（外文电子版资料）Anthony, Piers - Adept 4 - Out of Phaze.docVIP

Out of Phaze Piers Anthony Adept #04 Chapter 1 - Mach The two young men dived into the pool. Mach struck the water more precisely and got the lead, but Rory splashed harder and caught him a third of the way along, then drove ahead for the victory. Panting and ruddy-faced with his effort, he laughed as Mach finished. Slowpoke! Mach shrugged. He had expected to lose, because his power was produced evenly; he could not put forth that extra surge of energy for a spot activity. However, neither did he tire; he could maintain a similar pace indefinitely. Had the race been longer, he would have won. Rory knew that, of course; it was only the luck of the grid that had given him the victory. He liked to tease Mach about his supposed unwillingness to try harder. It was his human way, for he was fully human. Mach was, of course, unhuman in all but form and consciousness. They shook themselves dry and watched while two girls lined up at the far end of the pool for their own contest. Both were young and well-formed, with tresses that fell down about their breasts with the provocative suggestion of clothing. One waved. Hey, I think theyre following us! Rory exclaimed. Lets wait for them! Yes, they collaborated to match our choice of contest, Mach agreed. Rory squinted as the two young women dived in, wincing as one made a bad entry. Android, he muttered. Theyre clumsy. Less so than prior generations, Mach said. Soon the androids will be up to the human norm in coordination and intellect. Id rather have them clumsy and stupid, Rory said. So you can love them and leave them, Mach agreed. They had been over this before. The human male was easily aroused, but also easily satisfied. Mach himself could invoke his arousal circuit, and could also nullify it, but preferred to do neither. He wished that his body could move his mind in the involuntary natural human fashion, but it never happened. The girls completed their race and heaved themselves dripping from the pool. The bre