«Моя цель — звезды» Альфред Бестер

цитата Альфред Бестер

By the first decade of the twenty-fourth century the principles of jaunting were established and the first school was opened by Charles Fort Jaunte himself, then fifty-seven, immortalized, and ashamed to admit that he had never dared Jaunte again. But the primitive days were past; it was no longer necessary to threaten a man with death to make him teleport. They had learned how to teach man to recognize, discipline, and exploit yet another resource of his limitless mind.

How, exactly, did man teleport? One of the most unsatisfactory explanations was provided by Spencer Thompson, publicity representative of the Jaunte Schools, in a press interview.

THOMPSON:Jaunting is like seeing; it is a natural aptitude of almost every human organism, but it can only be developed by training and experience.

REPORTER:You mean we couldn't see without practice?

THOMPSON:Obviously you're either unmarried or have no children preferably both.

(Laughter)

REPORTER:I don't understand.

THOMPSON:Anyone who's observed an infant learning to use its eyes, would.

REPORTER:But what is teleportation?

THOMPSON:The transportation of oneself from one locality to another by an effort of the mind alone.

REPORTER:You mean we can think ourselves from . . say . . . New York to Chicago?

THOMPSON:Precisely; provided one thing is clearly understood. In jaunting from New York to Chicago it is necessary for the person teleporting himself to know exactly where he is when he starts and where he's going.

REPORTER:How's that?

THOMPSON:If you were in a dark room and unaware of where you were, it would be impossible to jaunte anywhere with safety. And if you knew where you were but intended to jaunte to a place you had never seen, you would never arrive alive. One cannot jaunte from an unknown departure point to an unknown destination. Both must be known, memorized and visualized.

REPORTER:But if we know where we are and where we're going. . .

THOMPSON:We can be pretty sure we'll jaunte and arrive.

REPORTER:Would we arrive naked?

THOMPSON:If you started naked. (Laughter)

REPORTER:I mean, would our clothes teleport with us?

THOMPSON:When people teleport, they also teleport the clothes they wear and whatever they are strong enough to carry. I hate to disappoint you, but even ladies' clothes would arrive with them.(Laughter)

REPORTER:But how do we do it?

THOMPSON:How do we think?

REPORTER:With our minds.

THOMPSON:And how does the mind think? What is the thinking process? Exactly how do we remember, imagine, deduce, create? Exactly how do the brain cells operate?

REPORTER:I don't know. Nobody knows.

THOMPSON:And nobody knows exactly how we teleport either, but we know we can do it-just as we know that we can think. Have you ever heard of Descartes? He said: Cogito ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. We say: Cogito argo jaunteo. I think, therefore I jaunte.

If it is thought that Thompson's explanation is exasperating, inspect this report of Sir John Kelvin to the Royal Society on the mechanism of jaunting:

We have established that the teleportative ability is associated with the Nissl bodies, or Tigroid Substance in nerve cells. The Tigroid Substance is easiest demonstrated by Nissl's method using 3.7 g. of methylen blue and ... g. of Venetian soap dissolved in 1,000 CC. of water.

Where the Tigroid Substance does not appear, jaunting is impossible. Teleportation is a Tigroid Function.

(Applause)

Any man was capable of jaunting provided he developed two faculties, visualization and concentration. He had to visualize, completely and precisely, the spot to which he desired to teleport himself; and he had to concentrate the latent energy of his mind into a single thrust to get him there. Above all, he had to have faith . . . the faith that Charles Fort Jaunte never recovered. He had to believe he would jaunte. The slightest doubt would block the mind-thrust necessary for teleportation.

The limitations with which every man is born necessarily limited the ability to jaunte. Some could visualize magnificently and set the co-ordinates of their destination with precision, but lacked the power to get there. Others had the power but could not, so to speak, see where they were jaunting. And space set a final limitation, for no man had ever jaunted further than a thousand miles. He could work his way in jaunting jumps over land and water from Nome to Mexico, but no jump could exceed a thousand miles.

By the 2420's, this form of employment application blank had become a commonplace:

This space reserved for

retina pattern () identification

NAME (Capital Letters)~

LastMiddleFirst

RESIDENCE (Legal)~

Continent Country County

JAUNTE CLASS (Official Rating: Check one Only):

M (1.000 miles)

L (50 miles)

D (500 miles)

X (10 miles)

C (100 miles)

V(5 miles)

цитата Версия Баканова

В первом десятилетии XXIV века были установлены принципы джантации и открыта первая школа — лично Чарлзом Фортом Джанте, в то время пятидесятисемилетним, бессмертным и стыдящимся признаться, что он больше никогда не осмелится джантировать. Но те примитивные дни ушли. Исчезла необходимость угрожать человеку смертью. Люди постигли, как распознавать, подчинять и использовать еще один резерв их неисчерпаемого мозга.

Джантировать способен всякий, если он в состоянии видеть, помнить, концентрировать свою волю. Надо только отчетливо представить себе место, куда собираешься себя телепортировать, и сконцентрировать латентную энергию мозга в единый импульс. Кроме всего, нужно иметь веру — веру, которую Чарлз Форт Джанте безвозвратно утратил. Малейшее сомнение блокирует способность телепортации.

Свойственные человеку недостатки неизбежно ограничивали джантацию. Некоторые могли блестяще представлять себе место назначения, но не обладали энергией, чтобы попасть туда. Другие в избытке имели энергию, но не видели, если можно так выразиться, куда джантировать. И последнее ограничение накладывало расстояние, ибо никто никогда не джантировал более чем на тысячу миль.

Вскоре стала обычной следующая анкета


  ИМЯ

  МЕСТО ЖИТЕЛЬСТВА

  ДЖАНТ-КЛАСС

  М (1000 миль)

  Д (500 миль)

  С (100 миль)

  Л (50 миль)

  Х (10 миль)

  В (5 миль)