"Тед Чан. Seventy-Two Letters (72 буквы, Рассказ) (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

Seated at his desk in the manufactory, Stratton squinted to read the
pamphlet heТd been given on the street. The text was crudely printed, the
letters blurred.
"Shall Men be the Masters of NAMES, or shall Names be the masters of
MEN? For too long the Capitalists have hoarded Names within their coffers,
guarded by Patent and Lock and Key, amassing fortunes by mere possession
of LETTERS, while the Common Man must labour for every shilling. They will
wring the ALPHABET until they have extracted every last penny from it, and
only then discard it for us to use. How long will We allow this to
continue?"
Stratton scanned the entire pamphlet, but found nothing new in it.
For the past two months heТd been reading them, and encountered only
the usual anarchist rants; there was as yet no evidence for Lord
FieldhurstТs theory that the sculptors would use them to target StrattonТs
work. His public demonstration of the dexterous automata was scheduled for
next week, and by now Willoughby had largely missed his opportunity to
generate public opposition. In fact, it occurred to Stratton that he might
distribute pamphlets himself to generate public support. He could explain
his goal of bringing the advantages of automata to everyone, and his
intention to keep close control over his namesТ patents, granting licenses
only to manufacturers who would use them conscientiously. He could even
have a slogan: "Autonomy through Automata," perhaps?
There was a knock at his office door. Stratton tossed the pamphlet into
his wastebasket. "Yes?"
A man entered, somberly dressed, and with a long beard. "Mr.
Stratton?" he asked. "Please allow me to introduce myself: my name is
Benjamin Roth. I am a kabbalist."
Stratton was momentarily speechless. Typically such mystics were
offended by the modern view of nomenclature as a science, considering it a
secularization of a sacred ritual. He never expected one to visit the
Manufactory. "A pleasure to meet you. How may I be of assistance?"
"IТve heard that you have achieved a great advance in the permutation
of letters."
"Why, thank you. I didnТt realize it would be of interest to a person
like yourself."
Roth smiled awkwardly. "My interest is not in its practical
applications. The goal of kabbalists is to better know God. The best means
by which to do that is to study the art by which He creates.
We meditate upon different names to enter an ecstatic state of
consciousness; the more powerful the name, the more closely we approach
the Divine."
"I see." Stratton wondered what the kabbalistТs reaction would be if he
learned about the creation being attempted in the biological nomenclature
project. "Please continue."
"Your epithets for dexterity enable a golem to sculpt another, thereby
reproducing itself. A name capable of creating a being that is, in turn,
capable of creation would bring us closer to God than we have ever been
before."
"IТm afraid youТre mistaken about my work, although you arenТt the
first to fall under this misapprehension. The ability to manipulate molds