"Chalker, Jack L - G.o.d. Inc. 2 - The Shadow Dancers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Chalker Jack L)

you was goin' up or down. One last security precaution, I guessed, and this
Executor read my mind.
"All the weak points are well covered and blocked," he told us. "All but this
one, which happens to be very deep inside a mountain of granite and basalt. Even
if somebody managed to infiltrate and blow their way through and capture the
station, it would do no good. They can't get into the world any way but one, and
we control that from the surface. It's nothing personal, but it's somewhat
ironic that we must isolate ourselves pretty much from any universe but our own
even as we master the others. All our records are here, all the knowledge is
here, all the computer controls and administration are here. Our culture is also
very tight and devoted to our mission, and we dare not have it polluted lest
some culture without our sense of responsibility come in and take control."
"You mean you never leave this world?" Sam asked, amazed.
"I don't, no. Particularly not me, although I was out when I was younger and
didn't know too much. Some of our people go out, of course, particularly when
they're young and idealistic or ambitious. We have research projects all over
the place, and special needs and interests, and it's essential that those who
will have the responsibility of running the Labyrinth and the Corporation get a
sense and feel for just what we're dealing with-not just its size and
complexity, but its differences. You see, there's been no disease here of any
kind for generations. That's why you received a sterilization treatment among
others when you arrived. It kills any microorganism that might be harmful to us
and at the same time virtually halts mutation, freezing in place those which our
bodies must have to help in digestion, for example. There also hasn't been a war
here in thousands of years now, nor any kind of unpredicted natural disaster,
nor famine nor in fact even real crime as you think of it, except for crimes of
passion."
We saw. A whole world of peace and plenty with none of the dirty shit. If you
just grew up here, and lived here your whole life, how would you ever be able to
understand them other worlds, let alone make decisions that might cost lives? If
you ain't never felt no pain or sufferin' or misery firsthand, if your idea of
bein' hungry is that you're stuck in a city after all the restaurants are
closed, if you never had nobody look at you funny 'cause your skin was black or
you talked funny, then how you gonna understand the problems and see the big
picture. Not that these folks would care in the end if they killed a bunch if it
was for somethin' they wanted, but at least they had to look into the faces of
some of the folks they'd be doin' in.
They'd been at this a long, long time.
We got to the surface and saw that the whole place had been cleared for us. We
walked across a kinda lobby area that looked like some luxury airport waiting
lounge, out a side door, and right into a funny-lookin' big car with no wheels
that just kinda floated there at the door. A side of it was dropped down so
there was steps leadin' up and in. The whole thing looked like some roast beef
plate with a half a cigar on top. There was windows all the way along, although
it'd looked solid from the outside. We could see out, but nobody could see in.
Inside it was kinda like a millionaire's camper van. Nice furlike carpets even
on the walls, real plush recliner chairs around a table that looked like
polished marble, and compartments all over the place. I expected the thing to
wobble when we got on, but it was steady as a rock. I couldn't figure what was
holdin' it all up.