"Stanislaw Lem - Ijon Tichy 02 - Memoirs of a Space Traveler" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lem Stanislaw)

hesitation, emotion, and fear that befuddle living minds. Let this machine be as impartial as the light of the
Sun and stars. When you have built and activated it, we shall hand over to it the burden of power, which
grows too heavy for our weary shoulders.'
" 'So be it,' said the constructor, 'but what is to be the machine's basic motivation?'
" 'Obviously, the freedom of Civic Initiative. The machine must not command or forbid the
citizens anything; it may, of course, change the conditions of our existence, but it must do so always in the
form of a proposal, leaving us alternatives between which we can freely choose.'
" 'So be it,' replied the constructor, 'but this injunction concerns mainly the mode of operation.
What of the ultimate goal? What is this machine's purpose?'
" 'Our state is threatened by chaos; disorder and disregard for the law are spreading. Let the
Machine bring supreme harmony to the planet, let it institute, consolidate, and establish perfect and
absolute order.'
" 'Let it be as you have said!' replied the constructor. 'Within six months I shall build the
Voluntary Universalizer of Absolute Order. With this task ahead of me, I bid you farewell. . .'
 " 'Wait!' said one of the Eminents. 'The Machine you create should operate not only in a perfect
but also in a pleasant manner; that is, its activity should produce an agreeable impression, one that would
satisfy the most refined aesthetic sensibility. . .'
"The constructor bowed and left in silence. Working arduously and aided by a troop of nimble
assistants, he erected the Governing Machine -- the very one you see on the horizon as a small dark
spot, alien traveler. It is a conglomeration of iron cylinders in which something constantly shakes and
burns. The day it was switched on was a great state holiday; the eldest Archspiritor blessed it solemnly,
and the Plenum Moronicum gave it complete power over the country. Then the Voluntary Universalizer
of Absolute Order emitted a long whistle and set to work.
"For six days the Machine labored, around the clock; in the daytime clouds of smoke hung over
it, and at night it was surrounded by a bright glow. The ground shook for a radius of one hundred and
sixty miles. Then the double doors of its cylinders opened, and out spilled hosts of small black robots,
which, waddling like ducks, scattered over the whole planet, even to its remotest corners. Wherever they
went, they assembled by the factory warehouses and, speaking in a charming and lucid manner,
requested various items, for which they paid at once. Within a week the warehouses were empty, and the
Eminent factory owners sighed with relief: 'Truly the constructor has built us a splendid machine!' Indeed,
it was marvelous to see the robots use the objects they had purchased: they dressed in brocades and
satins, oiled their axles with cosmetics, smoked tobacco, read books -- shedding synthetic tears over the
sad ones; they even managed to consume the most varied delicacies (with no benefit to themselves, of
course, since they ran on electricity, but to the great benefit of the manufacturers). It was only the masses
who were not satisfied; on the contrary, they murmured more and more among themselves. The
Eminents, however, hopefully awaited the Machine's next move, which was not long in coming.
"It assembled large quantities of marble, alabaster, granite, rock crystal, and copper; sacks of
gold and silver, and slabs of jasper; after which, making a terrible din, it raised an edifice no Phoolian eye
had ever beheld -- this Rainbow Palace, traveler, which stands before you!"
I looked. The sun had just emerged from behind a cloud and its beams played on the polished
walls, splitting into flames of sapphire and ruby red; rainbow stripes shimmered around the angle towers
and bastions; the roof, adorned with slender turrets and covered with gold leaf, was all aglow. I feasted
my eye on this magnificence while the Phool went on:
"News of the wondrous building spread over the whole planet. Veritable pilgrimages began
arriving here from the most distant lands. When crowds had filled the commons, the Machine parted its
metal lips and spoke thus:
" 'On the first day of the month of Huskings I shall throw open the jasper portal of the Rainbow
Palace, and then any Phool, be he famous or obscure, will be able to go inside and enjoy what awaits
him there. Until then, restrain your curiosity, for you will satisfy it amply later on.'
"And, verily, on the morning of the first day of Huskings there was a sounding of silver trumpets,