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| "But the final report was always plain enough, sir," said Jablonsky. "To those who did not have to make the decision, perhaps. Not to me. The horror of the responsibility of such decisions was unbearable and not even Multivac was sufficient to remove the weight. But the point is I was justified in doubting and there is tremendous relief in that." | Но, значит, я был прав, и я испытываю сейчас громадное облегчение. |
| Caught up in the conspiracy of mutual confession, Jablonsky put titles aside, | Объединенные взаимной откровенностью, они отбросили титулы. Яблонский прямо спросил: |
| "What was it you did then, Lamar? | - И что ты сделал тогда, Ламар? |
| After all, you did make decisions. | Ведь ты все-таки принимал решения. |
| How?" | Каким образом? |
| "Well, it's time to be getting back perhaps but-I'll tell you first. Why not? | - Вообще-то, мне кажется, нам пора возвращаться, но у нас еще есть несколько минут. |
| I did make use of a computer, Max, but an older one than Multivac, much older." | Я использовал компьютер, Макс, но гораздо более древний, чем Мультивак. |
| He groped in his own pocket for cigarettes, and brought out a package along with a scattering of small change; old-fashioned coins dating to the first years before the metal shortage had brought into being a credit system tied to a computer-complex. | Он полез в карман и вместе с пачкой сигарет достал пригоршню мелочи, старых монет, бывших в обращении еще до того, как нехватка металла породила новую кредитную систему, связанную с вычислительным комплексом. |
| Swift smiled rather sheepishly. | Свифт робко улыбнулся. |
| "I still need these to make money seem substantial to me. An old man finds it hard to abandon the habits of youth." | Старику трудно отвыкнуть от привычек молодости. |
| He put a cigarette between his lips and dropped the coins one by one back into his pocket. | Он сунул сигарету в рот и одну за другой опустил монеты в карман. |
| He held the last coin between his fingers, staring absently at it. | Последнюю Свифт зажал в пальцах, слепо глядя сквозь нее. |
| "Multivac is not the first computer, friends, nor the best-known, nor the one that can most efficiently lift the load of decision from the shoulders of the executive. | - Мультивак не первое устройство, друзья, и не самое известное, и не самое эффективное из тех, что могут снять тяжесть решения с плеч человека. |
| A machine did win the war, John; at least a very simple computing device did; one that I used every time I had a particularly hard decision to make." | Да, Джон, войну с суперпотоком выиграла машина. Очень простая; та, к чьей помощи я прибегал в особо сложных случаях. |
| With a faint smile of reminiscence, he flipped the coin he held. | Со слабой улыбкой он подбросил монету. |
| It glinted in the air as it spun and came down in Swift's outstretched palm. His hand closed over it and brought it down on the back of his left hand. His right hand remained in place, hiding the coin. | Сверкнув в воздухе, она упала на протянутую ладонь. |
| "Heads or tails, gentlemen?" said Swift. | - Орел или решка, джентльмены? |
