"Dick - We Can Remember it For You Wholesale" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dick Phillip K)

"Unlike the fantasy of wanting to be an Interplan under-
cover agent." the psychiatrist continued, "which, being rela-
tively speaking a product of maturity, had a certain plausibil-
ity to it, this production is a grotesque dream of your
childhood; it is no wonder you fail to recall it. Your fantasy
is this: you are nine years old, walking alone down a rustic
lane. An unfamiliar variety of space vessel from another star
system lands directly in front of you. No one on Earth but
you, Mr. Quail, sees it. The creatures within are very small
and helpless, somewhat on the order of field mice, although
they are attempting to invade Earth; tens of thousands of
other such ships will soon be on their way, when this advance
party gives the go-ahead signal."
"And I suppose I stop them," Quail said, experiencing a
mixture of amusement and disgust. "Single-handed I wipe
them out. Probably by stepping on them with my foot."
"No," the psychiatrist said patiently. "You halt the inva-
sion, but not by destroying them. Instead, you show them
kindness and mercy, even though by telepathytheir mode of
communicationyou know why they have come. They have
never seen such humane traits exhibited by any sentient
organism, and to show their appreciation they make a cove-
nant with you."
Quail said, "They won't invade Earth as long as I'm alive."
"Exactly." To the Interplan officer the psychiatrist said,
"You can see it does fit his personality, despite his feigned
scorn."
"So by merely existing," Quail said, feeling a growing
pleasure, "by simply being alive, I keep Earth safe from alien
rule. I'm in effect, then, the most important person on Terra.
Without lifting a finger."
"Yes indeed, sir," the psychiatrist said. "And this is bedrock
in your psyche; this is a life-long childhood fantasy. Which,
without depth and drug therapy, you never would have
recalled. But it has always existed in you; it went underneath,
but never ceased."
To McClane, who sat intently listening, the senior police
official said, "Can you implant an extra-factual memory
pattern that extreme in him?"
"We get handed every possible type of wish-fantasy there
is," McClane said. "Frankly, I've heard a lot worse than this.
Certainly we can handle it. Twenty-four hours from now he
won't just wish he'd saved Earth; he'll devoutly believe it
really happened."
The senior police official said, "You can start the job, then.
In preparation we've already once again erased the memory in.
him of his trip to Mars."
Quail said, "What trip to Mars?"
No one answered him, so, reluctantly, he shelved the
question. And anyhow a police vehicle had now put in its