"Vernor Vinge - Rainbows End" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

after a moment, G├╝nberk sent him a silent message.

Braun тАФ > Mitsuri, Vaz: This is the best you could recruit, Alfred?
Alfred didn't reply directly. Instead, he turned to the creature sitting on the table. "Welcome to
Barcelona, Mr. Rabbit," he said. He waved at the towers of the Sagrada Familia, which soared up and
up from just across the street. The cathedral was best seen without virtual elaboration; after all, the reality
of Gaudi architecture was gaudy beyond the imagination of modern revisionists. "Do you have any idea
why we selected this location for our meeting?"

The rabbit sipped its tea. Its gaze slid in a very un-rabbity way to take in the noisy crowds that swept
past the tables, to scan the costumes and body-plans of tourists and locals. "Ah, is it that Barcelona is a
place for the beautiful and the bizarre, one of the few great cities of the twentieth century whose charm
survives in the modern world? Could it be that on the side, you and your families are taking touchy-feely
tours through Pare G├╝ell and writing it all off on your expense accounts?" He stared at Braun and at
Keiko Mitsuri. Mitsuri was frankly masked. She looked a bit like Marcel Duchamp's nude, built from a
shifting complex of crystal planes. The rabbit shrugged. "But then again, maybe you two are thousands of
kilometers away."

Keiko laughed. "Oh, don't be so indecisive," she said, speaking with a completely synthetic accent and
syntax. "I'm quite happy to be in Pare G├╝ell right now, feeling reality with my very own real hands."

Mitsuri тАФ > Braun, Vaz: In fact, I'm in my office, admiring the moonlight on Tokyo Bay.

The rabbit continued, ignorant of the silent-messaging byplay: "Whatever. In any case, the real reasons
for meeting here: Barcelona has very direct connections to wherever you're really from, and modern
security to disguise what we say. Best of all, it has laws banning popular and police snooping... unless of
course you are the EU Intelligence Board."

Mitsuri тАФ > Braun, Vaz: Well, that's one-third of a correct guess.

Braun тАФ > Mitsuri, Vaz: Mr. Rabbit himself is calling from some distance. An EU real-time
estimate hung in the air above the little creature's head: seventy-five percent probability that the mind
behind the rabbit image was in North America.

Alfred leaned toward the rabbit and smiled. As the agent with physical presence, Vaz had limitations тАФ
but some advantages, too. "No, we're not the secret police. And yes, we wanted some secure
communication that was a bit more personal than text messaging." He tapped his chest. "In particular, you
see me physically here. It builds trust." And should give you all sorts of invalid clues. Vaz waved to a
waiter, ordered a glass of Rioja. Then, turning back to the creature on the tablecloth: "In recent months,
you have bragged many things, Mr. Rabbit. Others brag similarly nowadays, but you have certificates
that are difficult to come by. Various people with notable reputations have endorsed your abilities."

The rabbit preened. This was a rabbit with many implausible mannerisms. Physical realism did not rank
high in its priorities. "Of course I am highly recommended. For any problem, political, military, scientific,
artistic, or amorous тАФ meet my terms, and I will deliver."

Mitsuri тАФ > Braun, Vaz: Go ahead, Alfred. Braun тАФ > Mitsuri, Vaz: Yes, the minimal
version of course. Nothing more till we see some results that we couldn't make for ourselves.

Alfred nodded as if to himself. "Our problem has nothing to do with politics or war, Mr. Rabbit. We have