"Vernor Vinge - Fast Times at Fairmont High" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

Juan kept the little blue pills in an unseen corner of his
bedroom. They really were tiny, the custom creation of a lab
that saw no need for inert fillers, or handsome packaging.
And Juan was pretty sure they were blue, except that as a
matter of principle he tried not to look at them, even when he
was off-line. Just one pill a week gave him the edge he
needed....
****
Final exam week was always chaos at Fairmont Junior
High. The school's motto was тАЬTrying hard not to become
obsolete"тАФand the kids figured that applied to the faculty
more than anyone else. This semester they got through the
first morningтАФMs. Wilson's math examтАФwithout a hitch, but
already in the afternoon the staff was tweaking things
around: Principal Alcalde scheduled a physical assembly
during what should have been student prep time.
Almost all the eighth grade was piled into the creaky
wooden meeting hall. Once this place had been used for horse
shows. Juan thought he could still smell something of that.
Tiny windows looked out on the hills surrounding the campus.
Sunlight spiked down through vents and skylights. In some
ways, the room was weird even without enhancement.
Principal Alcalde marched in, looking as dire and driven as
ever. He gestured to his audience, requesting visual
consensus. In Juan's eyes, the room lighting mellowed and
the deepest shadows disappeared.



3
 Fast Times at Fairmont High
by Vernor Vinge


тАЬBetcha the Alcalde is gonna call off the nakedness exam.тАЭ
Bertie Todd was grinning the way he did when someone else
had a problem. тАЬI hear there are parents with Big Objections.тАЭ
тАЬYou got a bet,тАЭ said Juan. тАЬYou know how Mr. Alcalde is
about nakedness.тАЭ
тАЬHeh. True.тАЭ Bertie's image slouched back in the chair next
to Juan.
Principal Alcalde was into a long speech, about the fast-
changing world and the need for Fairmont to revolutionize
itself from semester to semester. At the same time they must
never forget the central role of modern education which was
to teach the kids how to learn, how to pose questions, how to
be adaptableтАФall without losing their moral compass.
It was very old stuff. Juan listened with a small part of his