"Philip Jose Farmer - Biological Revolt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Farmer Phillip Jose)

sturdy and dark. Once you heard them, you didn't forget.
She nodded and said, "I've seen you on the news, General."

He wasted no time, but like the big red-black bull he so much resembled, charged at the point." Mrs.
Ogtate, I'm going to ask you if you will forgive me for interfering with your free will. Believe me, it was
absolutely necessary for the good of Earth."

"What did you do?"

"Mrs. Ogtate, for some time we've had a detector alarm buried near your house. We call it a'
rattle-snake.'When the person whose presence it is set to detect comes near, it sends out a signal. Its
receiver is this."He tapped a little box on his wrist." I've been wearing this day and night. Ten minutes ago
I was awakened by its alarm.That meant much to me. It meant that your husband, undoubtedly the
most important man on Earth, was at your house."

He paused, then added," And it implied much more.

"What do you mean?"

"Just this. Bill Ogtate finally broke under the pressure of loneliness and ostracism. He knows that you,
the person he loves more than any other, will not share his exile, yet he's desperate enough to make a
hopeless plea."

Paling, she said," Have you been spying?"

His broad swarthy face split showing white teeth, and his large hand passed over his closely-cropped
black poll with underlying red glints." Hardly. Even the military don't do that nowadays, Madame. But the
Psych Corps has many resources. One is theCom-puter of Probabilities, the so-called` giant brain'at
New Delphi. Given all available data, it estimated he should break down about this time. Especially if he
were sick. And that he should come to you."

Scornfully, she said, "Do you need a machine to tell you that?"

The General smiled slightly and said, "Your re-buke is accepted. To tell the truth, I figured it out
independently, too, but one must have the backing of authority, you know."

He became brisk. "Would you mind telling me, Madame, if our surmises were correct? He did make an
appeal, didn't he?"

The General's eyes went over her shoulder. She didn't turn around, for she knew by the oriental aroma
of cigarette smoke that Toni Travers had come into the room.

"Yes, you were right,"she said. Her eyes looked straight into his: her back straightened and her
shoul-ders squared.

He said, "Please don't get angry, Mrs. Ogtate. I make no moral judgments. One lives as one must."

"I'm not interested in what you think. What else do you want?"

He glanced at her trembling lower lip and said, "Would you care to sign a waiver over our violation of