"Peter Watts - The Second Coming" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watts Peter)

"Not really." Russell drums fingers on his monolith. "The field's The professor displays something akin to a very small smile.
so strange that we don't really need religious experience on top of it. "In thirty words or less," Thomas adds. "For idiots."
Some of the eastern religions make claims that sound vaguely "Well," Russell says, "basically, he argued that some billions of
quantum-mechanical, but the similarities are pretty superficial." years hence, life will incorporate itself into a massive quantum-
"Nothing more, well, Christian? Nothing that would lead effect computing device to avoid extinction when the universe
someone to believe in a single omniscient God who raises the collapses."
dead?" "I thought the universe wasn't going to collapse," Thomas
"God no. Oh, except for that Tipler fellow." Russell leans interjects. "I thought they proved it was just going to keep
forward. "Why? Jasmine Fitzgerald hasn't become a Christian, has expandingтАж"
she?" Murder is one thing, his tone suggests, but this... "That was last year," Russell says shortly. "May I continue?"
"I don't think so," Thomas reassures him. "Not unless "Yes, of course."
Christianity's broadened its tenets to embrace human sacrifice." "Thank you. As I was saying, Tipler claimed that billions of
"Yes. Quite." Russell leans back again, apparently satisfied. years hence, life will incorporate itself into a massive quantum-
"Who's Tipler?" Thomas asks. effect computing device to avoid extinction when the universe
The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald Peter Watts
8




collapses. An integral part of this process involves the exact
reproduction of everything that ever happened in the universe up to What's wrong with this picture?
that point, right down to the quantum level, as well as all possible Nothing. Everything. Suddenly awake, Myles Thomas stares
variations of those events." around a darkened studio and tries to convince himself that nothing
Beside the desk, Russell's printer extrudes a paper tongue. He has changed.
pulls it free and hands it over. Nothing has changed. The faint sounds of late-night traffic sound
"So God's a supercomputer at the end of time? And we'll all be the same as ever. Grey parallelograms stretch across wall and
resurrected in the mother of all simulation models?" ceiling, a faint luminous shadow of his bedroom window cast by
"WellтАФ" Russell wavers. The caricature seems to cause him some distant streetlight. Natalie's still gone from the left side of his
physical pain. "I suppose so," he finishes, reluctantly. "In thirty bed, her departure so far removed by now that he doesn't even have
words or less, as you say." to remind himself of it.
"Wow." Suddenly Fitzgerald' ravings sound downright He checks the LEDs on his bedside alarm: 2:35a.
pedestrian. "But if he's rightтАФ" Something's different.
"The consensus is he's not," Russell interjects hastily. Nothing's changed.
"But if. If the model's an exact reproduction, how could you tell Well, maybe one thing. Tipler's heresy sits on the night stand, its
the difference between real life and afterlife? I mean, what would plastic dustcover reflecting slashes of red light from the alarm clock.
be the point?" The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the
"Well, the point is avoiding ultimate extinction, supposedly. As to Resurrection of the Dead. It's too dark to read the lettering but you
how you'd tell the difference..." Russell shakes his head. "Actually, don't forget a title like that. Myles Thomas signed it out of the
I never finished the book. As I said, theology doesn't interest me all library this afternoon, opened it at random
that much."
Thomas shakes his head. "I can't believe it."
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"Not many could," Russell says. Then, almost apologetically, he k яА╜1

we have
adds "Tipler's theoretical proofs were quite extensive, though, as I
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