"A. R. Yngve - Argus project" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yngve A. R)

"Sorry, gotta work. Catch you later, Benazir?"
She kissed him and entered the heli-pod's cockpit-bubble, which began
to ascend with a muffled noise. Gus waved after them, and folded out the
mop handle he kept in the pocket of his dungarees. The synthetic voice
of his wrist-watch told him he was late, and he began to hurry. Giddog
barked happily, running ahead of Gus, looking behind him at his master.
From high above their heads, the rumble of aircraft traffic began to
increase...

Chapter 2: Crash


"Giddog, get me another dry sponge."
The Dalmatian wagged its tail in response, ran away and used its teeth
to pick up a fresh sponge from the dispenser in the corner of the plaza.
The dog then carried it back to Gus, as it had been trained to.
"Good Giddog," Gus smiled, and tossed the large dog a small snack - it
leaped up on its hind legs and snapped it up. Giddog's tail wagged hard
enough to knock over a passing pedestrian.
As Gus attached the sponge to his mop handle and dipped it in the
bucket, he began talking to Giddog. Some of his work-mates found it odd
that he talked to a dumb animal, instead of to a synthetic pet that
could actually converse. Gus simply assumed that Giddog liked to listen,
because the dog looked at him with rapt attention when Gus spoke in his
slow, steady voice.
"You know, Giddog, I'm probably not going to do any more ring-fighting
after the gym closes down. It's not... hell, I don't know. What do you


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think?"
Giddog sat down on the street, and let his black tail and ears droop.
"Hey, don't be sad. This only means I'll have more time for you.
Maybe... maybe we'll move in with Benazir... permanently, settle down
and have a baby, eh?"
Giddog looked up and barked eagerly; Gus grinned and gave his canine
friend a nod.
"Yes, Giddog, we'll find a nice female Dalmatian for you. It's not that
easy, you know. Real dogs, the old-fashioned kind, are rare. I have to
travel into the outback, Australia or Tasmania maybe, to find one that
fits you."
The dog barked again, raised its front paws and wagged its tail, as if
expecting another treat.
"You know," Gus said, half to himself, "I really miss my family. And
your mother, Laura, she was my best childhood friend. You resemble her a
lot - well, except for the little bits."
He took his last doggie treat and tossed it to Giddog. He climbed up on
a ladder platform, one of the several which stood among the clusters of