[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
the nose.
Tudor Tower Place: "It's time to go."
"No. No."
"Yes, it is."
"Not yet. Not quite yet."
".. .. All right. Not quite yet."
"Are you sure? Are you really sure?"
"Yes I am, oh yes I am."
"No matter what the ..."
"No matter what they say. I'm sure." '
The control tower:
"There you are," Hazleton said. "What happened, did you have an accident? You
look mussed to the eyebrows."
"You must have run into a doorknob, John," Jake added. He stuttered out" his
parrot's chuckle. "Well, you came to the right town for it. I don't know where
else in the universe you could find a doorknob."
"Where are the children?" Dee said, in a voice as dangerously even as the
surface of 12-gauge armor plate.
"Not here yet," Hazleton said. "Give them time- they're afraid the, City
Fathers may separate them, so naturally they're staying together until the
last minute. What did you fall into, anyhow, Dee? Was it serious?"
"No." Her face shut down. Bewildered, Hazleton looked from her to Amalfi and
back again. It seemed as though the mouse over Amalfi's eyes, which was
growing rapidly, puzzled him much less than Dee's grim and non-specific
disarray.
"I hear the children," Gifford Bonner said. "They're whispering at the bottom
of the lift shaft. John, are you sure this was wise? I begin to misdoubt it.
Suppose the City Fathers say no? That would be an injustice; they love each
other-why should we put their last three years to a machine test?"
"Abide it, Gif," Amalfi said. "It's too late to do otherwise; and the outcome
isn't as foreclosed as you think."
"I hope you're right."
"I hope so too. I make no predictions-the City Fathers surprised me often
enough before. But the kids agreed to the test. Beyond that, let's just wait."
"Before Web and Estelle get here," Hazleton said, his voice suddenly raw, "I'm
impelled to say that I think I've been taken in. All of a sudden, I wonder who
was supposed to tousle whom on this multiple moonlight walk. Not the kids;
they don't need any help from us, or from
the City Fathers. What the hell are you doing to me, Dee?" a
"I'm losing my temper with every immortal man in the mortal universe." Dee
spat furiously. "There isn't a perversion left in the textboek# that somebody
hasn't managed to accuse me of in the 'past hour, and on evidence that
wouldn't convince a newborn baby."
"We're all of us a little on edge," Dr. Bonner said. "Forbearance, Dee-and
Mark, you too. This is no ordinary farewell party, after all."
"For sure not," Jake said. "It's a wake for the whole of creation. I'm not a
very solemn man, myself, but it doesn't seem like the fittest occasion for
bickering."
"Granted," Mark said grudgingly. "I'm sorry, Dee; I've changed my mind."
"All right," she said. "I didn't mean to scream, either. I want to ask you: do
you really want to stay behind? Because if you really want to go with He
instead, I'll go with you."
He looked at her closely. "Are you sure?"
"Quite sure."
"What about it, Amalfi? Can I change my mind about that, too?"
"I don't see why not," Amalfi said, "except that it leaves New Earth without a
proven administrator."
"Carrel can do the job. His judgment is much better than it was back at the
last election."
"We're here," Web's voice said behind them. They all turned. Web and Estelle
were standing at the entrance, holding hands. Somehow-though Amalfi was hard
put to it to define wherein the difference lay-they no longer looked as though
they cared much whether they went with He or not.
"Why don't we do what we came here to do?" Amalfi suggested. "Let's put the
whole problem up to the City Fathers-not only the children, but the whole
business. I always found them very useful for resolving doubts, even if they
only managed, to convince me that their recommended course was dead wrong. In
questions involving value judgments, it's helpful to have an opponent who is
not only remorselessly logical, but also can't distinguish between a value and
a Chinese onion."
On this point, of course, he was wrong, as he found out rather quickly. He had
forgotten that machine logic is a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
the nose.
Tudor Tower Place: "It's time to go."
"No. No."
"Yes, it is."
"Not yet. Not quite yet."
".. .. All right. Not quite yet."
"Are you sure? Are you really sure?"
"Yes I am, oh yes I am."
"No matter what the ..."
"No matter what they say. I'm sure." '
The control tower:
"There you are," Hazleton said. "What happened, did you have an accident? You
look mussed to the eyebrows."
"You must have run into a doorknob, John," Jake added. He stuttered out" his
parrot's chuckle. "Well, you came to the right town for it. I don't know where
else in the universe you could find a doorknob."
"Where are the children?" Dee said, in a voice as dangerously even as the
surface of 12-gauge armor plate.
"Not here yet," Hazleton said. "Give them time- they're afraid the, City
Fathers may separate them, so naturally they're staying together until the
last minute. What did you fall into, anyhow, Dee? Was it serious?"
"No." Her face shut down. Bewildered, Hazleton looked from her to Amalfi and
back again. It seemed as though the mouse over Amalfi's eyes, which was
growing rapidly, puzzled him much less than Dee's grim and non-specific
disarray.
"I hear the children," Gifford Bonner said. "They're whispering at the bottom
of the lift shaft. John, are you sure this was wise? I begin to misdoubt it.
Suppose the City Fathers say no? That would be an injustice; they love each
other-why should we put their last three years to a machine test?"
"Abide it, Gif," Amalfi said. "It's too late to do otherwise; and the outcome
isn't as foreclosed as you think."
"I hope you're right."
"I hope so too. I make no predictions-the City Fathers surprised me often
enough before. But the kids agreed to the test. Beyond that, let's just wait."
"Before Web and Estelle get here," Hazleton said, his voice suddenly raw, "I'm
impelled to say that I think I've been taken in. All of a sudden, I wonder who
was supposed to tousle whom on this multiple moonlight walk. Not the kids;
they don't need any help from us, or from
the City Fathers. What the hell are you doing to me, Dee?" a
"I'm losing my temper with every immortal man in the mortal universe." Dee
spat furiously. "There isn't a perversion left in the textboek# that somebody
hasn't managed to accuse me of in the 'past hour, and on evidence that
wouldn't convince a newborn baby."
"We're all of us a little on edge," Dr. Bonner said. "Forbearance, Dee-and
Mark, you too. This is no ordinary farewell party, after all."
"For sure not," Jake said. "It's a wake for the whole of creation. I'm not a
very solemn man, myself, but it doesn't seem like the fittest occasion for
bickering."
"Granted," Mark said grudgingly. "I'm sorry, Dee; I've changed my mind."
"All right," she said. "I didn't mean to scream, either. I want to ask you: do
you really want to stay behind? Because if you really want to go with He
instead, I'll go with you."
He looked at her closely. "Are you sure?"
"Quite sure."
"What about it, Amalfi? Can I change my mind about that, too?"
"I don't see why not," Amalfi said, "except that it leaves New Earth without a
proven administrator."
"Carrel can do the job. His judgment is much better than it was back at the
last election."
"We're here," Web's voice said behind them. They all turned. Web and Estelle
were standing at the entrance, holding hands. Somehow-though Amalfi was hard
put to it to define wherein the difference lay-they no longer looked as though
they cared much whether they went with He or not.
"Why don't we do what we came here to do?" Amalfi suggested. "Let's put the
whole problem up to the City Fathers-not only the children, but the whole
business. I always found them very useful for resolving doubts, even if they
only managed, to convince me that their recommended course was dead wrong. In
questions involving value judgments, it's helpful to have an opponent who is
not only remorselessly logical, but also can't distinguish between a value and
a Chinese onion."
On this point, of course, he was wrong, as he found out rather quickly. He had
forgotten that machine logic is a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]