Читать книгу A Man from the Future. 1856 - Евгений Платонов - Страница 27

He lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He needed a plan. A clear, realistic plan for survival.

Option one, he began to think. Find a job. But what kind? I’m a systems administrator, but there are no computers here. I’m educated as a historian, but without documents no one will hire me. Can I teach English? No, in the nineteenth century all educated people knew English. Can I do physical labor? As a loader, for instance? But that requires strength, and I’m not used to hard work.

Option two, he continued. Use knowledge of the future. I know what events will happen in the coming years. Can I make money from this? How? Betting on horse races? But that requires initial capital. Making predictions? But I’ll be taken for a charlatan. Inventions? I’m not an engineer, I can’t even create the simplest mechanism, and besides, how would I sell it – this is a completely different time.

Option three, he reasoned further. Sell something I have. But what? Jeans? Who would buy them – they’re an unheard-of thing here. A phone? But it’s useless without a charger. A watch? I only have an ordinary electronic watch, also an incomprehensible thing for the nineteenth century.

He took his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. Battery—67%. No signal, of course. But there were photographs, music, books in the memory.

Books, he suddenly thought. I have dozens of books on my phone. Including ones that haven’t been written yet! Crime and Punishment won’t come out for another year. The Idiot – three years. Demons – six years. What if I… no, that’s madness. I can’t pass off Dostoevsky’s works as my own.

But the thought stuck in his head like a splinter. Technically it was possible. He could write down the text, say it was his work, try to get it published. Money from publication would help him survive.

But that’s a crime, he argued with himself. I’d steal from Dostoevsky his creations. Change literary history. No, it’s impossible. I can’t.

But there were no alternatives. He could starve to death in the coming days if he didn’t find a way to make money.

All right, he decided. That’s a last resort. First I’ll try something else.