"Jim Stark - LieDeck Revolution 02 - Endgame" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stark Jim)

happen, without the fear of sudden chaos, without the traditional certainty of eventual calamity. All human
тАЬhistoryтАЭ before 2014 now seemed like a comic book, an unfunny caricature, an embarrassing corner of
the family tree that one didn't talk about, except maybe in a whisper.

Of course it wasn't any kind of magic that had changed everything back in 2014. It was a little device
called the LieDeck, a lie detector that worked by instantaneously and infallibly analyzing our voice
patternsтАФplus the inevitable political and social fallout from such a potent invention. The advent of the
LieDeck had shaken Homo sapiens to the nucleus, unmasked the unreality and duplicity of almost every
person, every institution, every belief. As everyone on the planet knew, the device had brought civilization
to the brink of omnicide, and the LieDeck Revolution had plainly and indisputably required the
establishment of the World Democratic Authority. Civilians simply could not handle the LieDeck ... or
rather the corrected version of reality that was so brutally exposed by the thing. That was proven quickly,
and beyond a smidgen of a doubt. Now, only the WDA had the LieDeck, and as a result, there was
peace on EarthтАФwithout which there would likely be exactly nothing, or at least nothing alive, or at least
no humans alive.

Until the spring of twenty thirty-two, if I called someone on the Net, faces lit up, Lilly remembered with
sadness, and the responses were almost sung. If I arrived at the door ... well, that called for tea and
cookies, or the offer of a beer, or a joint.

Everyone knew that WDA agents couldn't accept more than a glass of water, but that regulation didn't
stop the invitations. Whether the approach was in cyberspace or тАЬon the warm,тАЭ Americans had always
shown their gratitude, their appreciation. It made Lilly's job a joy. Now, since the Henderson Scandals of
last May and June, most citizens asked straight off the top: тАЬAre you really with the WDA?тАЭ It was as if
nobody with a pinch of common sense would choose to work for the world government. And there was
always that implied supplementary: тАЬWhen you're done asking your stupid questions, would you please
leave me alone?тАЭ If we didn't ask the four questions that deter criminal activity, thought Lilly, the answers
would be different from what they are now. Some things were nothing less than self-evident, and yet
nowadays, billions of people seemed to miss the point.

The civilian governments of nations still backed the World Democratic Authority one hundred
percentтАФnot that they had much choiceтАФbut the universal public consensus was that the world body
had gotten too big for its britches, and had invaded the sacred spiritual territory that lay out beyond its
policing mandate. It was broadly believed that the chance to rein the thing in had passed, forever. Most
civilians felt locked in, doomed to wonder in the silence of their minds whether this or that event in their
lives might have turned out differently, or better, had not тАЬthose bastards from the WDAтАЭ interfered,
using their damnable little LieDecks. The WDA hadn't just lost the trust of the people; it had lost their
respect. Where once it was loved, it was now doubted, feared ... even despised by some.

It's just not fair, Lilly grumbled silently. We tax the nations at a lousy two percent of their government
revenues, guarantee the peace, and provide the SuperNet free of charge to all. It's a fantastic deal. Her
mind flew back to the day, in her first year of high school, when she had learned that F├лdor Mikhailovich
Dostoevski, the giant of Russian literature, had ultimately defined the human species as тАЬungrateful
bipeds.тАЭ He was too generous by half, she huffed internally. People aren't happy unless they're pissed off.

Lilly felt there was no sense in proving her own point by being ticked off, so ... she made a concerted and
conscious effort to dismiss her anger and look on the bright side. It wasn't easy.
She'd left Miami, Florida on short notice. She had a few friends from work ... and the good ones will still
be in touch with me when I hit forty. Her father had mercifully passed away after suffering from cancer
for thirty months. Her dad's death had happened fifteen years ago, half a lifetime for Lilly, but her mom