Gregory Benford 2nd Foundation Trilogy 1 Foundations Fea

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screen.
Civilization, she thought, was a bit boring. Her time with the sims had opened
her eyes to the force, the heady electricity, of the dark past. They had
fought wars, slaughtered each other, all supposedly for ideas.
Now, swaddled in Empire, humanity was soft. Instead of bloody battles,
satisfyingly final, there were "fierce" trade wars, athletic head-buttings.
And lately, a fashion for debates.
This collision of sims, touted everywhere on Trantor, would be watched by over
twenty billion households. And it was beamed to the entire Empire, wherever
the creaky funnels of the wormhole network went. The rude vigor
And she was going to take every scrap of credit for it that she could, of
course.
She looked around at the president and other top-ranking executives of
Artifice Associates, all chattering away happily.
The president, to demonstrate neutrality, sat between Sybyl and Marq
who had not spoken to each other since the last meeting.
On Marq's far side his client, the Skeptics' representative, scanned the
program; next to him, Nim. Monsieur Boker gave Sybyl a nudge. "That can't be
what I think it is, " he said.
Sybyl followed his eyes to a distant row at the back where what looked like a
mechman sat quietly beside a human girl. Only licensed mech vendors and
bookies were allowed in the stadium. "Probably her servant, " Sybyl said.
Minor infractions of the rules did not disturb her as they did Monsieur Boker,
who'd been especially testy since a 3D caster leaked the news that Artifice
Associates was repre-
senting both the Preservers and Skeptics. Fortunately, the leak occurred too
late for either party to do anything about it.
"Mechserves aren't allowed, " Monsieur Boker observed.
"Maybe she's handicapped, " Sybyl said to placate him. "Needs help in getting
around. "
"It won't understand what's going on anyway, " said Marq, directing his
for the first time. "Why don't you put your money where your lovely mouth is?"
"I've got the probabilities on this one bracketed, " she said primly.
"You couldn't solve the integral equation. " Marq snorted derisively.
Her nostrils flared. "A thousand. "
"Mere tokenism, " Marq chided her, "considering what you're being paid for
this project. "
"The same as you, " said Sybyl.
"Will you two cut it out, " Nim said.
"Tell you what, " said Marq. "I'll bet my entire salary for the project on
Voltaire. You bet yours on your anachronistic Maid. "
"Hey, " Nim said. "Hey. "
The president deftly addressed Marq's client, the Skeptic. "It's this keen
competitive spirit that's made Artifice Associates the planet's leader in
simulated intelligences. " Artfully he turned to the rival, Boker. "We try
to "
"You're on!" cried Sybyl.
Her dealings with the Maid had convinced her that the irrational must have a
place in the human equation, too. She remained convinced for about three quick
eye-blinks, and then began to doubt.
9.
Voltaire loved audiences. And he had never appeared before one like
mering partition in the far corner of the screen. She folded her arms, pre-
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tending to be unimpressed.
Delay only excited the beast. He let the crowd cheer and stamp, ignor-
ing boos and hisses from approximately half of those present.
At least half of humanity has always been fools, he reflected. This was his
first exposure to the advanced denizens of this colossal Empire. Millen-
nia had made no difference.
He was not one to prematurely cut off adulation he knew was his due.
Here he stood for the epitome of the French intellectual tradition, now van-
quished but for him.
He gazed again at Joan who was, after all, the only other surviving member of
their time, quite obviously the peak in human civilization. He whispered, "Tis
our destiny to shine; theirs, to applaud. " When the mod-
erator finally pleaded for silence a bit too soon; Voltaire would take that up
with him later Voltaire endured Joan's introduction with what he hoped was a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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