"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 12 - Eloise" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

the Cyclan only as long as he was efficient enough to do so. Was
his aide already searching for signs of mental weakness?
Questioning the destruction only after it had been ordered, so as
to build evidence?

Nequal said, "There is one point which you appear to have
forgotten. The affected brains were questioned and responded
only with gibberish. It may be that they were using unfamiliar
forms of reference, but of what use is that to the Cydan? We deal
in a world of men and must work within familiar boundaries."

Men and the problems they could cause; the normal
inefficiency which grated on his desire for regulated order and
logical patterns of thought.

He said, "I am returning to my office. Find Cyber Wain and
join me there."


***

The simulacrum was in full life when they arrived, the
chamber full of color, flaring greens, blues, reds and yellows; the
depiction expanded so as to show a region of space in which
worlds now could be revealed in multi-hued array.

Nequal stood facing it, his thin, aesthetic features painted
with shifting color; the brightness accentuating the skull-like
contours of his head, the mask of his face. Without turning he
said, "Cyber Wain, report on your progress."

"It is slow, Master."
 "Too slow."

"Agreed, but in this case time cannot be accelerated. The
affinity-twin developed in the laboratory on Riano is composed
of fifteen molecular units, the reversal of one unit determining
whether or not it will be subjective or dominant. This we know.
We also know the nature of the units. What we lack is the
knowledge of the correct sequence in which they must be
joined."

"And the number of possible combinations is very high,"
interjected Yandron. "If it were possible to try one new
combination each second, still it would take four thousand years
to cover them all."

"It cannot be done in a second," said Wain. He was shorter
than the others, but aside from that could have been their twin.
"It takes a minimum of eight hours to assemble and test a