"Mack Reynolds - Ability Quotient" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reynolds Mack)

way to the auto-teacher. He looked at his wrist chronometer again and
murmured something that Bert didn't catch, then, "Now, if I'm not
mistaken, the computers have decided that your first course is this
Refresher in Mathematics from Elementary Arithmetic Through
Infinitesimal Calculus."

Alshuler said, "It's going to have its work cut out refreshing me in
anything more advanced than high school solid geometry. That's as far as
I got and that was a long time ago."

"It takes everything step by step, you won't have any difficulty," the
other said with satisfaction.

"Kay. Great. But when I get to that next step, after geometry, I'm going
to stumble over it and fall flat on my kisser."
 "We'll see. Now, this button speeds things up as you go along."

"Where's the one that slows things down?" Bert growled.

Marsh ignored him. "If you have questions, simply speak into the
screen. Go at whatever pace you wish. When you weary, take one of the
green pills. Any questions?"

Bert looked at him. "Any questions? I have so damn many questions I
can't even think of the first one."

The professor-doctor was returning things to his briefcase very briskly.
"All right, ask them tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning. I assume you
know how to utilize the auto-kitchen and so forth. I hope you find your
quarters satisfactory, Mr. Alshuler."

Bert looked after him as the plump little man trotted off to the living
room and evidently the front door.

He turned back to the auto-teacher. It was obviously spanking new. He
rubbed his right palm over his mouth. He supposed that he should check
out the rest of the apartment, locate his bedroom and possibly do a bit of
unpacking, but he was increasingly intrigued.

He sat down before the screen and activated it. A book was there. The
title: Refresher in Mathematics from Elementary Arithmetic Through
Infinitesimal Calculus. He grunted contempt of that and pressed the
button that turned pages.

A voice said, "Chapter One. Elementary Arithmetic. Addition."

Bert said, "We don't have to start quite that elementary. I can add."

The voice, an even, firm, cultured voice but with still a mechanical
something in its tone, said, "It is best to review each chapter in turn,