"Connie Willis - At the Rialto" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

many beds they have in them and stuff."
"My room has a person in it!" he said. "Dr. Sleeth. From the University
of Texas at Austin. She was changing her clothes." His hair seemed to get
wilder as he spoke. "She thought I was a serial killer."
"And your name is Dr. Whedbee?" Tiffany asked, fooling with the
computer again. "I don't show a reservation for you."
Dr. Whedbee began to cry. Tiffany got out a paper towel, wiped off the
counter, and turned back to me. "May I help you?" she said.


Thursday, 7:30-9 P.M. Opening Ceremonies. Dr. Halvard Onofrio,
University of Maryland at College Park, will speak on the topic, "Doubts
Surrounding the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle." Ballroom.


I finally got my room at five, after Tiffany went off duty. Till then I sat
around the lobby with Dr. Whedbee, listening to Abey Fields complain
about Hollywood.
"What's wrong with Racine?" he said. "Why do we always have to go to
these exotic places, like Hollywood? And St. Louis last year wasn't much
better. The Institute Henri Poincare people kept going off to see the arch
and Busch Stadium."
"Speaking of St. Louis," Dr. Takumi said, "have you seen David yet?"
"No," I said.
"Oh, really?" she said. "Last year at the annual meeting you two were
practically inseparable. Moonlight river boat rides and all."
"What's on the programming tonight?" I said to Abey.
"David was just here," Dr. Takumi said. "He said to tell you he was
going out to look at the stars in the sidewalk."
"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Abey said. "Riverboat rides and
movie stars. What do those things have to do with quantum theory?
Racine would have been an appropriate setting for a group of physicists.
Not like this . .. this ... do you realize we're practically across the street
from Grauman's Chinese Theatre? And Hollywood Boulevard's where all
those gangs hang out. If they catch you wearing red or blue, they'llтАФ"
He stopped. "Is that Dr. Gedanken?" he asked, staring at the front desk.
I turned and looked. A short roundish man with a mustache was trying
to check in. "No," I said. "That's Dr. Onofrio."
"Oh, yes," Abey said, consulting his program book. "He's speaking
tonight at the opening ceremonies. On the Heisenberg uncertainty
principle. Are you going?"
"I'm not sure," I said, which was supposed to be a joke, but Abey didn't
laugh.
"I must meet Dr. Gedanken. He's just gotten funding for a new project."
I wondered what Dr. Gedanken's new project wasтАФI would have loved
to work with him.
"I'm hoping he'll come to my workshop on the wonderful world of
quantum physics," Abey said, still watching the desk. Amazingly enough,
Dr. Onofrio seemed to have gotten a key and was heading for the elevators.
"I think his project has something to do with understanding quantum