"Allen, Roger MacBride - Chronicles of Solace 3 - Shores of Tomorrow" - читать интересную книгу автора (Allen Roger Macbride)

УHowever, Dr. DeSilvo, as always, was still unable to deal well with authority or with being proved wrong. He found the chance to tweak Admiral KoffieldТs nose a time or two more, even as he confessed and sought to recruit Koffield to his work. At the same time, Dr. DeSilvoТs fondness for puzzles and tricks perhaps got the better of him.

УBut there was also a certain degree of logic behind the way Dr. DeSilvo worked. In effect, he set Koffield and his party off on a scavenger hunt, so that each clue theyЧweЧfound led them forward to the next clue. Koffield and his party were made tosee thingsЧthe nightmare landscape of Mars after the Great Failure of that first terraforming attempt, the beauty of Earth, the customs of EarthТs people, the state of terraforming research, the half-empty cities, the Dark Museum itself, and many other things besides. You were all there for at least part of the journey, and some of you for nearly all of it. That part you know. We were led to this place, and to the choices we now face.Ф

She paused, then turned to face Koffield directly. УSo there we are,Ф she said. УAnd, let us face factsЧthereyou are. We will not be ruled by you in these matters, but it would be pointless to suggest we will not beguided by you. I have presented what I believe to be an honest and balanced statement of the events that brought us here. That it came across as an indictment of Dr. DeSilvo, I do not doubt and do not deny. To report the facts is to report his crimes. Now we must askЧand must askyou Чwhat are we to do now?Ф Ashdin sat down, and the room was silent.

Koffield frowned. Blast the woman! He had not expected this. To be asked to consider the matter, yesЧbut she seemed to be asking for his own, personal, immediate snap judgment. He knew, instinctively, that even a momentТs hesitation on his part would be fatal. He had to speak, and speak decisively, at once, to maintain credibility as their leader.

УWhat we do is believe him,Ф Koffield said, after a pause of less than a heartbeat, not sure of his own reply until he had made it. And perhaps that had been AshdinТs goalЧto force him to give them his gut feeling, his unexamined first reaction. The rest was easy from there. УWe believe him when he tells us he thinks he has found a way. It is no trick, no fraud. He might be mistaken, but if so, the mistake is sincere, and not some gambit within a gambit, no mirror in a mirror.Ф

УWhy do you say that?Ф Yuri Sparten demanded.

УBecause he has allowed all this to happen,Ф Koffield said, deliberately speaking as Ashdin had, pretending DeSilvo were not there. УConsider what drives Oskar DeSilvoЧand then consider what Dr. AshdinТs report hascost him. Think how humbling, how humiliating, this presentation has been for the man who could command our deaths at any momentЧand remember this is a man capable of convincing himself that virtually any action that suits his needs is of great benefit. He sincerely believed that all his acts were for the greater good.Ф

УHe managed toconvince himself they were all for the greater good,Ф Norla Chandray objected. УThatТs not at all the same thing.Ф

УGranted,Ф Koffield said. УBut if so, how could he convince himself that this proceedingФЧhe was very careful to avoid calling it a trialЧУwas to his benefit?Ф

No one answered that.

УI think your failure to answer is answer enough,Ф Koffield said. He gestured to DeSilvo, at last acknowledging his presence. УThe actions that Dr. Ashdin have described were acts of megalomania, of madness. But Dr. DeSilvoТs willingness to subject himself to unexpected humiliation and accusation here, now, in order to serve the greater goodЧand thelater goodЧis, I suggest, strong evidence of sanity. That he doubts himself enough to bring us here is further evidence that his megalomania is at least somewhat under control.

УWe must accept that his present actions are at least to some degree altruistic, and also meant to make sort-of amends for past deeds. Those are sane motives. He may have further agendaЧI would be surprised if he did not. But thatТs as may be.Ф

УSo you trust him?Ф Yuri Sparten said, plainly unconvinced and unmoved.

УNot in the slightest,Ф said Koffield. УI trust hismotives, to some extent. But he might be mistaken as to his conclusions. I could have it wrong about his being sane at presentЧhe might be delusional but utterly convincing. But on balance, I think the most likely circumstance is that he is more or less sane and trying to do the right thingЧperhaps while benefiting himself. But that merely leads us to the next questionЧis he right? Are his predictions reliable?Ф

УThat is the question you were to answer, Mr. Sparten.Ф It was DeSilvo, speaking for the first time in a long while. His voice was gentle, respectful. УYou, above all, have the least reason to trust me, and the most reason to hate me. But it has fallen to you, and to Officer Chandray, to judge the value of the predictions I have made.Ф

УWe havenТt had enough time to make a complete analysis,Ф Yuri objected.

УNo, of course not. You have had only a few days to consider data that took many years to accumulate. But surely you have made some progress, reached some sort of initial findings.Ф

УWell, yes. But weТre nowhere near done.Ф

Koffield spoke. УMr. SpartenЧthere can always be surprises, some unexpected factor that changes everything. But there also comes a point when you get afeel for the data. You have had enough time to judge the basic quality of the workЧthe data, the models, the proceduresЧand probably enough time to set up alternate models and procedures as a check. Am I right?Ф

УYes, sir.Ф

УThen report to us on what you have found so far.Ф

Sparten hesitated, looked to DeSilvo, and frowned. УIt seems all right,Ф he said, the anger as plain in his voice as in his face.

Koffield had wondered why the devil DeSilvo had leaked word of the diehard outpost. Maybe this was why. Maybe it had been to bring SpartenТs hatred to the boiling point, then call on him to report on his analysis. If Sparten, seething with rage, still had to report that DeSilvo had gotten it right, then that could only lend credence to a positive report. Maybe there was no Last Chance Canyon outpost. Maybe DeSilvo had made the whole damned thing up for the sole purpose of setting Sparten off.

But after so long alone, the man was so detached from human behavior that it seemed unlikely he could anticipate anyoneТs reactions that precisely. He had put Sparten into a homicidal rage with a casual remark just a few days before. Would he really risk playing that game again so soonЧor try something as elaborate as planting a false story with Marquez, trusting that the story would reach Sparten?

Koffield shook his head. That was the trouble with paranoia. It could make any story almost plausible, until the truth was buried under a whole forest of fictions that seemed more believable than the facts. But facts, not guesses or emotions, were what they needed. УYouТre going to have to give us a little more than СIt seems all right,Т Mr. Sparten,Ф he said gently. УThis is a most important issue, and we need a useful summary of your results to date.Ф