"Eric Frank Russel - Next of Kin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Eric Frank)

Achtung!



Upon the cover the nominal publisher claims that this superb story was produced by Eric Frank Russell.
It is a barefaced lie because his Eustace knows better.



Apart from the typing of it I had nothing whatever to do with the book. It was ghost-written for me by
my next of kin. Or perhaps I should say it was kin-written by my next of ghost.



This character, the real author, deposes that his name is Eustace Postlethwaite and considers it a
handicap to literary fame. All the same, he swears that this yarn will be printed because he has fraternal
influence with the real publisher, Eustace Bam, who is a shady relative of the nominal publisher.



I am given to understand that neither of these Eustaces would ever be seen dead with a Willy and that
where the name appears herein it should be viewed as obscene. Does this baffle you? Do you crave
enlightenment? Read on ...

ONE



He knew he'd stuck his neck out and it was too late to withdraw. It had been the same since early
childhood when he'd accepted dares and been sorry immediately afterward. They say that one learns
from experience; if that were true the human race would now be devoid of folly. He'd learned plenty in
his time and forgotten most of it within a week. So yet again he'd wangled himself into a predicament and
undoubtedly would be left to wangle himself out of it as best he could.



Once more he knocked at the door, a little harder but not imperatively. Behind the panels a chair
scraped and a harsh voice responded with hearable impatience.



"Come in!"



Marching inside, he stood at attention before the desk; head erect, thumbs in line with the seams of the
pants, feet at an angle of forty-five degrees. A robot, he thought, just a damned robot.
 Fleet-Admiral Markham surveyed him from beneath bushy brows, his cold gaze slowly rising from feet
to head then descending from head to feet.