"Lawrence Watt-Evans - War Surplus 01 - The Cyborg And The Sorcerers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watt-Evans Lawrence)

reading titles: On Raising Palaces, The Conjuration of Shelter, Protection by Magic. That last might
be worth checking out, he thought, if he found nothing better.

The next shelf and the two that followed were in a different language, one that Slant didn't recognize;
below that he found an assortment of languages, a few volumes on magical interpretation, and a collection
of dictionaries. He moved on to the next section, which showed promise, as there were texts on levitation
and flying, which he was sure must be fairly basic skills for a wizard; he was choosing a text to study
when the cat, which had been gently pawing at his leg, suddenly tensed, driving its claws through his thin
pressure suit and into the flesh beneath.

He stifled a yell and looked down just as the computer informed him, "Minor gravitational anomaly
occurring in immediate vicinity of cyborg unit. Investigate immediately." "Hah?" He looked wildly about,
then back at the cat. There was no one else in the room, nor any sign of anything out of the
ordinary—except that the cat was motionless, its claws still digging into him, its eyes wide and staring, its
tail puffed up like a bottle brush and the hairs on its back raised.

"Damn, it is a familiar," he thought. "I have to get out of here."

He reached down to pry the cat away, but before his hand touched it it freed itself and ran off, yowling,
through the open door.

"Immediate departure is advisable," the computer agreed. He started toward the window he had entered
through, but then paused, as he remembered the long drop to the street. Could he go up to the roof?
That would leave him stranded and provide little protection, since the wizards could fly and he could not.
He looked instead at the two doors and in desperation asked, "Please advise."

"Departure from building not recommended; enemy would presumably expect such a course of action,
and investigation is not complete. Eluding pursuit is facilitated by unexpected action."

"Right, I stay in the building; it's big enough that I should be able to hide. Which door do I try?"

"Standard pursuit assumes quarry will follow path of least resistance; therefore it is advisable to follow
path of greater difficulty, avoiding open doors, clear corridors, and so forth."

There were times, Slant thought, when the computer could be helpful; that advice seemed very sensible.
He tried the latch on the closed door and found it unlocked.

Beyond the door was a small, unlit chamber; he crossed that and found another door. This one led into a
corridor, which was wonderfully empty. He started to turn right, but the computer stopped him. "Human
psychology tends to prefer turning right; therefore evasive tactics include preference for turning left."

He turned left, moved a few feet down the darkened passage, and picked a door at random. It was
locked. He moved farther and found a staircase. There was a light at the bottom, and he heard footsteps
somewhere below; that was out of the question. He backed up and tried another door.

It opened easily, and he stepped through into the room beyond. Like everywhere else he had seen since
entering the palace, it was dark; he took the flashlight from his belt, closed the door carefully behind him,
then turned on the light and looked about.

He was in a lavish bedchamber, the walls covered with embroidered hangings, the marble floor piled