"Dafydd ab Hugh, Brad Linaweawer DOOM: Infernal Sky (english)" - читать интересную книгу автора

powers, but at least he didn't talk down to me.
There were a dozen computer jobs I could have
taken now that I was a big hero; but I chose to work
with Ackerman. For one thing, he'd asked me to. His
research was interesting, and there was a lot I could
do for him.
I didn't mind his interest in me, especially if I was
going to be an assistant. But I didn't like the way he
kept asking about the others. Albert, Fly, and Arlene
had lots of military stuff to keep them busy. Ken was
recovering in the hospital; whenever we talked, he
tired out quickly.
"There is every indication that Ken is also a
genius," Ackerman said, smiling.
"At least he's unwrapped."
"What do you mean?"
"I was, uh, making a joke. He looked like a mummy
when we rescued him from the train. When I look at
him now, I think of a ... mummy."
"Yes, yes," he replied. "You and Ken were worth
the sacrifices the others made."
"They were very brave."
"Normal specimens," he said to himself.
People who talk to themselves are overheard some-
times.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He looked up from his clipboard and blinked at me
through his heavy black-rimmed glasses. "Sorry. I'm
spending too much time in the lab. I only meant that
if the human race is going to survive, we must harvest
all of our geniuses."
I'd been called a genius ever since I was a kid.
Sometimes I got tired of it. "What's a genius?" I
asked.
He had a quick answer. "Anyone who can think
better than his neighbor."
"There must be a lot of geniuses, then."
He smiled. "Don't be a smart aleck or I won't show
you my collection."
I'd always found it hard to shut up. "How do you
know who's so smart?"
He placed a fatherly hand on my shoulder. I didn't
hold that against him. He had no way of knowing I
wasn't looking for a dad.
"Jill, the military keeps records. Sometimes I think
it's all they're really good at doing. If your military
friends had unusually high IQs or other indications of
special mental attributes, we'd know."
"I thought a lot of records were lost during the
invasion."