"Michael Swanwick - Vacumn Flowers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Swanwick Michael)

ambient that was, after a momentтАЩs relief, as oppressive as
the heat outside.
They walked forward. This was the ultimate form of
ostentation among technology freaksтАФto have a system so
complete and sophisticated that nothing showed; no
machines, no wires, no controls. The room would be laced
with an invisible tracery of trigger-beams, directional
mikes and subvocal pickups. There was power here, for
one who knew its geography.
The woman raised her head, fixed Rebel with cold
snakelike eyes. Her skull was white as marble, and her
face was painted in a hexangular pattern suggestive of
starbursts and ice crystals. тАЬWhat have you stolen for me
this time, Jerzy?тАЭ
The color was back in HeisenтАЩs face. He showed teeth
again, and flamboyantly threw back his cloak to allow
himself a sweeping, mocking bow. тАЬMay I present,тАЭ he
said, тАЬthe only clean copy in existence of next monthтАЩs lead
release from Deutsche Nakasone.тАЭ
The woman did not move. тАЬHow did this happen?тАЭ
тАЬWhat a pleasure it is to see you, Jerzy, wonтАЩt you have a
chair?тАЭ The little man grinned cockily. тАЬIsnтАЩt that what you
meant to say, Snow? Or are we expected to sit on the
floor?тАЭ
Snow moved her head slightly, the sort of movement a
lizard might make on a cold morning after prolonged
stasis. тАЬBehind you.тАЭ Rebel turned and almost stumbled
into a Queen Anne chair. Its twin rested neatly beside it.
Reflexively she stepped back. Heisen, too, looked
unnerved. However the chairs had been sleight-of-handed
into existence, it was as pure and uncluttered an effect as
any medieval miracle.
They sat, and there was an odd glint in SnowтАЩs eyes as
they faced her again. Was it amusement, Rebel wondered?
If so, it was buried deep, Heisen cleared his throat and
said, тАЬThis is Rebel Elizabeth Mudlark. Two days ago she
was a persona bum, name of Eucrasia Walsh. Eucrasia
was doing prelim on a string of optioned wetsets when she
burned on the Mudlark wafer and popped her base.
 Wound up in Our Lady of Roses, andтАФтАЭ
тАЬHold it right there, chucko!тАЭ Rebel said angrily. тАЬReel it
back and give it to me without the gobbledegook.тАЭ
Heisen glanced at Snow and she nodded slightly. He
began again, this time directing his speech at Rebel.
тАЬDeutsche Nakasone reviews a lot of wetware every day.
Most of it is never used, but it all has to be evaluated. They
hire persona bums to do the first screening. Not much to
it. They wire you up, suppress your base
personalityтАФthatтАЩs EucrasiaтАФprogram in a new persona,
test it, deprogram it, then program you back to your base