"Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The Final Circle of Paradise (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

economics out of the hands of greedy nincompoops and
fetishists, to make it part of the state, to develop it
limitlessly, was the very way to lay the foundations of a
Golden Age. And Freud showed us for what, after all, we needed
this Golden Age. Recollect the source of all human misery.
Unsatisfied instincts, unrequited love, and unsated hunger -
isn't that right? But here comes Her Majesty, Science, and
presents us with satisfactions. And how rapidly all this has
come to pass! The names of gloomy prognosticators are not yet
forgotten, and already... How do you like the sturgeon? I am
under the impression that the sauce is synthetic. Do you see
the pinkish tint? Yes, it is synthetic. In a restaurant we
should be able to expect natural sauce. Waiter! On second
thought - the devil take it, let's not be so finicky. Go on,
go on... Now what was I saying? Yes! Love and hunger. Satisfy
love and hunger, and you'll see a happy man. On condition, of
course, that your man is secure about the next day. All the
utopias of all times are based on this simplest of
considerations. Free a man of the worry about his daily bread
and about the morrow, and he will become truly free and happy.
I am deeply convinced that children, yes, precisely the
children, are man's ideal. I see the most profound meaning in
the remarkable similarity between a child and the carefree man
who is the object of utopia. Carefree means happy - and we are
so close to that ideal! Another few decades, or maybe just a
few more years, and we will attain the automated plenty, we
will discard science as a healed man discards his crutches, and
the whole of mankind will become one huge happy family of
children. The adults will be distinguished from the children
only by their ability to love, and this ability will, again
with the help of science, become the source of new and
unheard-of joys and pleasures.... Excuse me, what is your name?
Ivan? So, you must be from Russia. Communist? Aha... well,
everything is different there I know.... And here is the
coffee! Mm, not bad. But where is the cognac? Well, thank you!
By the way, I hear that the Great Wine Taster has retired. The
most grandiose scandal befell at the Brussels contest of
cognacs, which was suppressed only with the greatest of
difficulties. The Grand Prix is awarded to the White Centaur
brand. The jury is delighted! It is something totally
unprecedented! Such a phenomenal extravaganza of sensations!
The declaratory packet is opened, and, oh horrors, it's a
synthetic! The Great Wine Taster turned as white as a sheet of
paper and was physically ill. By the way, I had an opportunity
to try this cognac, and it's really superb, but they run it
from crude and it doesn't even have a proper name. H ex
eighteen naphtha fraction and it's cheaper than hydrolyzed
alcohol.... Have a cigar. Nonsense, what do you mean you don't
smoke? It's not right not to have a cigar after a dinner like
this.... I love this restaurant. Every time I come here to