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[ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ] usual academic grind. His daily schedule hovered on the holo: " Get Symposia speakers sweeten the invitation for the reluctant " Write nominations for Imperial Fellows " Read student thesis, after it has been checked A passed by Logic Chopper program These burned up the bulk of his day.Onlywheat the Chancellor entered his office did he iCBeaaber that he had promised to give aspeech TheChan-cellor had a quick, ironic smile andpursed lips, a reserved gaze the scholars look. "Your . .. dress?" he asked pointedly. Hari fumbled in his office closet, fetched forth the balloon-sleeved and ample-girted robe, and changed in the side room. His secretary handed himhis all-purpose view cube as they quickly left the office.With the Chancellor he crossed the main square, fan Specials in an inconspicuous formation fore and aft. A crowd of well-dressed men and women trained 3D cameras at them, one panning up and down to get the full effect of the Streeling blue-and-yellow swirl-stripes. "Have you heard from Lamurk?" "What about the Dahlites?" Page 35 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html "Do you like the new Sector Principal? Does it matter that she's a trisexualist?" "How about the new health reports? Should the Emperor set exercise requirements for Tranter?" "Ignore them," Hari said. The Chancellor smiled and waved at thecameras. "They're just doing their job." Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html "What's this about exercise?" Hari asked. "A study found that electro-stim while sleeping doesn't develop muscles as well as old-fashioned exercise." "Not surprising." He had worked in the fields as a boy and never liked the idea of having his exertion stimmed while he slept. A wedge of reporters pressed nearer, shouting questions. "What does the Emperor think of what you said to Lamurk?" "Is it true that your wife doesn't want you to be First Minister?" "What about Demerzel? Where is he?" "What about the Zonal disputes? Can the Empire compromise?" A woman rushed forward. "How do you exercise?" Hari said sardonically, "I exercise restraint," but his point sailed right past the woman, who looked at him blankly. As they entered the Great Hall, Hari remembered to fetch forth the view cube and hand it to the hall-master. A few 3Ds always made a talk pass more easily. "Big crowd," he noted to the Chancellor as they took their places on the speech balcony above the bowl of seats. "Attendance is compulsory. All class members are here." The Chancellor beamed down at the multitude. "I wanted to be sure we looked good to the reporters outside." Hari's mouth twisted. "How do they take attendance?" "Everyone has a keyed seat. Once they sit, they're counted, if their inboard ID matches the seat index." "A lot of trouble just to get people to attend." "They must! It's for their own good. And ours." "They're adults, or else why let them study advanced subjects? Let them decide what's good for them." The Chancellor's lips compressed as he rose to do the introduction. When Hari got up to talk, he said, "Now that you're officially counted, I thank you for inviting me, and announce that this is the end of my formal address." A rustle of surprise. Hari's gaze swept the hall and he let the silence build. Then he said mildly, "I dislike speaking to anyone who has no choice over whether to listen. Now I shall sit down, and anyone wishing to leave may do so." Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html He sat. The auditorium buzzed. A few fat op to leave. The other students booed them.Whenheroseto speak again they cheered. He had never had an audience so on bis side. He made the most of it, giving a ringing talk about the future of... mathematics. Not of the mortalEmpire. but of beautiful, enduring mathematics. 8. The woman from the Ministry of Interlocking Cultures looked down her nose at him and said. "Of course, we must have contributions from your group." Hari shook his head disbelievingly. "A ... senso?~ She adjusted her formal suit by wriggling in hi« office's guest chair. "This is an advanced program-All mathists are charged to submit Boon Behests." "We are completely unqualified to compose ' "I understand your hesitation. Yet we at the Ministry feel these senso-symphonies will be just die thing needed to energize a, well, an art form which is showing little progress." Page 36 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html "I don't get it." She begrudgingly gave him a completely unconvincing, stilted smile. "The way we envision this new sort of senso-symphony, the artists the math-ists, that is will transmogrify basic structures of thought, such as Euclidean conceptual edifices, or transfinite set theory fabrications. These will be translated by an art strainer " "Which is?" "A computer filter which distributes conceptual patterns into a broad selection of sensory avenues." Hari sighed. "I see." This woman had power and he had to listen to her. His psychohistory funding was secure, coming from the Emperor's private largess. But the Streeling department could not ignore the Imperial Boon Board or its lackeys, such as the one before him. Such was boonmanship. Far from being relaxed, meditative groves of quiet inquiry, research universities were intense, competitive, high-pressure marathons. The meritocrats scholars and scientists alike put in long hours, had stress-related health problems, high divorce rates, and few offspring. They cut up their results into bite-sized chunks, in pursuit of the Least Publishable Unit, so to magnify their lists of papers. To gain a boon from the Imperial Offices one did the basic labor. Filling Out Forms. Hari knew well the bewildering maze of cross-linked questions. List and analyze type and "texture" of funding. Estimate fringe benefits. Describe kind of lab and computer equipment needed (can existing resources be modified to suit?). Elucidate philosophical stance of the proposed work. The pyramid of power meant that the most experienced scholars did little scholarship. Instead, they managed and played the endless games of boonsmanship. The Greys grimly saw to it that no box went unchecked. About ten percent of boon petitions received funds, and then after two years' delay, and for about half the requested money. Worse, since the lead time was so great, there was a premium on hitting the nail squarely on the head with every boon. To be sure a study would work, most of it was done before writing the boon petition. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html This insured that there were no "holes" in the petition, no unexpected swerves in the work. [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ] |