"Jeffrey Lord - Blade 01 - The Bronze Axe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lord Jeffery)

He took Blade's arm again and led him through another door, into a room that was dominated by a
single enormous computer. Most of its inner workings were concealed by gray, crackle-finished
shielding, but from the ceiling hung thousands of tiny multi-colored wires, segmented and grouped by
clamps, and running through small portholes into the guts of the machine.
Blade followed the hunchback through a twisting labyrinth of narrow aisles until they reached what he
guessed must be the center of the machine. Here there was a small square of floor covered with some
rubberized fabric. In the center of the square was a glass cage, or box, slightly larger than a telephone
booth. Inside the cage was something that, to Blade's by now suspicious eye, very much resembled an
electric chair.
Lord Leighton saw the expression on Blade's face and chuckled. "Don't let it frighten you, Mr. Blade.
It really isn't what it seems. It's just that the, er, design is perfect for our purposes. Now—let's get you
greased up well. There have been some very slight burns in the past. Minor, of course, but annoying. But
the grease will take care of that."
He took a small pot from a shelf and began busily applying a viscous dark substance to Blade's
naked flesh. Blade sniffed. There was a hint of coal tar in the stuff that Leighton was applying to his
temples, the nape of his neck, various spots on his torso and thighs and even to each of his big toes.
"That should do it," said Leighton at last. He put the pot of grease away. "Now, Mr. Blade, if you
please—into the glass cage and sit in the chair while I attach the electrodes."
Blade did as he was told. The inside of the glass cage was filled with little wires running in from the
sides and down from the top. Each wire was tipped with a shiny round electrode about the size of a
shilling.
Lord Leighton began plastering the electrodes to Blade's skin with tape. He was very deft about it.
When he began to tape the shiny discs to Blade's temples and neck, the big man made a decision. He
had been on the verge for minutes. Now he spoke.
"Before we go any further with this, sir, I think I'm entitled to know what it's all about. It is my body
you're using, after all. Just whatarewe trying to do, sir?"
The little man adjusted a final disc and stepped back. He patted Blade's brawny shoulder. "Of
course, Mr. Blade. You must make excuses for me—I get so wrapped up in these matters that I even
forget my manners. You have every right to know what we intend to do. You will note that I say intend,
and not try, because I'm sure it will work this time. Very sure. We have had great success with monkeys,
and some qualified success with humans, but in the latter case we were not using first class brains. That, I
am convinced, has been the chief difficulty. So you can readily see why we had to search out the best
brain in all England—or at least what our computers tell us is the best and they are not often wrong,
and—"
Richard Blade was becoming annoyed and he did not try to hide it. His tone was sharp. "Sir! I am
not a scientist. So far this has all been gibberish to me. I don't mind letting myself be used as a guinea pig,
if it will help, but I damned well want to know what is going on, and in language I can understand." Blade
made a motion to get out of the chair. It would not have been easy, even had he really intended to carry it
through. By now he was so festooned with wires and electrodes that movement was difficult.
"My dear Mr. Blade!" Leighton gave him a gentle push back into the chair. "I am sorry. I will explain
everything—everything. But you must not excite or agitate yourself. Please no! That might be fatal to the
experiment. Above all your brain must be calm and receptive."
Blade concealed a grin. Leighton was the one who was getting excited. He peered anxiously at Blade
with his yellow eyes and did a little shuffling dance around the perimeter of the glass cage, carefully
avoiding the wires.
"Well?" Blade asked grimly.
"I'll try," said Leighton. "Please listen carefully."
He swept his hand around in a circle, indicating the giant computer that loomed over them like some
silent and monstrous gray beast. "This is the ultimate in computers, Mr. Blade. I have spent nearly all my
life perfecting it. I have spent the last year programming it. It is fully programmed now, Mr. Blade, with a