"John Varley - Press Enter" - читать интересную книгу автора (Varley John)

The black square at the end flashed on and off. Later I learned it was
called a cursor.
Everyone gathered around. Hal, the computer expert, explained how
many computers went blank after ten minutes of no activity, so the words
wouldn't be burned into the television screen. This one had been green
until I touched it, then displayed black letters on a blue background.
"Has this console been checked for prints?" Osborne asked.
Nobody seemed to know, so Osborne took a pencil and used the
eraser to press the ENTER key.
The screen cleared, stayed blue for a moment, then filled with little
ovoid shapes that started at the top of the screen and descended like rain.
There were hundreds of them in many colors.
"Those are pills," one of the cops said, in amazement. "Look, that's
gotta be a Quaalude. There's a Nembutal." Other cops pointed out other
pills. I recognized the distinctive red stripe around the center of a white
capsule that had to be a Dilantin. I had been taking them every day for
years.
Finally the pills stopped falling, and the damn thing started to play
music at us. "Nearer My God To Thee," in three-part harmony.
A few people laughed. I don't think any of us thought it was funny-it
was creepy as hell listening to that eerie dirge- but it sounded like it had
been scored for penny whistle, calliope, and kazoo. What could you do
but laugh?
As the music played, a little figure composed entirely of squares
entered from the left of the screen and jerked spasti-cally toward the
center. It was like one of those human figures from a video game, but not
as detailed. You had to use your imagination to believe it was a man.
A shape appeared in the middle of the screen. The "man" stopped in
front of it. He bent in the middle, and something that might have been a
chair appeared under him.
"What's that supposed to be?"
"A computer. Isn't it?"
It must have been, because the little man extended his arms, which
jerked up and down like Liberace at the piano. He was typing. The words
appeared above him.
SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE I MISSED SOMETHING. I SIT
HERE, NIGHT AND DAY, A SPIDER IN THE CENTER OF A
COAXIAL WEB, MASTER OF ALL I SURVEYтАж AND IT IS NOT
ENOUGH. THERE MUST BE MORE.
ENTER YOUR NAME HERE яЭо
"Jesus Christ," Hal said. "I don't believe it. An interactive suicide note."
"Come on, we've got to see the rest of this."
 I was nearest the keyboard, so I leaned over and typed my name. But
when I looked up, what I had typed was VICT9R.
"How do you back this up?" I asked.
"Just enter it," Osborne said. He reached around me and pressed enter.
DO YOU EVER GET THAT FEELING, VICT9R? YOU HAVE
WORKED ALL YOUR LIFE TO BE THE BEST THERE IS AT WHAT
YOU DO, AND ONE DAY YOU WAKE UP TO WONDER WHY
YOU ARE DOING IT? THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME.