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THE OUTLAND 116
Ten.The command worked without me, without any instructions. So, will she be able to handle it on her own? Won't die, won't get into trouble?I again sent Xolotl to the floor, sacrificing another limb and, leaning on the "hole punch" like a crutch, froze in anticipation of the rise of the goddess.Eight.And the unhurried, quiet hum turned out to be Manyuni's voice, her victory song.— Nooooo! - It resounded around us, scattering, throwing on the floor.Yes, only too late - all the space along the path of the shot has shifted, including both the slab and the stone in it.The figure of the goddess puffed up, swelled up and in one leap occupied all the available space, as then, during the awakening of her husband.We'll meet again, soldier. Xolotl promised.And she disappeared.Four.And for the first time in all this time, light peered into the black hall through the walls that had become transparent. And no, the light is not the rising sun, a symbol of victories and hopes.Far, far t
THE OUTLAND 117
- Scary? A familiar voice came from nearby. - Very scary. - I didn't lie. - In the first three episodes, at least it was possible to boot, in case you screwed up thoroughly. And here what to do?- Like what? Live. “It’s easy for you to say, you’re immortal, super strong, super fast. God, in short.“And you are human. Robbie, the demiurges were people and created these worlds for people. So you are in a much better position. “Are you saying you can’t go and live in this world as a human?”- Sure I can. And after your joint tricks with Ware, it's also very simple. The main thing is to find those who want to.- And there are plenty of people who want to. I nodded slowly. - The whole world.“I can count on at least one country.- For one. Which in the end still fell.— No, brother, you do not know my fighters. As soon as they figure out how to deal with the priests, they will be thrown out of the country and out of the world. - But why?- Did you immediately master all the abilities o
THE OUTLAND 118
Glass blinkers on the eyes, a glass needle in the heart. Removing melancholy from black and white keys, I sometimes think that I, like all of us now, are just another citizen of glass. Producer of nothing from the novel of an old Frenchman who once sent the most useless representatives of the human race to a desert island. Well, what can they do there, in the wild, all these psychologists, designers, officials?The older humanity becomes, the wiser, the more it appreciates the life of a single individual ... Which is paradoxical, of course - there are more and more of us, in theory, the life of one should depreciate. But come on... ...The likes of me are unthinkable in Victorian England, in industrial tsarist Russia, or in medieval Spain. Only here, in this era, can we exist. Do nothing, produce air - and be considered incredibly valuable personnel.So once again I clench my cigarette between my teeth, jumping out into the drizzle, getting ready for an extremely hard day at work. Chec
THE OUTLAND 119
People will laugh at how little the client weighs, how it is packed. But I'm sure - they just need to download the installer, run the game - they will change their minds. As I understood from Edik's inconsistent explanations, completely new generations of games can weigh even less, because they do not require any graphic assets at all, the entire picture is produced directly by the consumer's brain. And I didn’t worry about the plot and the world at all - starting from the defense of the last base of the “Search” and until the very final assault on the Xolotl citadel, I had the impression that yes, yes, this is the same game, the same setting, the same characters.- Well, take it, curve. Taking a deep breath, I pressed the "send" button and allowed the files to be uploaded to the network.Fifty seconds even with restrictions.For now…Two thousand years have passed since then, from the Toltecs who went to conquer the east, neither hearing nor spirit. It is not known what actually happ
THE OUTLAND 120
In general, Comrade Mashko is another shot. I didn’t believe for a day that he was just a modest head of another newfangled division. Game - evidence of the era. Yet the powers that be have finally recognized computer universes as one of the art forms. It's high time - in some of these projects, the picture, design and music are significantly superior in level to similar ones from completely different genres ... Cinema, for example.And Eduard Semyonovich was in charge of all this. First, in splendid isolation, a little later, having acquired a whole staff of impeccably hardworking homo robotics, and in the end - and immediately a deputy in my person.“Of all these morons, I can only trust you, Rob. - He used to say in response to my questions - they say, in honor of what such an honor. “You are the only one in the department besides me who has shown your willingness to circumvent or outright violate the prohibitions when it comes to something important. And I need people like that.D
THE OUTLAND 121
For ersatz coffee, of course, various meal substitutes seemed quite appropriate. Caffeine pills, multivitamins and tasteless protein bars from the science fiction novels of American pessimists. But no. It's funny, of course - having rejected pickles and complex cuisine, a person still remains a hostage to the taste palette. We are not cats, we cannot eat the same food for months. So my almost cosmic diet indulges me with the taste of teriyaki, then bolognese sauce, then carbonara. But the clever Edik is not shy, he honestly drags the real sausage from the fleet, albeit from synthetic meat.After breakfast, I finished the bottle of Elita, sent the packaging of the soy bar to the trash, but put the bottle on the windowsill - the eternal plastic, although it was considered biodegradable, was still recommended by the state for reusable use. The courier will arrive the day after tomorrow, pick up thirty bottles, in return put three blocks of water with electrolytes at the door - a month's
THE OUTLAND 122
Human civilization tends to elevate its new toys to the absolute, to break the psyche of its average representative on the knee so that in the end he cannot imagine life without the comforts, services, and opportunities familiar to him. So it was with lead plumbing in Rome, so it was in electrified Russia. And, of course, this is what happens in modern times - with the Internet, home delivery, taxis and a whole bunch of other variations, getting everything without contacting people.It's even funny how individualistic society has made us all ...But I'm not talking about that. Today I stumbled upon new evidence of the era. The very first fix in the ru-sector of the "aydab" forum was capslock: CONSORT-SERVICES! CHEAP!“So you understand, right? I opened the lock and scanned the text of the message."Chaos Academy Mercenary Guild provides services for escorting, farming, eliminating or protecting any targets. Low prices, high quality, successful experience in more than twenty projects!
THE OUTLAND 123
The world took a deep breath, closed his eyes… And took a step back!When I opened my eyes the next time, I found the door wide open and three uninvited guests on the threshold. In theory, enough to get worried, right?What is much worse - the guests were lying side by side in the doorway, showing no signs of life. Having overcome a slight nausea, I leaned over them - and immediately covering my mouth with my palm, I rushed headlong into the bathroom.Whatever killed them wasn't a bullet, a laser beam, or anything else that was instantaneous. It was more like something took and displaced a certain volume inside their heads by several centimeters - there were no brains scattered by the shot, not even blood. The displaced tissues tightly clogged the wounds, which made everything look innocent enough from the outside.But, unfortunately, I knew what it was. As well as something that can create something similar.Manyunya Anthea.And, of course, her younger sisters, who served us glorious