"Barry B. Longyear - The Advocate" - читать интересную книгу автора (Longyear Barry)

THE ADVOCATE
by Barry B. Longyear

Barry B Longyear, author of “Enemy Mine” (September 1979), is still the
only author to win the Nebula, Hugo, and John W. Campbell Award for Best
New Writer in the same year. After a very long absence, we are delighted to
welcome him back to the pages of Asimov’s with “The Advocate.” The
author tells us this story follows his philosophy of “‘writing jujitsu,’ which
involves taking all those things preventing one’s writing and turning them
into stories. Using a Palm TE2, this tale was written almost entirely in
hospitals and doctors’ waiting rooms.”

****

The point of this exercise, Dr. Hunter, is to relieve me of the eternal
burdens of appointments, health plans, mind-numbing medications,
nitrous-inhaling physicians, and malpractice-paralyzed neurologists so that I
may do this thing I do: Write Stories. I’ve seen my last needle, spent my
last hour in a waiting room, and explained for the absolutely last time how
important it is for a writer to have a working brain and that, without such
keeping the remainder at temperature is a medical, not literary, ambition.
From now on let Craig deal with all of that, for that is what I have named my
imprint bio. I have copied my engrams into a Biotronics stock meat suit, and
he is fully authorized to advocate on my behalf concerning health matters.
One of his chores is to keep track of me and pass on anything significant to
the medical community, such as it is. I’m keeping a record of sorts to aid in
this endeavor. It is my earnest hope that a cure to my ailment can be
found—Craig will do all I could do to aid in that quest. If it will be one big
waste of time, though, I won’t be the one who is wasting it. I’ll be writing.

Ta,

Larry Cragan (send)

—

Note: Call Jennifer tomorrow and find out how I can work having Craig
pay all the bills, take care of the correspondence, and maintain the house,
too, without signing over my power of attorney. This could be the answer to
several of my prayers. (Encrypt).

****

Craig. I decided to call the biological carrier of my imprint Craig
because—well, you look like a Craig. Have you seen the Biotronics
brochure? I don’t know whose DNA was used, but you look like a used-car
salesman who aspires to higher things: New cars, perhaps. Excepting that
you haven’t been around long enough to complete first grade, I would’ve
pegged you as a college football hero.