"Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman - StarShield Book 1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weis Margaret)

Could she feel satisfaction? Was she excited?
KapakтАЩs mind reached out among the security channels and found Infac IV, the synth assigned
to communicate show times to the public over the telecom system. She gave the word to Infac IV. Infac
IV gave the word to Comcen Synth, the mind controlling the telecom network.
тАШIn the beginning was the word ...тАЩ
The lights on the avenues failed suddenly. Even the lights on the Avenue of Diversion, which
had not been darkened for any reason in nearly a hundred years, died without warning. The sparse
crowd that had been walking the streets was suddenly confused тАФ blinded for the moment by the
absence of light.
Power, gas and water supplies throughout the city were choked off. In the suburban housing
sections, outside the ancient walls of the original city, the homes were more modern and were designed
with independent backup systems. These systems had seen increasing use in the last week, their dwell-
ing owners glad of their foresight in installing their homes with such precautions.
Each backup system was controlled its own independent synth. Each, in turn, refused to func-
tion within the first ten minutes of the Word. For some reason, clothes laundry machines refused to join
the general strike until five minutes later.
тАШAnd the Word was God ...тАЩ
Within fifteen minutes, the city, nation, world, was plunged into complete darkness. Even the
starships balked against their owners commands, refusing to leave their berths.
Only two systems remained functional: the main haunting projectors in the coliseum continued
to weave a massive illusion on the main stage and the Omnet system continued to display from their
screens the cycling news broadcasts that all was well on Tentris.




┬й Copyright 1997 by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman / All Rights Reserved. Page 31
Chapter 6: Dialogues
тАЬOscan! Hurry!тАЭ Evon yelled from the balcony. тАЬI donтАЩt think we have much time!тАЭ
Oscan Kelis wiped the sweat from his balding pate and jabbed his fingers at the interface pad
again. A flow of characters danced across the crystal display oval in front of him, interrupted occasion-
ally by garish red flashing warnings and abrupt audio reprimands from the synth interface unit.
тАЬDamn these TBPтАЩs!тАЭ Oscan growled at the equipment. тАЬKeep talking, ladies, itтАЩs about all we
have left.тАЭ
To either side of him, Terica Dharah and Kiria Brenai were speaking at the same time to the
interface synth, engaging it in separate conversations and problems. Oscan kept frantically trying each
access process that he knew in varied sequences. Oscan had worked at the Citadel before his demotion
and assignment to the sifters at Brishan. The people he worked with were polite enough not to ask him
why he was demoted and he was practical enough never to offer a reason. However, he was at least
smart enough to leave a number of back doors into the central Omnet synthetic mind. The problem was
that they could only talk to the central synth through an interface synth that was too young to remember
Oscan.
However, being young did have some disadvantages. A young synth could quickly be over-
loaded when it was bombarded with request or data for processing. Then it would watershed the excess
duties to the central synth and let the big brother take care of the excess problems.
Which is precisely what Oscan was trying to get it to do. If his calling card could get through to
the central synth, then he was sure he could get a direct connect. Then perhaps they could find out what
was going on here.
Oscan could feel Evon stride back into the room. тАЬThe entire cityтАЩs dark except for the glow
from the Omnet terminals. WhatтАЩs taking you so long, Oscan? I though you knew your way around this