"Gordon R. Dickson - Time to Teleport" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

The rest of the council, thought Eli, as he withdrew his attention fromClyde and let his gaze wander
around the rest of the room, was even more badly attended than usual. Besides himself, Sellars,
andClyde , he counted only seven full spokesmen and a scattering of underspokesmen and aides. True,
the really important representatives like Bornhill of Atomics and Stek Howard of Metals, were where
you would expect them to be in their sections. But the great majority of the seats were empty. Some of
those present looked frankly bored.

And yet this was at a time when political rivalry among the groups was at its peak. Paradoxical, thought
Eli, nursing his knee; but not so paradoxical at that, when you came to think of it. The groups had
outlived theirusefulness, the political setup had frozen and was now beginning to mortify. Which was one
of the reasons he, at least, was getting out of it.

With the swiftness of a lifetime of practice, he buried the thought before it had time to linger in his mind.
Sellars, he thought,Tony. Yes, I'm sure Tony sees it too, that the groups can't last. Eighty years ago they
were a good idea. Organize the world along mutually interdependent lines and end all possibility of war.
The barriers to be not geographical but occupational. How could Transportation declare war on
Meteorology, or Meteorology on Communications? No one cuts the rope he hangs by. But that was
eighty years ago when the old hates and prejudices still held.Now, thought Eli,the world is ready to act as
a single unit and Tony wants to be on top of it. That's the reason for this witch hunt against the Members
he's been pushing. Well, let him. People aren't that primitive any more…

"—and when our police broke into the laboratory, all the equipment within it was found to have been
melted down with thermite and to be practically unidentifiable," Veillain was saying. "By careful
reconstruction, however, it was possible to ascertain that some of it had been radiation devices.

Eli felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. He turned his head and looked back and up into the serious,
healthy face of Kurt Anders, his underspokesman.

"Courier, Eli," said Kurt.

"All right," replied Eli. "Thanks, Kurt. Bring him in."

Kurt moved back and a scintillating combination of silver, red, green and black slipped into his place. Eli
smiled.

"All right, Poby," he said. "What've you got?"

"A sealed cube relayed through Dome One, Eli," whispered the boy. "Here…" and he held out the arm
to which the pouch was attached.

Eli fitted his thumb into the aperture of the thumb-lock and it, recognizing his print as the one it had been
set for, snapped open. Not one, but two cubes came rolling out.

Poby Richards blinked foolishly at them.

Eli looked down at the cubes and then back up at Poby curiously. He juggled the little objects in the
palm of his hand.
"But there was only one!" Pobyprotested, his face tragic. "I know—I mean, I watched the pouch sealed
myself in Dome One and it's been locked on my arm ever since." And he held out arm and pouch for
verification.