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Круглосуточный новостной сайт в днепропетровске о области в целом.
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| 3001 The final Odissey |
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Страница 7 из 91 perhaps she regarded him merely as a fascinating museum exhibit. Rather to Poole`s surprise, she agreed with his criticism. `That may be true -- in some respects. Perhaps we`re physically weaker, but we`re healthier and better adjusted than most humans who have ever lived. The Noble Savage was always a myth`. She walked over to a small rectangular plate, set at eye-level in the door. It was about the size of one of the countless magazines that had proliferated in the far-off Age of Print, and Poole had noticed that every room seemed to have at least one. Usually they were blank, but sometimes they contained lines of slowly scrolling text, completely meaningless to Poole even when most of the words were familiar. Once a plate in his suite had emitted urgent beepings, which he had ignored on the assumption that someone else would deal with the problem, whatever it was. Fortunately the noise stopped as abruptly as it had started. Dr Wallace laid the palm of her hand upon the plate, then removed it after a few seconds. She glanced at Poole, and said smilingly: `Come and look at this.` The inscription that had suddenly appeared made a good deal of sense, when he read it slowly:WALLACE, INDRA [F2970.03.11 :31.885 / /HIST.OXFORD] `I suppose it means Female, date of birth 11 March 2970 -- and that you`re associated with the Department of History at Oxford. And I guess that 31.885 is a personal identification number. Correct?` `Excellent, Mr Poole. I`ve seen some of your e-mail addresses and credit card numbers -- hideous strings of alpha-numeric gibberish that no one could possibly remember! But we all know our date of birth, and not more than 99,999 other people will share it. So a five-figure number is all you`ll ever need... and even if you forget that, it doesn`t really matter. As you see, it`s a part of you.` `Implant?` `Yes -- nanochip at birth, one in each palm for redundancy. You won`t even feel yours when it goes in. But you`ve given us a small problem...` `What`s that?` `The readers you`ll meet most of the time are too simple-minded to believe your date of birth. So, with your permission, we`ve moved it up a thousand years.` `Permission granted. And the rest of the Ident?` `Optional. You can leave it empty, give your current interests and location -- or use it for personal messages, global or targeted.` Some things, Poole was quite sure, would not have changed over the centuries. A high proportion of those `targeted` messages would be very personal indeed. He wondered if there were still self or state-appointed censors in this day and age -- and if their efforts at improving other people`s morals had been more successful than in his own time. He would have to ask Dr Wallace about that, when he got to know her better. 4 A Room with a View `Frank -- Professor Anderson thinks you`re strong enough to go for a little walk.` `I`m very pleased to hear it. Do you know the expression "stir crazy"?` `No -- but I can guess what it means.` Poole had so adapted to the low gravity that the long strides he was taking seemed perfectly normal. Half a gee, he had estimated -- just right to give a sense of well-being. They met only a few people on their walk, all of them strangers, but every one gave a smile of recognition. By now, Poole told himself with a trace of smugness, I must be one of the best-known celebrities in this world. That should be a great help -- when I decide what to do with the rest of my life. At least another century, if I can believe Anderson. The corridor along which they were walking was completely featureless apart from occasional numbered doors, each bearing one of the universal recog panels. Poole had followed Indra for perhaps two hundred metres when |
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