"James Patrick Kelly - The Edge of Nowhere" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kelly James Patrick)

with pix from feelies made after Rain's time in the world, although she had seen some of them at the
Ziegfowl. She recognized Oud's Birthdeath, Fay Wray in full fetish from Time StRanger and the
wedding cake scene from Two of Neala. Will claimed the feelies had triggered the cancerous growth of
history; when all the dead actors and sports stars and politicians started having second careers, the past
had consumed the present.

"So this is about a novel then?" Chance moved behind his desk but did not sit down. "Called?" He waved
a hand over his desktop and its eye winked at him.

"The Last President." Rain sat in the chair opposite him.

"Precedent as in a time-honored custom, or President as in Marie Louka?"

"The latter."

He chuckled. "You know, you're the only person in this town who would say the latter. I love that.
Would you have my baby?"

"No."

"Marry me?"
"Uh-uh."

"Sleep with me?"

"Chance."

He sighed. "Who's the author?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Chance rubbed under his eyes with the heels of his hands. "You're sure about that?
You wouldn't care to take a wild guess? Last name begins with the letter ... what? A through K? L
through Z?"

"Sorry."

He stepped from behind the desk and his desktop shut its eye. "Well, the damn doggie didn't know
either, which is why I couldn't help him."

Rain groaned. "He's been here already?"

"Him and a couple of his pooch pals." Chance opened the igloo which stood humming beside the door.
"Cooler?" He pulled out a frosty pitcher filled with something thick and glaucous. "It's just broccoli nectar
and a little ethanol-style vodka."

Rain shook her head. "But that doesn't make sense." She could hear the whine in her voice. "They're
agents of the cognisphere, right? And you access the cognisphere. Why would it ask you to ask itself?"

"Exactly." Chance closed the door and locked it. This struck Rain as odd; maybe he was afraid that