"Vernor Vinge - The Cookie Monster" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

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The Cookie Monster
Vernor Vinge

Man is "the time-binding animal."
But in the future, that simple
statement may take on meanings
that Korzybski never imagined. . . .

"So how do you like the new job?"

Dixie Mae looked up from her keyboard and spotted a pimply face peering at her from over the
cubicle partition.

"It beats flipping burgers, Victor," she said.

Victor bounced up so his whole face was visible. "Yeah? ItтАЩs going to get old awfully fast."

Actually, Dixie Mae felt the same way. But doing customer support at Lotsa-Tech was a real job, a
foot in the door at the biggest high-tech company in the world. "Gimme a break, Victor! This is
our first day." Well, it was the first day not counting the six days of product familiarization
classes. "If you canтАЩt take this, youтАЩve got the attention span of a cricket."

"ThatтАЩs a mark of intelligence, Dixie Mae. IтАЩm smart enough to know whatтАЩs not worth the attention
of a first-rate creative mind."

Grr. "Then your first-rate creative mind is going to be out of its gourd by the end of the
summer."

Victor smirked. "Good point." He thought a second, then continued more quietly, "But see, um, IтАЩm
doing this to get material for my column in the Bruin. You know, big headlines like тАШThe New
SweatshopsтАЩ or тАШDeath by BoredomтАЩ. I havenтАЩt decided whether to play it for laughs or go for heavy
social consciousness. In any case,"тАУhe lowered his voice another notchтАУ"IтАЩm bailing out of here,
um, by the end of next week, thus suffering only minimal brain damage from the whole sordid
experience."

"And youтАЩre not seriously helping the customers at all, huh, Victor? Just giving them hilarious
misdirections?"

VictorтАЩs eyebrows shot up. "IтАЩll have you know IтАЩm being articulate and seriously helpful . . . at
least for another day or two." The weasel grin crawled back onto his face. "I wonтАЩt start being
Bastard Consultant from Hell till right before I quit."

That figures. Dixie Mae turned back to her keyboard. "Okay, Victor. Meantime, how about letting me
do the job IтАЩm being paid for?"

Silence. Angry, insulted silence? No, this was more a leering, undressing-you-with-my-eyes
silence. But Dixie Mae did not look up. She could tolerate such silence as long as the leerer was
out of armтАЩs reach.