（外文电子版资料）Benford, Gregory - The Voice.pdfVIP

THE VOICE by Gregory Benford ________________________________________ Copyright © 1997 by Gregory Benford Printed in Years Best SF 3 HarperPrism ISBN 0-06-105901-3 eBook scanned proofed by binwiped 11-10-02 [v1.0] I dont believe it. Qent said sternly. Klair tugged him down the musty old corridor. Come on, turn off your Voice. Mine is—I showed you. Stuff on walls, whoever heard of— Theres another one further along. Down the narrow, dimly lit hallway they went, to a recessed portion of the permwall. See—another sign. This? Some old mark. Whats a sign anyway? This one says— she shaped the letters to herself carefully—PASSAGE DENIED. Qent thumbed on his Voice impatiently. He blinked. Thats ... what the Voice says. See? Youve been here before and the Voice told you. I let you pick the corridor, remember? A fair trial. You cheated. No! I can read it. Read. The very sound of the word made her pulse thump. Qent paused a second and she knew he was consulting the Voice again. And read means to untangle things, I see. This sign tells you PASSAGE DENIED? How? See those?—theyre letters. I know each one—there are twenty-six, it takes a lot of work—and together they shape words. Nonsense, Qent said primly. Your mouth shapes words. I have another way. My way. He shook his head and she had to take him on to another sign and repeat the performance. He grimaced when the Voice told him that indeed, the markings meant ALDENTEN SECTOR. A trick. Your Voice is on. You just rigged your touchpad— Here, take my insert! She thrust it into his hand and made him walk to the next emblem. MANUFAC DIST, that way. I know an arrow when I see it, he said sarcastically. But the rest of it—whats DIST mean? She had hoped he wouldnt ask that. Maybe it means a place. Like a neighborhood? Could be—in fact, yes, district. If there wasnt room to write it all