"Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Roadside Picnic (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

theory that the black sprays are gigantic expanses of space with properties
different from those of our space and that they became curled up under the
influence of our space." Valentine sighed deeply. "In short, the objects in
this group have absolutely no applications to human life today. Even though
from a purely scientific point of view they are of fundamental importance.
They are answers that have fallen from heaven to questions that we still
can't pose. Perhaps Sir Isaac wouldn't have figured out lasers, but he would
at least have understood that such a thing is possible, and that would have
influenced his scientific outlook greatly. I won't go into detail, but the
existence of such objects as the magnetic traps, the K-23, and the white
ring has invalidated most of our recently developed theories and has brought
forth completely new ideas. And there is still a third group."
"Yes," Noonan said. "The witches' jelly and other goodies."
"No, no. Those fall either into the first or second category. I'm
talking about objects that we know nothing about or have only hearsay
information. The things that the stalkers stole from under our noses and
sold to God knows who, or have hidden. The things that they don't talk
about. The things that have become legends or semi- legends. The wish
machine, Dick the Tramp, and the jolly ghosts."
"Wait a minute! What are those things? I can figure out the wish
machine, but. . . ."
Valentine laughed.
"You see, we have our own shop talk, too. Dick the Tramp--that's the
hypothetical wind-up teddy bear wreaking havoc in the old plant. And the
jolly ghost is a type of dangerous turbulence that occurs in some parts of
the Zone."
"First I've heard of it."
"You understand, Richard, that we've been digging around in the Zone
for twenty years but we don't even know a thousandth of what it contains.
And if you want to talk of the Zone's effect on man. ... By the way, it
looks as though we'll have to add another category, the fourth group. Not of
objects, but of effects. This group has been shamefully neglected, even
though as far as I'm concerned, there are more than enough facts for
research. And you know, sometimes my skin crawls, Richard, when I think
about those facts." Zombies," Noonan said.
"What? Oh, no, that's merely puzzling. How can I put it--at ]east,
that's imaginable. I mean when suddenly for no reason at all things start
happening, nonphysical, nonbiological phenomena."
"Oh, you mean the emigrants."
"Exactly. Statistics is a very precise science, you know, even though
it deals with random occurrences. And besides, it's an eloquent and
beautiful science."
Valentine seemed to be tipsy. His voice was louder, his cheeks were
red, and his eyebrows had crept up high over his dark glasses, wrinkling his
forehead into a washboard.
"I really like nondrinkers," Noonan said.
"Don't get off the subject!" Valentine said. "Listen, what can I tell
you? It's very strange." He raised his glass, drank half in one gulp, and
went on. "We don't know what happened to the poor Harmonites at the very
moment of the Visitation. But now one of them decides to emigrate. Your most