《Jesting Pilot》作者： - Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore【EPUB】

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Jesting Pilot by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (as by Lewis Padgett) Under normal circumstances, a man must face reality to be a sane, well-balanced citizen. But not in that city! Any man who faced and understood the reality of the place was insane! Illustrated by Orban An A\NN/A Preservation Edition. Notes The city screamed. It had been screaming for six hundred years. And as long as that unendurable scream continued—the city was an efficient unit. “You’re getting special treatment,” Nehral said, looking across the big, bare, silent room to where young Fleming sat on the cushioned seat. “Normally you wouldn’t have graduated to Control for another six months, but something’s come up. The others think a fresh viewpoint might help. And you’re elected, since you’re the oldest acolyte.” “Britton’s older than I am,” Fleming said. He was a short, heavy, red-haired boy with an unusual sensitivity conditioned into his blunt features. Utterly relaxed, he sat waiting. “Physiological age doesn’t mean anything. The civilization-index is more important. And the empathy level. You’re seventeen, but you’re emotionally mature. On the other hand, you’re not—set. You haven’t been a Controller for years. We think you may have some fresh angles that can help us.” “Aren’t fresh angles undesirable?” Nehral’s thin, tired face twisted into a faint smile. “There’s been debate about that. A culture is a living organism and it can’t exist in its own waste products. Not indefinitely. But we don’t intend to remain isolated indefinitely.” “I didn’t know that,” Fleming said. Nehral studied his fingertips. “Don’t get the idea that we’re the masters. We’re servants, far more so than the citizens. We’ve got to follow the plan. And we don’t know all the details of the plan. That was arranged purposely. Some day the Barrier will lift. Then the city won’t be isolated any longer.” “But—outside!” Fleming said, a little nervously. “Suppose—” Nehral said, “Six hundred years ago the city was built and the Barrier created. The Barrier’s quite impassable. There’s a switch—I’ll show it to you sometime—that’s useless at present. Its purpose is to bring the Barrier into existence. But no one knows how to destroy the Barrier. One theory is that it can’t be destroyed until its half-life is run, and the energy’s reached a sufficiently low level. Then it blinks