Конец вечности
Timer
Hehadneverparticularlythoughtaboutthematterbefore,butnowitoccurredtohim,quitesuddenly,thatitwouldbepleasanttobehandsome.
LateatnightHarlanaddedhisnotestotheconversationshehadgathered,whileitwasallfreshinhismind.
Asalwaysinsuchcaseshemadeuseofamolecularrecorderof55thCenturymanufacture.Inshapeitwasafeaturelessthincylinderaboutfourincheslongbyhalfaninchindiameter.Itwascoloredadeepbutnoncommittalbrown.Itcouldbeeasilyheldincuff,pocket,orlining,dependingonthestyleofclothing,or,forthatmatter,suspendedfrombelt,button,orwristband.
Howeverheld,whereverkept,ithadthecapacityofrecordingsometwentymillionwordsoneachofthreemolecularenergylevels.Withoneendofthecylinderconnectedtoatransliterator,resonatingefficientlywithHarlan’searpiece,andtheotherendconnectedfield-wisetothesmallmikeathislips,Harlancouldlistenandspeaksimultaneously.
Everysoundmadeduringthehoursofthe"gathering"repeateditselfnowinhisear,andashelistened,hespokewordsthatrecordedthemselvesonasecondlevel,co-ordinatewithbutdifferentfromtheprimarylevelonwhichthegatheringhadbeenrecorded.Onthissecondlevelhedescribedhisownimpressions,heascribedsignificance,pointedoutcorrelations.Eventually,whenhemadeuseofthemolecularrecordertowriteareport,hewouldhave,notsimplyasound-forsoundrecording,butanannotatedreconstruction.
NoysLambententered.Shedidnotsignalherentranceinanyway.
