"Joan D. Vinge - Fireship" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Joan D)

Fireship
Joan D. Vinge
First publication in Analog December 1978
Scanned from The Best Science Fiction Novellas of the Year #1 ,
Terry Carr, ed



WeтАЩve had stories of cyborgs for decades in science
fiction, but the subject is so full of possibilities that many
fascinating tales remain to be toldтАФespecially when we
consider the ever-more-startling capabilities of
computers. What if a manтАЩs mind were to be linked with a
sophisticated computer of the future? And what if that
man were to become an outlaw?
Joan D. Vinge is one of the emerging stars of the late
1970s (her first story appeared in 1974). She won a Hugo
Award in 1978 for her novelette тАЬEyes of Amber.тАЭ


I really mustтАЩve been drunk. Because boy, was I ever hung overтАж I
woke up groaning out of a dream that IтАЩd just had my head shrunk,
and couldnтАЩt tell if itтАЩd been a dream or not. I dragged my face up off
the pillow, trying to see the clock on the bedside barтАж the clocks,
there were two of тАЩem. Funny, I only remembered one, last night.
Ohh. Last night тАФ
But whatтАЩd finally got me awake wasnтАЩt just the ringing in my
ears: the viewphone was starting into тАЬStarlight SerenadeтАЭ for
about the tenth time. Finally remembering where I was, sort of, I
crawled back across the bedтАЩs two meters of jelly to the phone on
the other side. I took a look at myself in the mirrored screen. And
then I hit blank screen before I pressed the voice button. тАЬHello?тАЭ I
said. It sounded like тАЬHuh.тАЭ
 тАЬMr. Ring? Are you there? This is the lobbyтАФтАЭ She was pretty,
but she had a voice like disaster sirens.
I considered maybe dying, and mumbled something.
She looked relieved. тАЬVisitors to see you, Mr. Ring.тАЭ
Confused warnings went off down in my mind: тАЬAre they wearinтАЩ
uniforms?тАЭ ItтАЩs nice to be wanted, but not by the U.S. government.
тАЬNo, theyтАЩre not, sir.тАЭ She blinked at me. тАЬShall I send them up?тАЭ
тАЬUgh, noтАФтАЭ I waited for my head to fall off; no luck. тАЬUh, jusтАЩ tell
тАЩem IтАЩll be down soon.тАЭ Give or take a couple of hours. тАж
тАЬAll right. Thank you, Mr. Ring.тАЭ The screen went blank, but her
smile stayed behind. I wondered what she did in her spare time. IтАЩd
have to ask her, if I lived long enough. I lay back on the blue satin
sheets, trying to decide whether to sit up or give up.
Sitting up won, and I pushed my feet over the edge of the bed
onto the floor. They came down in a pile of cold, hard slippery
things. I pulled myself up and leaned forwardтАФ
тАЬOh, geezтАФnot again.тАЭ The floor around the bed was ankle-deep