"Asimov, Isaac - Anniversary" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

privacy. You'll just get a yellow state-your-reason."

"Ask and find out. They haven't made the search for the pieces
secret. Maybe they're not making the reason secret."

Moore shrugged. He tapped out: Why is Trans-space Insurance
conducting its Silver Queen search-project to which reference was
made in the previous question?

A yellow slip clicked out almost at once: State Your Reason For
Requiring The Information Requested.

"All right," said Brandon unabashed. "You tell it we're the three
survivors and have a right to know. Go ahead. Tell it."

Moore tapped that out hi unemotional phrasing and another

yellow slip was pushed out at them: Your Reason Is Insufficient. No
Answer Can Be Given.

Brandon said, "I don't see they have a right to keep that secret."

"That's up to Multivac," said Moore. "It judges the reasons given
it and if it decides the ethics of privacy is against answering, that's it.
The government itself couldn't break those ethics without a court
order, and the courts don't go against Multivac once in ten years. So
what are you going to do?"

Brandon jumped to his feet and began the rapid walk up and
down the room that was so characteristic of him. "All right, then
let's figure it out for ourselves. It's something important to justify
all thek trouble. We're agreed they're not trying to find evidence of
sabotage, not after twenty years. But Trans-space must be looking
for something, something so valuable that it's worth looking for all
this time. Now what could be that valuable?"

"Mark, you're a dreamer," said. Mooce.

Brandon obviously didn't hear him. "It can't be jewels or money
or securities. There just couldn't be enough to pay them back for
what the search has already cost them. Not if the Silver Queen were
pure gold. What would be more valuable?"

"You can't judge value, Mark," said Moore. "A letter might be
worth a hundredth of a cent as wastepaper and yet make a difference
of a hundred million dollars to a corporation, depending on what's
in the letter."

Brandon nodded his head vigorously. "Right. Documents. Valu-
able papers. Now who would be most likely to have papers worth