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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
THE OUTLAND 124
And nothing has changed in the world. During my absence, Mekon not only didn’t make any progress on the part of the ritual, he didn’t even start it! The jester knows what this overgrown child could do, but I found him exactly where I left him - in a cold hut, sleeping under the skins. The shack did not include its own fireplace, or even a place for a fire - the tribe was going to cook at the public fires - so, of course, there was a quite logical oak tree in the house.However, it’s not for me to freeze - jumping up from the bed, I made the character do several energetic swings of my arms and tilts, dispersing the blood and warming it a little. There were even a few cakes on the table, baked by who knows who, but as a breakfast it will do. Another observation was that the sunbed of Mekon himself dominated the tiny room; no other furnishings could be found. So, again an orphan and a loner? The abyss of imagination, you will not say anything.And the thought of becoming an adult for som
THE OUTLAND 125
- What did you do there? she hissed. Tired of living?It's a shame. Humiliating. The sergeant didn't even take out his sword, he just slammed his fist in the teeth, Gaava too, out, spreading her hands. It's not fatal, and thus the update really works, but damn it, how humiliating and painful! None of the dispersing slaves even spared me a glance, neither sympathetic nor even indifferent. Slaves, indeed.And I'm a child slave. Which, even with a strong desire, armed with a stick, will not be able to do anything with an adult - be it three times smaller and lighter. Great start to a gaming session. It seemed that the ritual would indeed be indispensable, even if it caused the most dreary thoughts in Mekon. So it's time to go? Even if you don't want to, of course. And what do you want?There were plenty of plans, actually. For starters, sneak into the vicinity of the Great Church and get my old corpse there - the red eye has so far been my only valuable thing that I managed to get in thi