Humor - Puppy.

(C) Sergey Simonovich, 1996


                            PUPPY


        - Mr. Wilson, your wife is calling you.
        - Hello, hello dear. I was about to leave.
        - I’m calling to remind you so that you don’t forget what
today is the day.
        - I remember everything and will buy everything as agreed. How are you, how are you
Maggie?
        - Maggie has already returned from school and is looking forward to
gift, and is now sticking candles into the birthday cake. All ten
pieces

        Roger walked into this shop in the business district of the city.
for the first time.
        - Is there anything I can do to help? - politely addressed
him the seller.
        - Yes, you see, I would like to buy a puppy.
        “We have an excellent choice,” the seller responded joyfully,
pointing with his hand at the long rows of shelves filled with beautiful
boxes.  Here you go, the latest model - virtual
Newfoundland.   About five hundred terabytes, all on one
thirty-two-layer disk. Just seven thousand dollars.
        - Seven thousand!?  This must be a very large breed? A
Is there anything smaller? A poodle, shall we say? My daughter loves it very much
poodles.  I would actually take a kitten, but my daughter definitely asks
puppy.
        - Here, the blue poodle is at your service. Very popular
model.   There are literally only a few copies left.  And it's worth it
inexpensive, only five five hundred.
        - Tell me, do they need to be fed, cleaned,and all that
others?
        -  Yes, sure. This is a COMPLETE imitation. But don't worry
We have everything for this. Here we have virtual canned goods,
and if something needs to be removed, we can offer virtual rags
and scoops.   Virtual leashes were recently delivered - the newest
development, the dog will obey the bioimpulses of the owner.
        - Tell me, what about the smell?   Will it be virtual or
natural?
        - Naturally natural, we do not sell fakes.
However, many people like it.
        - I'm not sure I'll like it.
        - Then I can offer an online model. Your pet
will stand on the central server, and you will call it
for short sessions.  All odor and fur will remain on
server, you will only get pleasure. Besides this
much cheaper, only three hundred bucks plus online payment.
        - Wow! This is exactly what you need. Please wrap it up.

        Roger had never seen his daughter so happy. All
In the evening she rushed around the house with a cheerful puppy. Haloprojectors
home computer system so clearly visualized the puppy,
as if it was not a three-dimensional model, but a real living one
poodle   Minor tears that inevitably occur when
moving from room to room were practically invisible.
The Wilson family's home system operated at breakneck speed.
Thisreassured Roger when he remembered that the loan was for
it has not yet been paid.
        - Maggie, dear, it's time to go to bed. Let's get ours back
puppy to the server, let him rest a little. Tomorrow you again
see you.
        - Mom, mom, just a little more.
        - No, Maggie, you have to go to school tomorrow.
        - Mom, can he lie with me? I really want...
        Mrs. Wilson looked at her husband doubtfully. Roger
thought sadly about unpaid loans, about those bills that
with today's acquisition they will undoubtedly grow, and sadly
shook his head.
        Maggie went to bed very upset.

        Everything went on as before, and somehow no one noticed that
the girl stopped eating lunch at school. She saved money. It's been three
months, and finally the day came when my daughter returned home,
carefully hiding a soft lump in her bosom.
        Without saying a word to her parents, she went to her room and
took out the treasured package. Wrapped in many layers of soft
paper, in it gently rested... a hard drive. This one is inexpensive, but
Maggie bought a very capacious model at Jimmy's junk shop
near the school.  Now everyone has switched to crystal memory and
Such units have not been produced for a long time.
        Connect an additional hard drive to a modern one
even a child can use the home computer, and the rest of the day Maggie
spent "pumping" something verybig of the global
networks.  However, only she knew about this. The parents were sure
that the child is preparing his homework. They didn’t realize that tomorrow was a day off,
and therefore there is no need to prepare any lessons.

        Saturday!  Shopping day.  You can also sleep longer.
However, Roger did not manage to sleep.  He was woken up by something
whining and scratching.  There was no one behind the door. Nothing
Roger didn’t find anything strange either in the hallway or on the lawn outside the house.
However, the whining continued.  Finally, he realized that the sound
comes from the terminal. Surprised Roger pressed the buttons and almost fell
from his chair as the computer greeted him with a joyful "WOOF!"
        "Woof! Woof! Woof!" - repeated the computer, and Roger
still sat in a daze, not knowing what to do.
        Soon the barking stopped, but another sound was heard,
reminiscent of the murmur of a trickle of water in an empty bucket. On the table under
the system unit began to form a puddle before our eyes.
        Mr. Wilson stuck his finger into it and twirled it in surprise.
in front of your nose. The finger had a very characteristic smell...