"Walter Jon Williams - Daddy's World" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williams Walter John)

Becca forced a smile. "Those were happy days," she said. "They really were. I was jealous of
you, I know, but when I look back at that time..." She wiped tears with the back of her hand. "It
was the best."
"Virtual environments are nice places to visit, I guess," Jamie said. "But you don't want to
live in one. Not forever." Becca looked down at her feet, planted amid rubble.
"Well," she said. "If you're sure about what you want."


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"I am."
She looked up at the metal form, raised a hand. "Goodbye, Jamie," she said.
"Goodbye," he said.
She faded from the world.
And in time, the world and the tree faded, too.

****

Hand in hand, Daddy and Jamie walked to Whirlikin Country. Jamie had never seen the
Whirlikins before, and he laughed and laughed as the Whirlikins spun beneath their orange sky.
The sound of a bell rang over the green hills. "Time for dinner, Jamie," Daddy said.
Jamie waved goodbye to the Whirlikins, and he and Daddy walked briskly over the fresh green
grass toward home.
"Are you happy, Jamie?" Daddy asked.
"Yes, Daddy!" Jamie nodded. "I only wish Momma and Becky could be here with us."
"They'll be here soon."
When, he thought, they can get the simulations working properly.
Because this time, he thought, there would be no mistakes. The foundation he'd set up before
he died had finally purchased the University's interest in Jamie's program-- they funded some
scholarships, that was all it finally took. There was no one in the Computer Department who had an
interest anymore.
Jamie had been loaded from an old backup-- there was no point in using the corrupt file that
Jamie had become, the one that had turned itself into a tree, for heaven's sake.
The old world was up and running, with a few improvements. The foundation had bought their
own computer-- an old one, so it wasn't too expensive-- that would run the environment full time.
Some other children might be scanned, to give Jamie some playmates and peer socialization.
This time it would work, Daddy thought. Because this time, Daddy was a program too, and he
was going to be here every minute, making sure that the environment was correct and that
everything went exactly according to plan. That he and Jamie and everyone else had a normal family
life, perfect and shining and safe.
And if the clone program ever worked out, they would come into the real world again. And if
downloading into clones was never perfected, then they would stay here.
There was nothing wrong with the virtual environment. It was a good place.
Just like normal family life. Only forever.
And when this worked out, the foundation's backers-- fine people, even if they did have some
strange religious ideas-- would have their own environments up and running. With churches, angels,
and perhaps even the presence of God ...
"Look!" Daddy said, pointing. "It's Mister Jeepers!"
Mister Jeepers flew off the rooftop and spun happy spirals in the air as he swooped toward