"FWLS32" - читать интересную книгу автора (A Future We'd Like to See)

commented, nodding to the bathrobe. He crunched the cigar down
in the tray a final time, and plodded out.

*

I ignored the last minute chattering in the Saloon come vote
day. Miss business suit was busy standing off to the side,
soaking up the chatter to get advance wind of the results, papers
and pens ready. I palmed the small floptical Max gave me an hour
ago, hoping that sweat can't damage disks.

The clock rang out a digitized chime, and the chattering
gradually ceased as the shopkeepers took places at the Saloon's
largest table.

"Umm, before we vote, I think I really ought to bring
something to light," I said, keeping a careful eye on Max. He
nodded slowly.

I noticed something next. It's somewhat like those moments
when you're looking at some weird pattern of dots, and if you
change your viewing angle, they form a 3-D image asking to
register a shareware 3-D program. Namely, I noticed the other
40-odd people in the room. Of course, they were on the walls,
and in black and white.

Ah, what the hell. I accidentally dropped the disk down the
disposal chute, smirking a bit as Max bit clean through his
cigar.

"I'd just like to make a few statements before everybody
decides," I said, speaking up over frantic coughing up of ash.
"This Port was founded on two things. The foremost, of course,
was profit. If there wasn't any profit in it, the Port never
would have been created.

"However, there was another reason : because it wasn't
there. This was one of the first major trading posts in the
Anarchy Zones, a sort of trading middle finger at the Terran
Confederation. It's got quite a history. Everybody in the A-
Zones knows what Port Hades is, and they know where it is, and
know that if you want quality goods and people that stand behind
their word, you come here. See the faces on the wall? Famous
people. People who have used the Port, liked it, and recommended
it to thier friends.

"So business is in a slump! We're still the most profitable
Port in the sector. Our reputation speaks for itself. Now we've
gotta decide if we'd like to demolish it for a quick buck. No,
even worse : it won't be demolished, it'll become a huge