"Norman Spinrad - Mouse" - читать интересную книгу автора (Spinrad Norman)

difficult for the Deputy Minister for Overseas Cultural Relations to
comprehend.
"How can they expect to get away with this affront to the Middle
Kingdom?" he demanded. "How can the American government permit this?
You did make it clear that we may retaliate against other American
corporations as well?"
Xian Bai nodded miserably.
"And?" demanded the Deputy Minister.
Xian Bai took a deep breath, fixed his gaze upon the desktop.
"They...they issued their own ultimatum."
"An ultimatum?" whispered the Deputy Minister, clearly
dumbfounded.
"The People's Republic of China must allow THE LONG MARCH to open
simultaneously in no less than one thousand theaters nationwide with
Disney to retain sixty percent of the gross, must cede the necessary
real estate for the establishment of no less than one thousand Panda
Pagodas, plus Disneyworlds in Shanghai, Peking, and Hong Kong, and
grant a one hundred percent tax abatement for a period of fifty years
on these properties, or..."
"Or?"
"Or, I was told, the Mouse shall roar, Uncle Scrooge will dip
into his money bin, Dumbo will fly, and the Big Bad Wolf will huff and
puff and blow our house down!"
#
At first, it appeared that vast black storm-fronts were
approaching China from several directions, then trepidation turned to
bemused delight as the black clouds resolved into thousands upon
untold thousands of kites.
Black kites. All identical.
All in the form of the happily grinning face of the world-famous
Mouse.
No, not kites--
"Balloons!" shouted the Deputy Minister For Overseas Cultural
Affairs. "Millions upon millions of them floating gently down from the
skies all over China!"
"Amusing," said Xian Bai, "but I don't--"
"Amusing! screamed the Deputy Minister, reaching into a pocket
and extracting a deflated version of the apparently offending item.
"They deflate in a moment to the size of a poor man's wallet! They
reinflate with a few puffs of air!"
This ability he then proceeded to demonstrate, producing an
example of the head of the famous Mouse somewhat larger than a soccer
ball.
"Do you realize what this is, you imbecile?" he demanded.
Xian Bai regarded the grinning balloon face in perplexity. All
seemed quite ordinary, except for the bulb at the end of the long
white rodent's muzzle, which, instead of the traditional black ball,
seemed to be a small silvery packet of some sort of electronic
circuitry....
"This," said the Deputy Minister, poking Xian Bai's nose with