Bird in the Hand Larry Niven

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.A big hand closed on his upper arm."Just a minute," Ra Chen said softly."The Secretary-General's paying us a visit."Svetz's heart lurched."How do you know?"Ra Chen pointed."You should recognize that thing on the walkway.We brought it back last month from Los Angeles, June third, twenty-six PostAtomic, the day of the Great California Earthquake.It's an internal combustion automobile.It belongs to the Secretary-General.""What'll we do?""Go in and show him around," Ra Chen said grimly."Pray be doesn't insist on being taken back to Watts, August eleventh, twenty PostAtomic.""Suppose he does?""I'll send him back.Oh, not with you, Svetz.With Zeera.She's black, and she speaks american.It might help.""Not enough," said Svetz, but he was already calmer.Let Zeera take the risks.They passed close by the Secretary-General's automobile.Svetz was intrigued by its odd, angular look, its complex control panels, the shiny chrome trim.Someone had removed the hood, so that the polished complexity of the motor was open to view."Wait," Svetz said suddenly."Does he like it?""Will you come on?""Does the Secretary-General like his automobile?""Sure, Svetz.He loves it.""Get him another car.California must have been full of automobiles on the day before the Great Quake."Ra Chen stopped suddenly."That could be it.It would hold him for a while, give us time."Time for what?"Ra Chen didn't hear."A racing car.? No, he'd kill himself.The Circle of Advisors would want to install a robot chauffeur override.Maybe a dune buggy?""Why not ask him?""It's worth a try," said Ra Chen.They went up the steps.In the Center there were three time machines, including the one with the big extension cage, plus a host of panels with flashing colored lights.The Secretary-General liked those.He smiled and chuckled as Ra Chen led him about.His guards hovered at his shoulders, their faces stiff, their fingernails clicking against their gun butts.Ra Chen introduced Svetz as "my best agent." Svetz was so overwhelmed by the honor he could only stutter.But the Secretary-General didn't seem to notice.Whether he had forgotten about seeing the Watts Riot was moot, but he did forget to ask on that occasion.When Ra Chen asked about cars, the Secretary-General smiled all across his face and nodded vigorously.Faced by a vast array of choices, five or six decades with dozens of new models for every year, the Secretary-General put his finger in his mouth and considered well.Then he made his choice."'Why not ask him? Why not ask him?'" Ra Chen mimicked savagely."Now we know.The first car! He wants the first car ever made!""I thought he'd ask for a make of car." Svetz rubbed his eyes hard."How can we possibly find one car? A couple of decades to search through, and all of the North American and European continents!""It's not that bad.We'll use the books from the Beverly Hills Library.But it's bad enough, Svetz."The raid on the Beverly Hills Library had been launched in full daylight, using the big extension cage and a dozen guards armed with stimners, on June third, twenty-six PostAtomic.Giant time machines, crazy men wearing flying belts-on any other day it would have made every newspaper and television program in the country.But June the third was a kind of Happy Hunting Ground for the Institute for Temporal Research.No Californian would report the raid, except to other Californians.If the story did get out, it would be swamped by more important news.The series of quakes would begin at sunset.had begun at sunset.Svetz and Ra Chen and Zeera Southworth spent half the night going through the history section of the Beverly Hills Library.Ra Chen knew enough white american to recognize titles, but in the end Zeera had to do the reading.Zeera Southworth was tall and slender and very dark, crowned with hair like a black powder explosion.Among men who worked at the Center she was reputed to be as frigid as the caves of Pluto.She was also the only one who could handle the unique horned horse Svetz had brought back from prehistoric Britain.She sat gracefully cross-legged, reading pertinent sections aloud, while the others paced.They followed a twisting trail of references.By two in the morning they were damp and furious."Nobody invented the automobile!" Ra Chen exploded."It just happened!""We certainly have a wide range of choices," Zeera agreed."I take it we won't want any of the steam automobiles.That would eliminate Cugnot and Trevithick and the later British steam coaches.""Thank Science for eliminating something."Svetz said, "Our best bets seem to be Lenoir of France and Marcus of Vienna.Except that Daimler and Benz have good claims, and Selden's patent held good for years-""Dammit, pick one!""Just a minute, sir." Zeera alone retained some semblance of calm."This Ford might be the best we've got.""Ford? Why? He invented nothing but a system of mass production."Zeera held up the book.Svetz recognized it: a biography she had been reading earlier."This book implies that Ford was responsible for everything, that he created the automobile industry singlehanded.""But we know that isn't true," Svetz protested.Ra Chen made a pushing motion with one hand."Let's not be hasty.We take Ford's car, and we produce that book to authenticate it.Who'll know the difference?""But if someone does the same research we just-oh.Sure.He'll get the same answers.No answers.Ford's just as good a choice as any.""Better, if nobody looks further," Zeera said with satisfaction."Too bad we can't take the Model T; it looks much more like an automobile.This thing he started with looks like a kiddy cart.It says he built it out of old pipes [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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