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

He shrugged. "I had an opportunity to study him a little."

Clyde looked at his watch. "Hey, Betty, we've got French." The two
younger students stood.

Jill got up as well. "I'll go along with you. I've got some moving to do So
long, Jim. See you, Bert."

The two men left at the table looked after her as she went off,
chattering brightly with the two others. She had a quick, cute charm, but
there was no connotation of her being a lightweight. Her figure, tiny as it
was, was perfect, and Jim sighed deep down.
 Bert stood and said, "Come along, I'll buy you a real drink."

Jim uncoiled his lanky self from his chair. "A real drink? Are you
kidding? I keep telling you, for as long as we're in this racket we can't even
afford all the beer we'd like. Where'd you get those grand duds?"

Bert ignored the question and led the way through the mass of tables
back to the elevator row.

Jim looked at the elevator as they stood there at the end of the bank.
"Hey, this isn't for us, old buddy. This is some kind of private deal for the
high mucky-mucks in the faculty."

However, the screen had identified Bert Alshuler and the door opened.
Jim followed him inside, wonderingly.

Bert said, "Suite G."

"Yes, Mr. Alshuler."

Jim's eyes widened.

Bert said, "What kind of a priority does your identity card give you on
the National Data Banks?"

Jim looked at him. "Three. It's the same with all students, except some
fields like medicine or nuclear physics. You've got to be cleared for some of
the material in them."

Bert shook his head. "Mine's all fouled up. I'm protesting it."

When they got to the top floor, Jim Hawkins followed him blankly as he
led the way to Suite G. Several times his lips moved as though he was
about to blurt a question, but he held silence. Bert Alshuler would have
enjoyed the whole thing more if he hadn't been so full of questions himself.

The door screen identified him and opened as they approached.