Конец вечности
Crime
Look,don’tbeexcited,dear,andlisten."Withanalmostconvulsivegesture(hewouldhavetolearnhowtotouchhernaturally,withoutmakingthemovementseemasheepishinvitationtoarepulse)hetookherhandsinhisandheldthemtightly.
Foramomentshetriedtofreethem,andthensherelaxed.Sheevenlaughedabit."Oh,goahead,silly,anddon’tlooksosolemn.I’mnotblamingyou."
"Youmustn’tblameanyone.Thereisnoblamenecessary.Wedowhatmustbedone.Thatmassduplicatorisaclassiccase.Istudieditinschool.Whenyouduplicatemass,youcanduplicatepersons,too.Theproblemsthatariseareverycomplicated."
"Isn’tituptothesocietytosolveitsownproblems?"
"Itis,butwestudiedthatsocietythroughoutTimeanditdoesn’tsolvetheproblemsatisfactorily.Rememberthatitsfailuretodosoaffectsnotonlyitselfbutallitsdescendantsocieties.Infact,thereisnosatisfactorysolutiontothemass-duplicatorproblem.It’soneofthosethingslikeatomicwarsanddreamiesthatjustcan’tbeallowed.Developmentsareneversatisfactory."
"Whatmakesyousosure?"
"WehaveourComputingmachines,Noys;ComputaplexesfarmoreaccuratethananyeverdevelopedinanysingleReality.TheseComputethepossibleRealitiesandgradethedesirabilitiesofeachoverasummationofthousandsandthousandsofvariables."
"Machines!"Shesaiditwithscorn.
Harlanfrowned,thenrelentedhastily."Nowdon’tbelikethat.Naturally,youresentlearningthatlifeisnotassolidasyouthought.
