"Mary Soon Lee - The day before they came" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lee Mary Soon)

People surged past Molly as she stood there on the downtown street. She pulled herself together with a shrug. She would have loved to take Justin to the beach, but no use dwelling on it now.

She set off again, heading for the AI store. She knew how much Justin wanted a pair of AI shoes, but even though most of his class had them by now, he had only asked for them once. When Molly had told him they cost too much for her to buy, he bit his lip and never asked again.

So two months ago, Molly had canceled her subscription to the interactives, making do with ordinary TV, and she thought she had saved enough to buy Justin his shoes.

Entering the AI store, Molly blinked. The floor, ceil-

THE DAY BEFORE THEY CAME 79

ing, and walls were velvet black. Glowing holograms danced to either side, marking the corridors. Molly took one cautious step forward.

"Can I be of assistance?" A caterpillar-shaped mechanical appeared in front of her. The mechanical raised the front of its long body until its head was level with her chest, its silvered skin gleaming. "I'm looking for AI shoes."

"Please follow me." The mechanical started down a corridor, turning its head to check she was following. It stopped by a vast array of shoes. "First select a shoe style, and then I will demonstrate our selection of AI personalities."

Molly nodded, trying to look as if she came to shops like this every day. Sandals and ballet shoes, ice-skates and boots and babies' bootees stretched before her. After long pause, she pointed at a pair of orange sneakers. "How much are those ones?"

"Eighty dollars, without any program installed. Did you have a particular AI personality in mind for the shoes?"

"No. They're for my son. He's turning seven." "Perhaps an educational supplement?" The mechan-il lifted its forelegs to a small keyboard, and typed in a command.

The left sneaker twitched. "What's two times twenty-six?" asked the orange shoe.

Molly said nothing. The mechanical made throat-clearing noise, though she knew it didn't really have a throat. "Fifty-two," said Molly.

"That's right!" said the shoe. "What a clever girl!" The right shoe twitched beside it. "Two times twenty-six is fifty-two, and do you know how many states there are in America?"

"Fifty-two," said Molly. She looked at the mechanical. "I wanted something a little more fun."

80

MARY SOON LEE

The mechanical keyed in another command.

"Let's all sing to the sing-along-song," sang the two orange sneakers.

Molly shook her head. "Definitely not."

She declined the next dozen offerings. The cops and robbers program amused her, but she had overheard Justin and Adam discussing how old-fashioned police games were. Finally she settled on a program with no gimmicks at all. The left shoe and the right shoe just chatted away as if they were children; the left shoe, Bertie, was a little bossier, the right shoe, Alex, seeming shyer.

The mechanical wrapped up the shoes in orange tissue paper inside an orange box, explained how to switch off Alex and Bertie's voices, and assured her the program automatically deactivated during school hours.

Molly clutched the gift-wrapped shoe-box to her all the way home on the bus, picturing Justin's reaction the next morning.

The evening before the aliens came, Justin was hyperactive, overexcited about his coming birthday. Molly gave him a mug of hot milk, hoping it might calm him. But still Justin scaled Mount Everest (the sofa and the shelves beside it), using his scarf and six kitchen forks as equipment.

"But what if my birthday doesn't come?" demanded Justin, as he sat triumphantly atop the mountain peak, having retraced Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Nor-gay's route along the Southeast Ridge.