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

I drove it crazy, without even trying to.тАЭ
тАЬLike a fireship,тАЭ Hana said.
тАЬA what?тАЭ A little indignantly; all I could reference was obscene
slang from a historical novel IтАЩd once read.
тАЬA ship set on fire, and allowed to sail into the enemy fleet. Your
computer hookup was the ship, and your emotions were the fire.тАЭ
тАЬI never thought of it that wayтАжтАЭ I rather liked it.
тАЬImagine itтАФтАЭ she said to the others. тАЬModern systems are so
sensitive that they can be directly influenced, like a human mind.
And he has the ability to invade them, and both physically and
mentally create his own results.тАЭ
Ntebe looked on me with new interest. тАЬYou could actually unite
all the systems on Earth into the Ultimate ComputerтАФтАЭ
тАЬI suppose I could,тАЭ I said, wondering just how interested they
were. тАЬBut you know what happened to Baron von Frankenstein.тАЭ I
realized that this chummy conversation must mean that theyтАЩd
been won over. Rain rattled in staccato on my helmet; some of the
guests were singing тАЬAuld Lang Syne,тАЭ loudly, in front of us. I said
softly, тАЬJustтАФuh, what is this тАШlittle projectтАЩ youтАЩre railroading me
into, then? If you donтАЩt mind my asking.тАЭ
 тАЬWe need your help in inserting a тАШkeyholeтАЩ into a certain
computer system,тАЭ Ntebe said.
тАЬThatтАЩs it?тАЭ I looked from face to face. тАЬThatтАЩs all you need?тАЭ
тАЬ тАШThatтАЩs all,тАЩ he says.тАЭ Kraus glanced heavenward. And darned if
there wasnтАЩt a rainbow up there: a fragile banner of beauty
stretched behind the cloud-streaming summit of Olympus. I sighed.
тАЬChildтАЩs play.тАЭ I looked back at Hana, beginning to forgive her
everything. тАЬWhat system?тАЭ
тАЬThe system that controls Khorram KabirтАЩs international cartel
activities on Earth.тАЭ
тАЬThis Khorram Kabir?тАЭ I pointed up at the parabolic splendor of
the Xanadu. тАЬKubla Khan?тАЭ
She nodded. тАЬI donтАЩt think thereтАЩs more than one.тАЭ
тАЬIsnтАЩt this a little out of your line? Keyholing is a crime, any way
you look at it. I always thought that Finks, Ink, was just an idea
bankтАФand at least technically law-abiding.тАЭ
тАЬThere are no white horses, only light grays.тАЭ Her mouth curved
ironically. тАЬBut you might say the three of us are moonlighting,
anyway. And we are trying to solve a problem for our client. As you
probably know, KabirтАЩs father was one of the most successful
noveau riche industrialists in the prewar Arab States. In the chaos
after World War III he bought out the governments of a lot of
тАШunderdeveloped nationsтАЩ with exploitable resources. Khorram has
spent his life consolidating his fatherтАЩs empire; and with the
police-state surveillance methods his computer networks make
possible, they donтАЩt have much hope of overthrowing his control
before theyтАЩre stripped of resources.тАЭ
тАЬBut if the opposition in one of those countries had a keyhole,
they might be able to literally тАШwork within the systemтАЩ to bring
about change?тАЭ I nodded, beginning to see, and they nodded with