"Eric Frank Russell - A Great Deal of Power" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Eric Frank)

William Smith stood up. He was of medium height, handsome, thirtyish,
well-groomed and looked intelligent.
тАШYour name?тАЩ
тАШWilliam Smith.тАЩ
тАШYour purpose?тАЩ
тАШTo destroy power at the direction of my masters.тАЩ
Kluge lowered his brows and demanded, тАШHow?тАЩ
тАШI shall request each nominee to surrender power voluntarily. If he refuses he
dies.тАЩ
тАШHow?тАЩ persisted Kluge.
тАШI create within him the desire to die and he nourishes it to the very end.тАЩ
тАШYou hate power?тАЩ prompted Wurmser.
тАШI hate power,тАЩ confirmed William Smith, his complete lack of emphasis
somehow lending force to his words.
Kluge complained to Speidel, тАШIt is about this that I have some misgivings. I
have gone to the trouble of reading several authorities upon hypnosis. All say the
sameтАФa man cannot be compelled to do anything against his natural inclinations,
anything which infringes upon his moral code.тАЩ
тАШThat is trueтАФof hypnosis.тАЩ Speidel grinned, exposing his teeth. тАШThis faculty
of his is not hypnosis. DonтАЩt ask me what else it is because we donтАЩt know. It is
something we stumbled upon by accident and developed.тАЩ
тАШComplete mental mastery,тАЩ suggested Wurmser. тАШAnd it works!тАЩ He paused,
went on. тАШCertain Eastern mystics can and occasionally do will themselves into
Nirvana or, in other words, death. Usually it takes them several days. No autopsy
reveals an organic cause.тАЩ He gestured towards William Smith. тАШHe can make every
victim go one better. We knowтАФweтАЩve tried him out on a couple of handy
deadbeats. They expired within hours, minutesтАЩтАФhe chuckled flatlyтАФ тАШOf natural
causes.тАЩ
тАШA dim-witted guinea-pig is one thing,тАЩ opined Kluge, unim-pressed. тАШA
strong-willed man is another. In time of warтАФany kind of warтАФone has to
overcome strong-willed opposition.тАЩ
тАШHe can do it,тАЩ said Speidel, betraying not a shadow of doubt. тАШHe can fight a
war so cunningly that the enemy wonтАЩt even know it has started.тАЩ
тАШThe days of map-battles are through,тАЩ contributed Wurmser with a touch of
malice. тАШNo more throwing of masses of pawns against other masses of pawns. This
is twenty-first-century super-chess. We leave the pawns undisturbed while we snatch
away the big pieces one by one. They just vanish from the boardтАФof natural
causes.тАЩ
тАШI know the proposed technique.тАЩ Kluge waved an impatient hand. тАШAfter all, I
had a share in devising it. The fact that our methods will be radically different from
any employed in the past does not make the war any the less a military operation. I
view it from that aspect. Therefore I am duly cautious.тАЩ
тАШNo more careful than we.тАЩ Speidel handed him a list. тАШSee for yourself. This
is his first short list of victims. All are strong-willed men possessed of considerable
personal power. Do you notice any-thing peculiar about them?тАЩ
тАШNone are key-members of the opposition,тАЩ said Kluge, examining the list.
тАШTherefore the opposition will not smell danger before our first real test is
completed,тАЩ Speidel pointed out. тАШNot being affected by it they wonтАЩt be interested,
wonтАЩt be suspicious. Indeed, all these powerful men have so little to do with the
enemy military machine that their preliminary passing will serve only to confuse the