"Rajnar Vajra - Enhancement, Incorporated" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vajra Rajnar)

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Enhancement, Incorporated
by Rajnar Vajra
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Copyright (c)2000 by Rajnar Vajra
First published in Analog, March 2000

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Science Fiction


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The towering, frosted-glass inner doors of Delton Corporation snickered
shut behind me. It was too late to back out now. For a moment, I paused to
take in the enormous room and its many busy occupants and to let their
inevitable reaction to my latest disguise run its course. Maybe I also needed
a few seconds to get my damn nerves under control; I'm an experienced
trouble-shooter but I'd never been involved in a _murder_ investigation
before.
The place smelled unnaturally fresh -- a hint of mountain and a soupcon
of forest. Massive air-cleaners prickly with negative-ion spikes were
undoubtedly chugging away behind the scene. And on blue translucent stands
scattered throughout the room, thick candles burned brightly enough to suggest
that Delton was pumping in some extra oxygen. Productivity: hallowed be thy
name....
My nose was claiming I was outdoors, but my other senses disagreed,
detecting a large-scale, highly extravagant office built on the "open" style
that had started right here in San Francisco a decade ago, back in 2020.
In the center, a sunken, octagonal area lined with soft-looking
yellow-leather couches made a nice spot for casual business meetings. Around
this cozy octagon, a vast floor of matte-finished curly maple supported not
only the blue stands but also the occasional copyfax machine, potted tree,
miniature fountain, and stress relieving, glider-style rocking chair. Aside
from the subtly warming candlelight, the place was illuminated by
full-spectrum incandescent lamps mounted on the high, vaulted ceiling.
Most interesting, from my point of view, was the complete lack of
mirrors. Even to someone without my special gear, the absence of reflective
surfaces would hint that most or all of the employees here were on _ViewNet_,
subscribers to my company's services (or getting inferior enhancements from
one of our competitors such as Larger Than Life or the upstart Imagine