Наши партнеры:
| 3001 The final Odissey |
|
|
Страница 6 из 91 own time. There was nothing alien or upsetting: that, he guessed, would come later. His present surroundings had obviously been carefully programmed: he wondered if there was the equivalent of a television screen somewhere (how many channels would the Fourth Millennium have?) but could see no sign of any controls near his bed. There was so much he would have to learn in this new world: he was a savage who had suddenly encountered civilization. But first, he must regain his strength -- and learn the language; not even the advent of sound recording, already more than a century old when Poole was born, had prevented major changes in grammar and pronunciation. And there were thousands of new words, mostly from science and technology, though often he was able to make a shrewd guess at their meaning. More frustrating, however, were the myriad of famous and infamous personal names that had accumulated over the millennium, and which meant nothing to him. For weeks, until he had built up a data bank, most of his conversations had to be interrupted with potted biographies. As Poole`s strength increased, so did the number of his visitors, though always under Professor Anderson`s watchful eye. They included medical specialists, scholars of several disciplines, and -- of the greatest interest to him -- spacecraft commanders. There was little that he could tell the doctors and historians that was not recorded somewhere in Mankind`s gigantic data banks, but he was often able to give them research shortcuts and new insights about the events of his own time. Though they all treated him with the utmost respect and listened patiently as he tried to answer their questions, they seemed reluctant to answer his. Poole began to feel that he was being over-protected from culture shock, and half-seriously wondered how he could escape from his suite. On the few occasions he was alone, he was not surprised to discover that the door was locked. Then the arrival of Doctor Indra Wallace changed everything. Despite her name, her chief racial component appeared to be Japanese, and there were times when with just a little imagination Poole could picture her as a rather mature Geisha Girl. It was hardly an appropriate image for a distinguished historian, holding a Virtual Chair at a university still boasting real ivy. She was the first visitor with a fluent command of Poole`s own English, so he was delighted to meet her. `Mr Poole,` she began, in a very business-like voice, `I`ve been appointed your official guide and -- let`s say -- mentor. My qualifications -- I`ve specialized in your period -- my thesis was "The Collapse of the Nation-State, 2000-50". 1 believe we can help each other in many ways.` `I`m sure we can. First I`d like you to get me out of here, so I can see a little of your world.` `Exactly what we intend to do. But first we must give you an Ident. Until then you`ll be -- what was the term? --a non-person. It would be almost impossible for you to go anywhere, or get anything done. No input device would recognize your existence.` `Just what I expected,` Poole answered, with a wry smile. `It was starting to get that way in my own time -- and many people hated the idea.` `Some still do. They go off and live in the wilderness -- there`s a lot more on Earth than there was in your century! But they always take their compaks with them, so they can call for help as soon as they get into trouble. The median time is about five days.` `Sorry to hear that. The human race has obviously deteriorated.` He was cautiously testing her, trying to find the limits of her tolerance and to map out her personality. It was obvious that they were going to spend much time together, and that he would have to depend upon her in hundreds of ways. Yet he was still not sure if he would even like her: |
| « Пред. |
|---|