The Early Stories of Philip K. Dick by Philip K. Dick
Author:Philip K. Dick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamscape Media LLC
Published: 2018-04-12T11:35:01+00:00
* * *
THOMAS Cole was sitting up in bed when Sherikov came to the door. Most of his awkward, hunched-over body was sealed in a thin envelope of transparent airproof plastic. Two robot attendants whirred ceaselessly at his side, their leads contacting his pulse, blood-pressure, respiration, body temperature.
Cole turned a little as the huge Pole tossed down his briefcase and seated himself on the window ledge.
âHow are you feeling?â Sherikov asked him.
âBetter.â
âYou see weâve quite advanced therapy. Your burns should be healed in a few months.â
âHow is the war coming?â
âThe war is over.â
Coleâs lips moved. âIcarusââ
âIcarus went as expected. As you expected.â Sherikov leaned toward the bed. âCole, I promised you something. I mean to keep my promiseâas soon as youâre well enough.â
âTo return me to my own time?â
âThatâs right. Itâs a relatively simple matter, now that Reinhart has been removed from power. Youâll be back home again, back in your own time, your own world. We can supply you with some discs of platinum or something of the kind to finance your business. Youâll need a new Fixit truck. Tools. And clothes. A few thousand dollars ought to do it.â
Cole was silent.
âIâve already contacted histo-research,â Sherikov continued. âThe time bubble is ready as soon as you are. Weâre somewhat beholden to you, as you probably realize. Youâve made it possible for us to actualize our greatest dream. The whole planet is seething with excitement. Weâre changing our economy over from war toââ
âThey donât resent what happened? The dud must have made an awful lot of people feel downright bad.â
âAt first. But they got over itâas soon as they understood what was ahead. Too bad you wonât be here to see it, Cole. A whole world breaking loose. Bursting out into the universe. They want me to have an ftl ship ready by the end of the week! Thousands of applications are already on file, men and women wanting to get in on the initial flight.â
Cole smiled a little, âThere wonât be any band, there. No parade or welcoming committee waiting for them.â
âMaybe not. Maybe the first ship will wind up on some dead world, nothing but sand and dried salt. But everybody wants to go. Itâs almost like a holiday. People running around and shouting and throwing things in the streets.
âAfraid I must get back to the labs. Lots of reconstruction work being started.â Sherikov dug into his bulging briefcase. âBy the wayâ¦. One little thing. While youâre recovering here, you might like to look at these.â He tossed a handful of schematics on the bed.
Cole picked them up slowly. âWhatâs this?â
âJust a little thing I designed.â Sherikov arose and lumbered toward the door. âWeâre realigning our political structure to eliminate any recurrence of the Reinhart affair. This will block any more one-man power grabs.â He jabbed a thick finger at the schematics. âItâll turn power over to all of us, not to just a limited number one person could dominateâthe way Reinhart dominated the Council.
âThis gimmick makes it possible for citizens to raise and decide issues directly.
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