тАЬThis horse is important becauseтАФ?тАЭ

тАЬItтАЩs the only thing I ever got from him.тАЭ Reginald had to mean the
grandfather, not the horse.