"Paul Di Filippo - And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Di Filippo Paul)

with an invitation to dinner. As I watched the
happy little scene play out, my attention was
snagged by one of the incoming night-shift
workers. The woman was more sweet-looking
than sexy. Her walk conformed to Gait
Pattern Number ALZ-605, which I had
always found particularly alluring. Facial
recognition routines brought up her name,
Cody Sheckley, and her vital stats.
I had never used Aunty's powers for personal
gain before, and I felt a little guilty about
doing so now. But I rationalized my small
transgression by reasoning that if I had
simply spotted Cody on the streets in person
and approached her to ask her name, no one
would have thought twice about the
innocence of such an encounter. In this case,
the introductory step had simply been
conducted virtually, by drone proxy.
A few nights later I visited the blackjack
tables at the Senate Casino. After downing
two stiff Jerrymanders, I worked up the
courage to approach Cody in person.
The rest was history—the steps of our
courtship undoubtedly all safely tucked away
in Aunty's files.



·····


Living with Cody proved quite pleasant. All
the advantages she had enumerated—plus
others—manifested themselves from the first
day. Even the disparity in our working hours
proved no more than a minor inconvenience.
Cody's stint at the casino filled her hours
from nine P.M. to three A.M. My day at Aunty's
ran from nine A.M. to three P.M. When Cody got
home in the wee hours of the morning, we still
managed to get a few hours of that promised
bundling time together in bed before I had to
get up for work. And when I got home in the
afternoon, she was up and lively and ready to
do stuff before she had to show up at the
Senate. Afternoons were often when we had
sex, for instance. Everything seemed fine.
I recall one afternoon, when I was massaging
Cody's feet prior to her departure for the