"George Alec Effinger - Relatives" - читать интересную книгу автора (Effinger George Alec)

made himself a bowl of cereal, permitting himself a large teaspoon of sugar and a cup of milk substitute.
The sugar was a luxury; he didn't miss real milk very much, but sugar substitutes always left a horrible
taste in his mouth. The filtered light was too dim to read by. The cereal box's messages would remain a
mystery. That wasn't such a great loss, particularly the side panel that listed the ingredients. Ernest
wondered how his stomach would react if it were ever again confronted with real food.
The radio was still on, playing softly, distracting him with the familiar commercials and themes, lulling
him with the tinny, muffled voices. He finished his breakfast and took the empty bowl to the sink, leaving
it for Gretchen to wash. He stood by the sink for a moment, looking around the small apartment. "This is
my domain," he thought bitterly. "This is the little area I'm supposed to feel secure about." No, not even
the old module was his completely. The small sink was plugged into the invisible skeleton of the building;
carefully metered dollops of water drizzled out when the correct combination was dialed on the tap. How
could he think that he was his own master when he was dependent on the city's crumbling systems to
keep him alive?
Ernest sighed and switched off the radio. He had to get to work. He walked quietly across the room,
not even glancing at Gretchen. He didn't want to think about her yet.
"You going?" she said, yawning.
He stopped by the door, still not turning. "Yeah. See you later."
"What do you want for supper?"
Ernest opened the door, ready to duck out quickly. He looked at his wife. "How do I know?" he
said. "Lord, it's only eight-thirty. How do I know what I'll want for supper? Anything you want. I got to
go."
"All right, honey. I love you." Ernest nodded and shut the door behind him. He was halfway
downstairs before he remembered that he hadn't checked the baby.
Outside, the day was warm and pleasant. The sun shone in a diffuse ball behind the grayish yellow
haze and, though it was not yet hot, Ernest removed his light jacket. The ride in the subway was going to
be very unpleasant. The entrance to the subway was at the end of a tiresome bus ride; although it was still
early, a long line of commuters stretched up the stairs and down the sidewalk. These were the foolish or
unlucky people who had not bought enough subway tokens at a more convenient time. Ernest always got
his late at night, during the week-end.
He dug in his pocket and found the dull metal coin. It gave him a strange pleasure to be able to
bypass the slowly moving line. Once through the turnstile, he pushed through the rush-hour mob to the
front of the platform. All through its administration the current city government had wrestled with the
problems of mass transit: the equipment was deteriorating, many of the subway cars were over thirty
years old and in terrible condition. There were ever more people to move, as the population and labor
force grew year by year. The Representative of Europe had adopted the Gleitzeit plan, which had been
popular in Germany and certain other areas of Europe for almost twenty years. Under the system,
workers were permitted to arrive at their jobs at any time before ten o'clock. They worked as long as
they liked, going home any time after two o'clock. As long as they put in the necessary hours every
week, the management was pleased. The system seemed to encourage initiative while cutting down on
the great masses of employees clogging the public transportation systems at the same hours each day.
Negative effects soon became apparent when the plan was put into continent-wide use. The lack of
discipline led to shoddy work and a lessening of personal interest in the traditional values of the
mercantile and free-enterprise systems. The Representatives abolished the Gleitzeit plan wherever it was
in practice and returned to the old nine-to-five scheme. Other ideas were tested; the Representative of
North America required corporations to pay bonuses to employees who lived within walking distance of
their jobs. In New York City, workers were forbidden to take jobs outside their borough of residence.
There were complaints of governmental meddling but, as usual, the Representatives had a long list of
mitigating explanations.
Ernest's job bored him to the point of insanity. He worked in a factory, making electronic testing
equipment. He sat at a long table with a dozen women; everyone at the table had a box of tools and a